Senator Kim Carr

A Shorten Labor Government will better protect Australians in their homes and workplaces by improving fire safety in buildings, including:

·                     The establishment of a national licencing scheme for all building practitioners, with requirements for continued professional development.

·                     A new penalties regime for all building practitioners who breach the National Construction Code. 

·                     The re-establishment of the Minister for Industry – not the Assistant Minister – as the Chair of the Building Ministers’ Forum.

Labor is deeply disturbed that the Turnbull Liberals will not back Labor’s plan to protect Australians in their homes and workplaces by banning the importation of highly flammable polyethylene (PE) cladding. 

Assistant Minister Laundy has refused the advice of the fire authorities and building industry to prevent this product entering the Australian market. Labor, however, has listened and will impose a ban as matter of urgency upon taking office.

The Turnbull Government must commit to banning the importation of highly flammable polyethylene (PE) cladding to protect Australians in their homes and workplaces. 

If Mr Turnbull fails to act, a Shorten Labor Government will impose a ban as matter of urgency upon taking office.

Malcolm Turnbull has the perfect opportunity to gain the states’ support on banning the importation of PE aluminium composite panels when the Building Ministers’ Forum meets tomorrow.  

Good afternoon, and thank you for asking me to contribute to this discussion of what the future holds for SA, and indeed, the nation.

At a time like this it takes courage to look ahead with confidence.

We all know what the automotive industry, and Holden in particular, has meant for this state.

Today, 2500 auto workers will lose their jobs as Toyota closes its assembly plant at Altona in Victoria.

On October 20, Holden will shut its Elizabeth plant, with an expected loss of nearly 1000 jobs overseas.

This is a sad day for these thousands of workers and their families, and it's a sad day for Australia.

Today the last Australian-built Camry will roll off the production line at Toyota’s assembly plant in Altona.

Some Australians who might not instinctively describe General Motors Holden as an American firm still think of Toyota as a Japanese car maker.

Yet the company has been making cars here for more than half a century, since 1963, and has shaped Australia’s automotive industry and its culture as much as Holden and Ford have.
 

The ANAO’s report into the Turnbull Government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA) has confirmed what Labor has been saying all along: that NISA is innovation-lite.

NISA is nothing more than a collection of piecemeal initiatives that will not prepare Australians for the jobs of the future, and which reveal the government’s complete disregard for manufacturing jobs. 

A Shorten Labor Government will create an Australian Space Science and Industry Agency to ensure that Australia does not miss out on the opportunities provided by the rapidly growing global space industry.

Today’s announcement is the first phase of Labor’s Australian Space Science and Industry Plan.

Labor’s Australian Space Science and Industry Agency will be tasked to double the size of the Australian space industry within five years of its establishment – creating 10,000 new high skill, high wage jobs in advanced manufacturing, research, earth observation and space technologies.

Labor welcomes reports that Westpac has today acknowledged fears over the use of combustible cladding throughout many of its building investments around the country.

This follows reports last week of insurance agencies warning property owners they may not be covered if their buildings contain non-compliant cladding.

The Senate today called for urgent action from the Turnbull Government on building fire safety, finding that the de-regulation and privatisation agenda that has been underway since the 1990s has comprehensively failed to protect the public. 

There must be an end to buck passing and abrogation of responsibility. This is not something that can, or should, be swept under the rug.

It is time to restore public accountability for public safety in the building industry and the Turnbull Government cannot avoid its responsibility here.