Scott Morrison identified seven key goods as being essential to Australia’s national interest amidst global supply chain issues.
To ensure Australia’s economic stability, the federal government will focus on the supply of goods such as pharmaceuticals, personal protective equipment, agricultural chemicals, semiconductors, plastics, water treatment chemicals, and telecommunication equipment.
Prime Minister Morrison told the AFR business summit that the Australian government was working with industries to identify where supply chains were vulnerable and how the shortfalls can be addressed.
“COVID has demonstrated the importance of domestic manufacturing to national health, security and resilience. It has brought into sharp focus the need to be constantly alert to supply chain vulnerabilities,” Mr. Morrison stated.
“In this new era, we can’t just be thinking about ‘just in time’ supply. We also need to think about a ‘just in case’ model, which supports greater diversification and larger inventories of key goods.” he added.
Prime Minister Morrison said Australia will focus on the country’s manufacturing capabilities. While not everything could be manufactured on-shore, the country could “play our strengths” in six industries such as food and beverages, medical products, recycling and clean energy, critical minerals processing, and defence and resource technology.
He also stated that the private sector continued to be in the front lines against shortages, but there were times when the Commonwealth would need to help find solutions. The shortage of diesel additive AdBlue, became a challenge for the Australian trucking industry when China suspended the export of urea, an element from which the additive is made.
“This is not some abstract, binary debate about government intervention versus the market. It highlights the vital enabling role government can and should play in maintaining economic security,” Prime Minister Morrison said.
“That is the world we are living in now – and we all know that supply chain disruptions are lower when we plan and prepare for them.” he added.
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