August 12, 2016
Complementary to this, the Australian Industry Group announced that the manufacturing sector recorded its longest period of growth since 2006. And over a 10-year period, our exports have grown by 40% despite long cycles of currency fluctuations. Our defence industry is gearing up to build the next fleet of submarines, offshore patrol vessels and frigates. This in itself presents enormous opportunities to showcase and nurture our world-class, yet way too thin layer of advanced manufacturing capabilities. While we can cheer and welcome this current focus and opportunity, we should keep a steady eye on our future. Our achievements to date show what we can do, but do not necessarily show what we must do tomorrow and how. Fortunately, the political debate has moved on from the question of whether we should have manufacturing in the first place. However, what is not being sufficiently debated is what type of manufacturing…