New research released today shows the massive decline of the Australian manufacturing sector and the simultaneous rise of the mining industry.
It focuses on the need to abandon a “dig & ship mentality” which was recently underscored by a trade deal to export Australia’s critical minerals for US electric vehicle battery manufacturing.
The report demonstrates that no Australian industry has shrunk more than manufacturing in the last 15yrs – with some urgently needed manufacturing occupations declining by 70 per cent.
Meanwhile mining industry jobs have doubled. The report, which is entitled Australia’s dig & ship obsession, was compiled by Australian climate tech start up Conry Tech.
Figures in the report are based on an analysis of every Australian census since 2006 and the detailed Occupation (OCCP) and Industry (INDP) data therein.
With no mention of the manufacturing sector in the latest federal budget and the National Reconstruction Fund yet to allocate any financial support, Conry Tech is urging the government to act immediately to save Australia’s “most endangered” industry.
The report points out that a stronger manufacturing sector is needed to build the infrastructure and products needed for a net-zero economy, and to avoid more of the isolation and supply disruption Australia has experienced since the pandemic.
The number of mining industry jobs in Australia has doubled since 2006 while one in four manufacturing jobs have disappeared.
No Australian industry has declined more than manufacturing in the last 15 years, according to the report.
“Some of the most desperately needed manufacturing jobs in Australia, essential for product development and transformation of the energy grid, have virtually disappeared,” the report said.
“For instance, toolmakers and engineering pattern makers have decreased by 70 per cent. There are only 2220 left in Australia."
In the 2000s, Conry Tech’s co-founder, Ron Conry, set up multiple factories in the US and Canada because he couldn’t access financial investment in Australia.
These sites created hundreds of jobs and added billions of dollars to the North American economy. Now that he has returned to Australia, the team wants to create manufacturing jobs here for its super energy efficient air-conditioning units which can cut energy use / power bills of air conditioning by 40 per cent
Conry Tech CEO, Sam Ringwaldt, said Australia's obsession to dig and ship is short-changing the country and slowly burying the manufacturing industry.
“There is a major disconnect between the resources and talent available in Australia, and what we are doing with it all. Once Australian raw materials are out of the ground, we export them to China, Japan, South Korea, and the US and rely on them to make all the high value consumer products we import and purchase,” Ringwaldt said.
“The country and successive governments have been stuck in this “dig and ship” mentality for years.
“We have the world’s largest supply of lithium and as the world pivots to renewable energy, EVs, and the electrification of everything, Australia has a once in a generation opportunity to lead the rest of the world rather than follow.”