Building Back Better

Building up stronger and faster out of the pandemic can create a massive opportunity for Australia.

We have a trusted brand that we all share. Australia is respected globally and our goods are seen as safe and reliable. We are known for our natural resources. Indeed, the price of iron ore has helped boost our economy during the pandemic.

I would argue that in addition to our natural resources that have provided a great income from excavating and exporting to the world, we should create much more value here too.?

The appreciation for manufacturing has expanded during Covid19 and we can dig up minerals like lithium and add value here by manufacturing batteries in Australia, providing local jobs and greater export income. We are seeing industry work with our leading researchers and seeking to commercialise new methods for such things as producing hydrogen and green steel. And we can grow higher value food production supply chains across our regions to export quality and trusted food products to the world.

Agriculture and manufacturing can help catapult Australia forward, out of the current crisis.

We entered the pandemic with nation-wide bush fires and a record drought. Thank goodness it rained!

For many years there has been talk about Australia becoming the Food Bowl of Asia. After all the talk, have you seen this materialise? If we are going to be the Food Bowl of Asia, what do we need to get there?

What is the plan?

How about infrastructure? In 2019, with the drought biting hard, I had a good talk with a local farmer in Dubbo. He had come off the land to try and get a job in town. His words have stuck with me. As another severe dust storm was heading to town, he said “there’s talk of Dubbo having a hundred thousand population, but how could we do that when we don’t have any more water, we’re out of water now!” He continued “it will eventually rain and then everyone forgets about the drought and we hobble along to the next time when people say, why don’t we build more dams.”

He was right and now we’ve had the rain and floods in Dubbo this year but no more water storage, and so it flows away.

At Moree, the black soil plains are amongst the best in the world. The region is ideal for growing wheat and other cereals and cotton too. Cotton is a high value crop. The CSIRO states that Australia has the highest cotton yields in the world, exporting $2.7 billion of cotton each year.?In 2019 the CEO of Cotton Australia, Adam Kay, stated that?“cotton is a desert plant that is water-efficient and suits Australia’s climate . . . it gives growers the best return per megalitre”.?

However, there are issues with water allocations and droughts bite hard.

So we already grow a high value crop. Seems like instead of growing less cotton we need more water to grow even more cotton, create even more value for Australia.?

More water means more dams and it can also mean more technology. Advanced manufacturing with higher skilled, higher paying jobs and more!

It’s a privilege to support Australian innovation and manufacturing. A patent has been lodged by UNSW Sydney for water technology that could save drought-stricken communities. I’m working with the co-inventor and research sponsor, Vesi Water’s Llewellyn Owens, to help build local manufacturing collaborations.

“For communities experiencing water stress, their current options for water access are rainwater harvesting, desalination or water trucking, which were heavily used by regional towns in Australia during the recent drought,” says Mr Owens.

“These methods are expensive; rainwater harvesting requires rain to fall and desalination cannot reach rural and remote areas.

"Water trucking is a temporary measure to provide water to beneficiaries and given the high cost over an extended period, there needs to be a firm commitment to develop more sustainable water supply solutions.

"Our nano technology has the ability to change all of that.” He said.

The nano technology can be used to create air-to-water generators, harvesting clean water from airborne humidity.

Australia is known as The Lucky Country with all our natural resources. The Managing Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, Jens Goennemann, often says that we need to transform from lucky to smart. He’s right. And we can do more.

We grow all types of produce across Australia, I’m working with advanced manufacturers that create value and process the raw products into higher value food products to be exported. Let’s build more of the jobs here, create the value here, keep more of the profits here.

With the right infrastructure like dams to capture and store more water, advanced manufacturing technology to boost water supplies along with the know how from generations of farming knowledge, we can grow more. We can manufacture more. But, we will still need to get all the new value added products exported to markets across Asia.

In my experience with roadworks, some of the busy times are fixing roads after harvest. The roads are destroyed due to the overloaded trucks from all the regions taking produce to the silos and storage yards and then a slow train trip to the ports in Sydney. This is repeated around the country.

The Wagner’s airport at Toowoomba was built in no time by the family. It provides a gateway to Asia. I stood there at Wellcamp when earthworks commenced. Now the Inland Rail project will also connect with the airport.

747’s can only carry so much, we need even greater access to Asia.?

When I’ve talked with locals in Darwin, the focus on maps in offices across the city shows Darwin with the directions set to Asia. The people of the Northern Territory are outward looking to some of the world’s largest markets. Let’s get more of our produce up to Darwin, as much as we can, as fast and efficiently as possible and load it onto ships and out to customers.

Inland Rail is a good project but increasing capabilities and opportunities should include high speed rail.

I know, I know, you’ve heard all this before. Very Fast Train, High Speed Rail, a Fast Train. The arguments are that it doesn’t stack up in Australia due to our small population. Some say it’s faster to fly to Melbourne than to catch a fast train.

I’ve heard all the arguments, I’ve seen a lot of plans but now we can Build Back Better.

In the last twelve months, High Speed Rail has launched into High Speed Freight Rail (HSFR). Yes, high speed rail to move freight, not only people. The Italian state-owned railway operator Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane has inaugurated the world's first high-speed rail service dedicated to freight. Now the Chinese train manufacturer CRRC Tangshan has presented its new bullet train, designed to carry cargo at a speed of 350 kph, setting a new record claimed as the fastest freight train in the world.?

A high speed freight rail system, that includes passengers and freight, could integrate with Inland Rail and other parts to get more efficient access to Asia. A bonus is that the improved rail system would allow for new land developments at various points of the route to allow for new communities and regional manufacturing hubs. With HSFR we can develop regional hubs that would help boost manufacturing and provide opportunities for people to build new homes across regional Australia at an affordable price.?

Rather than companies selling their factories and warehouses in Sydney to reap the record real estate prices and moving offshore, thus creating big job losses as we see too often, the manufacturers could build new facilities in regional Australia and sow the benefits into the new communities. The improved rail system would be an enabler for new smart cities. Our kids would gain the new opportunity of a chance to own a home which many can’t afford to do in Australia right now. HSFR means that regional communities are connected faster to our capital cities. Manufacturers gain an enthusiastic, ready workforce and more efficient access to our ports.?

We can manufacture the rolling stock here, we can make the steel here and we can build the jobs here. Made in Australia.?

There has been previous talk about high speed rail utilising new real estate developments to pay for the infrastructure. Freight is the change. HSFR is new and now is the time.

If Australia is to be the Food Bowl of Asia, we should increase capabilities to Northern Australia and Darwin in particular. We need to get high speed freight to Darwin and load the cargo ships with higher value manufactured goods, food made in Australia and more.

Build Back Better means starting now and building back better means building! We need a plan. A plan for the nation that includes bolstering regional Australia.?

Look how the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing created enthusiasm across Australia that culminated with the launch of the Australian Space Agency. With a complete picture of the nation we can set an agenda that not just pulls at the heart strings about building local jobs for our kids but puts meat on the bone for building a stronger Australia. Economically and for years to come - infrastructure gives a kick today and builds opportunities for decades to come.

Building Back Better means higher skilled, higher paying jobs. Building means activating our regions with high speed freight rail and better roads and increased airport facilities. Better means adding to sustainability with dams and water and utilising advanced manufacturing for improved capabilities.?

Build the international airport at Parkes and plan for more. Connect Inland Rail to HSFR.

I have written previously about the cost of energy. How can it be that in a country that is truly blessed with our wide range of natural resources that we end up having some of the most expensive energy costs in the world. Affordable and reliable energy will be a vital component in the success of Australia.

To this end I formed the Nuclear Skills Forum with one of our nation’s leading nuclear engineering research faculty at UNSW Sydney and with several leading manufacturing companies. It is growing fast and we are planning to gain access to international supply chains for the nuclear industry with such products as Small Modular Reactors.

If we can tackle the cost of energy, build the transport for tomorrow and get our high value goods to the ports efficiently and fast, we are well on our way to creating the Food Bowl of Asia.?

We have all the ingredients for a food bowl. We have the land and we have some of the best farmers in the world. Add more water, add infrastructure, add efficient manufacturing capabilities, get the products to the customers fast and fresh and in bulk!

Follow Michael on Twitter @MrMichaelSharpe

Michael Sharpe is the National Director for Industry at the?Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, a Director of the?Sharpe Family Office?and Founder of the?Nuclear Skills Forum.