Australia’s approach to industry policy over the past six decades tells a story of remarkable institutional restlessness. By Dr John H Howard. Between 1963 and 2025, the federal industry portfolio has been reorganised approximately 20 times—a major restructure roughly every three years. This extraordinary pattern of bureaucratic instability reveals far more than administrative tinkering; it…
CSIRO has released Australia’s first comprehensive stocktake of the nation’s $800 billion food system, revealing hidden costs of up to $274 billion annually and calling for a coordinated approach to managing complex challenges across the sector. The report, released on Monday through the Food System Horizons initiative, examined Australia’s food system which feeds approximately 100…
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns (pictured) is facing criticism after buses promised to be built locally arrived nearly complete from a Chinese factory, despite government pledges to revitalise domestic manufacturing. Transport Minister John Graham defended the purchase on Saturday, saying the government always planned to import bus “shells” from China for completion at a…
Diversified investment house Washington H. Soul Pattinson and building products manufacturer Brickworks announced on Monday they have agreed to a $14 billion merger that will create a newly capitalised ASX-listed company. The merger, announced through a binding combination deed, will see the creation of a company called TopCo with an expected market capitalisation of $14…
Two of Australia’s most successful manufacturing entrepreneurs will share their insights on global expansion at the “Spotlight on Scaling Up” event in Sydney on June 25. Alf Taylor and Nadia Taylor, co-founders of TNA Solutions, will deliver the opening keynote at the event hosted by @AuManufacturing at UTS Building 8. The husband-and-wife team has built…
Packaging business Detmold Group has announced that it is building a new headquarters at Adelaide, consolidating a team of 240 staff from across eight sites around the city at the one building by the end of 2026. In a statement on Monday, Detmold said the new three-level site at 260 Regency Road, Regency Park will…
A contract worth over $20 million has been awarded for concrete works at what will be the world’s biggest high-purity aluminium materials factory, located in Gladstone, Queensland and with capacity for over 10,000 tonnes of HPA equivalent per year. According to a statement from Alpha HPA — the owner of the upcoming factory — the…
A vindictive equipment operator’s act of sabotage in 1989 led to an internationally significant breakthrough in mining waste management. Simran Gill speaks to David Smirk, the founder of Phibion, a Top 10 Gold Award winner at @AuManufacturing’s recent Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers awards. David Smirk, founder and non-executive director of Phibion, tells the @AuManufacturing…