Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Since 1996, Australia’s foreign debt has spiralled up from $193 billion to $494 billion. That is a 155 per cent increase. That is $24,000 for every man, woman and child. It is equivalent to 52 per cent of our gross domestic product. Australia’s imports exceeded exports by $16.7 billion over the last year. Annual interest in Australia’s foreign debt has jumped 40 per cent in the last year to $21.8 billion lost to our country.

The current Treasurer said in 1995 that high foreign debt puts a premium on Australian borrowing that flows through and every Australian pays for the consequences. The consequences are increasing interest rates. The consequences can be seen in the number of people’s own homes being repossessed throughout Australia, doubling within New South Wales between 2003 and 2005. Other people have been subjected to even higher interest rates since.

Australians acting individually and in concert continue to do the right thing for local jobs and Australian self-reliance by using their purchasing dollar to support local industry and Australian made goods, be it primary produce, garden tools or the family car. The Australian Made campaign has commissioned research that reports that 45 per cent of surveyed customers prefer to buy Australian made products and over 30 per cent deliberately look for products demonstrating the Australian Made logo. Eighty per cent of Australian consumers appear to be aware that a label consisting of the words ‘Product of Australia’, ‘Produce of Australia’ or ‘Produced in Australia’ identify more substantial Australian content than Australian Made. But the specific requirements of each label certainly are not well known.

The amendment to the Trade Practices Act in 1998 allows goods to wear the Australian Made label or a variation if the goods have been substantially transformed in Australia—that is, they have undergone a fundamental change—and 50 per cent or more of the costs of producing or manufacturing the goods are attributed to processes in Australia. The ‘Product of Australia’ label requires that each significant ingredient or component must be sourced from Australia and virtually all production or manufacturing processes must have occurred within Australia.

How each of these classifications works in practice falls to the trade practices court. Anecdotal explanations from previous cases, even those within the legislation’s explanatory memorandum, give more certainty. Most Australians may never digest the subtleties of the law. I think Australians have the right to know where their products come from, where they are made and if they are made here in this country. Fears exist that rules have been compromised to allow wide use with limited meaning. Fears also exist that advertising is included within the production costs, further decreasing the local input to the product.

I certainly hope that the trade practices commission and the ACCC can allay such fears and reinforce the good work they do in policing the law with education campaigns so that people can purchase with confidence in the knowledge that, by purchasing a good labelled ‘Product of Australia’, the consumer is doing their best for our country. (Time expired)