Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to celebrate the green and gold symbol that proudly remains our trusted symbol around the world for products made in Australia. The Morrison government has committed $5 million over the next four years to expand its reach overseas. The Australian Made logo has never been more important. It's globally recognised and is associated with quality, reliability and sustainability. The Australian Made and Australian Grown logos, since their creation more than 30 years ago, are Australia's most trusted, recognised and widely used country-of-origin symbols to promote authentic Australian brands all around the world, with almost 99 per cent of all Australians recognising the logo.

Our products are globally respected and loved, but, as we chart our economic recovery, it's so important that Australians buy Australian products. In June, Australian Made reported that monthly licence applications have increased fivefold and new licences issued have doubled. There's also significant media coverage and social media coverage. This is all very welcome, and that's because a recent KPMG study found that households spending an extra $50 a week, buying Australian-made goods, would deliver a $30 billion boost to fuel the nation's COVID-19 recovery and create tens of thousands of jobs. Separate economic modelling by analytics group AlphaBeta's director, Andrew Charlton, found a one-off $100 purchase of locally made products by every Australian would create more than 3,000 jobs.

There's never been a more important time to buy Australian made, in the midst of the COVID recovery. The Morrison government has also invested $5 million in the GO LOCAL FIRST campaign, which is run by the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, COSBOA. This campaign encourages all Australians to promote and support our local small and family businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic. In my electorate of Higgin, I'm pleased to say that many of our businesses have pivoted to deal with COVID. Local cafes and restaurants are now delivering takeaway. There is now grocery shopping at the Prahran Market using a COVID-safe approach. People can buy books via Click & Collect at the Malvern bookstore and even get their bike serviced at the Cycleinn in Malvern.

But our businesses in Victoria are suffering because of the persistent lockdown in Victoria. Despite the fact that Premier Daniel Andrews's target for a rolling average of less than five has already been reached, for some inexplicable reason he has failed to open our state economy up again. This is having an incredible impost on local businesses in my electorate of Higgins. As an example, Lisa Barron the fashion designer has had her doors closed. She's been very, very thankful and grateful for the use of JobKeeper, but she's had to pivot to doing things differently. She has done that willingly, but it is time to open back up our economy. We have achieved suppression of the virus in the state of Victoria, but now is the time to have the confidence to open Victoria back up again.

We are going to have to live with COVID for a very long time. We know that a vaccine may come. We hope that it will be safe and effective and be ready soon, but it's not likely to be here in the next few months and we can't stay in lockdown for all of those months. I encourage the Premier to look to the confidence of his contact tracing to open up the Victorian economy. It would mean that our Victorians could get back to work and could get back to buying into the economy, which would help the businesses of Higgins and the businesses of Victoria.

By going local first, you'll ensure that the money spent in our local economies keeps businesses afloat and supports local jobs and families. This would fuel our economy and drive our recovery from the COVID recession. These can be from purchases—small and large—to lunches with friends or a new outfit or even home renovations. Look for a local business or local tradie, and, importantly, look for the Australian Made logo. It is about Australian businesses getting back off their knees as they've had to deal with an incredible 2020.

I know all Australians understand that business is the backbone of our economy. We need to make sure that we focus our renewed spending efforts on buying local and buying Australian. I encourage all Australians and those in Victoria to go local first, to think local and shop local, because, when you spend local, it stays local.

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