The mining industry has attacked the government’s plan to “embed” an official in big companies to pressure them to buy more local content for major projects.
Julia Gillard unveiled the details of a major job plan yesterday which offers hundreds of millions of dollars of assistance to small business start-ups and puts rules in place to pressure major resource companies to use more materials made locally.
One proposal calls for companies running projects worth more than $2 billion who apply for tariff concession to employ what would be called an "Australian industry opportunity officer" to push for the company to buy local, the west.com.au reported.
Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Mitch Hooke said the proposal was unnecessary.
"The proposal to embed public servants inside companies is both unnecessary, unwarranted and inefficient," he said.
"Australian mining companies use more than 80 per cent local goods and services.
"We are already buying Australian when it makes good business sense to do so."
However, a spokeswoman for Industry Minister Greg Combet said the official would not be a public servant but an employee of the company.
She said it meant local business would have an advocate.
The Gillard government first expanded local content laws in 2011, demanding any project with Commonwealth funding over $20 million must list their Australian suppliers.
Under the new reforms, the Government will legislate proponents of projects worth $500 million to produce a plan showing how they would support local industry to win work.
It is part of the wider local content push by the Australian Government to have more Australian manufactured goods and services on mine sites.
Unions have welcomed the new reforms.
"It has long been a concern of the union movement that major resource and infrastructure projects do not even look at what they could source locally," ACTU secretary Dave Oliver said.
Local content laws have been widely criticised for a lack of power in ensuring companies follow through with plans.
Late last year, Illawarra MP Stephen Throsby said miners should use more Australian made steel and equipment if they want to bring in foreign workers.
"They're not policed and I think we need to lift the bar a fair bit."
"I'd be very pleased to see an arrangement in place where there is a requirement for local content if these companies are sticking their hand up and asking to import workers to work on their sites."
He went on to say that currently miners simply have to publish Australian Industry Participation Plans, and that this is not working.
"Local firms are currently getting around 10 to 12 per cent of the work. We think that doubling that would have every manufacturing and fabricating shop in the country more than full so there's a fair bit of leeway there."
Gillard is expected to say more about the plan at the Australian Workers Union national conference today.