Food and beverage manufacturers have been invited to participate in a 10-year state government roadmap designed to boost manufacturing in Queensland.
Announced by Queensland’s Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dr Anthony Lynham, food and other manufacturers are requested to submit ideas on how they think manufacturing in the Queensland can best be supported over the next decade.
The consultation process was opened with the release of a discussion paper called “Advance Queensland” which Dr Lynham said should help inform any decisions.
“Our manufacturing sector contributed more than $20 billion to our economy in 2014-15. It’s our third largest employer of full-time workers and that’s expected to increase in the medium term,” Dr Lynham said.
"The future I want to see is traditional manufacturers transitioning to advanced manufacturing, accessing new supply chains and capitalising on changing markets and export opportunities,” he stated.
“This discussion paper will fuel the 10-year roadmap and action plan that will lead us there,” Dr Lynham said.
The Advance Queensland discussion paper identifies a number of issues facing Queensland including an ageing workforce, overseas competition and Queensland’s high proportion of small companies.
Consultation on the discussion paper will run until 24 March 2016.
