Another nail in the industry coffin

The revolving door for federal industry ministers has resumed operations, believes John Broadbent.

If you’re in manufacturing, you might know that Ed Husic MP held the Industry & Science portfolio for the last 3 years. But now, due to what he called a “factional assassin” (being deputy PM, Richard Marles), he’s out on his arse and, understandably, “Not happy, Jan!”

I was at the Modern Manufacturing Expo in September ’23 when Husic opened the event, being the next speaker on stage, so I grabbed his minder’s business card with the intent of talking with Husic about my long experience in Australian manufacturing (50 years this year) and what we might do to do things differently.

Sadly, no such meeting ever happened and I couldn’t help thinking that, like Midnight Oil’s Pete Garrett, Husic was knobbled by the same back-room bureaucracy that dimmed Garrett’s enthusiasm to make a difference, as the reality sinks in that politics is a grubby business, and to survive, you must toe the party line.

But I digress…

For the record, here’s a list of the nine previous ministers and their time in the portfolio:

Malcolm Turnbull’s ministry:
– Christopher Pyne, 2015 for 302 days
– Greg Hunt, 2016, for 189 days
– Arthur Sinodinos, 2017, for 330 days
– Michaela Cash, 2017, for 251 days

Scott Morrison’s ministry:

– Karen Andrews, 2018, for 943 days
– Christian Porter, 2021, for 174 days
– Scott Morrison, 2021, for 403 days (in secret!)
– Angus Taylor, 2021, for 227 days (with Scotty looking over his shoulder)

Anthony Albanese’s ministry:

– Ed Husic, 2022, for 1075 days

So, our longest-serving and technically capable minister in a decade is rolled because of some factional back-room deal?

Whether Husic was doing his best, was competent or suited for the job is now a moot point.

What is important is that once again, the success of Australian manufacturing, at a policy level, has been relegated to jobs for the boys.

What a disgrace.

John Broadbent is an industry 4.0 educator and smart factory specialist who has worked in a range of manufacturing and academic software and solutions roles. He is a director of smart factory strategy consultancy, Realise Potential.