Queensland’s newly established Manufacturing Ministerial Committee, tasked with advancing the State’s manufacturing sector, officially began working this week.
The 12-person committee, which includes experienced executives across a wide range of manufacturing environments, convened for the first time on Sunday to craft new policies and programs to help the sector thrive and create jobs for Queenslanders.
Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning Cameron Dick, who hosted the first meeting, said the Committee will have a strong focus on regional Queensland and boosting skills to ensure future development of the sector.
“The Palaszczuk Government is driving manufacturing in Queensland with a strong focus on growing the sector,” the Minister said.
“But we also know nobody knows manufacturing better than manufacturers themselves, and we want to harness their input to expand that focus as we enter this period of optimism and opportunity for manufacturing in our state.”
“The industry already employs around 165,000 people or 7 per cent of the state’s workforce, making it the sixth largest employing industry in our state, and we know it contributes $19.2 billion a year to the Queensland economy.”
The Manufacturing Ministerial Committee, which features a membership from niche small manufacturers to multinationals, supersedes and expands upon the Industry and Manufacturing Advisory Group, established in November 2015.
“I’m grateful to the Industry and Manufacturing Advisory Group and its members for the vital service it has already performed,” Mr Dick continued.
“This is the group that supported the development and early implementation of the Queensland Advanced Manufacturing 10-Year Roadmap and Action Plan, that has already done a great deal for our manufacturing industry.”
“We look forward to continuing to deliver key Government programs with the new committee during this exciting time for manufacturing in Queensland.”
