Boosting local procurement

THE South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance (SEMMA) has welcomed the Federal Government’s pledge to encourage more local procurement which it believes will provide a boost for Australian small and medium enterprises.
Speaking in Melbourne last week, Senator Kim Carr, the Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, said Australians should be using government procurement to support local jobs and businesses wherever they could.
While the Minister did not advocate any form of local industry protectionism he did make clear that Australian businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, should expect a fair go when it came to government contracts.
Speaking on behalf of SEMMA, vice-president James Sturgess (also principal of Dandenong based law firm Macpherson and Kelley), said SEMMA had lobbied long and hard for more government opportunities for SME manufacturers, and was encouraged by the Minister’s speech.
SEMMA members generate about 44 per cent of Victoria’s total manufactured output, and Mr Sturgess said it would be willing to act as a form of contract clearing house, receiving contract information from all levels of government, and then distributing that information to ensure manufacturers were aware of all opportunities to sell to government.
“Whenever they put out a tender they need to send it to SEMMA, to make sure we know about it. If it’s for something you can pick up or hold, then our members can make it,” he said.
Mr Sturgess said SEMMA was hopeful that Senator Carr would drive through real change and ensure that of the “billions of dollars spent on the stimulus packages, more of it will be spent here.”
“The national procurement policy is a good policy but it just needed someone to give it life,” said Mr Sturgess.
He said that if government made local industry aware of the opportunities to sell to the public sector and also took into account the total life cost of products (accounting for the cost of service, parts etc) local manufacturers would be able to compete effectively, providing better value products than their international rivals.