Welcoming Indonesia and China to Bunbury
This month we were delighted to welcome Mr Irvan Buchari, the new Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia, and his economic team on their visit to Bunbury.
The delegation met with local businesses, the City of Bunbury, Southern Ports and other regional representatives to explore ways of strengthening economic ties and identifying new opportunities for investment.
One of the key areas of discussion was agriculture – in particular the dairy sector. With milk consumption in Indonesia steadily increasing, and the recent launch of its National Free Nutritious Meals Program providing a daily portion of milk to school students, demand is expected to grow.
To showcase local innovation, we accompanied Mr Buchari and his team on a visit to a Dardanup dairy farm, which is adopting cutting-edge rotary dairy techniques including robotics and advanced data capture.
Indonesia represents a significant market for Australian businesses. We encourage members to consider attending Trade Expo Indonesia, now in its 40th year, taking place 15–19 October 2025, Trade Expo Indonesia - https://www.tradexpoindonesia.com/
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Bunbury and Jiaxing, China, celebrate a 25-year sister city agreement
Representatives from Jiaxing were in Bunbury to celebrate the signing of a sister city agreement. We were pleased to be invited to take part in the celebrations with the City of Bunbury and to discuss future plans for strengthening the relationship between the two cities.
Both Jiaxing and Bunbury have much in common in being port cities and of strategic importance with respect to trade and economy. Jiaxing handles significant trade through its ports, including inland trade by way of the famous Yangtze River that acts as the principal inland waterway for a large part of the country.
We were also pleased to learn more about the setting up of the original agreement that was well ahead of its time. To put this into perspective, at the time China was our fifth largest trading partner, behind Japan, USA, Korea and New Zealand.
We’re interested to hear from those wishing to strengthen their ties with China and Indonesia who may be interested in joining future delegations. Email: ceo@bgcci.com.au
Cyber Security Support for Small Business
The Federal Government, Telstra and Commonwealth Bank have partnered to deliver the Cyber Wardens training program – a free initiative to help small businesses strengthen their cyber security practices.
• The program is 100% free and relevant to all small businesses and their employees.
• More than 16,000 employees in the eastern states have already completed the training.
• The foundation course takes just 10 minutes to complete.
Learn more about Cyber Wardens - https://cyberwardens.com.au/
Have Your Say: Transmission Manufacturing in WA
The WA Government has committed $75 million through the Made in WA Plan to support the development of local transmission manufacturing as part of the state’s clean energy transition.
To help guide this investment, the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification (DEED) is seeking input from businesses currently involved in – or interested in joining – transmission manufacturing supply chains.
Responses are sought on:
• Relevant products and services for transmission infrastructure
• Local capacity, experience, and interest in WA operations
• Workforce, partnerships, and opportunities for expansion
All responses will be treated in-confidence and will help shape future government programs supporting WA’s energy transition.
Submit your input by 31 October 2025 to: transmission.manufacturing@jtsi.wa.gov.au
We welcome your thoughts and feedback on what you need and what we can do better.
Sean
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