Treasurer Scott Morrison's suggestion this week's excellent economic growth figures signify a "ute led" recovery is a reminder that this is still very much a country that makes things.
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When was the last time you saw a new house, a home renovation, a new road, a residential subdivision, a skyscraper or an apartment building arrive on a slow boat from China?
This infrastructure, which we see going up around us every day of the week, doesn't just materialise out of thin air.
It is created by hardworking tradies who bucked the trend a few years ago by choosing jobs where they would get their hands dirty rather than opting for more fashionable, but now not necessarily more lucrative, university degrees.
These are the men and the women who, by the sweat of their collective brows, have played a very big part in giving Australia what even Paul Keating would have to call "a beautiful set of numbers".
While household spending has stayed low, at just 0.3 per cent for the quarter, the economic growth rate of 3.1 per cent for the year to March is the highest it has been since 2011.
Exports surged by 2.4 per cent for the quarter and are up by 4.6 per cent for the year to March.
While resources exports, most notably of liquefied natural gas, have played a big part, other sectors have also made a significant contribution.
"Interestingly, [imports of] industrial transport, which includes utility vehicles [utes] was up 26 per cent for the quarter," Mr Morrison said.
"Why am I talking about utes so much? One of the signs of a strong economy was always cranes on the skyline. Everytime an Australian sees a ute driving around ... with a phone number on the side, that's the sign of a stronger economy."
And he's right. These are the people who, either as workers, sub-contractors or small business people in their own right, can go home at the end of the day and say: "I changed someone's world; I helped to build them a home, workplace or whatever".
This begs the question of why all governments, whether they be federal, state or territory, aren't doing more to help our tradies in what can be a very Darwinian business environment.
Barely a day goes by without a report of some megabuilder or corporation going belly-up, the necessary first step in the well-documented, debt-eliminating and lucrative re-birthing process, leaving hundreds of workers, subbies and small businesses high and dry.
Surely it is not beyond the capacity of governments to put in place mechanisms that would limit the degree to which workers and small business have to subsidise the excesses of the big end of town.
And, on a separate but related topic, why is the federal government still charging tradies a 5 per cent tariff for their imported utes long after local car production ceased?
Yes, vehicles from countries with free trade agreements are exempt but it's a case of tough luck if the ute you want is a Volkswagen Amarok or you are in the market for a European upright van.
Perhaps Mr Morrison should think about giving his new-found best friends a break.
