eKourier Jan 2021

MESSAGE FROM SAM

to take Taiwan. Virtual cultural genocide of the minority Uyghurs in the north is happening in our lifetime. These are some of the issues that have troubled me and even been dinner table conversations in our home but we have just felt helpless. It’s obvious the Chinese administration has little congruence with our values and ethics. When the Chinese government lashed out like a spoilt toddler and just childishly sought to hurt us, it dawned on me and the Leadership Team to question why we trade with them. How is it ethical for us to trade with China? Why should KSS buy our products from such a hostile supplier? Why not look around? For any business it is an inherent risk to be dependent on any one supplier or customer - that issue would hold a strong place in any SWOT analysis. A country should be equally cautious and work towards lessened dependence. Though Australia has gained a great deal from China’s attraction to us - minerals, food, education, tourism, wine, property - not to mention their strength in manufacturing low cost goods has benefited Australian (and NZ) consumers, we should not rely on them. One of the rules of friendship I once heard is that genuine friends are those people that only want the best for you. They are people who genuinely want to see you prosper, succeed and thrive. On that measure, it is clear now we could never consider China to be a real friend of Australia. So the decision to seek non-Chinese products is not mindless retaliation. It is an ethical decision to disengage with a country that demonstrates the antithesis of our values and also to secure a more robust and trustworthy trading relationship. So, we have made the decision to look for alternatives. Our Chinese made product suppliers know of our intentions and, pleasingly, are looking to help.

T he recent media I earned with my modest announcement about now preferring non-Chinese made products earned me some surprising media attention and public support. It found me on 2GB, 3AW, news.com.au, The Courier Mail, The Australian, The Daily Mail and other overseas publications plus a couple of Sky News segments. Quite unusually, particularly for Twitter, the feedback from my comments were almost exclusively supportive and positive. My remarks seemingly made Twitter light up. The Chinese Communist Party government has been escalating trade disputes with Australia and inflicting significant harm on various industry sectors through 2020. This is hurting

businesses, employees and their families. For some years they have also demonstrated a frightening and hostile approach to civil liberties, oppressing their citizens and belligerence towards their neighbours. I received a range of public and private social media replies, text messages and emails of support from here and all over the world. It is clear that China is a triggering issue for many people. In China, the incarceration of citizens without trial is quite common. There is excessive control and surveillance of Chinese citizens. We experience Chinese state driven cyber attacks on our government and private organisa- tions. In Hong Kong, the freedom of these people is being stolen before our eyes, while China also hold ambitions

Sam Kennard Chief Executive Officer

3 Kennards Kourier Jan 2021