Senator Kim Carr

Labor urges Malcolm Turnbull to call President Trump to lock in exemptions for Australian steel and aluminium from the President’s tariffs announced overnight.   

The President has just announced a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminium imports, but did not disclose whether these new tariffs would apply to Australian steel or aluminium imports.  

A Shorten Labor Government will invest $10m to build a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Innovations Centre in Preston to best prepare the students of northern Melbourne for the jobs of the future.

The Centre, based at the Northern College of the Arts and Technology (NCAT) in Preston, will be the first of its kind.

ADDRESS TO SCIENCE MEETS PARLIAMENT

CANBERRA

WEDNESDAY, 14 FEBRUARY 2018 

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The Turnbull Government has today removed science and industry from the Cabinet.

This is only the second time since 1931 we have a Commonwealth Government that doesn’t have a Minister for Science and on both occasions the position has been cut by a Liberal Government.

ADDRESS TO THE ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES

CANBERRA

Thursday, 7 DECEMBER 2017

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The annual report released today by the Chief Economist into the Australian Innovation System reveals an embarrassing story of failure for the Turnbull Government.

That’s why the release of this report had been delayed for several days without explanation and has now been made public on a day that will ensure their failings go unnoticed.  

Under this government business investment in research and development has, as the report describes, “declined sharply” falling by 12 per cent – or $2.2 billion – since 2013-14. 

LIBERALS DESPERATE TO DODGE BLAME FOR AUTO CLOSURE

The comments made by Liberal MP Nicole Flint show just how out of touch Turnbull’s Liberals are when it comes to automotive manufacturing and the workers the industry sustained.

The Member for Boothby told parliament last night in a speech about the Holden closure that Labor and the unions had;

“left Australia with the most globally uncompetitive wages in the world and have effectively priced Australian workers out of the market. The most generous salaries and terms of conditions of employment are worth absolutely nothing if you don’t have a job.’’

Nicole Flint MP, Federation Chamber 23/10/17

Murray Goulburn has announced that there will be a loss of approximately 70 manufacturing jobs across their Koroit, Cobram, Maffra and Leongatha sites.

Labor is dismayed by the news of further job losses at Murray Goulburn and our thoughts are with the workers, their families, and communities at this difficult time with Christmas just around the corner.

Labor has been calling on the Coalition Government and Murray Goulburn to act on the ongoing crisis in our dairy industry for over 12 months. 

HOLDEN CLOSURE A DAY OF SHAME FOR TURNBULL & LIBERALS

After 70 years of motor vehicle production in Australia, General Motors Holden will today close its Elizabeth manufacturing plant, ending car making in this country.

Labor’s thoughts are with the company’s 1000 employees, many of whom have worked at Holden their whole lives.

The closure of the automotive manufacturing plants and the loss of their workforces is a tragedy.

It is a tragedy for automotive supply chain firms, which face an uncertain future.

It is a tragedy for the Australians employed by those supply chain firms, many of whom will endure prolonged job instability. 

It is a tragedy for Australian advanced manufacturing, which relied heavily on the technological innovations developed by the automotive industry.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

RADIO INTERVIEW

ABC RADIO TASMANIA

MONDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2017

SUBJECTS: Advanced Manufacturing Future Fund, wages, citizenship.

LEON COMPTON, ABC TASMANIA: Kim Carr is the Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, and is in Tasmania at the moment. Kim Carr, good morning to you.

SENATOR KIM CARR: Good morning.

COMPTON: Thank you for coming in this morning. You are in Tasmania at the moment to talk more about an advanced manufacturing fund that Labor has announced that it will set up if elected. What are the opportunities that will create for advanced manufacturing, of which there is much in Tasmania?

CARR: We want to be able to provide assistance to small and medium size enterprises to get access to finance because the banks are letting people down, letting companies down and are letting workers down.

They are letting Australians down because they are not providing access to finance for people who want to expand, diversify, develop new economic opportunities.

So we believe that the government should step in, provide assistance to firms. The fund will have an independent board and should have the capacity to provide finance just as we do with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation which has worked very, very well, produced a good return for government but also a great return for the Australian people.