Good morning everyone.

What a pleasure it is to be here today to launch this fantastic project.

Innovation, productivity and competitiveness are things we hear, and talk, about all the time – and for good reason. They are the keys to jobs, prosperity and growth, to creating and growing Australian businesses.

We are committed to supporting local businesses to adopt and adapt technologies to solve industry problems, build the economy and create jobs.

Through organisations like the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, it is exciting to see innovative technologies being developed right here in Australia.

Congratulations to Cellr who has developed world-first technology to combat counterfeit wine and Intellectual Property fraud, which impacts 20 per cent of the $350 billion global wine market.

This exciting new product will use a state of the art blockchain system embedded within the bottle lid that allows purchasers to use their mobile phone to confirm the authenticity of the product they are purchasing.

An easy to use and seemingly simple solution using advanced manufacturing technology.

A brilliant example of how innovative digital solutions can be applied to business problems.

The Morrison Government’s goal is for Australia to be a leading digital economy by 2030. Our success will be critical to income growth and job creation over the next decade and beyond.

Key to this success is small and family businesses and companies like Cellr.

I’ve said it before; I’ve said it often; and I will continue to say it: small businesses are the lifeblood of our community and the engine room of the Australian economy.

Small businesses create the majority of our jobs, especially in our local communities, and drive the prosperity that we all want to see for our future generations.

There are more than 3.4 million small businesses in Australia and together they contribute $413 billion to our economy. They employ more than 6 million people, which is nearly half of the Australian private sector workforce.

When small and family businesses in Australia prosper and grow, the whole economy thrives and every Australian benefits.

Digital technology helps businesses deliver products and services faster, respond to changing consumer demands, and welcome new customers locally and internationally who want to buy online.

We know that small businesses with higher levels of digital engagement are 50 per cent more likely to grow revenue, eight times more likely to create jobs and 14 times more likely to be innovating new products and services.

That is why the Government is investing in small business to help them keep up with technological change because we know this directly translates into prosperity, growth and job creation to benefit all Australians.

This Government has set the right economic framework for small and family businesses in Australia to flourish — from lowering taxes and improving cash flow to accessing subsidies; from harnessing the power of digital media and online systems to making compliance and tax reporting easier.

Our support for small business is support for jobs of the future and a stronger Australian economy.

Cellr in conjunction with Portavin and South West Development is developing this world-first technology that the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre is co-funding and is a project I fully support.

Cellr is helping create the engineering, sales, marketing and administration jobs (up to 22 roles are expected to be created with revenue up to $10 million) of the future in our great state of Western Australia.

Thank you.

ENDS