Recently, SEMMA met with Tim Wilson MP to discuss investment proposals to assist Australian manufacturers. During that meeting, Mr Wilson agreed to refer on a submission from SEMMA to the Federal government.
The submission covered several proposals including something along the lines of the dollar for dollar Manufacturing Modernisation Fund, however, with the added incentive to invest in Australian made equipment/technology. If not available locally, we proposed that the option for import replacement be considered as Australian manufacturers have demonstrated they have the flexibility and capability to ‘pivot’ as demonstrated by the recent rush to build respirators, ventilators and PPE!
We also used a case study on truck building to demonstrate the increased number of jobs if locally built rather than imported trucks are purchased.
From our recent SEMMA surveys asking about what would encourage members to invest, the majority identified dollar for dollar in preference to tax cuts – although unsurprisingly, about a third also felt tax cuts would also be useful when considering investment.
Please see below for a summary of SEMMA’s core areas of advocacy to Federal Government:
- INVESTMENT INCENTIVES
Dollar-for-dollar Investment Incentives to encourage Manufacturers to invest. Investments in Australian made goods to offer double benefit for the investment – for the manufacturer investing and the manufacturer supplying. - MORE AUSTRALIAN MADE
Incentives for business more broadly to invest in Australian Made e.g. incentives to buy Australian made trucks to support and grow jobs in the supply chains. - LOCAL CONTENT
Federal, State and Local Governments to require meaningful percentages of Local Content for all government procurement, not just projects over $1 Million (regions); $3 Million (metropolitan). - IMPORT REPLACEMENT
Institute an active Import Replacement programme. - PROJECT CONTINUATION
Ensure that all current infrastructure, construction and transport projects – including rolling stock continue. - R&D INCENTIVE
Effective levels of incentive for R&D. - APPROPRIATE POLICY FOR SMEs
Government to recognise that 95% of manufacturers in Australia are SMEs and to ensure policy and contracts are appropriately geared. - STEM
Education and skills training designed to meet industry needs.
If you would like any further detail or clarification on the above points, please don’t hesitate to contact the SEMMA team via info@semma.com.au
