Some of manufacturing's global heavyweights, including Cochlear and Dow Chemical, are poised to form a powerful new lobby group to boost Australia's struggling manufacturing sector.
Dow Chemical's global chief executive, Andrew Liveris, and Cochlear boss Chris Roberts are among the CEOs named to form the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council. The group aims to drive policy change in the sector and will meet for the first time in Melbourne on Tuesday.
The move follows last month's decision by car manufacturer Ford to pull out of Australia by 2016, leaving more than 500 employees without jobs.
Although the dollar fell to 20-month lows last week, and has shed 10 per cent of its value since it went above US105¢ in January, local manufacturers said they continued to face fierce competition from heavily subsidised rivals overseas.
Dow is a US-based global manufacturer of plastics and agricultural products, such as herbicide, and has an annual turnover of $US57 billion. Its Australian operations focus on developing products to kill weeds and insects for commercial crop use.
Mr Liveris, an Australian by birth, has campaigned for a reinvigoration of US manufacturing, with his book Made it in America advocating for more government spending on education and infrastructure, as well as tax and regulatory reform. In 2011, he was appointed one of the leaders of US President Barack Obama's Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, a private sector-led advisory council.
Representatives from the Australian automotive industry met federal and state government and union leaders on Friday to discuss the future of car making here. Prime Minister Julia Gillard told the meeting: ''The strength of the Australian dollar, even though it's come down a bit in recent weeks … has been shaping the economy and putting particular pressure on manufacturing.''