Newsroom

24 November, 2003

Interview Transcript

Champions of the Bush Executive Officer Darren Chester ABC Statewide Victoria, Presenter Kathy Bedford.

Topic: Making it a real bush Christmas - supporting country businesses

Bedford: Look at the date today... November 24.

Now I don't want to alarm anyone but as of tomorrow, it's exactly one calendar month until Christmas.

Never mind alarming anybody else, I'm alarming myself.

Can I ask for a tip this morning too... I have to buy a gift for my niece. Eleven-year-old girl, I've got no idea because we're all boys in my family.

I know very well what to buy boys, if anyone wants some advice from me, but if someone has an 11-year-old girl - they seem very grown up these days don't they? Give me a tip what to buy, 1300 303 468 - I'd hate to be the daggy aunty who buys her a Barbie if she's just too old for it.

So let's talk Christmas shopping this morning and your tips from where the best gifts can be purchased as well, and where the best regional shopping centres are.

Because according to Darren Chester from Champions of the Bush, the issue today for all of us - that means you and me - it's not about how much we spend - the issue today is where we spend it.

Darren says he wouldn't buy a Christmas present from a shop in Melbourne if I gave him the money!

I donÕt believe it... Darren joins me now.

Hi Darren.

Chester: Good morning Kathy.

Bedford: Darren, if I said pop down to Melbourne and buy this niece of mine a gift, you'd organise it for me wouldn't you.

Chester: I'd probably duck into a local shop here and get her a CD from one of her favourite bands.

Bedford: A CD you think for an 11-year-old.

Chester: Well that's a good starting point.

Bedford: That is a good starting point but Darren, it's all very well to say shop locally and I understand the reasons for this, but often the local shops just donÕt have what we want.

Chester: Well then you've got a decision that you've got to make, don't you. IÕm just asking people to think before they rush off to Melbourne.

If you can't get a certain item at your local shopping strip in a small town... perhaps it's better off to go to a major regional centre like Bendigo, Wodonga, Ballarat, Traralgon, Warrnambool... rather than rush off to the city.

My personal view is... if I can't get something in my little town... I would rather spend my money 30kms down the road at the next big town. It's also a question I suppose, we often talk about price... and the question of price is an interesting one.

Bedford: Yes, people think you pay more... if you go down to Melbourne you'll get more bargains.

Chester: It's reasonable to expect the local trader to be price competitive with big cities... but again it's your decision. Once you factor in things like petrol costs and the time involved, is it really that much cheaper to go down to the big cities?

I would have to question for example... is it worth driving down to Melbourne to save a few dollars on a stereo system... when if you buy it from a local fella he'll look after you perhaps with follow up service; if something goes wrong you're not rushing back to Melbourne to try and get some service for it.

It's an investment in the future of your town. If you spend some money in your local towns youÕll help to create jobs in your local town.

Bedford: Do you think it really does make a difference?

Chester: I think we've got a huge opportunity at this time of year to make a difference to our local towns.

I think in the past, too many of us have rushed off to the cities - we get into this pre-Christmas frenzy if you like. We've got to rush down to get all the latest things for our children, and we can argue about the materialism or the commercialism of Christmas at another time perhaps.

If you're quite happy to hop on a bus and rush down to Melbourne to go to these warehouses or bargain sheds, I think you may as well load your kids on the next bus because they'll never get a job in your town.

Bedford: Ooooh that's harsh.

Chester: It's the power of the purse... and we're asking people to think before they make a purchase.

Bedford: It's an interesting argument you're putting there Darren because a lot of the kinders and schools - my own school - ran one of these bus tours to Melbourne'... where it was a fundraiser for the school to get all the mums to go on a bus on a warehouse shopping trip.

Chester: That's right. The bus trips to these seconds warehouses or the bargain sheds are the ones that really annoy local traders. I've spoken to a lot of traders over the last few months and they are the ones that really annoy them.

We pass them off as a fundraiser for our kindergarten or our community group, but they take a lot of money out of our towns.

It's a false economy. You might save a few dollars but then a few years down the track when your kids have to move to Melbourne because they can't get a job, you'll pay all that money back in rent costs or petrol costs.

Maryborough is a good example. They successfully started their own bus tour around their own local shops to prevent some of these things happening. It worked a treat. The local traders discounted their stock for one night only... I think it was 20%... a lot of the ladies in the town pay a donation into joining the bus trip and they have a great fun night, travelling around their own town, picking up great bargains and the money stays in that local community.

Bedford: You know what would be an interesting idea... because there's this thing, no matter where you live, and maybe this is a girl thing, maybe you won't understand Darren, but you always think, the grass is greener. If I live in Ballarat, I assume that the shopping is better in Bendigo... and I'm sure it is. Maybe you could do inter-town bus trips?

Chester: That's exactly right... and you've caught me out Kathy - I'm a terrible shopper.

Bedford: I've got a suggestion for a gift to give to my 11-year-old niece. Can you hang on the line for me Darren.

Talkback caller: Suggesting gift and talking about local markets.

Bedford: Darren Chester is with us from Champions of the Bush. Darren, markets, that's a great way to support your local people.

Chester: Certainly, and there's a lot of these getting around now... even with farmer's markets.

Let's not forget at Christmas time it's not just the presents you buy - it's the supplies for Christmas lunch.

I saw some figures from the Australian Retailers Association - they're forecasting that Victorians will spend $6.5 billion getting ready for Christmas. And if we took a guess, we'd have to say that over a billion dollars of that would be spent by regional people.

It's an enormous amount of spending power over a short period of time, and it can help set up the country business community for the rest of the year if you invest a bit of that in your own country town.

Bedford: On those figures from the retailers association they're also telling us the average person will spend $400 each on Christmas gifts - thatÕs up $50 from last year. So that money alone, if it's spent in your local community, could make a huge difference.

Chester: We can create our own mini-economic boom in the bush. Rather than rushing down to Melbourne - rush the local traders off their feet. LetÕs not forget... these are the traders who support our towns right throughout the year. I mean these are the businesses that we rely on every week to make donations to our community groups or to sponsor local sporting clubs. When was the last time a suburban shopping centre sponsored the under 11 netballers in Warrnambool... or gave away a meat tray for the Yarrawonga footy club.

Bedford: Yes, good point.

Chester: These businesses look after us week in, week out and we can't expect the local businesses to support our communities if we don't support them during the busiest time of the year.

Bedford: That's true, and a lot of local businesses do a lot for their own country towns but when it comes to getting value for money, that's what weÕre all looking for, surely these businesses in country towns Darren, can't just sit back and expect the money to come rolling in because we have a moral obligation to do so.

Chester: You've touched on a very good point. The businesses have to do their bit. They have to be competitive on price.

I think the one area where they can beat the city - is they have to offer outstanding service, follow up service and support for the community.

A lot of towns at this time of year are running their own promotions and trying to attract business to their local shops. They are giving away great prizes - coupons or vouchers that you receive for shopping locally go into the draw to win some big spending sprees or I think some have cars that are being given away.

If we support them whenever we can, we can make a real difference to our regional towns.

Bedford: I've noticed - I don't know how many SantaÕs helpers there are - but I've noticed a lot of the regional centres have Santa arriving this weekend or very soon. That's a good opportunity to take the kids to visit Santa while youÕre shopping.

Chester: It's always fun taking the kids to visit Santa Kathy. I don't know how your experiences have gone but there's a very mixed bag when the young ones see Santa for the first time - they react very strangely some of them.

Bedford: Yes, not always smiles. And then you try and get that lovely photo of them sitting on Santa's knee when they're howling - it's not always good.

Chester: We've all had our experiences with Santa and the Christmas shopping sprees.

Bedford: Darren, it's an interesting and very worthwhile topic that youÕve raised today. I must say you have created a degree of alarm in me- I haven't started my Christmas shopping, so I'd better get on to it.

Chester: Great, as long as you do all that shopping in Ballarat and Bendigo I won't mind at all Kathy.

Bedford: I certainly will - thankyou very much.

Darren Chester from Champions of the Bush. Apart from anything else, who could be bothered driving to Melbourne and worrying about where you're going to park the car and how much it's going to cost you.

So yes, a very good call this morning.

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