A new bill is currently being proposed in the Australian parliament that could radically change the way companies can promote their products as being “Made in Australia”.
If the proposed bill is successful it will require food to be 100% produced in Australia to be eligible to promoted as being “Australian made”.
Currently, claims such as "Australian made" or "Made in Australia" can only be made when the products have been "substantially transformed" in Australia and 50% of the costs of production have been carried within the country.
The new proposed bill also enforces products that have one or more ingredients from a different country that they will have to display the percentage of the imported ingredients.
Should this bill be also expanded across the whole range of manufacturing industries, not just food, so that buyers can be fully aware of the Australian content of the products they purchase?
Laurie, you are right the term Australian made is a very gray area though to have the term available to only 100% Australian made is also a bit of a problem, eg what would you call biscuits that are cooked in Australia, using Australian produce cooked in a European oven, mixed by a Chinese made machine and delivered by Korean made van, compared with biscuits that were cooked in an Australian made oven, mixed in an Australian made machine and delivered by an Australian made van but had choc chips that were made from French chocolate.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many variables that it makes it very difficult to come up with a totally water tight description. I think it comes down to having clear and concise information then at least the shoppers can make the choice on what to buy.
At www.BuyAustralianMade.com.au our aim is to make it easy for anyone to find the Australian made alternative, and we do put the % of Australian content where possible. We find that business who feature with us are very passionate about being Australian made.
Regards
Stephen
www.BuyAustralianMade.com.au
Pleased to see your ‘Food for thought’ blog post come through Laurie. I am a strong advocate for the intent of the new bill currently being proposed in the Australian parliament.
ReplyDeleteAuthenticity in Place People and Products is I feel simply important in any community or country.
Tourism within Australia is a major contributor to our standard of living and way of life. International travelers are increasingly seeking out destinations and experiences that embrace authenticity.
Stephen, in your comment, I cracked a grin over your ‘biscuit’ example – it was a beauty. I agree with you “There are so many variables that it makes it very difficult to come up with a totally water tight description.” - as to what is 100% Australian made. However, I strongly believe the more actions that we can take to maintain and enhance the authenticity of our environment and products we produce, the more we will attract visitors to our shores and the better our standard of living will be for all.
An Afterthought
ReplyDeleteIn my In-tray, I pick up a small ‘nut snack product’ from Australia – the seven mile beach ‘Walkabout Mix’, produced by Brookfarm, Bangalow NSW. On the back of the jacket, in addition to a short promo of Seven Mill Beach – the inspiration behind the product, they go on to say:
“ We care about the environment and our carbon footprint. On our farm we have planted over 30,000 rainforest and eucalypt trees and part of the proceeds from every pack sold goes to Rainforest Rescue to help preserve rainforest in the Daintree area of Northern Queensland. www.rainforestrescue.org.au. Under ingredients they say: We proudly use all Australian ingredients – only if an Australian ingredient is unavailable will an imported product be used.
Do I need to think twice about which product to use to promote Australia to friends and clients?? Plus they taste real darned good – fair dinkum!
An Afterthought's afterthought
ReplyDeleteI was a little too quick in my cut and paste of the above comment :-)
I missed out posting the first para which reads:
"Sitting on my desk is a cute little Koala. When I pick it up I read on the tag: “ Designed in Australia, handcrafted in China” and can’t help wondering why I am not reading “ Handcrafted in Australia."