It\u2019s often said that the future is what you make of it.
\nThat is especially true when it comes to Australia\u2019s economic future.
\nOur nation is blessed by the privilege of proximity. We sit in the region experiencing the fastest economic growth in human history.
\nWe have an opportunity to lock ourselves into this strong economic growth, much of which will be driven by the global shift to renewable energy.
\nBut to seize this opportunity, we need a government with a plan.
\nFederal Labor\u2019s plan for government is to use Australia\u2019s comparative strengths as a foundation for our next great wave of economic prosperity.
\nFirst, we must utilise our abundant reserves of solar and wind energy to provide the cheap power needed to revitalise our traditional and emerging industries.
\nCheap energy will be critical to the development of new renewable industries, using our resources like lithium and copper and iron ore, the key materials used to make batteries, wind turbines, electric vehicles and other low-emission products.
\nAustralia can become a renewable energy superpower for the world. We can establish lucrative new sources of export income and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.
\nBut achieving this aim requires government action.
\nA Labor government will create the National Reconstruction Fund to provide loans, loan guarantees and other assistance to support the expansion of Australian industry.
\nThe fund will support the expansion of existing sectors such as manufacturing of military hardware, vaccines and medicines, agricultural produce as well as transportation vehicles and equipment.
\nIt will also support emerging industries in manufacturing that add value to our existing resources exports.
\nIt makes no sense to ship bulk resources overseas for others to process and then buy them back at a higher cost. We should add value here, creating new jobs, particularly in regional Australia.
\nBut on its own, supporting business investment will not be enough.
\nWe must also invest in the skills of our greatest asset \u2013 our people.
\nIt is unacceptable that there are 85,000 fewer Australians engaged in apprenticeships or traineeships today than on the day the Coalition government took office.
\nFor Australia to prosper in the 21st century, our training system must produce the skills demanded by employers.
\nOtherwise, skill shortages will continue to act as a handbrake on economic growth.
\nLabor will create 465,000 free TAFE places and up to 20,000 new university places in areas of skills shortage.
\nOur Made in Australia Skills Plan will skill up a new generation of mechanics, construction workers and engineers.
\nIt will also train people in resources, digital and cyber security and advanced manufacturing.
\nAnd, critically, we will train a new wave of early childhood educators, registered nurses, teachers and aged care and disability care professionals.
\nThe work of care is often done by women, operating in full sight but without due recognition. We should be treating care workers as the national assets they are and investing in their education and Training.
\nLabor\u2019s new TAFE and university places will provide new opportunities to hundreds of thousands of young people about to embark on their adult careers.
\nBut they will also be available to older Australians who need to retrain because their jobs have been eliminated by mechanisation or other changes, as well as unpaid carers \u2013 predominantly women \u2013 who want to re-enter the workforce.
\nA Labor government will further support Australian industry and jobs with the power of purchasing. We\u2019ll develop industry plans in defence and rail manufacturing to boost the capacity of local businesses to supply our nation\u2019s needs.
\nToo many state governments have bought trains, trams and ferries from overseas suppliers, only to find them unfit for purpose when they are delivered.
\nThen we get Australian workers to fix them. It doesn\u2019t make sense. We should build ferries, trains, trams and buses here.
\nSkills and industry will build a stronger future. One of the biggest lessons from the Covid pandemic has been that our nation has lost some important industries that are critical in times of trouble.
\nOur inability to make mRNA vaccines, for example, left us badly exposed when the Morrison-Joyce government failed to secure enough vaccines from overseas to meet our national needs.
\nWe should make our own medical supplies and news that mRNA vaccines will be made in Melbourne from 2024 is welcome, but late. We can\u2019t allow ourselves to be hostage to unpredictable global supply chains that collapse in a crisis.
\nLabor will make Australia more resilient by supporting critical industries. In addition, our 10-point Buy Australia Plan will ensure every government department prioritises buying from local industries wherever possible, rather from overseas.
\nIncreasing our resilience and expanding Australia\u2019s export footprint will be challenging, but also provide opportunities.
\nLabor has the plan to turn these opportunities into jobs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s often said that the future is what you make of it. That is especially true when it comes to Australia\u2019s economic future. Our nation is blessed by the privilege of proximity. We sit in the region experiencing the fastest economic growth in human history. We have an opportunity to lock ourselves into this strong … Continue reading “Skills and Industry will build a stronger future”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14321\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}