Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has highlighted the need for more investments in domestic manufacturing in order to future-proof the country against potential global chain crises.
In a press briefing Monday at Monash University in Melbourne, Albanese said more funding needs to be allocated to foster onshore production and manufacturing in Australia, calling the move a matter of economic protectionism.
“One of the lessons of the pandemic is that we need to be more resilient, that we need to be more self-reliant, and we need to make more things here,” Albanese said.
“This is an example of the sort of activity that we’ll see replicated through our National Reconstruction Fund that we will introduce legislation on before the end of this year,” the prime minister added.
Albanese’s remarks come as the national government and state government of Victoria have secured a 10-year partnership deal with Moderna to boost the supply of locally made mRNA vaccines.
During the event, the prime minister also noted that Australia needs to be able to commercialise its science and innovative technologies.
“Australia has always been very good at science and we’ve been good at innovation,” Albanese said. “What we haven’t always been good at is commercialising the opportunities that come from that.”
Moderna is establishing a new headquarters and a Regional Research Centre in Victoria, with a manufacturing capability of up to 100 million mRNA vaccine doses per year.
