PIAA chief Andrew Macaulay has told the Australian Chamber of Commerce (ACCI) that printers need immediate government action on energy security and affordability.
Macaulay attended an influential policy-defining debate over power supply at the General Council of ACCI in Brisbane and told council members that the situation was now critical.
“Energy security and affordability is the number one issue affecting industry in Australia, with a very real threat to businesses and the jobs they provide,” Macaulay said. “Printing Industries members are crying out in desperation at the crippling effect this has on their business and it is their voice we represent.
“Policy-makers need to realise that from an industry perspective, any concern about emissions takes a distant second place, well after concerns about unaffordable and unreliable energy supply bringing industry to its knees.
“This change in ACCI policy is a critical step in affecting instrumental change towards more secure and affordable energy, given ACCI’s role in providing counsel on government policy”.
The General Council is the policy making body of ACCI that represents over 300,000 businesses across all sectors of the economy.
Last week, South Australia senator Nick Xenophon told a Manufacturing Matters conference in Canberra that energy costs have become the manufacturing sector’s biggest challenge and could lead to job losses “in the tens of thousands.”