Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

The answer to the senator’s question is as follows:

On 8 December 2011, I received a letter from the chairs of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) and the Wine Grape Growers Australia (WGGA) which sought my support to merge the Wine Australia Corporation and the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation (GWRDC) into a single statutory organisation.

In my response, I agreed to WFA and WGGA undertaking further investigation into this proposal, including a consultation process to ascertain levels of support or opposition from levy payers.

On 21 August 2012, WFA and WGGA provided me with a formal submission recommending a merger. I have asked the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to analyse the proposal before the government considers whether it should support the merger.

For further reference, WFA has published the formal submission on its website at http://www.wfa.org.au and WGGA advised the department on 6 September 2012 that it will also be made available on the WGGA website at www.wgga.com.au.