JAMES GLENDAY, HOST: Top stories now, Australian Made Week, which kicks off today. We're joined by the Industry, Innovation and Science Minister, Tim Ayres. Tim, welcome.

SENATOR TIM AYRES, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION AND MINISTER FOR SCIENCE: G'. Day. It's good to be on the show with both of you.

GLENDAY: Yeah, it's nice to have you here in person. So, how are you going to get more Australians to buy more Australian stuff?

AYRES: I reckon Australians just need the reminder of this kind of campaign. We put a bit of extra resources behind this campaign this year, partly in response to the US tariffs that were announced last year and the more volatile global trading environment. But buying Australian means that you're getting good quality products, but you're backing mostly manufacturing jobs in our outer suburbs, in our regions.

EMMA REBELLATO, HOST: We've been asking our viewers this morning if they buy Australian or if they'd like to more. Interesting comments. Heather is one of them saying, ‘I try to, but it's not advertised enough in shops’. Do things need to change there?

AYRES: Yes. So, there's about 4,500 companies that have signed up to this Australian Made campaign. They employ about 40,000 Australians. So, when you're buying with that Australian Made logo, you can be confident that it's really made in Australia. Take tinned tomatoes, for example. Shepparton, just to our north, canning tomatoes. There's plenty of different tomatoes available on the supermarkets, but if you go for the Australian Made logo with the tomatoes, you know that that's backing our farmers and backing manufacturing workers in those facilities.

GLENDAY: So, we've heard from a number of people this morning who say they'd love to buy local, but they can also save money if they buy imported products sometimes. Leanne is one who says she's happy to pay a bit extra to buy local. Is that the only solution? You have to just pay a little bit extra?

AYRES: I reckon we ought to have a bit more confidence in the capacity of our local industry and in the costs. It's not always the case that Australian products are more expensive; they are usually really competitive, but you know that you're getting great quality and you're getting something that backs our economy and backs our productive capacity. That's why we're, you know, an unashamedly pro-manufacturing government backing Australian manufacturing every way we can and we want Australians to do that too.

REBELLATO: Is there a way of – how do companies get this Australian Made logo? For instance, is there a percentage of their product that has to be, has to come from Australia or is it made here? How does that all work?

AYRES: So, they need to apply and get the tick from the Australian Made organisation. So, there are some criteria, like is it genuinely made in Australia? And those companies, those 4,500 companies have gone through that process. The logo is on their product, so it's really clear to customers, you know, what's, what's actually going on. And as I said, they employ 40,000 Australians, an additional $8 billion every year in product in the Australian economy. That is a win-win for Australia.

GLENDAY: And given all the discussion around supply chains at the moment, is probably not a bad time to launch this campaign. Can we just take you to the Budget? We just had the first weekend of auctions off the back of the changes to property taxes. Didn't look like there was a huge amount of change. What are you expecting to see in terms of house prices, auction clearances, things like that?

AYRES: What I'm expecting to see is that the tax changes that the Treasurer announced last week will level the playing field over time for young Australians. So, it is a big step. We've explained that we've changed our approach because the status quo wasn't working for young people and that will level the playing field for them. That's a good outcome. But if you've got a current property and it's negatively geared, it's no impact for current property holders, no impact on existing arrangements. But in terms of the future for young Australians, this is a game changer for them. You add that to what we're doing as a Government in bringing in new supply, that's going to substantially change the property market and give people a fair crack.

GLENDAY: Would you like to see house prices go down across Australia?

AYRES: Well, what I'd like to see is sustainable arrangements that over time shape the market in the interests of young Australians. Property prices are going to go up and going to go down. That's the nature of the property market. We're a country where people talk about property prices all day long. At weekend barbecues, people talk about real estate. That's the nature of living in our big capital cities. Prices will go up and prices will go down. But over time I want to see this being a sustainable market, that young people have got a fair crack, that my kids, all of our kids have got a fair crack at getting their first home.

REBELLATO: How long do you think though it will be before people believe you, believe that it's a good thing? We've had a couple of different polls out. They're saying, some people are saying, we don't think this is going to be good for the economy. It's just widening the divide. How do you think, how long will it take before people believe that this is going to work?

AYRES: Well, we've changed our approach. That is a tough thing to do. It's not the easy thing to do. The easiest thing to do would have been just to leave everything as it was. But the status quo clearly wasn't working. So, we've made up our mind. We have announced it in the Budget, we've explained it to Australians. We'll keep explaining it, no doubt, in interviews over the coming weeks and months. It's a substantial shift. That's the truth of it. But I think most Australians are engaging with the substance of what this means for them and the young people in their lives. And people know, Australians know that the property market has been – the balance has been tilted in the wrong direction. So, this is making a substantial shift and I expect to see that playing out over the coming months and years.

GLENDAY: Tim Ayres, thank you so much for joining us in the studio.

AYRES: Good to see you both.