ID :
203284
Wed, 08/24/2011 - 15:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/203284
The shortlink copeid
Beattie to help Aussie manufacturing
SYDNEY (AAP) - The federal government has called on the services of Labor stalwart Peter Beattie to help lift the nation's manufacturing sector out of its malaise.
The former Queensland premier has been appointed to the new role of resources sector supplier envoy to help coach manufacturers to compete in the lucrative resources market.
The government also will invest $50 million in a "Buy Australian at Home and Abroad" initiative to help local suppliers benefit from the mining boom.
Innovation Minister Kim Carr said the move was about building the capabilities and partnerships that would give local firms a "red-hot go" to compete for new work.
Australian athletes trained to compete internationally "to the very highest level", Senator Carr told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday, flanked by Mr Beattie and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson.
"The least we can do is to train our companies to compete on the same scale."
The announcement comes just days after BlueScope Steel announced it was axing 1000 jobs because of a series of factors that were hitting its bottom line.
Other major employers also are shedding jobs, despite the resources industry soaring, with manufacturers faring worst under the pressure of a strong Australian dollar.
But neither Senator Carr nor Mr Ferguson had found "concrete evidence" that Australian steelmakers had been shut out of the tender process when competing for major resources projects.
Both ministers said they were prepared to investigate any claims.
Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson told a Perth audience on Tuesday that Australia's manufacturing sector would inevitably grow smaller but should be reshaped to become cutting edge and innovative to remain competitive.
Commenting on concerns about job losses in manufacturing, Dr Parkinson said Australia had some "incredibly successful manufacturers" who were unaffected by the higher Australian dollar.
That was because they had high levels of innovation and comparative advantages that weren't being eroded by competition, he said.
Mr Beattie will assist Senator Carr and Mr Ferguson to set up a resources sector supplier advisory forum by October, which will have representatives from the steel, LNG, coal, iron ore, and mining technology and services industries.
Industry welcomed the government initiative.
"The two-speed economy has impacted on the gas transmission industry at both speeds," Australian Pipeline Industry Association chief executive Cheryl Cartwright said in a statement.
She said while some companies in her sector have been engaged in expanding resources developments, manufacturers had suffered from a high dollar and competition from imports.
Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey believes business should be taking advantage of a strong dollar by buying up assets overseas.
"For years we have been waiting for foreign companies to come here to buy our assets. With a strong Australian dollar, we now have the opportunity to go and buy assets overseas to produce income for Australia," he told ABC Radio.
New economic data released on Wednesday again highlighted the divide in a two-speed economy.
Construction work completed in the June quarter grew by a smaller than expected 0.7 per cent compared with the previous three months to $42.5 billion, but showed a stark difference between engineering, which jumped by 5.9 per cent, and building work, which slumped 4.9 per cent.
RBC Capital Markets senior strategist Michael Turner said the data provided further evidence of a shift in labour and capital away from traditional industries, such as residential construction, towards more productive and profitable sectors, such as mining.
The former Queensland premier has been appointed to the new role of resources sector supplier envoy to help coach manufacturers to compete in the lucrative resources market.
The government also will invest $50 million in a "Buy Australian at Home and Abroad" initiative to help local suppliers benefit from the mining boom.
Innovation Minister Kim Carr said the move was about building the capabilities and partnerships that would give local firms a "red-hot go" to compete for new work.
Australian athletes trained to compete internationally "to the very highest level", Senator Carr told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday, flanked by Mr Beattie and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson.
"The least we can do is to train our companies to compete on the same scale."
The announcement comes just days after BlueScope Steel announced it was axing 1000 jobs because of a series of factors that were hitting its bottom line.
Other major employers also are shedding jobs, despite the resources industry soaring, with manufacturers faring worst under the pressure of a strong Australian dollar.
But neither Senator Carr nor Mr Ferguson had found "concrete evidence" that Australian steelmakers had been shut out of the tender process when competing for major resources projects.
Both ministers said they were prepared to investigate any claims.
Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson told a Perth audience on Tuesday that Australia's manufacturing sector would inevitably grow smaller but should be reshaped to become cutting edge and innovative to remain competitive.
Commenting on concerns about job losses in manufacturing, Dr Parkinson said Australia had some "incredibly successful manufacturers" who were unaffected by the higher Australian dollar.
That was because they had high levels of innovation and comparative advantages that weren't being eroded by competition, he said.
Mr Beattie will assist Senator Carr and Mr Ferguson to set up a resources sector supplier advisory forum by October, which will have representatives from the steel, LNG, coal, iron ore, and mining technology and services industries.
Industry welcomed the government initiative.
"The two-speed economy has impacted on the gas transmission industry at both speeds," Australian Pipeline Industry Association chief executive Cheryl Cartwright said in a statement.
She said while some companies in her sector have been engaged in expanding resources developments, manufacturers had suffered from a high dollar and competition from imports.
Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey believes business should be taking advantage of a strong dollar by buying up assets overseas.
"For years we have been waiting for foreign companies to come here to buy our assets. With a strong Australian dollar, we now have the opportunity to go and buy assets overseas to produce income for Australia," he told ABC Radio.
New economic data released on Wednesday again highlighted the divide in a two-speed economy.
Construction work completed in the June quarter grew by a smaller than expected 0.7 per cent compared with the previous three months to $42.5 billion, but showed a stark difference between engineering, which jumped by 5.9 per cent, and building work, which slumped 4.9 per cent.
RBC Capital Markets senior strategist Michael Turner said the data provided further evidence of a shift in labour and capital away from traditional industries, such as residential construction, towards more productive and profitable sectors, such as mining.
