Craig Arnold, the managing director of Dow Chemical Australia and New Zealand, has suggested that lessons learned from the recent London Olympics could be applied to Australian industry.
Arnold, writing in The Australian today, suggests that as other nations raised their standards in the Olympics, they have done so in industry, and Australia needs to lift its game to be globally competitive in manufacturing. “It's time to raise standards and aim for truly competitive global outcomes,” he opines.
The report by the non-government members of the Prime Minister’s Manufacturing Taskforce is a good start, writes Arnold, and the need for high-value, sustainable products and employment, rather than a dependency on commodities, is important for the country’s economic health.
Arnold’s piece, however, questions the government’s rejection of the taskforce’s suggestion that some of Australia’s gas reserves be set aside for manufacturing.
He also summarises Dow’s advance manufacturing plan for Australia, including making products the world needs (not just supplying commodities), looking at energy supply as well as demand, focussing on education, and encouraging commercially useful research, greater competition in trade and public-private partnerships.
The risk of over-dependence on resources has been a hot topic lately, with a Variant Perception report on “Dutch Disease” and taskforce member Professor Roy Green both commenting on the issue in the last half of last week.