Reviving Australian Manufacturing: Backing Local Industry with Real Power
Watch my speech in full here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2edEtN6mIwk
Over recent decades, Australia has all but lost its manufacturing industry, and under the current Labor government, the rest is being killed off by skyrocketing energy costs, excessive red and green tape, and inflexible laws. We have the engineers, the trades, and the best and brightest minds to design, scale up, and manufacture right here: we do not have to suffer this continual decline.
To turn things around, I moved my own Private Member's Bill motion to fight for the future of Australian manufacturing and demand a sensible approach to our national energy grid. Energy is the economy, and right now, manufacturers simply cannot compete with overseas rivals because local electricity and gas prices have skyrocketed.
Here is the plan to stop the decline and restore our industrial sovereignty:
Abundant, Reliable, and Cheap 24/7 Power: Heavy industry and advanced manufacturing cannot run on intermittent renewables backed by batteries. If power drops during a heavy industrial process, everything stops and materials solidify: ruining equipment and costing millions. To attract investment, industry must be able to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Driving Productivity and Higher Wages: By integrating computers, AI, and robotics, we can lift productivity. The Coalition supports higher wages, but they must be backed by the productivity gains that keep businesses viable.
A Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Energy Plan: We need to keep our existing coal-fired power stations running longer to deliver the cheapest possible electrons to businesses and households. We must remain energy-agnostic, prioritize whatever keeps bills lowest, and scrap the "safeguard mechanism" carbon tax.
We will not allow solar panels to ruin prime agricultural land, nor will we support tens of thousands of kilometers of inefficient new poles and wires. It is time to dump the unachievable fantasies bankrupting our industries, secure our supply chains, and give Australian manufacturers the regulatory certainty and affordable power they need to succeed.
Watch my speech in full here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2edEtN6mIwk