On the 20th September 2023 we had the pleasure of hosting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Member for Newcastle Sharon Claydon at our Varley Services Division in Carrington, NSW. Varley Group proudly supports the Prime Minister’s vision for a growing modernised manufacturing sector in Australia.
During the Prime Minister’s tour of our Carrington Services operation he stated,
“One of the things I said in the lead up to the election is I wanted a future made in Australia. There is nothing we can do that is more important than make more things here. And this decade will determine whether Australia moves forward or whether we stand still and the world moves past us. And projects like the National Reconstruction Fund are designed to do just that. I remember a few years ago, a NSW Liberal Premier saying that we couldn’t make trains in Australia, that’s why we had to import them. Well, we did import trains. They don’t fit through the tunnels, they don’t match the stations. And here of course, we also have to fix up some of the trains that are used to cart our resources because they’re the wrong size. And that’s one of the works that is taking place here at Varley.
Prime Minister Albanese during his visit to Varley Group’s Tomago facility.
Here we can make things more. And this company, of course, is interested not just in manufacturing of rail but also in renewable energy and the prospects that it has going forward. I think we have an incredibly bright future if we seize it. Our plan is to deal with the cheaper energy that will come with the transition to renewables, to deal with making more things here, using that cheaper, cleaner energy, but also training Australians for those jobs.
I met a couple of young apprentices today, including the first female apprentice here on site. That’s a great thing and that’s why, in addition to the other measures we’re doing, we promised 180,000 Fee-Free TAFE places this year. We not only have met that target, we’ve exceeded it. There’s now above 220,000 people, including people here being trained as fitter and turners, there’s people being trained in the care sector, there’s people being trained in construction, and making sure that they can have great futures.
Whether they be young people in their first job or whether they be people retraining.
So, I want to pay tribute to the workers here at Varley and to the management who combined producing things that help Australia. They’re creating jobs, but they’re creating activity here as well.
We know from the pandemic that we were left vulnerable and we know that there could be other pandemics, there could be other international shocks. There’s a range of reasons why national economies have to be more resilient. It’s absolutely my commitment. And one of the fantastic things that we saw here as well this morning is the craft that are being exported to Indonesia to help with their police operations. They’re being exported to the Philippines. It shows we can make things here. Not just make things here for the domestic market, but we can make things here for the international market. That’s good for Australia. Good for jobs. It’s good for our economy. And I thank everyone for the warm welcome here today.”
It was an inspiring visit from our Prime Minister, and Varley Group is committed to playing our part in expanding manufacturing back in our regions and country. We have the smarts and the skills to drive economic growth and create well paid, interesting jobs from the opportunities of advanced manufacturing in Australia.
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Source: Doorstop interview – Newcastle | Prime Minister of Australia (pm.gov.au)