JULIA GILLARD and Tony Abbott are facing backbench heat over industry policy with the Prime Minister under fire for not doing enough and the Opposition Leader for flirting with protectionism.
In Port Kembla yesterday to visit BlueScope Steel, Ms Gillard found herself deflecting a union and backbench revolt for refusing a formal inquiry into the manufacturing sector.
''My focus is on what we need to do,'' Ms Gillard said. ''I don't want to be held back on acting by an inquiry that will take some time.''
The Labor senator Doug Cameron, who is among a group of MPs advocating a more proactive policy on manufacturing, slammed the decision and said he would push for an inquiry at the next caucus meeting in a fortnight. ''I think it's premature, I think it could be economically irresponsible and I think it's politically dumb,''' he said.
He was backed by the western Sydney MP Ed Husic, who said the effects of the high dollar warranted a ''hard look'' at the industry and what could be done.
Union bosses Paul Howes and Dave Oliver left a meeting with Ms Gillard on Monday feeling she was open to their proposal for a high-level inquiry. When it was quickly ruled out, they were surprised and dismayed.
Ms Gillard and senior ministers have also ruled out any measures that amount to protectionism as they search for ways to help manufacturing, which is suffering from the high dollar and high terms of trade, and a reluctance from the booming mining sector to source Australian product.
One ALP backbencher said it was absurd a Labor government was defending the ideal of free trade while the Liberals were running a political line ''straight to the workers affected by it''.
''We're offering World Trade Organisation guidelines and the Liberals are offering hope,'' the backbencher said.
On Monday, Mr Abbott said the Liberals were committed to free trade regarding industry but there should be exceptions on the grounds of national security and economic diversity.
This rang alarm bells in sections of the Liberal Party. Last week there was an internal brawl over a private members' bill to ban the import of New Zealand apples. ''There's a lot of concern about this stuff among the colleagues,'' a Liberal MP said.
''We don't need to be so populist. We are making unnecessary work for ourselves.''
Mr Abbott's frontbenchers Ian Macfarlane and Sophie Mirabella will develop an industry policy over the next four months.
Mr Macfarlane, the industry minister for six years during the Howard government, told the Herald every option, except tariffs and mandated use of Australian content, would be considered.
''We've got to be a little bit aggressive in the way we approach providing transitional assistance to industry to get them back into a globally competitive position,'' he said.
''If you're going to hide behind the letter of the law of the WTO, then you may as well give up now. There are things you can do that you won't get pinged for by the WTO.''
Ms Gillard called on the mining industry to increase its purchase of Australian-made goods.
Email a friend