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| Vegemite is back in the fold |
It’s taking a bit longer to finish the posts about Press Freedom, so I thought I’d write a quick post for Made in Australia Week thinking it would be a great excuse to break out the Tim Tams. But No, Arnott’s Biscuits who make Tim Tams are apparently owned by US firm, Kohlberg Krams Roberts.
The same goes for a lot of other brands in my kitchen which were once Australian. The Tomato Sauce bottle proudly says ‘Made in Australia,’ but the fine print on the back says it's owned by Mars Inc (USA) and the ingredients are only 35% Australian. Cottees Jam -which used to be another household name, is made in New Zealand by Heinz Wattie which is owned by American Company H.J. Heinz which in turn merged with Kraft Food in 2010, making it yet another American Company.
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| Made in Australia - Really? |
Uncle Toby’s Oats are now owned by Nestlé (Switzerland). Bushell’s Tea, the one I showed you for Australia Day, is owned by Unilever (UK/Netherlands). Golden Circle famous for its pineapple rings and juices, is also owned by Heinz. Milo, another childhood favourite, has become part of Nestlé.
Four ‘n’ Twenty Pies -that staple of footy fans, belongs to Pacific Alliance (Japan). Most of our beers such as Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draft and Great Northern, belong to Asahi (Japan) while XXXX, Toohey’s, James Boag, Emu Export and Hahn belong to Kirin (also Japan). Even Hobart’s signature brand Cascade belongs to Asahi as does Cottees Cordial. Another historic Hobart company IXL jam is majority Malaysian owned. Hobart’s famous Cadbury Chocolate Factory was apparently always owned by the UK, but was bought by Heinz in 2010. Heinz has since changed its named to Mondelēz. Still with me?
Even the UGG branded boots I’m wearing – so very Australian - sheepswool on the inside and suede on the outside, are in fact made under licence in China and are thus a lot cheaper than the local product used to be. The same goes for Blundstones -the tough elastic- sided work boots which used to be made here in Tasmania and were worn by just about everyone who wasn’t working in an office or a shop. They were the only footwear my children ever grew out of before they wore it out.
Does it Matter who owns What?
It’s not all bad. Foreign ownership often brings additional capital and know -how to allow companies to expand. Foreign ownership may also have kept some of these companies from going under, along with the jobs they provide. However, most of the profits also go overseas -often without being taxed, and are unlikely to be reinvested or spent in Australia. Decision -making is usually also done off – shore and what would someone in a distant boardroom care about the impact of a hundred people losing their job in a small country town they probably couldn't even find on a map or the environmental impact of their operations far from their home? Various parts of production may also be outsourced, such as the tomatoes in the case of the sauce, which also means less employment here. Foreign ownership of media affects news coverage, editorial independence and public discourse.
With their greater purchasing power multinational companies can also out -compete local businesses and gain a monopoly in certain industries. I don’t want to go into this too deeply because its complicated – shareholders often live in different countries including Australia, and if not directly, then possibly through their retirement funds, but for me this is more about losing household names which many Australian’s grew up with and reflecting nostalgia perhaps, for a less complicated time. They are our comfort food so to speak. Though I personally never forgave Vegemite for not being chocolate, other Aussies swear by it, including my housemate.
Brands that have come 'home'
The good news is, that some classic brands have in fact come
’home’ in recent years. Vegemite returned to Australian ownership in 2017 after
being foreign owned for around 20 years. Rosella Tomato Sauce has been
back in Australian hands since 2013. Many dairy foods including Dairy Farmer’s,
Farmer’s Union (my favourite yoghurt) and Big M, which until recently also belonged to Japanese
Company Kirin, are now back too.
Others include the famous Akubra hats as worn by Paul Hogan in “Crocodile Dundee” and stars such as Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. They’ve been brought back by mining billionaire Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest after decades of foreign ownership. In 2020 he also bought back R. M. Williams Country Boots and Clothing. One of our other mining billionaires Gina Rinehart, has done the same for Driza -bone oilskin jackets and coats. Good to see them buying back some of our heritage brands. Copilot doesn’t seem to know it yet, but the King Island Dairy which makes excellent double and triple cream Brie and Camembert, has also just returned to Australian ownership after being owned by Kirin (Japan) since 2007 and by Canadian Company Saputo since 2019.
Stayers
Some brands continue to remain Australian though they may not be as well known as some of the above. They include Weetbix, Bundaberg Brewed Drink - best known for its ginger beer and distinct from Bundaberg Rum (same city) which belongs British firm, Diageo. Bega Cheese is another one and is in fact the new owner of Vegemite.
What Australians are Producing Instead
Australia has moved on too since many of these brands were launched. It now makes makes excellent wines for
example. Then there are software companies like Atlassian or graphic design platform
Canva and Tasmanian ship builder Incat, has just launched the world's largest electric ferry. Our media productions have also spread far and wide. Most people have heard of “Crocodile
Dundee” and "Mad Max" - now in it's 5th or possibly 6th incarnation,“Neighbours, "Home and Away," or more recently “Bluey,” but how many people know that "Babe," "Happy Feet" and and "Peter Rabbit" or docos like "Sherpa" are also Australian?
Good Luck finding something truly Australian during Made in Australia Week. You could do worse than listen to some original Australian music. Looks like I'm not allowed to put clips on anymore even though they say share, but it's easy to find a few compilations on YouTube such as Chaddington's. It isn’t the best version of these songs – listen to the originals if you can, but you can see how shocked the presenter is that so many of them are Australian. Everyone knows "Down Under" by Men at Work." Some of my other favourites include “Reckless” by Australian Crawl, “Great Southern Land” by Icehouse and "Treaty" by Yothuyindi.
If you want to understand why Australians regularly vote for Jimmy Barnes' "Working Class Man" and Khe San, you need to be able to understand the lyrics and the history. It isn't for the tune but the passion. Olivia Newton -John's "You're the One that I want" from "Grease" will bring back a few memories for some people as will John Farnham's pure vocals on the "The Voice."
As for myself I will be kicking back with some of that King Island Cheese and maybe a glass of wine and taking a look at some Australian movies I've missed. And you know what. I might still get some of those TimTams. It might at least keep some Australians in a job.
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| Hmmm. Got those TimTams but there's no indication on the labelling that they aren't Australian owned, though ChatGTP tells me they are definitely still owned by KKR as at May, 2025 |
Thank you Copilot and ChatGTP for much of the information regarding the above. Hope it is otherwise correct and apologies to the hundreds of companies I have no doubt left out.
By the way, I haven't forgotten about the environment and there's quite a bit of good news there. It's just that if the other major party had won the election, then all our gains on the renewable front and efforts to reach Net Zero would have been reversed. There would have been nothing left to save. Good News coming soon.
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[PPS: Many thanks to Allianz and everyone else who helped for honouring my medical travel claim, especially the horrendous hospital bill I got in Switzerland].
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