STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator STEWART (Victoria) (13:40): I rise today to speak about the incredible industry in regional Victoria, particularly in Shepparton. That is in, of course, one of the greatest states in the country. Shepparton is northern Victoria's manufacturing hub, with over 350 sites generating $5.5 billion in manufacturing and 6,200 local jobs.

It is home to Australia's largest fruit processor and 10 per cent of the nation's metal fabrication businesses. This region doesn't just feed the nation; it manufactures for it, too. Last Tuesday, I spent the day in Shepp, hosted by the Committee for Greater Shepparton.

I visited six businesses adapting to 21st century challenges on their own terms. At Noumi, a world leader in lactoferrin for baby formula, the constraint isn't demand; it's finding engineers and electricians. At Unilever's Tatura site, which employs more people than the town has residents, a green steam zero carbon system will pay for itself in three years once Powercor finally installs the meter to unlock it.

At Complete Power Partners, the cheaper batteries program has grown 200 per cent in a year thanks to Labor's battery program, and they need electricians too. At Plunkett Orchards, this fourth-generation family business manages orchard logistics nationwide, processing 200 million pieces of fruit to export worldwide, yet energy use, down a fifth, still costs the same.

At Gouge, 500 staff process 800 tonnes of laundry a week, but laundries don't qualify for gas transition grants. At JMB modular, the Briggs family is scaling toward 500 units a year, held back by state-by-state certification. I grew up in regional Victoria, so I know how much it matters to have someone who turns up, listens and understands what local people need.

And, as a senator, it's my job to make sure that I do. (Time expired)