https://www.copyright link/politics/federal/critics-stuck-in-decade-of-b...

https://www.copyright link/politics/federal/critics-stuck-in-decade-of-big-shoulder-pads-industry-minister-20230821-p5dy3q#


www. afr. com


Husic slams ‘economic ideas that were in fashion in the ’80s’
Ronald MizenAug 22, 2023 – 10.30pm

Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic. Alex Ellinghausennone

Industry Minister Ed Husic says critics of the government’s plans for local battery manufacturing are stuck in a decade when ABBA was on the charts and the prevailing fashion was big hair and large shoulder pads.

Hitting back at critiques from economists and the Productivity Commission, Mr Husic will tell the American Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday that Australia can do more than “dig it, grow it and then ship it”.

“Policy is shaped by the times it sits in,” he says. “For us, a pandemic, geopolitics, the pressing need to reach a net-zero future are all turning convention and orthodoxy on its head.

“That in turn requires a change in how we approach industry policy in Australia. Industry policy with a goal of more Australian workers making more things [and] using Australian know-how and Australian resources.”

That includes building more wind turbines and solar panels on shore, as well as batteries, Mr Husic says.

The speech precedes the release of the government’s plan to establish a domestic battery-making capability.

The $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund has $3 billion allocated to co-invest in businesses developing green energy technology.

But this week, outgoing Productivity Commission chairman Michael Brennan warned the government not to succumb to the allure of industry policy targeting high-profile emerging sectors where prices are set to drop.

“Part of what worries me about getting into the new cutting-edge thing is that [it is] the thing that tends to fall dramatically in real price because it is at the frontier of technology,” Mr Brennan, who is leaving the role next month, told The Australian Financial Review in a candid exit interview.

He said the risk of industry policy was not in “pick[ing] winners at random” but worse, picking winners that everyone else was picking and not being able to compete.

But Mr Husic dismisses people’s concerns about the risks.

“[It] is about value-adding to our natural strengths and comparative advantages; leveraging our know-how onshore, across seven clearly identified national priorities,” he says.

“Of course, there are those who criticise this new dynamic approach. They seem to be sticking to economic ideas that were in fashion in the ’80s when other fashions were big hair and big shoulder pads.

“They say things like ‘why have a battery industry in Australia, let’s just focus on what we’ve always done best, raw materials production.’ It seems that if you can chop it, dig it, grow it and then ship it then that’s enough.

“That our prosperity rests solely on the fortunate intersection of geology and geography. But guess what, we can do both.”