A diverse industry and manufacturing sector is vital in rebuilding a resilient and more sustainable Western Australian economy. Modernising and rebuilding the sectors needs to be underpinned by the aim of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and a green transformation, as well as social equity.
Aims
The Greens (WA) want:
- industry to contribute to improved, long-term social, environmental and economic outcomes for Western Australia
- an increased proportion of small businesses, cooperative and worker owned businesses in comparison to large corporate businesses
- stronger connections to, and procurement from, local communities
- to encourage innovation, diversification, value-adding businesses and local manufacturing
- to undertake research and planning for the provision for the provision of goods and services that are essential in a time of crisis and provide funding to strengthen the robustness of these services
- industry to transition to zero-emissions by 2035 (see also The Greens (WA) Energy policy)
- increased energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in manufacturing
- to utilise local labour and resources
- to promote the concepts of a circular economy1 thereby minimising waste and pollution (see also The Greens (WA) Beyond Waste policy)
- the ecological modernisation2 of Western Australian manufacturing
- quality, secure jobs in ecologically modernised manufacturing
Measures
The Greens (WA) will encourage and support legislation and actions that:
- provide specific incentives to encourage the use of Western Australian skills and industries in the engineering, design and fabrication of infrastructure
- embed clean technologies in Western Australian manufacturing
- support Western Australian manufacturers by leveraging local procurement wherever possible
- provide fiscal incentives for investment in local manufacturing
- align vocational education and training with the needs of ecologically modernised manufacturing in Western Australia (see also The Greens (WA) Education policy)
- secure adequate funding for TAFE to provide future skills in the manufacturing and industry sectors
- secure public funding for universities
- develop policy that prioritises support for high employing, high skilled, value adding industries
- maximise employment opportunities manufacturing, recognising the advance of automation
- support fair wages and conditions that do not exploit workers in casual/ contract/ gig work (see also The Greens (WA) Workplace Relations policy)
- ensure collaboration between government, industry and academia in Western Australia
- provide government support for increasing basic and independent research and development within industry sectors, with a focus on those that support sustainable use of resources
- work with vulnerable populations and sectors to provide skills training and other structural support
- encourage economic diversification, particularly into industries that are helping to create the low carbon economy of the future (see also The Greens (WA) Energy policy)
- incentivise local industry and manufacturing in regional, rural and remote communities (see also The Greens (WA) Regions policy)
- ensure cost effective, reliable and sustainable sources electricity, with the co-benefit of generating long-term employment in the renewable energy sector
- develop a standard Open Source (for Australian licensing) design standard of electric vehicles that is durable, sustainable, recyclable, and that will enable any Australian manufacturer with capacity to manufacture components toward completing an electric vehicle
Glossary
- A circular economy is one that exchanges the predominant model of make, use, dispose in favour of as much re-use and recycling as possible.
- Ecological modernisation describes a systematic eco-innovation and its diffusion. See Janicke, M. (2007). Ecological modernization: a new perspective. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2007.02.011
Manufacturing & Industry policy ratified by The Greens (WA) in 2020