Securing the future of Australian manufacturing

There will also be five dedicated innovation centres - a Creative Industries Innovation Centre, a Clean Energy Centre, a Remote Enterprise Centre in Alice Springs, a Mining Technology Innovation Centre in Mackay, and an Innovative Regions Centre in Geelong.

Industry innovation councils will be established to forge ongoing partnerships and develop a long-term approach to lifting productivity.

The final element is the $10 million Researchers in Business scheme to support the placement of university and public research agency researchers in businesses with new ideas that will benefit from expert input.

The primary aim of the scheme is to speed the dissemination of expertise, increase competitiveness, and create jobs.

However, one important side-effect of a similar scheme in the UK is that four out of five researchers taking part were offered a job by the host company on completing their project, giving an ongoing boost to their new employer's internal innovation capacity.

The future

Everyone knows the challenges we face - climate change, globalisation, water scarcity and more. Our task is to meet those challenges in ways that boost production, skills, jobs and exports. That's the key to securing the future of manufacturing in this country. It's about investing in R&D and embracing new technologies.

It's about making ourselves indispensable to global markets and supply chains by leading the way in quality, design and innovation. Which brings me back to the quid pro quo I mentioned at the beginning.

It is the government's job to create the right policy environment - to tame inflation, increase productivity, strengthen the national innovation system, unlock the knowledge created and preserved within our universities, provide infrastructure, expand skills, and develop strategies for specific industries like automotive and TCF.

It is industry's job to take the initiative. It's no good waiting for opportunities to emerge. We have to go out and create our own opportunities. None of us can secure Australian manufacturing against the future. There is no running away from globalisation, the rise of China and India, or the emergence of new technologies and new consumer demands.

What we can do - government and industry together - is make sure Australian manufacturing is part of the future, whatever form it takes.