2024 AI LEADERSHIP SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS
Speech delivered by CEDA Chief Executive, Professor the Hon. Stephen Martin at the Advanced Manufacturing Summit in Sydney on 11 November 2014.
10/11/2014
Check against delivery
Thank you for the opportunity to be with you today.
I am truly excited by the content and quality of presenters at this conference. Advanced manufacturing does and will increasingly provide an important element in Australia's economic sustainability.
As noted, I represented the manufacturing centre of Wollongong in the Parliament of Australia during the massive economic and accompanying social restructuring that occurred with the downsizing of the steel and coal industries.
Watching the emergence of high-tech, high-skilled, global supply chain-linked new generation industries, particularly in association with the University of Wollongong, has underscored what your conference seeks to highlight.
Rumours of the death of manufacturing in Australia are greatly exaggerated.
In fact, provided we focus on the right type of manufacturing and the right type of support, it will continue to be a significant contributor to our economy.
However, for this to happen Australia's mindset about manufacturing must change.
While many associate advanced manufacturing with niche products such as biopharmaceuticals or defence technology, that is only one part of the picture.
The high-cost advanced economies that have had the most success in advanced manufacturing, such as Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, are those that recognise that it is not just about products - advanced manufacturing includes the full suite of activities from concept, research and development and design stage all the way through to post-sales services. It is about adding value to the production line.
Read more about CEDA's advanced manufacturing research publication
Monetary policy is one way of helping the economy get on a better path, but fiscal and structural policy is also necessary, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe told a CEDA audience in Adelaide.
Read more Economy June 17, 2014Shared interests, including a love of cricket, language and history as a British colony makes trade relations, between India and South Australia a natural fit, the SA Trade, Industries and Veterans' Affairs Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith has told a CEDA forum in Adelaide.
Read more Economy July 12, 2011Hard questions about Australia’s current economic growth, the patchwork in place and the historical illusions of previous sector booms were key topics discussed at a recent CEDA forum in Melbourne. By Dominique Goodwin.
Read more