MANUFACTURES – AUSTRALIA

Australian Made welcomes unprecedented level of support

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Original article by
AuManufacturing – Page: Online : 1-Apr-25

The Australian Made Campaign has welcomed additional funding of $20m in the federal government’s budget. Amongst other things, this funding will allow the organisation to launch a new campaign to encourage more Australians to buy locally made products, and assist more local manufacturers and producers to obtain Australian Made certification. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Industry Minister Ed Husic have noted in a joint statement that research by Roy Morgan in 2024 found that more than 90 per cent of Australians have a preference for buying locally-made products.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN MADE CAMPAIGN LIMITED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES

PM’s plan risks forever subsidies

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Original article by Michael Read, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Apr-24

Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood has warned that the federal government’s Future Made in Australia Act will have an economic cost. The government will provide incentives and subsidies to encourage local manufacturing, but Wood contends that the Act must include a mechanism for winding back this financial support in order to avoid having businesses become reliant on government subsidies. Meanwhile, Opposition leader Peter Dutton says local manufacturers are going broke or relocating offshore due to factors such as high energy costs and the government’s industrial relations regime.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Energy bill shock hits manufacturers

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 20 : 26-May-22

Many Australian manufacturers are facing big increases in their energy costs due to rising wholesale electricity and gas prices. NSW-based Causmag International is among the companies that have signalled that they may be forced to cease trading due to rising gas prices. The magnesium products manufacturer’s new gas supplier AGL Energy has set the default rate at $44.60 per gigajoule, which is significantly above the spot price. Causmag MD Aditya Jhunjhunwala has called for federal government intervention. The company’s previous gas supplier Weston Energy recently ceased trading due to the surge in gas prices.

CORPORATES
CAUSMAG INTERNATIONAL, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, WESTON ENERGY PTY LTD

Manufacturers’ hopes for cheap gas dashed

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Elouise Fowler, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 22-Jan-21

The federal government’s revised Heads of Agreement with Queensland LNG gas exporters on domestic gas supply has not been well received by industrial gas buyers, with the agreement imposing little or no conditions on pricing. Stephen Bell, the CEO of gas-dependent plastics maker Qenos, says the new agreement offers no basis for any confidence that competitive prices can be achieved, while Australian Workers’ Union national secretary Daniel Walton said the agreement "sells out Australian manufacturing workers". Federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt claims the government had never set a specific price target for gas.

CORPORATES
QENOS PLASTICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES

Manufacturing vision drives blueprint for future

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Original article by Geoff Chambers,Simon Benson,Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Sep-20

Sectors such as defence, medical technology, biotechnology, agriculture and resources are expected to be the focus of the federal government’s strategy to boost Australia’s manufacturing capacity in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Scott Morrison will reveal details of the manufacturing strategy ahead of the federal Budget on 6 October. The push to increase local manufacturing is part of the government’s five-year plan to revive the economy and increase jobs.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Coalition eyes Australian economic sovereignty with boost to manufacturing

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-May-20

Federal Industry Minister Karen Andrews will use a National Press Club speech on 20 May to call for Australia to ramp up local manufacturing in the post-coronavirus environment. She will argue that factors such as domestic manufacturing, a lower company tax rate and an increase in natural gas supply are crucial to the nation’s economic sovereignty. Andrews will also emphasis the need for projects to be approved more quickly.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES

Now for start of on-shoring era: Liveris

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 9-Apr-20

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted renewed scrutiny of Australia’s dependence on imports for essential goods such as medical equipment. Manufacturing now accounts for six per cent of the domestic economy, compared with about 40 per cent in the 1970s. Business leader Andrew Liveris says Australia needs to increase local manufacturing, but he stresses that the focus should be on high-end sectors such as health and technology.

CORPORATES
DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY

Manufacturing falls to two-year low

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 8-Jan-19

The Australian Industry Group’s Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index declined 1.8 points to 49.5 in December. It was the lowest that the Index has been since August 2016. Five of the Index’s eight manufacturing sub-sectors expanded, while the report noted the strong performance of the Victorian manufacturing sector. The decline in Australian manufacturing activity mirrors the global economy, with the US and China having both recently recorded falls in manufacturing output.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JP MORGAN CHASE AND COMPANY, IHS GROUP

Gas crunch bites with price hikes

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 6-Jan-17

Manufacturers have raised concerns about imminent shortages in gas supply and their impact on prices. Mark Chellew, chairman of Manufacturing Australia, says a period of between mid-2017 and late 2018 will be particularly difficult. According to EnergyQuest, a supply shortfall will reach 172 petajoules in 2020 and 205 petajoules in 2025.

CORPORATES
MANUFACTURING AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ENERGYQUEST PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, VICTORIA WOOL PROCESSORS, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Ainsworth cashes out $473m pokies stake

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 24-Feb-16

Australian-listed poker machine maker Ainsworth Game Technology has posted a 2015-16 interim net profit of $A33.1m, which is four per cent lower than previously. Meanwhile, founder Len Ainsworth has sold his 53 per cent stake in the group to Novomatic for about $A473m. Ainsworth will remain chairman, and intends to donate some of the proceeds of the sale to philanthropic causes such as medical research.

CORPORATES
AINSWORTH GAME TECHNOLOGY LIMITED – ASX AGI, NOVOMATIC, ARISTOCRAT LEISURE LIMITED – ASX ALL, ST VINCENT’S HOSPITAL SYDNEY LIMITED, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD