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

I do rise to speak on the Grape and Wine Legislation Amendment (Australian Grape and Wine Authority) Bill 2013, the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Amendment (Australian Grape and Wine Authority) Bill 2013 and the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment (Australian Grape and Wine Authority) Bill 2013. These three bills amend the Wine Australia Corporation Act 1980, the Wine Australia Act, the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Act 1999 and the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1997 to implement the merger of the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation and the Wine Australia Corporation to create a new wine statutory authority, the Australian Grape and Wine Authority.

The authority will commence on 1 July 2014. It will undertake the functions of the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation and Wine Australia without a change in the structure or the amounts of the levies that currently fund both authorities. The assets, staff and functions of GWRDC and Wine Australia will transfer to the authority.

The wine industry is a fantastic example of a progressive Australian agricultural industry. It has progressive farmers, sophisticated wine manufacturers and innovative exporters. The wine industry, like most industries, has had its issues with periods of drought, low prices, restructuring and consolidation, and has had problems with high input costs like the carbon tax, overregulation and a high Australian dollar. But the future is bright. I believe that after years of what could be called 'overproduction', it is consolidating and I do believe that the future really is bright. The industry is proactive and has shown a great ability to change with the times and tackle issues head on.

This legislation is a natural progression by the industry in continuing reform to meet future challenges. The GWRDC was established in 1991 under the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1981. The PIERD Act plans and invests in research, development and extension programs and facilitates the dissemination, adoption and commercialisation of the results throughout the industry.

Wine Australia was established in 1981 originally as the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation under its own legislation as a statutory marketing corporation. In August 2012 the Winemakers Federation of Australia and Wine Grape Growers Australia lodged a formal submission requesting that the government agree to merge GWRDC and Wine Australia. WFA and WGGA are the peak wine industry bodies for winemaking and grape growing respectively, and obviously quite a few are in both camps. WFA and WGGA proposed creating a single new authority to undertake the existing functions of the current authorities without a change in the structure or amount of levies that fund each authority. WFA and WGGA proposed that a merged authority would enable important links between the investment initiatives and functions of the GWRDC and Wine Australia to be realised under a unified whole-of-industry strategy. WFA and WGGA argued that the major benefits would allow the industry to better align its strategy, give better service delivery, provide a single pathway for industry in communicating with the statutory authorities, and provide for administrative efficiencies. In 2012, both bodies undertook a consultative process that included providing information on the merger to levy payers and a series of public meetings. They received letters of support from the state and territory regional associations and major wine companies representing the majority of the industry.

The GWRDC and Wine Australia are both corporations established under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997. The authority will continue to operate under the CAC Act. The amendments to the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Act 1999 and the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1999 ensure the new amendments operate as intended in respect of the imposition and collection of the levies.

The main bill, which creates the authority, is divided into two schedules. Schedule 1 amends the Wine Australia Corporation Act to create the authority. Schedule 2 covers matters arising from the transition to the authority such as the transfer of assets and liabilities from the GWRDC and Wine Australia to the authority and will commence on 1 July 2014.

The changes in the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Amendment (Australian Grape and Wine Authority) Bill 2013 are straightforward. This amendment bill replaces references to the Wine Australia Corporation with references to the authority. The change will allow for levies collected to be paid to the authority. The bill also repeals clauses that provided for Wine Australia, following an annual general meeting, to make recommendations to the minister about the levy rate.

The Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment (Australian Grape and Wine Authority) Bill 2013 makes amendments to the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Act 1999. These amendments involve replacing references to the Wine Australia Corporation with references to the authority. The change will allow for levies collected to be paid to the authority as previously. The bill also repeals clauses that provided for Wine Australia, following an annual general meeting, to make recommendations to the minister about the levy rate.

The main issue is again the short time frame to check the mechanics of these bill, to check that they do what they say they do and to conduct consultation to properly gauge industry support. However, in the main these bills are straightforward and industry does clearly support the amalgamation. Any concerns are with the mechanics of the amalgamation, such as the make-up of the board, and not with the amalgamation itself. So on balance the coalition has decided to support industry by supporting this bill.

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