Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Senate. The opposition will oppose this notice of motion but not because it does not have sympathy for the current pressures on microbreweries in Australia and particularly in our home state of Tasmania, Mr Deputy President. In May 2007 the then coalition Assistant Treasurer, Peter Dutton, announced that from 1 January 2008 the coalition government would allow small business with deferred settlement provisions to settle their excise obligations on a monthly cycle. This would benefit the cash flows of microbreweries and would have had no impact on Commonwealth revenue, a genuine win-win.

I have made representations to the Treasurer and the shadow Treasurer about modifying the existing rebate structure and the extension of the commission periods for settling excise obligations. Unfortunately, over four years after this proposal was first announced, I was told last month that the current government is releasing its exposure draft soon. The coalition will be examining the situation with regard to microbreweries in the context of its policy development in the lead-up to the next election. In March this year I visited the Two Metre Tall microbrewery in the Derwent Valley to see first-hand the challenges being faced by small craft breweries. A particular concern is that the excise obligations of microbreweries rise with the CPI while the microbrewery excise refund is not keeping up with this increase. There have been 21 CPI increases since the $10,000 cap was set in 2000. One suggestion would be to allow microbreweries to produce up to 150,000 litres annually and to increase the excise refund to a level equivalent to the wine industry. In this connection I note that Senator Milne's motion suggests microbreweries should be allowed to produce up to 300,000 litres annually and remove the maximum excise refund altogether.

It is worth considering that levelling the playing field for microbreweries will add to the turnover and generate more excise.