The federal government has signed up former Queensland premier Peter Beattie to champion local manufacturers, and announced funding to agencies that help local firms win work on large projects.
Mr Beattie will be Australia’s first Resources Sector Supplier Envoy, and will work with Australian firms as part of the Buy Australian at Home and Abroad initiative.
“Helping our manufacturers better compete in the lucrative resources market is an important part of ensuring the future of manufacturing,” Mr Beattie said in a statement.
“This is the first step in the Buy Australian program and I look forward to working with Ministers Carr andFerguson to finalise membership of the Resources Sector Supplier Advisory Forum by October 2011.”
Innovation minister Kim Carr said the government’s plan “is to work with companies to build partnerships, to build capabilities to ensure Australian firms are internationally competitive”.
“This approach works. We use advocates in water, auto, rail, the built environment and ICT to help Australian companies and Australian workers,” the minister said.
He also announced that Dennis O’Neill had been appointed as the next Steel Supplier Advocate.
In addition, the minister announced $1.2 million in funding for the Industry Capability Network, agencies that aim to look local suppliers with project opportunities.
The ICN of WA has been granted $317,000 “to maximise the number of Australian suppliers tendering to oil and gas module contractors and global engineering company procurement hubs”.
The ICN of the Northern Territory has been granted $488,000, to help industry win work on the proposed Ichthys gas development and Eni’s Kitan oil project.
The announcements follow Bluescope Steel's decision to close one of its blast furnaces at Wollongong and cut more than 1,000 jobs.
