Productivity Commission takes aim at local content rules, defence

By Peter Roberts That federal government’s economic adviser the Productivity Commission has a new spring in its step and new targets of its quest for an economically pure Australia – defence procurement policies and local content rules more generally, especially those applied by the states. The PC’s 50th Trade and Assistance Review (TAR) just released…

Australian governments must respond to US IRA, attract investment needed for energy shift: Weld Australia

A guaranteed pipeline of work and local content provisions are needed to build the capacity needed for the energy transition, industry body Weld Australia has said. In a statement on Tuesday, the group urged the federal government to deliver a policy framework guaranteeing enough work “for manufacturers to attract the required investment”, and strongly recommending…