Manufacturing is a cornerstone of Australia’s, Victoria’s and Geelong’s economy, driving innovation, creating high value jobs, and underpinning supply chain resilience essential for national prosperity and global competitiveness.
To help build a stronger and more prosperous manufacturing sector, GMC advocates across five key pillars – RED TAPE, ENERGY, INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE, SKILLS and ADVANCED MANUFACTURING – that address the challenges and opportunities facing manufacturers in Australia.
What we need
Protect and create industrial habitats in regions; secure industrial zones that can support manufacturing, their supply chains and clean economy initiatives such as recycling and circular businesses. Build and maintain transport infrastructure, including improvements to regional roads and utilisation of Australia’s rail freight network.
Why
- High density residential developments offer quick wins for developers when a long-term balanced approach to land use is in fact required to build prosperity. Governments have become fixated on housing supply at all costs. Industrial spaces and buffer zones for industry are at risk of being crowded out. Sustained and enduring prosperity for the regions and Australia depends on secure, well-serviced employment zones, as well as living zones.
- Increasing costs associated with transport delays, along with vehicle & product damage owing to declining condition of Victorian roads, are adding to business competitiveness challenges. This has flow on costs for everyday Australians through higher supply chain costs, not to mention the devastating human and social costs of road accidents.
We stand behind an alliance representing the 10 largest regional cities in Victoria calling on all parties contesting the state election in November to commit to an additional $2bn regional roads package over four years.
Regional communities have watched billions in cost overruns get absorbed by Melbourne’s “Big Build” while regional transport, freight, and farming networks have severely deteriorated.
