The program will prioritise projects capable of becoming commercially self-sustaining.

Investment will be concentrated particularly on first-level refining and processing, allowing Australia to capture more value from resources that are currently exported with limited domestic processing.

Priority industries could include copper, lithium, rare earths, nickel, aluminium, steel, silicon, industrial chemicals, fertiliser inputs and advanced materials.

The Commonwealth will build new processing and manufacturing capacity rather than automatically acquiring existing private businesses.

Existing private miners and manufacturers will remain important suppliers and competitors.

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2. Permanent National Ownership

Enterprises established directly through the National Development Investment Program will remain under national ownership.

They will operate commercially, with independent boards, professional management, audited accounts and transparent performance requirements.

They may raise additional capital through:

• minority private investment;
• corporate and infrastructure bonds;
• institutional investment;
• Australian superannuation investment.
• other regulated financial instruments.

The Commonwealth will retain controlling ownership.

This creates a permanent national productive portfolio rather than a cycle of building assets with public money and subsequently selling them.

Profits can be reinvested into expansion, returned as dividends to government, used for debt reduction or invested in new industries.

The objective is for today's public investment to become tomorrow's permanent national revenue base.

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3. Essential Infrastructure and Former National Assets

Some infrastructure is fundamentally different from ordinary competitive businesses.

Essential natural monopolies will be completely renationalised, including:

• water infrastructure;
• electricity transmission and distribution networks;
• major public transport infrastructure.
• other critical utility networks.

Public ownership will apply primarily to the underlying monopoly infrastructure, not every business operating within these sectors.

Private companies will continue to participate in competitive activities such as construction, engineering, electricity generation, manufacturing and service provision.

The Commonwealth will also assess former national assets for possible renationalisation where there is a strong economic, strategic or national-security case.

Potential examples include the Commonwealth Bank and Qantas, subject to independent valuation, parliamentary approval and a demonstrated long-term public benefit.

There will be no blanket program to reacquire every previously privatised asset.

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4. National Workforce and Education

At least $1.25 billion annually will support the workforce required to operate the industries being established.

Investment will include:

• TAFE;
• apprenticeships;
• engineering;
• metallurgy;
• welding;
• electrical and mechanical trades;
• chemical processing;
• industrial maintenance;
• rail engineering;
• robotics and automation;
• construction; and
• advanced manufacturing.

Universities and technical institutions will be encouraged to establish industry-linked programs.

Targeted skilled migration will supplement domestic training where specialist capabilities cannot be developed quickly enough, with an emphasis on transferring knowledge to Australian workers.

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5. Financing the Program

The $15 billion annual investment should not be treated as $15 billion of permanent government expenditure.

The program will progressively become self-financing as enterprises mature.

Funding will come from a combination of:

• Commonwealth investment;
• retained profits;
• enterprise borrowing;
• bonds;
• private minority investment;
• institutional investment;
• voluntary superannuation investment.
• returns from existing national enterprises.

The Commonwealth will establish strict commercial and national-interest assessments for major projects.

Projects that cannot demonstrate a credible economic or strategic case should not receive investment simply to meet an annual spending target.

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6. Indicative Economic Returns

The exact return from industrial investment will depend on project selection, commodity prices, construction costs and global markets.

However, the long-term objective is for the national enterprise portfolio to generate returns substantially exceeding its initial public investment.

If the $15 billion annual program is maintained in real terms for 20 years, the Commonwealth would invest approximately:

$300 billion in cumulative capital.

If the resulting national enterprise portfolio ultimately achieved an average long-term return of approximately 5–7% on invested capital, a mature $300 billion portfolio could theoretically generate approximately:

$15–21 billion per year in gross commercial returns.

At a 7–8% return, the potential gross return rises toward:

$21–24 billion annually.

These figures should be regarded as long-term portfolio scenarios rather than guaranteed revenue.

Importantly, much of the return would be retained within the enterprises for expansion rather than immediately paid to government.

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7. Additional Economic Benefits

The financial return is only one component of the program's value.

A successful industrial investment strategy could also produce substantial indirect benefits through:

• higher productivity;
• increased wages;
• additional employment;
• increased exports;
• reduced imports;
• domestic supply-chain development;
• greater energy security;
• increased corporate tax receipts;
• increased income-tax receipts;
• reduced unemployment expenditure;
• regional economic development; and
• greater resilience during international disruptions.

For example, processing an Australian mineral domestically rather than exporting it in raw form can create additional economic activity through refining, engineering, transport, maintenance, manufacturing and professional services.

The Commonwealth would therefore assess projects according to both their direct financial return and wider national economic return.

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8. Long-Term Fiscal Advantage

The ultimate objective is to create a self-reinforcing national investment cycle.

$15b annual public investment

→ new industries and infrastructure

→ increased domestic production

→ higher employment and productivity

→ increased exports and reduced strategic imports

→ enterprise profits and government revenue

→ reinvestment and debt reduction

→ further productive investment.

Over several decades, this could transform the Commonwealth from being primarily a tax-funded institution into an institution that also derives meaningful recurring income from a large portfolio of productive national assets.

If a mature national portfolio eventually reached several hundred billion dollars in productive assets, even modest returns could provide tens of billions of dollars annually in gross economic income.

The long-term advantage is therefore not simply the value of the original investment.

It is the creation of assets that continue producing revenue for future governments and generations.

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9. Energy, Transport and National Infrastructure

Industrial development will be accompanied by major investment in the infrastructure required to support it.

The Commonwealth will pursue:

• expanded electricity generation;
• transmission and storage;
• modernised electricity networks;
• interstate freight rail;
• regional rail;
• metropolitan transport;
• ports;
• intermodal freight terminals;
• strategic highways; and
• industrial infrastructure.

A national infrastructure strategy will connect resource regions, industrial centres, cities, ports and export markets.

Nationally significant infrastructure constructed under the program will remain publicly owned.

An independent assessment of nuclear energy will also examine its potential contribution to long-term energy security, industrial power and emissions reduction.

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10. Responsible Public Finances

The long-term objective remains the reduction and eventual elimination of Commonwealth net public debt.

Strategic investment will be distinguished from recurrent government expenditure.

The government will not borrow indefinitely to fund ordinary consumption.

Where public capital is invested in productive enterprises capable of generating long-term returns, however, that investment will be treated as national capital formation.

As the portfolio matures, enterprise returns can be used to:

• fund further investment;
• reduce public debt;
• strengthen government finances;
• maintain infrastructure; and
• eventually provide recurring Commonwealth dividends.

Once public debt has been substantially reduced, new borrowing would generally be restricted to exceptional circumstances such as war, major disasters, severe economic crises or major investments with demonstrable long-term returns.

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11. What Australia Could Build

A $15 billion annual national development program would provide the Commonwealth with the capacity to pursue projects that have historically been considered too large, too capital-intensive or too long-term for government to undertake consistently.

Over time, Australia could establish nationally owned enterprises or infrastructure in areas such as:

• large-scale mineral refining;
• green and low-emissions steel;
• aluminium and advanced metals;
• battery-material processing;
• rare-earth separation;
• industrial chemicals;
• fertiliser production;
• semiconductor and electronics manufacturing;
• rail rolling-stock manufacturing;
• heavy industrial machinery;
• defence manufacturing;
• shipbuilding and maritime infrastructure;
• strategic fuel production and storage;
• electricity generation and storage;
• national telecommunications infrastructure;
• advanced construction materials;
• pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing;
• agricultural processing;
• water-security infrastructure;
• recycling and resource recovery;
• industrial robotics;
• aerospace manufacturing and maintenance;
• nuclear technology and fuel-cycle capabilities, subject to policy and regulatory decisions; and
• advanced research and technology enterprises.

Not every proposed industry would be pursued.

Each would need to demonstrate a credible combination of commercial potential, strategic importance, domestic capability and long-term national benefit.

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12. The Long-Term Vision

Australia should remain a competitive market economy with a strong private sector.

The purpose of this policy is not to replace private enterprise, but to build the productive foundations upon which private enterprise can flourish.

Existing private businesses will remain private.

Essential natural monopolies will remain publicly owned.

Former national assets may be reacquired where there is a compelling case.

And new strategic industries deliberately constructed through Commonwealth investment will remain nationally owned as permanent productive assets.

The Commonwealth will invest at least $15 billion annually to build these capabilities, with a particular focus on first-level refining, heavy industry, energy, advanced manufacturing and the specialised workforce required to operate them.

Over time, the result should be more than factories, refineries, railways and infrastructure.

It should be a permanent national capital base.

A portfolio of productive Australian enterprises capable of generating revenue, supporting employment, strengthening national security, reducing strategic dependence on foreign supply and financing further development.

The aim is to ensure that when Australians invest collectively in building something, Australians continue to own the benefits long after the construction is finished.

Build it. Own it. Make it productive. Reinvest the returns.