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Speaker 1: A few months ago I spoke with John Seely from

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Speaker 1: Sealy International, of course based here in South Australia. They

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Speaker 1: got their start here and over the years expanded into

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Speaker 1: Aubrey with Donga, into the Victorian side, and we're making

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Speaker 1: gas appliances there. As you know, we've spoken about this

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Speaker 1: many times. The Victorian government on a no gas policy.

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Speaker 1: They want to get rid of it. New homes, new premises,

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Speaker 1: buildings don't have gas connected from now that's for Sealy's hands.

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Speaker 1: They're relocating back to SA. We've spoken with John Seely

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Speaker 1: about this before. Work doesn't stop for them, so they're

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Speaker 1: going to bring the factory back here. He's in the

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Speaker 1: US at the moment negotiating on exporting to that market.

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Speaker 1: And John Seeley joins me, John, good morning. How's the

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Speaker 1: relocation going at the moment? Are you back yet?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a lot of work to be done, and

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Speaker 2: we made an announcement to August staff and we are

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Speaker 2: beginning in planning process for that, but we're not going

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Speaker 2: to complete that move until the end of twenty twenty five.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, our team there in Aubrey's got quivered time

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Speaker 2: to get ready for it, and of course we're appearing

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Speaker 2: for all the equipment it's going to have to move

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Speaker 2: and all the expertise that we're going to have to

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Speaker 2: transfer as well.

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Speaker 1: Now this has all come about as a result of

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Speaker 1: the Victorian government's gas policy, essentially their energy policy.

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Speaker 2: Well that's been a big thing, just causing confusion in

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Speaker 2: the market for Victorian customers about whether they're going to

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Speaker 2: still have gas. Of course, we know they will still

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Speaker 2: have gas because the whole energy system will come to

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Speaker 2: the trash and pulp if gas was switched off in

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Speaker 2: the next decade, actually or two is the reality we

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Speaker 2: now know, but still it causes uncertainly in the market.

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Speaker 2: The other big factor that you for us to make

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Speaker 2: the decision was the federal government's extreme industrial relations laws,

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Speaker 2: which are really penalizing casual employment. And of course two

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Speaker 2: separate factories as a winter people adelaide factor, the summit,

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Speaker 2: and unavoidably you need to surge a casual employment to

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Speaker 2: cover the seasonal demand. So putting them both together, we're

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Speaker 2: going to get some more efficiencies and we'll be able

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Speaker 2: to minimize casual employment because apparently that's what our federal

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Speaker 2: government I believes that we need to do. Of course,

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Speaker 2: it means that eighty five permanent full time staff of

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Speaker 2: ours in Aubury who've been working with us for many years,

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Speaker 2: we'll lose their jobs unless they can come to Gradilaid.

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Speaker 2: We've invited them all Gradelaide, but of course from any

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Speaker 2: of them, this is not practical because the situation.

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Speaker 1: As a business owner, and I'm reading between the lines here,

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Speaker 1: you must think all of this is crazy, all these

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Speaker 1: policies and it forces you to move into state for

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Speaker 1: goodness sake.

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Speaker 2: Certainly not helpful. And it's quite quite the opposite. You

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Speaker 2: know it doesn't and also you know for no good reason.

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Speaker 2: I mean, I mean ir laws. No, there's no practical

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Speaker 2: problem that is being addressed. It's really just just an

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Speaker 2: extreme view can buy extreme unions. We have no problem

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Speaker 2: with unions either. The views are involving constructed with us.

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Speaker 2: But it's I guess what we've seen is it's the

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Speaker 2: same sort of tactic as the CFMU has become more

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Speaker 2: obvious in the news recently. So it's a tactic to

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Speaker 2: try and control and just really ride a rough shod

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Speaker 2: over businesses.

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Speaker 1: Now over in Victoria, you're running an ad campaign over

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Speaker 1: there targeting the government's energy policy. Tell us about that.

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Speaker 1: What's the message you want to get across the Victorians?

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Speaker 2: Pretty simple message. Really, the gas is still a smart

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Speaker 2: choice and gas is still a smart choice for the

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Speaker 2: environment because as we know in Victoria, the majority of

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Speaker 2: the electricity is generated from Bernie coal still and that

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Speaker 2: w continue to be the case for a long time

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Speaker 2: to come because all of the large renewable energy generation

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Speaker 2: projects are currently stalled for environmental reasons. So that goal

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Speaker 2: is out of reach at the moment, and we support

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Speaker 2: a transition that we just say, do it logically, do

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Speaker 2: it in a way that reduce is admission. So gas

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Speaker 2: is still a smart choice for the environment. Gas is

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Speaker 2: still a smart choice for your home because it's an

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Speaker 2: effective way to heat your home, to cook and to

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Speaker 2: heat your water inside. And it's not it's absolutely not

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Speaker 2: going to be switched off anytime soon because it's completely

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Speaker 2: impossible to do so.

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Speaker 1: Well, that's the thing, isn't that. I mean, we still

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Speaker 1: need some sort of baseload and without coal, well gas

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Speaker 1: is it? Really unless we go down the nuclear path

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Speaker 1: and all the renewables in the world they have their place,

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Speaker 1: but we still need something to run generators.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely right, and everywhere in the world recognizes that nuclear

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Speaker 2: is the solution for reliable based load power in the

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Speaker 2: clean energy scenario. Of course, we accept in australia's going

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Speaker 2: to take some time. In the meantime, gas is a

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Speaker 2: much cleaner alternative and cold and it's a great way

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Speaker 2: to feature home and it's a great way to generate

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Speaker 2: electricity when the sun is in training and the wind

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Speaker 2: is and blowing.

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Speaker 1: Now you're in the US, what's the aim there.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we've had operation in the US for quite a

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Speaker 2: few years, but we've recently developed a climate visit product

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Speaker 2: specifically for the US market, and it's a special hybrid product.

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Speaker 2: It's all electric and it's really catering to the US

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Speaker 2: market that does have an emphasis on energy efficiency in

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Speaker 2: their conditioning. And we've building exactly the way, the same

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Speaker 2: size and shape as the US market is used to.

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Speaker 2: And we're finding a lot of interest here in the

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Speaker 2: market because they are focused on the conditioning.

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Speaker 1: What does that mean for US in South Australia when

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Speaker 1: when you've got the whole operation back here, does that

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Speaker 1: lead to an uptick and more jobs?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely so that is absolutely focus and it's all currently

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Speaker 2: working on in the Australian or in the South Australia

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Speaker 2: factory is ramping up production. So we're doing two things

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Speaker 2: at once. We're ramping up the production capacity to build

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Speaker 2: this product, hire volumes, and here in the US, of course,

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Speaker 2: ramping up the sales and distribution so that we get

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Speaker 2: the demand and we try and max the two together.

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Speaker 2: All right, always judgling things when you're running a business.

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Speaker 1: Set I'm sure that's right. Cost of living at the moment.

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Speaker 1: We're all going through that well, right around the world obviously,

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Speaker 1: but certainly here in Australia. And what does that mean

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Speaker 1: for a business like yours. People not purchasing as much

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Speaker 1: as they used to.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, as I mentioned on the weekend, we certainly saw

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Speaker 2: a boom during COVID spending money on their home to renovation,

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Speaker 2: including air conditioning, so there's less of that happening. I

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Speaker 2: think consumers are concerned at the moment about the cost

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Speaker 2: of living and the concerned about where every economy is going.

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Speaker 2: And I think I think rightly so when you have

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Speaker 2: a federal government continues to come out with expansion new budgets,

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Speaker 2: but try to tell us that in some magical way

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Speaker 2: it's going to reduce inflation. I mean the economics, so

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Speaker 2: that just don't work as we're.

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Speaker 1: Seeing ramping up and reduction when you get the heaters

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Speaker 1: back here from twenty twenty five, so no presence in

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Speaker 1: Victoria beyond that.

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Speaker 2: So it's a big market for us still and will

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Speaker 2: continue to be. So we have the field bunt so

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Speaker 2: start the service staff there, will keep them, but we're

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Speaker 2: not going to manufacture any longer because we just need

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Speaker 2: to do it in one place. We need to get

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Speaker 2: more go to efficiencies and we need to minimize our

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Speaker 2: fasure employment because of the new industri.

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Speaker 1: All right, John, appreciate your time. I know you're at

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Speaker 1: an airport about to get on a plane. Really good

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Speaker 1: to talk with you and all the best with it.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure we'll speak again, pleasure.

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Speaker 2: Thank you.

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Speaker 1: John Seely, Managing Director Seely International, which many years ago

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Speaker 1: got to start here in South Australia. Frank Seely you

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Speaker 1: might recall and John running the place now but doing

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Speaker 1: good things and bringing back the Victorian side of the

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Speaker 1: manufacturing the heaters back to South Australia as a result

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Speaker 1: purely of one government's energy policy. Governments they make a

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Speaker 1: difference and in this case it's worked out well for

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Speaker 1: South Australia. Love that. John Sealy, my guest