Australians will be promised new plans on jobs and the treatment of women in competing pledges from Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Anthony Albanese during the run-up to the March 29 budget and the formal election campaign soon afterwards.
Mr Morrison will name seven priority areas for the government’s $1.5 billion manufacturing fund in a message on Tuesday about local industry and jobs in sectors like medicines and protective health equipment.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce more details of manufacturing spending.Credit:James Brickwood
Mr Albanese will mark International Women’s Day with a plan to spend $77 million on programs to train teachers in telling young students about respect for women and the problem of sexual harassment and violence.
The government set aside several billion dollars in its budget update last December to allocate to policies it will unveil before the election, while it is also considering whether to continue the low and middle income tax offset worth between $255 and $1080 a year for millions of workers.
Labor has signalled it will not take federal budget into a deeper deficit and is constrained in its new spending commitments, given it has abandoned revenue measures from the last election such as changes to negative gearing, capital gains tax and franking credits.
The government has already allocated the $1.5 billion to its Modern Manufacturing Strategy but Mr Morrison will on Tuesday name the priority areas for spending on supply chain resilience.
The sectors are: semiconductors, agricultural chemicals, water treatment chemicals, telecommunications equipment, plastics, pharmaceuticals and personal protective equipment (PPE).
The government has already allocated $445 million in funding to boost manufacturing capability and supply chain resilience from the strategy, indicating the room still available to spend on other areas.
In its earlier promises for the manufacturing strategy, the government named six wider sectors for attention: space, medical products, food and beverage production, recycling and clean energy, defence and resources technology and critical minerals processing.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese speaking with Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins last month.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Mr Morrison will name the government’s deal with Moderna, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures one of the world’s mRNA vaccines for the coronavirus, as an example of the work already underway on local industry.
“In round one of our Supply Chain Resilience Initiative we have invested more than $33 million in 27 projects in agricultural chemicals and medicines. This includes backing Australia’s only local manufacturing site for critical intravenous medical fluids, Baxter Healthcare,” he says in draft remarks he is expected to give on Tuesday.
Mr Albanese will join Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek on Tuesday to announce the education program to teach children about consent, safety and the prevention of violence.
“As students get older, teaching respect covers issues such as consent, and additional education to help stop sexual harassment, sexual assault, and family and domestic violence,” Labor says in the new policy statement.
“Age-appropriate respectful relationships education can also help promote equality between women and men and improve classroom behaviour.”
The $77 million will be allocated over five years, will be spread across public and private schools and is meant to help school principals hire expert support and develop respect and relationships education programs.
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