Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Lyons on his motion and I join with him and my other parliamentary colleagues in calling for the craft brewing sector to receive appropriate government support in the form of an excise concessional refund that is the equivalent of the wine equalisation tax producer rebate. I will risk at the outset the prospect of an argument with my colleagues by saying that Fremantle claims the title of both the birthplace and the spiritual home of craft brewing in Australia. It is certainly a very significant part of the social, cultural and commercial fabric of Fremantle, and we are very proud of its historical and contemporary place in our community.

It was in the early 1980s, following the sensational America’s Cup victory by Australia II, that the owners of the Sail and Anchor Hotel decided to commence on-site brewing operations at their premises on South Terrace in Fremantle. This in turn led to the creation of the Matilda Brewing Company, whose signature product, Redback—a wheat beer—became a national sensation. Other Fremantle microbreweries have followed. The Sail and Anchor is now an independent, on-site brewer selling draught beer. Further down South Terrace is the Mad Monk brewery and restaurant, at which I would one day like to get a photo taken with the member for Warringah. Gage Roads in Palmyra is a medium-sized operation with a range of excellent bottled and draught beers. Little Creatures—so named for the live yeast that does all the hard work—is a brewery/bar/restaurant on Fisherman’s Harbour, whose signature Pale Ale was named champion ale in the 2007 Australian International Beer Awards. In 2006 Little Creatures was named Champion Australasian Brewery. Of course, there are now many other microbreweries in Western Australia and indeed across Australia, with 88 known microbreweries operating mostly in regional and rural areas and providing 600 full-time equivalent jobs.

The craft brewing sector is at a critical point in its development. It is a small but growing industry which makes a significant contribution to employment and tourism in Australia, to rural and regional development and to our export profile, and it needs financial encouragement. In the UK, Canada and the US, excise concessions to craft brewers have led to industry growth from one per cent to five per cent market share, with consequent increases in the number of jobs created because of the labour-intensive nature of microbrewing operations. This is a significant consideration in the current economic climate.

The wine equalisation tax producer rebate was introduced in 2004 and has been updated since that time so that the maximum available rebate has increased from its initial level of $290,000 to the current level of $500,000 per annum. Though all wine producers qualify for the rebate, its stated aim has always been to support small and regional wineries, for whom the rebate is of proportionately greater value.

At the same time, support of this kind for micro or craft brewers is limited to the microbrewery excise refund, which allows brewers who produce fewer than 30,000 litres to claim 60 per cent of excise, paid up to a maximum of $10,000. The contrast is stark—up to $500,000 for wineries, compared to $10,000, or one-fiftieth, for microbrewers. And the current eligibility test, based on the quality of beer produced, is set at a level so low that it only applies to a tiny proportion of microbrewers, some of which are not, strictly speaking, commercially viable.

The argument that microbrewers and their representative associations have been patiently making through several budget cycles is that microbrewers operate in the same market sector, have a similar urban and regional distribution, make a similar contribution to the hospitality and tourism sector and to employment and face the same economic challenges as small wineries, and for all those reasons should receive the same degree of support from government.

It should be noted, at this time of increasing concern about alcopops and young people’s consumption of alcohol, that craft beer tends to suit a mature palate. It is hand made, with a focus on quality ingredients and intense flavours, and for this reason the microbrewer clientele tend to be beer connoisseurs rather than beer guzzlers.

I support the Australian Association of Microbrewers, the craft-brewing peak body, in its call for an excise concession equivalent in scale to the $500,000 per annum WET producer rebate to apply without reference to the volume of beer produced. It is my understanding that the budgetary impact of such an excise concession would in the short term be in the order of $7 million per annum, which I believe is a small and fair price to pay for fostering—if you will pardon the pun—the development of a new and promising domestic and export industry and more jobs. Furthermore, in the medium term it is expected that industry growth will result in a revenue-positive budgetary impact. I join my parliamentary colleagues here tonight in supporting this motion and in arguing the case for fair excise treatment of microbrewers in Fremantle and across Australia. (Time expired)

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