Enquiry into Australian Manufacturing Needed

29 Aug 11

With a recent spate of job loss announcements including the much publicised Bluescope steel axing of 1000 jobs, unions are predicting more significant job losses to come as the resources boom continues unchecked and negatively effects other sectors in the economy.

To allow manufacturing in Australia to whither is a short sighted view for the economy as a whole as not only is it a large employing sector, the resources boom is just that it is a boom and can't last for ever. What then?

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union secretary Dave Oliver says the government needs to investigate the issue, addressing productivity concerns and how to benefit from the push into clean energies.

It was also key that the government work on maximising the benefits of the mining boom and the governments own capital investment projects.

Mr Oliver indicates that it's unacceptable that 90 per cent of the investment that goes into a resource project is imported from overseas,' he told Network Ten on Sunday.

'We're talking about steel, conveyers, pumps, valves etc'

He said Australia should follow the lead of countries like the United States, rather than being too worried about accusations of protectionism.

The government's $14.8 billion of initiatives to deal with clean energy technology and energy efficiency should provide opportunities for manufacturing to be part of, not imported off the shelf from overseas particular as much of the engineering prowess that goes into such projects is developed with Australian engineering know-how, renowned the world over.

The government insists manufacturing won't be left behind in the resources boom, but frontbencher Anthony Albanese on Sunday couldn't rule out more job losses for the time being.

'I would be hopeful that there are no job losses anywhere, but of course we don't live in a centrally controlled economy.

'The high Australian dollar is putting pressure on certain sectors.'