Mr BRENDAN O'CONNOR (Gorton) (19:30): Australian manufacturers of vitamins and mineral supplements have had to remove the iconic 'Australian Made' logo from their products due to the government's incompetence and inaction. It's been a year since federal Labor called on the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology to act and stop an industry worth $5 billion to the Australian economy from being forced offshore, putting close to 30,000 jobs at risk. Complementary Medicines Australia have advised that this issue has so far affected 200 'Australian Made' licensees, and that any further delays will risk future investment. Many of these companies have made significant investments in manufacturing in this country, including Sanofi's $40 million investment recently in their Brisbane manufacturing facility. Household names like Blackmores, Swisse, Nature's Own and Cenovis are all affected by the dithering and delay of this do-nothing government. In submissions to the Complementary Medicine Taskforce, one local manufacturer described clarity around the country-of-origin labelling requirements as being 'critical' to their businesses. Another has said that the potential loss of the 'Made in Australia' claim will have a 'direct and undermining effect' on their marketing campaign in China, while a third has said that they would think twice about introducing new products if they were not able to claim that they are made in Australia. This is one of the few manufacturing industries in Australia that isn't in decline under this government, and by dragging their feet on this the government are putting the whole sector in jeopardy. The government's change to 'Made in Australia' labelling and interpretations of the legislation has now seen local vitamins and mineral supplement manufacturers stripped of their ability to use the labels as of 30 June this year. This means 'Australian Made' labelling is not available for some products made in Australia by Australian workers. This is despite Minister Karen Andrews' promise on 5 April this year to heed Labor's concerns and make regulatory changes to protect these manufacturers. Indeed, the minister stated the industry 'should be assured that I'm doing all that I can to assist'. Well, it has been 166 days since this promise and, still, nothing has happened. By doing nothing, the government is hurting Australian manufacturers. The government is hurting workers and threatening their jobs and hurting consumers too. The government is putting close to 30,000 jobs at risk in this billion-dollar industry. For every week that this drags on, we are missing out on millions of dollars of export revenue, due to the inaction. So what I'd say to the minister is this: 'You, the minister, should be providing this important industry with certainty and detail. Firstly, explain whether the required changes will be done through regulation or through legislation. Indeed, provide a timetable of when such changes will be released publicly and implemented. Further, provide a timetable for states and territories via the ministerial consumer affairs forum to examine and agree upon those changes. This is a matter of urgency.' The government's indifferent approach—this uninterested government that has no focus on what matters in this country—needs to stop. What we need to see instead is manufacturers in this sector being looked after. When they asked for the minister to respond to this a year ago, that response should have been expedited. In fact, it was able to be done because there's consent amongst jurisdictions in this country. It could have been done before the election. Instead, we now have a situation where Australian products made by Australian workers cannot use the 'Made in Australia' logo. I mean, how bad can it get for the government to act? When it gets to a point where jobs are at risk, manufacturers are at risk and their profits are at risk, all the minister can say is, 'We're doing everything we can.' The incompetence and inaction of this government must stop, because they threaten the livelihood of too many Australians and they affect a thriving sector. The government need to do a lot better—and we expect them to do that very, very soon.