John Cobb (Calare, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Food Security, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Amendment Bill 2009 not only as the shadow minister for agriculture, fisheries, forestry and food security but also as the member for Calare, an electorate which, if I say so myself, produces some excellent wines. I recommend to the Deputy Speaker that any time she is in the area she should try them. This is a bill which rectifies changes made through the Australia-European Community Agreement on Trade in Wine. It will ensure that Australian wines from the Hunter, the Barossa, the Yarra, Margaret River and my region sit on tables side by side with some of Europe’s most distinguished and long-serving wine regions.

The bill also means that the regions of France, Portugal, Spain and Germany, in particular, will continue to provide direct competition with Australia’s vineyards and our hugely important export market. With this competition comes increased pressure on Australian winemakers and Australian wineries to be able not only to match the style and quality of wine from Europe but to differentiate and create their own unique style that sets our Australian wine apart. Creating such a style and reputation has been testing in recent years. As has been mentioned both here and in the House, regional Australia is hopefully coming towards the end of the worst drought on record. The wine industry has had to deal with drought, which perhaps has been good for quality but terrible for quantity. At the same time, there has been a world glut of wine and winemakers have had to deal with that to a large extent right around Australia. It is essential that, with the signing of this agreement, we as a parliament provide the assistance needed to encourage the highest standards amongst Australian wine producers and in Australian wine.

Our wine has a reputation world wide. The Christmas before last, on holiday in New York, I found Australian wine very well accepted everywhere you went, whether it was in the deep south of America or in New York itself. Wherever it is, we must all work hand in hand to protect our brand, protect our reputation and expand on the foot in the door that Australian producers currently have. The export area is where it has got toughest. The domestic market is always the best market, but obviously far and away the bulk of Australian wine is exported. It has got very tough, particularly with competition from South America.

I mentioned earlier the need for our wines to develop their own reputation. There is no more perfect example of a geographical area having dominance over a market than the Champagne region of France. It is synonymous with what we in Australia now call sparkling wine—we have it in the title. Everyone knows Champagne for its bubbly, and the French economy and the French producers reap the benefits. I do not doubt for a second that our own sparkling is just as good as the French champagne, if not better. They do have one obvious advantage, and that is the dominant reputation that we need to encourage our own producers to develop in the future. This bill provides protection for the 112 registered Australian geographical indications. It is an opportunity for us to build our own geographical indicators and build on the value and respect of their brand.

The second part of the bill concerns the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation’s Label Integrity Program. The program is a key step forward in protecting the reputation of our own product. I am sure all would agree the information provided on a label has to sell the product to those browsing the aisles, but it also has to be honest and accurate.

Basically, this bill is about protecting a huge export market. It is all very much about the EU product and our own. Some two years ago we exported almost 400 million litres, for a return to Australia of $1.3 billion. On the other hand, we imported from the EU only 18 million litres, at a value of about $220 million. So it is quite obvious that change had to happen. We had to recognise the Europeans’ own name brands and we have to ensure that the reputation of our wine is encased around its own geographical indicators. The industry is very much behind this amendment to the act. As I said, it is about protecting and enhancing the $1 billion value of 400 million litres of wine two years ago. The main benefits include the Europeans recognising an additional 16 Australian winemaking techniques, simpler arrangements for approving winemaking techniques that may be developed in the future and simplified labelling requirements. The EU protects two and a half thousand registered indicators and 12 sensitive European geographical indicators. Those two and a half thousand European GIs include all those that have come into being in the last 16 years. We support the bill and the industry supports the bill; so it will be in everybody’s interest for it to be passed.

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