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AMELIA ADAMS (NEWSREADER): Brand Australia has been given a $4 million face lift during its launch at a ceremony in Sydney. Nine reporter Davina Smith joins me now from outside the Sydney Opera House. Davina, tell us about the launch.

DAVINA SMITH: Well Amelia, the brand is called Australia Unlimited. The logo is two boomerangs that represent the Australian continent. It's all about selling Australia - not just our beauty, but our brains as well. And it'll give you goose bumps. Here's a sneak peek.

[Footage of Australia Unlimited advertisement]

Yeah. It's a very contemporary campaign. To talk it through - to talk us through it we've got Minister Simon Crean. Simon, we've come a long way since Paul Hogan threw a shrimp on the barbie, haven't we.

SIMON CREAN: We have, because Australia's come a long way. We know it. But the rest of the world doesn't. So this is all about promoting our versatility and our diversity to the rest of the world.

It's also interesting - you talk about them being boomerangs. The truth is these can also be seen as Australia reaching out; Australia welcoming, but not being constrained. I think it says so much about what is good in Australia; the quality of what we produce. And really, what we want people left with is the image that, if it's Australian, it's quality, and we're proud of it.

DAVINA SMITH: We've got Nobel Peace Prize winners, we've got the cervical cancer vaccine, which was a breakthrough in Australia - there's a lot to be proud of, isn't there.

SIMON CREAN: Yes, cochlear, Google maps, Wi-Fi, all of these things - these are Australian. But unless you put the brand on them, how do people know? And the thing that strikes me every time I'm negotiating overseas, is how much we can offer, and how much we can meet their demands, but how little awareness there is of that diversity. This is all part of the mechanism to brand that more effectively. We can open the markets. But we need people marketing more effectively.

DAVINA SMITH: It's cost $4 million to put together. And there's word today that it's not exactly original, that News Limited have come up with the slogan beforehand. Have we spent $4 million on something that someone already had thought of?

SIMON CREAN: No, well, the word - the slogan is only part of the brand. The brand is also the stylised map of Australia, and then its application everywhere.

The slogan itself is being used for a conference that News Limited runs. We're using it to promote to the rest of the world. And we have a clear understanding with News Limited that... they're delighted and happy for us to use it. But it's much more than the slogan. It says so much about what we're good at.

DAVINA SMITH: The world gets to see it, Amelia, at the World Expo at Shanghai. Coming up soon. Back to you.

AMELIA ADAMS: Yeah, I think it looks great. Thanks Davina.

ENDS

Media inquiries

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