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In my eight years as CEO of one of Australia’s largest manufacturing companies, and the country’s largest industrial gas user, I spent about 20 per cent of my time visiting customers. Most of my peers do the same.

Australia's remaining big manufacturers certainly don't want to be treated as the national representatives of sunset industries, slowly but inevitably subsiding into economic irrelevance.

Australia’s competition watchdog has given itself more time to consider Royal Dutch Shell’s planned takeover of UK-based oil-and-gas firm BG Group.

LNG will take over from iron ore as the main driver of Australia’s exports and will reach $50 billion in value by 2020, an ANZ report says.

Gas producers such as Origin Energy and Santos have been accused of profiteering and hoarding capacity on pipelines, as industrial users seek more open access to scarce supplies at competitive prices.

State governments in New South Wales and Victoria need to sort out their coal seam gas industries or they will face monstrous supply issues, Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said at the recent Australia's Energy Future roundtable co-hosted by The Australian Financial Review and GE.

Some in the construction sector believe there has been a “tipping point” in non-conforming products being imported.

One of Australia’s biggest plastic makers has added its voice to concerns about Shell’s planned takeover of BG Group, saying further consolidation in the gas industry will likely harm manufacturers.

The outlook for Australia’s manufacturing sector is looking brighter with the latest ACCI-Westpac survey of industrial trends composite index rising 2.2 points to 58.4 in the June quarter.

The Australian competition watchdog is pushing ahead with an investigation into the ­potential impact of Shell’s planned $91 billion takeover of BG Group on east coast gas development and exploration, as well as the ­extent to which the two international gas giants compete against each other and with ­others in the domestic market.