PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The federal government’s A$15-billion National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) will be established in law after the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Bill passed the Senate.
The NRF is a key part of ensuring Australia is a country that makes things. It will help Australia capture the opportunities of today and tomorrow by growing and creating industries over the long term.
Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic welcomed the passage of the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Bill through the Senate.
“The government’s A$15-billion NRF is one of the largest peacetime investments in Australian manufacturing capability,” Husic said.
“The most successful modern economies are built on strong, advanced manufacturing capability. The NRF will help deliver this for Australia.”
“We genuinely wanted this Bill to be a moment where Parliament came together to support the national interest. I am pleased the crossbench engaged constructively on this important Bill that will help rebuild Australia’s sovereign capability.
“We are delivering on a significant election commitment that will position Australia as a maker of high value added products and creating good secure jobs in the process.
“The NRF shows the government is serious about investing our human capital to keep Australian smarts on shore,” Husic said.
“We want Australia to be a country that makes things, a nation that has faith in its know-how and ability to get the job done.”
Resources Minister Madeleine King previously said that A$1-billion of the NRF funding had been earmarked for value-adding in resource projects.
She said recently that the funding would ensure a greater share of the raw materials extracted in Australia was processed in-country, for example, high-purity alumina for semiconductors and lithium for batteries.