Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

in reply—I thank all the members who have contributed to the debate on the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Amendment Bill 2009, most of whom have referred to the importance of the industry within their own electorate—although the most recent speaker, the member for Solomon, living in Darwin, has a limited number of vineyards in his electorate. Notwithstanding that, I am very grateful for all the comments that were made.

A lot of the themes of the contributions which have been made have gone well beyond the ambit of the bill, but importantly they have referred to some of the challenges that we have at the moment with a glut on the wine market in Australia. I want in particular to acknowledge the contribution made by the member for Barker, who acknowledged the importance of the wine industry’s need to be able to restructure and also noted that it was not for government to take control of that restructure; it is something for industry to do themselves. I do not think any of us want to repeat the mistakes of years gone past, when governments first of all paid people to pull out their vines and then provided tax incentives for them to put them back in, leading to another wine glut, which we are in now. There are some challenges which appropriately rest with industry and some challenges where government can play an important role. This bill represents one of the areas where we can play an important role.

The bill has a number of roles. Importantly, it implements the agreement between Australia and the EU on trade in wine. In that agreement, the Europeans wanted to make sure there was protection of their geographical indications and traditional expressions. In exchange for that, we wanted to make sure that they would recognise the need to simplify their labelling requirements for Australian wines and to protect our geographical indications from incorrect use in the European market. The bill strengthens the Label Integrity Program and rectifies weaknesses in the compliance provisions.

Some people have made reference in passing during the debate to the fact that this bill has been delayed, but thankfully no-one has complained about that delay. The delay was for the very good reason—I know that the member for Eden-Monaro referred to this—that there was a dispute and a disagreement between us and the Europeans over some particular varieties. The bill was stalled in the parliament here while that dispute was resolved. Now that there is agreement between us and the EU, we have a situation where the bill is again able to proceed.

As a result of these amendments, consequential amendments will need to be made to the Trade Marks Act 1995 to enable trademark owners to amend their marks where necessary. The bill also, as I said, amends provisions of the Label Integrity Program, including strengthening record-keeping requirements for those involved in the production, distribution and sale of wine and wine grapes and ensuring that the offence provisions which apply to those who make a false or misleading claim relating to the vintage, variety or geographical indication of a wine good are appropriate. Once again, I want to note that although the changes to the Label Integrity Program are important and necessary they do not place onerous requirements on industry and they are fully supported by industry.

The bill also proposes a number of changes to the compliance provisions of the act, which have stemmed from problems which have been identified in the current arrangements. These amendments will strengthen the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation’s ability to stop a person from engaging in action that may be contrary to the act, while also providing the power to pass on information obtained under the act to others who may have a role in enforcing the laws relating to wine and health.

I take the opportunity to thank those involved in the AWBC, both those who work for it and those who chair and serve on the board, for the contributions that they make. I thank the various members who have spoken in the debate for their commitment to the industry, whether it be a commitment through their connection to producers or through their connection to consumers. In either case, the bill puts industry on a stronger footing and I am grateful for the bipartisan support which has been shown during the course of this debate. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.

See this speech in context