3500 PRINTERS SIGN PETITION, NOW GOING TO PRIME MINISTER

A whopping 3500 printers have already signed the petition calling for all government and taxpayer-funded print to be produced in Australia. In the next step, it will be presented to the prime minister, with the aim of getting it on the agenda at National Cabinet.

 

 

The petition will be taken to the prime minister at the end of this week. The aim is to have the matter discussed in the National Cabinet, and a decision made to instruct all taxpayer-funded print be produced in Australia. The National Cabinet is the main executive body running during the Covid-19 crisis, and comprises federal and state leaders.

Click here to sign the petition if you have not already done so.

Andrew Macaulay, CEO at PVCA said, “The response has been strong, and rightly so. For government to be spending taxpayer money in China on print today is reprehensible. That money needs to stay in Australia. It should be part of the economic stimulus package. We will be communicating this clearly and strongly.”

The US government already has such an edict. the Government Printing and Binding Regulations states: "Attention is directed to the Buy American Act (41 U.S. Code 10 a-d) which provides that the Government give preference to domestic source end products.”

Printers are angry that government and government institutions are sending between $150m and $200m worth of print offshore, predominantly to China, because it is cheaper. Chinese printers do not have to pay myriad costs imposed by Australian government regulation such as super, taxes, OHS and environmental compliance. Local printers say it is perverse that the government loads them with costs, then penalises them for being more expensive than printers in China and Vietnam.

Institutions such as the National Gallery of Victoria and the Queensland Art Gallery are sending jobs worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to China while local presses sit idle.

The petition is part of a joint campaign by employers association PVCA, the main union AMWU, and Marvel Binding & Finishing. PVCA vice president Richard Celarc, who lives in Scott Morrison's constituency, and whose business Opus is the largest employer in the regional Victoria constituency of government minister and industry friend Dan Tehan, will be involved in the presentations.

Printing businesses across the country are seeing a drastic reduction in work as a result of the collapse of the hospitality, tourism, sports, fashion, and entertainment industries, and the severe impact the virus is having on almost every other sector of the economy.

Lorraine Cassin, national assistant secretary, AMWU said, “Every day, thousands of workers are losing their jobs as businesses close down. It is unthinkable that in these circumstances taxpayer money would be spent overseas instead of here at home.”

“Governments of all levels need to do everything they can to keep workers in a job, and keep our industries alive. All government printing work must be done here in Australia from now on.

Andrew Macaulay said, “It is inexcusable that any taxpayer money is being spent overseas on products and services that Australian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are ready, willing and available to supply government."

“Many of our members are looking at either standing down their workforce, or reducing the hours that they work because there just aren’t enough print jobs coming in.

“If the National Cabinet, prime minister and state premiers can make sweeping decisions to shut down private businesses, they can certainly give a directive to their own departments and operating entities to only procure from Australian SMEs.”

Wayne Eastaugh, managing director, Marvel Bookbinding & Print Finishing, said, “It is frustrating to see Australian taxpayer money going overseas to support other economies when passionate and skilled local printers are struggling because of a lack of work."