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SPENCER HOWSON: Australia's face to the world is getting a makeover, with Federal Trade Minister, Simon Crean today launching the new Australia Unlimited campaign, a new brand, a new logo, it'll be on show at the Shanghai World Expo, at the World Cup, even on shipping containers. Simon Crean, good morning.

SIMON CREAN: Good morning, Spencer.

SPENCER HOWSON:The logo has the words Australia and Unlimited, and it appears to be - is it sort of stylised boomerangs, is that what it's meant to be, or is it inverted commas, I'm just trying to work that out?

SIMON CREAN: No, it's Australia reaching out to the world, but I mean, anyone can have their interpretation about what it means, so long as they're talking about what it means. Spencer, an the interpretation of what it is, is as unlimited as we say Australia is.

And we know what Australia does so well, in so many fields, the trouble is, the rest of the world doesn't, and this is an attempt to say for the very first time, I think, this is not just a great place to come and have a holiday, this is a great place to invest, this is a great place to build business partnerships, and whatever we produce in this country, whether it's goods or services, is of a quality that when you know it's Australian, you know it's good.

SPENCER HOWSON:Where will the Australia Unlimited logo appear then? I mentioned World Expo, I mentioned the World Cup, the newspapers today have this photo which shows it on shipping containers, but aside from those examples, where else will it appear?

SIMON CREAN: Well, they're the platforms and the examples where it can be used, the question of where it's used again, is unlimited. What we're hoping to do is to demonstrate, by the attraction of it, and the concept that it holds, that it will be picked up by the commercial world, it'll be picked up by Government agencies, anything that Australia is promoting, and this will have the ability to attach itself to it.

SPENCER HOWSON:So if you are a company, you can take this image and use it, you're not going to have to pay the Federal Government for the right to use the logo, or will you have to?

SIMON CREAN:Any company can use it, we want this to be promoted as widely as possible, Spencer.

SPENCER HOWSON:And what sort of checks and balances then are there, on who uses it? Does it have - you know, does the product have to be made in Australia, or owned by Australians, are there percentages with how much is made, how much is owned by Australians?

SIMON CREAN:Well again, that's the difficult question you always get into with rules of origin, it's issues with that always, when it comes down to that. But this is not just about something that's made in Australia, it's something that is Australia, education services, financial services, logistics operations, so it's not just something that's manufactured, it's something that is Australian, and basically what we want is the demonstration of that which is uniquely Australia, that which is developed in Australia, of course it's going to have componentry from time to time that's imported, that's the nature of a global trading environment, but the fact that it is a statement of Australia, it is about Australia, that's what we want to promote.

SPENCER HOWSON:Does it replace the Made In Australia branding?

SIMON CREAN:No, it doesn't, that brand is owned by a different organisation, it's not seeking to replace that for one moment, but understand that is limited to what is manufactured, what is physically made. This is a much bigger brand, this is a brand that says either come and invest in Australia, or take the services that are Australian, products and services and investment, it's a much wider concept, and what we're really saying is, this is a place that's more than just rocks, crops and picture postcard opportunities, this is a great country of diversity, it has huge versatility, we know it, the rest of the world doesn't know it, and here's the chance to put our stamp on it, and market much more proactively.

Being the quiet achiever, won't cut it these days, there's so much opportunity out there. We as a Government have been opening up huge, new market opportunities in Asia, it's the fastest growing area of the world, what we've got to do is to get out and promote ourselves far more effectively. This is part of that exercise.

SPENCER HOWSON:Alright, Trade Minister, Simon Crean, thank you for telling us about it this morning.

SIMON CREAN:Okay, thanks, Spencer.

ENDS

Media inquiries

• Trade Minister's Office: (02) 6277 7420
• Departmental Media Liaison: (02) 6261 1555