Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

No! You have to try a Mornington Peninsula Brewery pale ale, as well as Bad Shepherd and the like. They are all wonderful products. The Craft Beer Industry Association counts some 2,100 full-time people employed in the industry, while also supporting 15,000 positions in the broader economy. That is 65 per cent of all those employed in the Australian brewing industry, and that is a great story for this country to tell. A large group of entrepreneurial Australians generating hundreds of millions of dollars in economic output, of which a large amount is value-added output. And that is only the beginning of the story. There is so much economic potential, not just to meet the domestic market but also to export around the world and to continue to build brand Australia. And I know, Deputy Speaker Hastie, you like beer from time to time. In fact, I have had one with you on famous and less famous occasions, so I am sure you will be supportive of this motion as well.

It is the small entrepreneurs who are doing so much to create employment opportunities, and, more importantly, they are taking on big business. That is what I will always stand up for: people who want to have a go and take on established, vested interests and challenge people in the marketplace in a competitive environment, because that is what brings liberalism alive. It excites me. It is freedom, Member for Grayndler; if only you would realise it. That is what is significant and special about the treatment of this sector by the government. It has to send signals and signs about the importance of the sector and its role in the future of this country, particularly in contributing to the national economy. Having said that, of course, we have a duty to ensure that there is an equal playing field for sectors. We have overly burdensome regulation and uncompetitive tax regimes that are a handbrake on their growth and further investment—something that should be looked at very seriously. The microbreweries excise refund scheme was introduced in 2013, which allows independent breweries to claim back up to 30 grand of their excise that they pay. This has not increased in that same period.

The brewing industry, like many others, faces a great deal of red tape in the administration of this excise, which is why I again welcome the opportunity where the member for Grayndler argues for tax cuts. I just wish he would do it more often, and from a position of principle rather than selective products. Settlement is required on a weekly basis for most businesses, which intrudes on their cash flow in dealing with excise. Most independent brewers and their products are subject to different rates of the excise, depending on the amount of alcohol in the beer and the size of their container. This has created a regulatory nightmare. At a practical level we should be doing more, always, to help industries grow, to help smaller businesses and medium-sized ones take on the big players. That is what the coalition is committed to doing.

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