Since the mid '80s, it has been government policy to promote locally manufactured goods using the 'Made In Australia' label.

Then Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke claimed to believe passionately in
local manufacturing, even though he and Treasurer Keating dismantled many of the protectionist walls that kept imported goods out.

In 2012, however, local manufacturing appears to be a dying sector. Former Industry Minister Kim Carr has recently visited Detroit cap-in-hand to beg both General Motors and Ford for the future of the Australian car making industry. And multinational food giant Heinz has just closed its last sauce making facility in Australia, meaning that from now on all of its local sauce products will be sources (pardon the pun) from New Zealand.

Whether one examines cars, foodstuffs or clothing, the combination of both
high Australian wage rates and the strong Aussie Dollar means that it's becoming easier to import goods than make them here. Is it possible, however, that a deeper malaise has hit 'Made In Australia' - that is, the problem that Australian consumers no longer care about the origin of what they buy?

Consider the following evidence regarding the car industry. Up until the late 1980s, locally manufactured cars accounted for over half the Australian market, whereas now the figure is a bit under 15%. And once you strip out fleet and government sales, it rapidly becomes apparent that only one in 20 private car buyers chooses to part with their hard earned for an Australian made vehicle.

With clothing, it's now virtually impossible to dress oneself from head to toe in domestically manufactured attire. While it can be argued that government policy in the form of tariff cuts is to blame for this state of affairs, the reality is that the Australian consumer simply doesn't care anymore where their clobber is made - they just want it to look good and not cost too much.

Food is perhaps the last major product category for which the 'Made In Australia' tag still has real meaning. It's one thing for consumers happily to buy Chinese t-shirts, but quite another to source their meat, fruit and veg from the same place. Unlike Australia, China is viewed with suspicion when it comes to issues like food standards, use of pesticides, environmental pollution and accurate labelling of products. For these reasons, local food producers should be at a considerable advantage to their foreign competitors.

Yet if the recent decision of Heinz is anything to go by, Australian consumers need to reassess soon their lackadaisical attitude to country of origin. Otherwise our supermarkets will go the way of our car dealerships and clothing stores, ie be filled predominantly with stuff from overseas.

Tom Elliott is Director of both MM&E Capital Pty Ltd, a Melbourne based hedge fund, and Beulah Capital Pty Ltd, a private wealth manager.

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