Mining superpower Australia will announce a U.S.-style program on Thursday to pump public money into manufacturing and clean energy industries, joining the global race to build a cleaner, more resilient economy.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will unveil a plan to help Australia compete with global partners who are heavily subsidizing new industries, according to an advance copy of his speech.
The Future Made in Australia Act, due to be passed this year, would mark a departure from Australia's decades-long free market policies for trade and investment.
“We must be prepared to break with old orthodoxies and pull new levers to advance the national interest,” the centre-left Labor prime minister will say.
Albanese will describe the current climate and economic changes as “as significant as the Industrial Revolution or the Information Revolution – and faster and more far-reaching than either.”
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“We need to think differently about what government can – and must – do to work with the private sector to drive economic growth, increase productivity, improve competition and secure our future prosperity.”
Although no numbers are given, the taxpayer-funded stimulus system aims to compete with efforts by other nations, such as US President Joe Biden's massive investments through the US Inflation Reduction Act.
Other trading partners, including China, the European Union, Canada and Japan, have also invested in their industrial base and manufacturing capacity.
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“Australia cannot afford to sit on the sidelines. Being in the race does not guarantee our success – but sitting out guarantees failure,” Albanese will say, according to the advance copy of his speech.
“Our challenge and our great opportunity lies in anticipating change, shaping it and ensuring that it brings something to our employees. And we do it in our own uniquely Australian way.”
Albanese will deliver the speech in the northeastern state of Queensland, a key election area and the heartland of the country's gas and coal industries.
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Australia cannot match United States investment dollar for dollar, he will say, but the country would be able to compete for international investment.
As the world's leading exporter of minerals such as iron ore and coal, resource-rich Australia will not only play to its “traditional strengths”, he said, but also offer new products and services for new markets.
“We need this change in thinking and approach because global economic circumstances are changing in ways that are far more profound than the consequences of the pandemic or conflict alone,” Albanese will say.
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“We need sharper elbows when it comes to asserting our national interests.
The law would boost investment in Australia's renewable energy resources, including battery production, such as green hydrogen and green metals, create more jobs and ensure a competitive economy, he said.
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