Ms PANOPOULOS (7:07 PM) —I rise in support of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Strategic Investment Program Amendment Bill 2004. Many of the initiatives contained in the government's announcement last year of further assistance to the TCF industry are particularly relevant to TCF workers and their employers within my electorate of Indi. I am pleased therefore to be standing in this House commending the work of this government—a government that has consistently striven to provide the TCF industry with the framework, the support and the incentives it requires to succeed in the competitive global market.

The TCF industry is a significant employer in my electorate, particularly in the regional centres of Benalla and Wangaratta. Therefore, the industry has welcomed the ongoing support that the government has provided to ensure that it will continue to grow and provide the local economy with jobs and security for those families. I was present when the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Macfarlane, announced in November last year that there would be ongoing funding certainty for the TCF industry—which included the establishment of a $50 million scheme to assist local workers in regional areas and a $50 million import credit scheme to help local manufacturers build competitive product ranges—and I was keen to inform our local communities of the importance of this funding boost. That boost was very well received within the electorate of Indi.

In the context of discussing the bill, it would be remiss of me not to mention tariff protection, as other speakers have done so before me. When Labor was in government, tariffs were ruthlessly cut every year. They were cut by an average of three per cent a year, falling from 55 per cent to 25 per cent in 10 years. Under this government, there have been no annual cuts; rather, there have been five-yearly reductions with unprecedented and historic assistance—most recently $747 million to help the industry adjust and grow stronger.

Recently, Phil Cleary recounted that, after he had been elected as the Independent member for Wills in 1992, union leaders George Campbell and Anna Booth were seated in a cabinet room pleading with then Treasurer Keating to introduce a pause in tariff cuts. In true Keating arrogance, he was totally unmoved. Unlike the Howard government, the then Labor government refused to slow the rate of tariff cuts for the benefit of workers in these industries and to provide the opportunity for firms in those industries to find the room and the time to adjust to changing circumstances.

Only sustainable businesses can deliver employees secure employment. The SIP package that we have been discussing this afternoon provides certainty and innovation for the industry. The generous TCF assistance package equates to government support worth $13,000 per employee in the industry. When the current Leader of the Opposition was in a position to speak his mind—that is, before he transmogrified into the stunt double of his Labor hero, the former member for Werriwa, Gough Whitlam—he readily acknowledged:

Whilst the industry barely survived the harsh cuts of the 1990s under Labor, the approach of the Howard government has been markedly different. For instance, the combination of direct assistance and a gradual phase-in of lower tariffs allows firms in the industry to strengthen their businesses. The recently announced TCF package is aimed at providing firms within the industry with the opportunity to invest and to increase their market share, particularly in the area of exports. Tariffs of course do impose substantial costs on consumers and taxpayers, and existing TCF tariffs cost consumers up to $1 billion a year. Whilst the tariff debate can at times be emotive, it is important to point out that a tariff in itself does not create and does not protect a single job.

The additional transitional measure contained in the provisions of this bill is to allow a value-adding cap for technical textile and leather firms in the final two years of the SIP package. Essentially, this means that firms in these categories will be able to match the whole value of their approved grants for both new and used plant equipment and research and development in the final two years of the funding scheme with a value-adding grant.

Without doubt, the Howard government has been the TCF industry's greatest friend. Gone are the days of ruthless and unforgiving tariff cuts which bled the TCF industry dry under successive Labor governments. The pause in tariffs in 2000 and again in 2005 for five-year periods has given the industry the certainty, the light at the end of the tunnel and the resolve to move forward and become competitive in the global marketplace.

In the context of debating this bill, I would like to point out that the TCF industry has been often incorrectly referred to as a sunset industry, which conveys nothing of the resilience and diligence of the sector's work force, their employers and the businesses they represent. Amidst all the doom and gloom perpetuated at times by the union within that industry, there are many excellent signs, particularly in my area of north-east Victoria. Recent figures confirm that exports have risen by over 100 per cent in the industry. There are challenges that face many industries in Australia and, at a local level, in my electorate of Indi. But the one thing that binds the TCF sector and the wider community together is that we are all very proud of an industry that has united, employed and provided many people in north-east Victoria and many people within different generations of the one family with sustained and stable employment.

I am pleased to say that the industry is undergoing something of a renaissance, and in the north-east we have great reason to feel very proud of the achievements of our local textile firms. Take Bruck Textiles, for instance, where over 500 people are employed, accounting for more than 10 per cent of the rural city of Wangaratta's work force. The work and vision of the CEO, Mr Alan Williamson, in steering Bruck through difficult times is to be commended, and Bruck's commitment to the Wangaratta community cannot be overstated. In Bruck Textiles, Wangaratta and north-east Victoria can clearly see an Australian success story. It is a wholly Australian-owned company, and it is the largest man-made fibre weaver in the Southern Hemisphere. As we all know, since its inception in 1946 in Wangaratta, Bruck has contributed an enormous amount to the municipality of Wangaratta and the region. It is a company that will be in Wangaratta for a long time because it is innovative in its management and its manufacturing and it is keen and prepared to move into the future to promote its market share and to continue to provide jobs for the people of Wangaratta and the region. That is why Bruck's CEO Alan Williamson welcomed the $747 million package and said, `It's a good news story for the industry and it's a good catalyst for Bruck to continue to grow into one of the world's most advanced textile mills.'

At this point, it may be appropriate to remind the previous speaker, the member for Braddon—I am so sorry that he is not in the chamber at this time—that Ulster Carpets, a firm within his electorate, also commended the government for its policy in the area. In a media release in November last year the president of the Carpet Institute of Australia and Managing Director of Ulster Carpets, Mr Charles Szakiel, said that as a result of the government's decision, the carpet industry is looking positively to the future, while at the same time not underestimating the challenges that lie ahead. The continuation of assistance designed to encourage investment and innovation is a very positive outcome that will help the industry to continue its journey towards becoming more internationally competitive in a low tariff environment.

Bruck's export markets, along the same lines as many other firms within the industry, now encompass Great Britain, Europe, the US, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific. Exports account for approximately 25 per cent of total production. Recently Bruck Textiles benefited from a significant contract with the federal government to be the supplier of cloth for Defence Force combat clothing under a two-year standing offer, with options to allow extensions for up to six years. To be selected for this significant contract, Bruck had to establish that its cloth products were competitively priced, used locally produced raw material and clearly satisfied Defence specifications.

I also want to mention another firm within my electorate, Australian Country Spinners. Its CEO, Brian Van Rooyen, stated that the announcement to extend the Strategic Investment Program was particularly good news for the clothing and apparel industry and acknowledged that the tariff debate was not the be-all and end-all of the matter. He stated, `The tariff change doesn't really affect us as we've had a five per cent tariff rate for some time, but the financial incentives offered are very welcome.' Australian Country Spinners is yet another success story in Wangaratta. Not only has it accelerated its production of skeins of wool to supply the ever growing and renewed craft of knitting and crotcheting—something I am pleased to have learnt from local craft groups—but it has also played a key role in keeping the local tradition of textiles alive and well in north-east Victoria. So much for all the doomsaying talk from the Labor Party regarding the future of the industry. What has occurred at Australian Country Spinners is that the Wangaratta plant has undergone significant expansion and growth in the past few years. It has actually increased its work force by some 10 per cent and is now exporting into China.

Whilst the federal government gets on with the job of providing direct, targeted financial assistance to the TCF industry, unfortunately and very sadly, the same cannot be said for the Victorian state government. In Victoria, the most junior minister in the Bracks government is the Minister for Manufacturing and Export, Mr Tim Holding. His claim to fame seems to be his own allocation of a $3.2 million slush fund for trade missions. Somewhat curiously, Minister Holding aimed to frighten and scare the industry and the workers in the lead-up to the government's response to the Productivity Commission review. He should be more aware that the decisions made in relation to tariffs are not directly related to his stream of government, nor are they directly aligned to his responsibilities as state minister. The policy areas of trade, tariffs and protectionism have always been the domain of the federal government, and it is the federal government that make decisions relating to tariffs particularly. Therefore, I have been slightly bemused by the sudden interest he has shown in the issue, when there are far larger issues confronting industry in Victoria. For instance, in the last year new capital investment in the Victorian manufacturing sector has fallen some eight per cent—to its lowest level since 1991-92—at a time when the national manufacturing sector's contribution to GDP has grown by almost 16 per cent. If the state minister actually cared about assisting not only the TCF industry but other industries in Victoria, he would act in areas where the government has jurisdiction and where business has shown it is disadvantaged in competing interstate and internationally—namely, in payroll tax reform, in WorkCover premiums and in insurance premiums.

New capital investment in Victoria has fallen to $1.2 billion—10 per cent lower than it was in 1998-99, the last year before the current Premier of Victoria gained power. But far more important to workers' security is the fact that under the Bracks Labor government 21,000 Victorian jobs were lost in manufacturing in the year to May 2002. These are jobs directly applicable to the portfolio responsibilities of the state minister for manufacturing. Very unfortunately the state government's silence on this gives little hope to the people in north-east Victoria, rural Victoria and metropolitan Victoria that the state government is concerned with being proactive and doing something about it.

If the facts were not so damning in Victoria regarding industrial relations and manufacturing industry policy, we might put these policy failures down to an oversight. However, the only export record in manufacturing that the Victorian government seems to have is an unparalleled record for exporting Victorian jobs. We can draw our own conclusions on this, but I am not afraid of stating that, unlike the Victorian government, the federal government has made a huge, significant and historic investment in the TCF sector, and it will not put that investment at risk. The scare campaign entered into by the union and the state minister is truly irresponsible and totally debunked by reality, as businesses and employees in the industry know all too well.

Under the Labor Party—and it is the party that has glorified the myth of supporting the battler and the worker—the TCF industry has fought and struggled day by day merely to survive. Workers in the industry lost their jobs and whole regions suffered economic depression. But the Strategic Investment Program provided by this government is the largest single program that has ever been offered, and it has been enthusiastically taken up by the TCF sector. I am delighted that Minister Macfarlane has continued to enhance and provide support to the TCF industry. The program is, very importantly, focused on encouraging investment and innovation, which is needed for the industry to continue to become competitive and to grow.

As a local member with interests in and knowledge of the aspirations of employees within the TCF industry in my electorate, I look forward to working with them and with local TCF firms to see how I can best assist in utilising the direct financial support that this government is offering. The assistance provided to the industry through the pausing of tariffs and the investment of more funds into the sector will enable the industry to operate with clarity and certainty in the reduced tariff era, something that the industry never dreamt of being able to enjoy under the previous two Labor administrations. Whilst this bill is geared toward the leather and technical textile firms within the TCF sector, the additional support to these specific areas will make a great difference in helping firms adjust to the tariff adjustment scheme and, very importantly, will provide peace of mind to workers and their families who rely on the employment of firms within the industry. Therefore I commend this bill to the House.