DOORS, PARLIAMENT HOUSE | MONDAY, 22 MAY 2023

22 May 2023

 

TIM AYRES, ASSISTANT TRADE MINISTER AND ASSISTANT MANUFACTURING MINISTER: Well, this is gonna be a big week of Parliament and a big week of Estimates. It's 12 months since the Albanese Labor Government was elected. I'm really pleased with the progress that the government has made, laying the foundations for a better future, focusing on the issues that matter to ordinary Australians, particularly focusing on driving down the cost of living, lifting our national productivity, and making Australia a safer and stronger country.

I was very pleased over the weekend to see coming into this week of Parliament, the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Tokyo, with President Biden, [Prime Minister] Mr. Kishida and [Prime Minister] Mr. Modi, focusing on the issues that are going to matter for delivering a safer and secure region, but also demonstrating that the Australian Government is deadly serious about reindustrialising the Australian economy. Just demonstrating the Australian Government is absolutely focused on reindustrialising the Australian economy, the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund is there to make sure that we build factories and modern industrial workplaces in our suburbs and regions.

The US Inflation Reduction Act presents challenges and opportunities. And the agreement that Prime Minister Albanese reached with President Biden over the weekend ensures that Australian manufacturers will be competitive with American manufacturers, that we can build the renewable energy superpower jobs of the future here in Australia. And we've dealt effectively with that competitive challenge.

So the response to the Inflation Reduction Act, the $2 billion clean Hydrogen Fund, the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, we are focused on ensuring that Australian manufacturers of the future are competitive and can deliver good blue collar technical and engineering jobs for Australians in our suburbs, in our outer regions and our industrial regions as well. This is all about reindustrialising the Australian economy and providing good jobs for the future.

ENDS.