Manufacturing shake-up to drive jobs boom: COVID taskforce
Manufacturing can grow to create 495,000 new jobs in the next decade in the wake of COVID-19, a government-commissioned taskforce says, as it calls for ambitious new government policy and industry collaboration to drive sector growth.
The unreleased report, seen by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, criticises Australia's manufacturing policy, saying public investment has been "fragmented" and manufacturers are being forced to work with "short-term solutions" and "misaligned incentives".
The report, from the National Coronavirus Co-ordination Commission's manufacturing taskforce, identified areas for growth in eight industries – food manufacturing, mining technology, defence, renewable energy, healthcare and biotechnology, recycling and packaging, advance manufacturing and aerospace.
It does not call for new subsidies or public money to be used to support manufacturing, but suggested a 10-year plan with annual goals monitored by a new national manufacturing board with industry, research and union representatives. The board would also advise on mandated quotes for Australian-made goods when governments were making purchases in areas such as defence.
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