The Liberal Nationals are today proposing a $1 billion ‘Bringing Manufacturing Home’ Fund to encourage businesses to bring facilities back to Victoria, grow local manufacturing and boost innovation.
Over the past 20 years more than 50,000 Victorian manufacturing jobs have been lost. A COVID-19 response is urgently needed to create jobs.
With COVID-19 restrictions easing, now is the time for the Andrews Labor Government to urgently act to get Victorians back to work and back in business.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed holes in the national supply chain with an overreliance on a number of countries for provision of essential supplies such as personal protective equipment (PPE).
The Bringing Manufacturing Home Fund would prioritise support for industries of national importance such as PPE manufacture, defence procurement and rare earths processing.
The proposed Fund would provide support for businesses seeking to relocate manufacturing facilities and jobs back to Victoria.
It would also support existing Victorian manufacturers to expand, as well as supporting innovation, research and development.
The Bringing Manufacturing Home Fund adds to a number of polices announced by the Liberal Nationals to get Victoria back to work and back in business following the economic fallout of COVID-19.
Comments attributable to the Leader of the Opposition, Michael O’Brien:
“Victoria has a real opportunity to create thousands of new jobs, attract millions-of-dollars of investment, while regenerating our own capability to produce critical supplies that we’ve otherwise lost to overseas.
“Rebuilding local economies is a vital piece of Victoria’s recovery. Victorians now need a government focused on delivering a jobs-led and business-led recovery.
“With Victoria losing more jobs than any other state due to the pandemic, we need an urgent and bold plan to turn this around.
“Victoria used to be the manufacturing heart of Australia. We now have the opportunity to bring manufacturing home to Victoria – where it belongs.”
Comments attributable to Leader of The Nationals, Peter Walsh:
“COVID-19 has also exposed massive shortcomings in our local economy, particularly in our lack of local manufacturing capacity.
“Victorians need jobs off the back of the pandemic, and investment support should not be delayed for multiple years because the government places restrictions on how quickly the fund can be rolled out.
“We need to back local businesses to deliver the jobs and investment that Victoria so desperately needs.”
