There are widening divisions over the government's cornerstone Future Made in Australia bill, with a key union demanding Treasury's control of the $22.7 billion plan be limited.
The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union , which is the dominant left faction union and a source of talent for Labor in parliament, wants decisions about which sectors merit taxpayer support to be made by a "tripartite" council. Those limits are aimed at avoiding wasteful public spending, but groups led by the AMWU say Treasury's role should be reduced because it has "limited expertise" in industry policy and has "historically favoured market-based solutions that are anathema to the coordinated efforts urgently needed to transition these regions and our economy".
Critics of the Future Made in Australia bill, including the Productivity Commission and key business groups, say it threatens to result in the misallocation of scarce taxpayer resources. The legislation also fails to include "off-ramps" for the government to withdraw support for failed investments. In its submission to the Senate, the AMWU applauds the government's determination to "reindustrialise the Australian economy", calling the Future Made in Australia bill the most "significant policy shift in this area for generations".