As the reaction from some in the mining sector to the jobs plan already suggests, there will be resistance to greater enforcement and government interference.
Reactions fell broadly along ideological or party political lines. For example, Chris Berg from the politically conservative Institute of Public Affairs writing in the ABC’s Drum, dismissed the “Jobs Plan” as being little more than “an obvious sop to the protectionist wing of the union movement”.
This was echoed by Michael Roche from the Queensland Resources Council, who described it as “a plan from Soviet Russia” – due to the proposal that government officials would be embedded in the procurement offices of major resources firms.
Both the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and the Minerals Councils of Australia expressed concern over the impact of the loss of R&D tax concessions for large firms.
In contrast, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union described the jobs plan as “smart policy”, while the Industry Capability Network (ICN), which assists Australian firms in securing contracts in major projects, also expressed support.
Writing in The Conversation, Professor Roy Green from University of Technology Sydney, and co-author of the PM’s Manufacturing Task Force Report, broadly backed the plan, but did question the wisdom of cutting the R&D tax concessions to large firms, describing it as a “misplaced obsession with achieving a budget surplus at all costs”.
Now there are signs that the jobs plan might become a victim of party politics with the Greens indicating that they won’t support the R&D tax cuts unless the government fixes the flaws in the mineral resources rent tax (MRRT). The opposition is also likely to block these R&D tax cut measures, which would put the entire plan in jeopardy.
As I have sought to explain in an earlier article, manufacturing matters to Australia. It also matters to most other countries, and there is no room for complacency or political bickering if our economy is to remain competitive over the long term.
However, as I have also previously noted, Australia’s manufacturing sector faces a number of barriers. First, there has been a decline in the level of capital investment in our manufacturing industries over the past 20 years. Second, there is a lack of skilled technical trades’ workers, and third, the majority (95%) of our manufacturers are SMEs. There is also a relative absence of inter-firm collaboration and networking.
This jobs plan is not without its flaws. The ability to secure more work for local firms is more than might be fixed by more bureaucratic intervention. However, these are the issues that need to be addressed in order to help preserve the nearly one million skilled jobs within the Australian manufacturing sector. Most of these jobs are to be found in Victoria, NSW and South Australia: all large population states that don’t have the same degree of mining and energy project activity enjoyed by Queensland and Western Australia.
Note: Tim Mazzarol is President of the Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand (SEAANZ).
SEAANZ is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1987. It is dedicated to the aim of bringing together small business professionals in practice, education and training, and to promote small business development, communication and dissemination of research, ideas and information.
Tim Mazzarol is the Winthrop Professor of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Marketing and Strategy at University of Western Australia. This article first appeared on 
The Conversation.
