MIRABELLA TO CHAIR COALITION MANUFACTURING REVIEW
30-August-2011
Local manufacturers and broader industry will have the opportunity to contribute directly to future manufacturing policy after it was announced today the Federal Member for Indi and Shadow Industry Minister, Sophie Mirabella MP will be co-chairing a high level Coalition manufacturing review.
The announcement comes as manufacturers face some of the most challenging circumstances since the Great Depression.
Mrs Mirabella said that Australian manufacturers are facing a perfect storm.
“The high Australian dollar, an unlevel international playing field, high government regulatory costs and the introduction of a Carbon Tax are crushing the competitiveness of Australian manufacturing.
“I have visited manufacturers from one end of the country to the other and I can tell you the crisis is real. They spend huge amounts of money on R&D and they invest heavily in innovation but their profit margins are getting smaller and smaller.
“Since Labor was elected more than 105,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost. This contrasts with the end of the Howard Government when the last 13 out of 14 months, there was growth in manufacturing.
“A go-it-alone Carbon Tax, particularly in the current climate is the most irresponsible thing this paralysed Labor Government can do.
“The Coalition review that I will be co-chairing will give local manufactures here in the North East an opportunity to have direct input. I have held manufacturing forums across the electorate including one in Wodonga and Wangaratta and I will be holding another forum in Benalla this Wednesday. The feedback I receive from these forums will go straight into this review and will shape Coalition policy. It’s a vital opportunity for local industry.
“Manufacturing is incredibly important to the North East. There are more than 600 manufacturing businesses* directly employing more than 7500 people** in Indi. If those businesses shut down due to Government failure, those capabilities are lost and will probably never come back.”
“The Labor Government has sat on its hands for the last 3 years and is still providing no optimism for the future of our innovative manufacturing sector.
Mrs Mirabella said that more detail about the review will be announced in the coming days, but encourages local manufacturers to contact her. Anyone wishing to attend the manufacturing forum in Benalla on Wednesday should contact Mrs Mirabella’s office on 03 5721 5377.