Media Releases April 2018

The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI®) fell 4.8 points to 58.3 in April, indicating a slower – but still buoyant – rate of expansion following March’s record high (readings above 50 indicate expansion in activity, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the increase).

The Australian Industry Group and the Waste Industry Alliance have called on the State Government to provide funding in Tuesday's Budget to help deal with Victoria's ongoing waste recycling issues.

"The Federal Government's release today of the first Defence Industrial Capability Plan is an important milestone in the Defence and industry partnership and will further assist in broadening Australia’s economic base and adding to jobs growth," Australian Industry Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox said today.

"The latest annual Ai Group pre-Budget survey of Australian businesses has found that reducing the high company tax burden is the highest priority for business in the 2018-19 Federal Budget, ahead of infrastructure spending and measures to address current and future skills shortages," Australian Industry Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox, said today.

"Today the COAG Energy Council has listened to the clear message from industry and the community and agreed to continue working towards settling on an approach to long-term climate and energy policy. A policy settlement will help unlock investment in electricity supply and demand side resources, putting downward pressure on electricity prices that remain intolerably high for industry and households alike," Ai Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox, said today.

The waste industry in Victoria has called on the State Government to introduce a broad education campaign to address Victoria's current recycling problem.

With the COAG Energy Council meeting later this week to consider the National Energy Guarantee, our organisations call for further progress to be made towards designing a workable solution which addresses emissions reduction, reliability, and affordability across our energy system.

The Australian Industry Group welcomes today’s decision by the Northern Territory Government to lift its moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for onshore gas. This is a balanced decision on an issue where feelings run high.

"Today's announcements from the ACTU show yet again that the union movement has given up on decades of community consensus that Australia needs to have a strong economy and a workplace relations system that does not impose major barriers on job growth. The ACTU's latest proposals would destroy jobs and the competitiveness of Australian businesses. The proposals would also destroy workplace flexibility which is highly valued by employers and employees," Australian Industry Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox, said today.

With commercial and engineering construction leading the way, the Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®) increased by 1.2 points to 57.2 in March – a 14th consecutive month of industry-wide expansion (readings above 50 indicate expansion in activity, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the increase).