Ausbuy

Address By Professor Wolfgang Fischer, Patron - Ausbuy

October 26th, 2007

Humbly I would like to express my sincere gratitude to be chosen as the new Patron of the Australian Companies Institute (Ausbuy). I hope to contribute to the concept of our organisation as much as possible. Furthermore I am honored to support Mr Mike Gallagher and the Australian Companies Institute in any viable effort.

The issue of today is whether the Australian economy has benefited from its openness to globalisation, or is it shifting to the development path of de-industrialisation. Subsequently, the question arises whether promotion campaigns to buy products and produce Australian Made & Owned are supposed to be a countervailing strategy to increase or maintain the industrialisation and the manufacturing structure of Australia, given the possibility of changes in consumer behaviour and traders’ procurement policies. The very existence of the Global Economy, at least in some parts of the world, except those countries following their national state trade and development policies, will lead to a substantial loss of the Australian identity and economic power in its production and service industries. It seems to be that in particular trans-national companies - and even national companies - are increasingly using outsourcing of labour to so called cheap labour countries in Asia and East Europe. Whether this policy is not short sighted or the opposite will be tested in times of economic and social hardship in Australia. The question then arises as to whether this creates a loss of quality as well as of standards of the products and services involved along with an increasing shortfall of a skilled Australian workforce?

It might be argued that the Australian economy is losing essential manufacturing and services industries by shifting them overseas, and subsequently Australia might become a “quarry” with some simple farming and tourism. For example, large mining companies more and more exporting commodities like minerals and coal, and in addition the similar trend with Australian farmers and their exports for instance of live cattle and cane sugar. Or in other words, perhaps the destiny of the Australian economy is to become a modern version of the old colonies for instance New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia etcetera prior to the federation in 1901?

The issue is also the vital matter of whether the Australian economy should retain or create a Safety Net for times of economic crises such as a group of manufacturing, service and agricultural industries, which could maintain a minimum of self-sustaining production of essential products, produce and services? Often consumers and retailers were asking: “What is actually still made in Australia?” Consequently it has to be to addressed two aspects of Australian Made & Owned, that is from the viewpoint of Economic Policy to foster growth of a national economy as well as the well-being of its citizens and additionally from the viewpoint of Law in the sense of regulating the term Made in Australia and analyzing its Federal Court interpretations.

I wish all members of Ausbuy a prosperous future.

Professor Dr.rer.pol. Wolfgang Fischer
Patron

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