Manufacturing in South Australia

I cannot ignore the fact that I have arrived in the Legislative Council at a time like no other.

It has been a challenging period for many in our communities, with financial pressures and concern about the health and wellbeing of our loved ones. The Liberal Government has been well placed to support South Australians to cope with the difficult circumstances and we are starting to see the hard work and implementation of our policies pay off.

Although we are moving in a positive direction with COVID-19, this period has done more than financially challenge businesses and test the health systems.  COVID-19 has highlighted some fundamental problems that we as South Australians and Australians must address. It would be negligent of us to not learn from the outcomes of this pandemic and use it as an opportunity to better our community, our economy, and our state. The breakdown of global supply chains as a result of COVID-19 highlights our need to secure what we now realise as essential products for a nation-state. Australia’s reliance on imported products has been exposed during the pandemic. Domestic manufacturing must play a key role in the economic recovery of both our state and the nation. Australian manufacturers have already demonstrated their capacity to adapt and innovate during these challenging times and there is a real drive for locally made and grown goods from consumers and businesses. I believe that our regions have the capability to be an important cog in a stronger South Australian manufacturing industry going forward. We must take this opportunity to promote local manufacturing now, as our state needs the surety of self-reliance, a source of job creation and the resulting economic stability.

The long-term sustainability of the manufacturing industry requires a business environment that encourages organisation to develop and thrive in South Australia. There must be a compromise between Employers and Employees, not to mention affordable energy and water security. We cannot allow the Unions to dictate workplace conditions and hold employers to ransom as they have done in the past. A South Australian manufacturing industry going forward needs the confidence that these conditions will remain in place. A post-COVID-19 world is not only an opportune time to promote manufacturing in South Australia, but it is also an integral opportunity for our state’s longevity going forward.

Published in Rural Briefing, 2020