HAMMO, HOST: 4CC, AC/DC have a drink on me. Say that to your mates over the weekend. He is in town this morning, it's Senator Tim Ayres, who is the Assistant Minister for a Future Made in Australia. Hey Tim, welcome to the show. You've got to tell me a bad joke too, mate. That's part of the stipulation of being here on a Friday morning at 4CC.
SENATOR TIM AYRES, ASSISTANT MINSTER FOR A FUTURE MADE IN AUSTRALIA AND TRADE: I think it's okay, Hammo. I've got a story for you, I was in Gladstone Library yesterday afternoon, and, you know, borrowing a book, and this fellow walks in in a really loud pink shirt, and he says, "Can I have some fish and chips please?" The librarian says, “Sir, this is a library.” He whispers, "Oh, sorry, can I have some fish and chips please?" Best I can do this morning, best I can do.
HAMMO: That's actually a Hammo joke. That's something I would do. Hey, welcome to Gladstone. Now you're in town for a special reason, and it's all about Future Made in Australia. You're meeting with key business holders and having a round table with Gladstone Engineering Alliance, the GEA. Take us through exactly what your role is and why you've come to Gladstone?
SENATOR AYRES: I guess the first thing to say is a Future Made in Australia is the biggest pro-manufacturing package in our history. It's the Albanese Government making sure that we're doing the things and providing the incentives to deliver big investments in big manufacturing around Australia. Areas like Gladstone and Central Queensland are going to be the beneficiaries of that. This is a very exciting role for me to be working with the Prime Minister and the Ministerial team delivering this policy. Of course, the thing I'm focused on is working with local businesses to make sure that we are delivering every single good job that can be delivered out of this strategy, that we're building sustainable long-term manufacturing, that we're dragging through the apprenticeships and the engineering cadetships, that we're supporting the local engineering supply chain. This is the number one meeting, first meeting I've done with industry like this since I've been appointed, and I thought I'd come to Gladstone to make Gladstone number one for that discussion. I had some really good discussions last night with the Gladstone Industry Leadership Group and the Gladstone Engineering Alliance. This community, I have to tell you, it's so exciting to be here - the capability, the optimism, the hard work that's going into building manufacturing in this great resources and engineering centre of Queensland.
HAMMO: Mate, Gladstone - really you could nearly say - it's the hub of Australia when it comes to a lot of projects that are happening here, whether it's our port, whether it's QAL, Rio Tinto, Santos, there's a lot of talk now about solar farms being made, hydrogen another thing. So really, Gladstone can be the hub of all of this and spread it out to Australia wide. I mean, there's other places like Newcastle, but Gladstone is close to being number one?
AYRES: 100%. Because of its history as a resources powerhouse, it means it's got all the capabilities that are needed for the new economy. 97% of our trading partners are shifting to net zero, that means Australia's got to adjust. There's a risk, if we don't adjust fast enough, we'll fall behind, but if we get it right with a package like Future Made in Australia, that means we can capture all of that advantage here, lift up the value chain and I'm not surprised at all to see so much interest in hydrogen and in cheap low-cost renewable energy power in industry. I want to work with business and industry. The Albanese Government, we want to partner with industry to deliver the best outcomes for local communities, and Gladstone is a very good place to start.
HAMMO: And well, just quickly - I know you've got to go straight to a meeting, are you expecting any negative out of this with the roundtable today?
SENATOR AYRES: I hope everybody gets all of the issues out on the table. This is not going to be a straightforward easy path. We have to work hard to secure good jobs. That means tackling challenges and being honest about the issues in front of us. We're going to do that, week after week, month after month, year after year. This is a task of rebuilding Australian manufacturing. It's going to shape our economy in the national interest for generations ahead. Our priority right now is on the here and now, the cost-of-living issues, but also reshaping the economy in Australia's interests. We can do both things at the same time. We have to and I'm really excited to be part of it. Really excited to be in Gladstone.
HAMMO: Thank you, Tim. I'm sure this is not the last time we'll talk down the track.
SENATOR AYRES: Thank you Hammo, see you next time.
HAMMO: There we go. Senator Tim Ayres, who is in town and holding a roundtable for a Future Made in Australia.
ENDS.
