Government steps up Buy Australia push, appoints Peter Beattie to trade role

The struggles of the manufacturing sector has forced the Federal Government to step up its Buy Australia push, with former Queensland premier Peter Beattie given the job of becoming a special “envoy” to represent Australian manufactures in the global resources sector.

However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has this morning insisted that Australia will not adopt “protectionist” policies in the face of pressure from unions, industry groups and her own Labor party room.

Industry Minister Kim Carr and Resources Minster Martin Fergusson reacted to BlueScope Steel’s announcement that it will slash 1,400 jobs earlier this week by announcing that Beattie will serve as a “supplier envoy” to the resources sector in a bid to help Australian manufactures get a bigger slice of the activity currently underway in mining.

However, the Government has resisted calls from some unions and industry groups to set mandated targets for locally produced content in mining projects. This is seen by many commentators as a form of protectionism for local manufacturers – and something the Government is keen to steer well clear from.

“This is not about mandating Australian content. This is about working with people like Peter Beattie to build the partnerships between those investors — both Australian and international investors — to create further jobs in manufacturing and in doing so to improve our manufacturing capacity,” Ferguson said yesterday.

“The mining services sector today is worth about $9 billion in exports. So we have got to try and achieve the same opportunities in the manufacturing industry.”

Beattie, who spends part of his year in the United States in a similar role, says his key job will be to open doors.

“When both Ministers asked me whether I would take up this position I agreed to do it because I have been passionate for a long time about Australian industry. As a former Premier of Queensland that’s dealt with the coal industry over a long period of time, my Government in fact set the 13% generation standard for gas that led to the development of the coal seam methane industry itself.”

“So I am passionate about this both from a policy point of view and the point of view that I want to deliver it.”

While the Government might be adamant that it is steering clear of protectionist measures, reports in the Australian Financial Review suggest the Government is still searching for ways to support ailing manufacturers.

According to the report, the Labor caucus will consider a proposal to overhaul the approval process used by the Foreign Investment Review Board to ensure any foreign projects guarantee they will use Australian content.