The Geelong Manufacturing Council (GMC) has called on the Federal Government to reject controversial elements of the proposed Closing Loopholes legislation because of its severe impacts on manufacturing competitiveness in Australia.
“We often hear politicians say that ‘manufacturing matters’ or that they want Australia to be a country that makes things”, the GMC letter to Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Hon Tony Burke MP, states.
“However, for such statements to mean anything, they must be coupled with policies that genuinely help Australian manufacturers be competitive in open international markets.”
Most the residual portions of the legislation seek to address issues that are not sources of friction or concern in most manufacturing workplaces yet they will place heavy burdens on manufacturers in a highly competitive global context.
“This [bill] hurts employees, Australian businesses, and it will hurt customers, including governments as customers – unless they choose to buy from less-regulated competitors overseas.”
In representations to Minister Burke, and other Government MPs, including the Hon Richard Marles, the Hon Ed Husic, and Ms Libby Coker MP, the GMC says the proposed changes will do nothing “to boost productivity, employ more people or increase investment in Australian manufacturing.” “It is important to understand the context in which Australian manufacturing operates today. Decades ago, Australian manufacturers sheltered behind various forms of industry protections (like import tariffs and quotas, and subsidies for domestic production) which meant that Australian industry did not have to be internationally competitive in order to survive.
“Over the last 50 years, under different Governments, those protections have largely been abolished, leading to lower costs and greater choice for Australian consumers, together with a more efficient allocation of resources.
“Today, any Australian manufacturer must be able to compete in an open market with foreign competitors, while at the same time offering employees well-paid jobs and good enduring careers.”
The GMC strongly supports the split proposed in private member bills by crossbench Senators Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock.
“The parts of the bill dealing with four specific topics (support for first responders suffering from PTSD, enhanced protections from discrimination for workers experiencing domestic violence, small business redundancy exemptions in insolvencies and extending the role of the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency to cover silica and silicosis) are widely supported and will not impose unreasonable costs on manufacturers.