Industrial Policy
Supply Chain Self-Sufficiency Matrix
It is crucial for Australia to establish a classification system which can inform government fiscal and investment priorities in reindustrialisation by determining the current self-sufficiency of the supply chains for various sectors and the criticality of individual sectors for national security.
The Eureka Party supports the introduction of a Supply Chain Self-Sufficiency Matrix which divides different economic sectors into three categories based on the level of self-sufficiency:
Green Sectors – sectors in which supply chains are mostly or fully domestic and which contain no critical gaps;
Yellow Sectors – sectors in which supply chains are mostly or partially domestic and contain some critical gaps where reshoring is necessary for national security;
Red Sectors – sectors in which most of the supply chain is offshore and require immediate investment in reshoring for the purpose of national security;
This matrix will take priority over traditional economic measurements like GDP in informing government investment priorities.
Project Iron Boomerang
Australia used to domestically produce its own steel, but under the neoliberal economic regime was steadily but surely offshored. Of particular annoyance is the sale of Australian iron ore and coal to China, from whom we then buy processed steel at a premium. It’s time to bring steel production back home.
The Eureka Party supports the initiation of Project Iron Boomerang, a project intending to construct an east to west rail line going from the iron mines in Western Australia to the coal mines in Queensland with the construction of steel manufacturing plants on either side of the railway for the production of domestic steel for use at home for reindustrialisation.
The Eureka Party supports acquiring the full rights to the project from East West Line Parks Ltd. in order to maintain the project as fully funded, owned and operated by the government as critical national infrastructure.
The Eureka Party supports long-term investment into green steel production methods to eventually replace traditional coal-based steel production.
Sovereign Privacy Tech Industry
At present, Australians are relying on hardware built by increasingly vulnerable foreign supply chains in China, Taiwan and America, with software provided by American and Chinese Big Tech giants with corporate and government backdoors that enable and perpetuate mass surveillance against Aussies. The proposed Political Bill of Rights includes an absolute ban on state and corporate surveillance and data collection, but what use are digital rights on paper if we’re still relying on surveillance tech from countries invested in profiting from harvesting our personal data in practice?
Australia once had a domestic semiconductor industry, but it too was dismantled, sold off and offshored to Asia during the neoliberal turn, creating a reliance on foreign supply chains that are threatened by regional geopolitical tensions. Today, we are offered the chance to restore domestic manufacturing of semiconductor and sovereign consumer tech, but also tech which enables digital privacy rights in practice by empowering individuals to take control of their own privacy and security, free from foreign Big Tech corporations.
The Eureka Party supports funding the reshoring and development of a sovereign tech industry with the ambition of making Australia the world leader in the manufacture of privacy and security-oriented consumer tech products, including modular, satellite-compatible privacy smartphones, computers, and smart home tech, with all hardware and software funded through the Sovereign Development Bank being made fully open-source and published under a Peer Production License, a license that guarantees open collaboration and prevents corporate capture.
The Eureka Party supports the active promotion of the adoption and proliferation of Fediverse platforms as a decentralised, democratised and sovereign alternative to American and Chinese-owned social media platforms which collect and sell the sensitive data of Australians.
High-Speed Rail Network and Free Public Transport
The Eureka Party supports the construction of a modern state-run high-speed rail network linking all major cities and regional centres in Australia, powered by electricity or domestically produced hydrogen fuel. This will dramatically lower transportation time for long-distance domestic travel between cities and regions.
The Eureka Party supports the rollout of free public transport, nationwide, to encourage more public commuting and reduce wear and tear and accidents on our roads.
Domestic Vehicle Manufacturing
The Eureka Party supports the state-funded revival of a domestic vehicle manufacturing industry, to produce petrol and diesel cars, trucks and other automobiles to start with, with long-term research and development towards the domestic manufacture of hydrogen fuel cells for a gradual shift towards hydrogen electric vehicles.
The Eureka Party supports the state-funded scaling up of hemp-based biodiesel production as a temporary bridge to the rollout of green hydrogen fuel production and hydrogen vehicles.
Landfill and Recycling Policy
Australian landfill contains much recyclable material which in many cases is left to rot in piles, particularly in rural areas where local recycling infrastructure is lacking. This includes organic waste which can be used in compost for agriculture, some plastics which can be recycled, and metals which can be recycled to meet national demand and reduce reliance on imports while domestic metal refining capacity is rebuilt and brought online.
The Eureka Party supports the initiation of a National Cleanup Strategy, using the Public Works Army to clean up our landfill and sort it for recyclable materials.
The Eureka Party supports investment in large-scale local recycling infrastructure across Australia, especially in regional, rural and remote areas, to increase recycling and reduce waste and landfill buildup.