Cutting costs at the expense of local manufacturers, says local manufacturer
By Deanne Jeffers
SINCE ramping up production in 2020 to meet demand for disposable face masks, local manufacturer, Med-Con, has invested over $1M in upgrades to produce Australian-made masks.
Despite initially receiving support from the State Government, no further orders have been placed. Med-Con operations manager, Grant McGrath, expressed his disappointment that preference was never given to Australian manufacturers.
“We never ever asked to have 100 percent of the State Government’s sales. We’re happy with 10 or 14 percent. Just give us something,” said Grant.
“The State Government never learned from what happened. We had a situation where borders were closed, and we couldn’t get face masks. We were able to produce masks for the State Government, so we helped supply their face masks for the hospitals and so forth,” Grant said.
“We don’t want that to happen again, so we need a couple of companies in Australia that can still make face masks. If they don’t buy off us, what happens is that we’re not going to manufacture because we won’t have a manufacturing plant, we’ll have gone to China ourselves and say, alright, I can’t beat them, so I’ll join them.”
He wants protections offered to Australian manufacturers like Med-Con and SPC, that produce essential products that would harm Australians if we were unable to import.
“Somewhere along the line, there’s got to be a rationale where the Government says okay, we’re going to give you a 30 percent rebate an allowance or something to cover costs of these things that we as a government force business to do,” Grant said.
The State Government procured almost 6M surgical face masks from Med-Con in 2020 and said its stockpile has not been exhausted. A Department of Health spokesperson told The Adviser that, “When further supplies of surgical masks and PPE are required, suppliers will be approached using the standard government procurement process.”
“PPE, including surgical masks, is sourced from a range of supplies across Australia, including Victoria and overseas, as it’s not always possible to source supplies locally.
“HealthShare Victoria, as the independent public sector provider responsible for sourcing PPE, is committed to promoting ethical decision-making and appropriate strategies that benefit Victoria’s health care services.”
