Month: August 2026

AMTIL welcomes the Hon. Melissa Horne as Victoria’s new Minister for Industry and Advanced Manufacturing, Minister for Defence Industry, Minister for Jobs, and Minister for Ports and Freight; and congratulates the Hon. Ben Carroll MP on his election as the new Premier of Victoria. New to advanced manufacturing, Minister Horne has previously worked in senior levels of government and the corporate sector, particularly in the transport sector. AMTIL looks forward to working together to advance our state’s advanced manufacturing priorities. The Hon. Colin Brooks, previous Minister for Industry and Advanced Manufacturing, has been appointed as Treasurer and Minister for Industrial Relations. Mr Brooks and Mr Carroll are well-known to AMTIL and its members, including having previously opened Australian Manufacturing Week and attended Victorian Manufacturing Galas. With understanding of our sector’s opportunities and barriers being held within three core and influential positions, AMTIL looks forward to engaging with Government and our sector being reflected in future policies introduced. New federal defence report released The 2026 Defence Innovation, Science and Technology Strategy has been released, setting the strategic agenda for Australia’s defence innovation priorities while strengthening Australia’s sovereign industrial base and national…

**This story originally appeared in the July 2026 edition of AMT Magazine** Five years after the closure of the Lane Cove Test Station, Australia is beginning to grasp the scale of what was lost. It marked the erosion of a national capability that underpins electrical safety, system reliability, innovation and industrial competitiveness across the entire electricity system. This reality was laid bare at a recent Australian Industry Group forum examining the impacts of Lane Cove’s closure. Industry experts from standards development, manufacturing, system engineering and forensic investigation delivered a consistent message: Australia’s rapid electrification is now running ahead of our ability to independently test and validate the equipment it relies on. Electrification is transforming every layer of the economy. Buildings are shifting away from gas. Electric vehicle charging is scaling rapidly. Data centres are increasing power densities by orders of magnitude. Distributed energy resources are turning consumers into generators. Power electronics, solid‑state switching and direct current are no longer niche technologies, but core features of modern electricity systems. Each of these changes places new stresses on equipment that was never designed for today’s operating conditions. Testing is what turns…