South Australia has a proud history and bright future of building the industries that define our nation.
The iconic Holden brand was founded way back in 1856, when James Alexander Holden set up as a supplier of saddles and leathergoods in King William St, Adelaide.
The last Holden rolled off Elizabeth’s car assembly plan in 2017 but SA’s advanced manufacturing tradition is being turbocharged with naval shipbuilding at Osborne.
This is the home of the $45bn Hunter class frigate program and the centrepiece of the $368bn AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine construction, for which a $30bn-plus yard is being built.
Yet too many Australian enterprises have gone the way of the car industry, which shuttered with Holden’s closure.
Innovative businesses are being held back by high costs, skills shortages and an unduly complex array of red and green tape.
Dismantling these obstacles and helping Australia regain its economic sovereignty is a central aim of The Advertiser’s Back Australia campaign, which relaunches today.
When Back Australia started in October last year, our global standing as a manufacturing nation had dwindled, with production less than a quarter of what it was in the 1960s.
Back then, we revealed exclusive research that showed if every family spent $100 of their
weekly household budget on Australian-made goods, instead of those sourced from
overseas, it would add a staggering $16bn to the economy in just 12 months.
That is a tough ask in a cost-of-living crisis but the campaign worked. Six months later, almost one in three people were now willing to pay more than 10 per cent extra to support local businesses. An overwhelming majority said they were now likely to redirect up to $100 of their weekly spend.
Latest research shows Australians overwhelmingly agree our nation should manufacture more, with 73 per cent worried about our reliance on overseas firms for goods and services.
People have responded to the Back Australia campaign but government leadership is now required.
There is an urgent need to stop governments blocking enterprising, ambitious people from building the industries of the future.
The overintrusion of government’s heavy hand on business was neatly summarised by Ronald Reagan 40 years ago: “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it.”
It’s time to back people’s aspiration to build a bigger, better state and nation with the spirit of free enterprise. It’s time to Back Australia.
The Back Australia series is supported by Harvey Norman, Ampol, Bunnings, Qantas, AAMI, Journey Beyond, Gippsland Critical Minerals and News24.