Doorstop in Hobart, TAS

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
HOBART
FRIDAY, 23 AUGUST 2024

SUBJECT: Support for Australia’s wine industry.

JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY, MINISTER FOR SMALL BUSINESS: I'm really pleased today to be able to announce that we have round six, a $10 million grant round, available for wineries here in Tasmania and across the country. This is to support wineries in the wine tourism and cellar door grants. I know that a lot of wineries do it in terms of improving their cellar door experience for visitors and how critical this is to wineries here in Tasmania and right across the country. Tassie has always got our fair share of these grants and it's terrific to have with me Shelley from Frogmore Winery to talk about the experience that they've had in terms of the benefit of these grants. So, we know how important these grants are.

I'm also pleased to announce today that Dr Craig Emerson will be doing a review into the sector, the wine and grape industry, particularly around the supply chain and about making sure that we have a wine industry that's sustainable into the future. So, he'll be talking to grape growers, to winemakers, and to wineries across the country - more than 6,000 wineries across the country - about that whole supply chain in terms of the wine and grape sector. And he will be reporting to government by the end of the year.

JOURNALIST: How important is it to support the wine industry, and how important is it for Tassie's tourism industry as well?

COLLINS: Well, we know that this is important to add to the experience of visitors - local visitors, Australians who want to support their local wineries and local industries. You know, this is about supporting those businesses and those industries to continue to flourish and grow. We know that some of the wineries, particularly on mainland Australia, in terms of trade to China have had some significant issues. And this is about making sure the sector and the industry is sustainable going forward.

JOURNALIST: And from the $10 million, where will that be allocated and how much to each grant recipient?

COLLINS: Well, the grants go up to around, I think, it's 106,000 per winery. It's always over subscribed. It's a very popular grant round. And of course, we make sure that we support as many wineries as we can. I think last time here at Frogmore, it was around $53,000 that they were successful in receiving. But this is about supporting wineries to be able to value add, improve that experience and to keep their wineries and their business sustainable.

JOURNALIST: And from a federal perspective, how important is it to help keep getting Tassie on the map and to distribute our wines across Australia and the world?

COLLINS: I'm very proud of our Tasmanian wine here in Tassie and around the country, and importantly around the globe. We have a very valuable product here. We have great winemakers in Tasmania and they showcase a terrific product. And I'm very proud to say I'm Tasmanian when I'm talking about the wine industry.

JOURNALIST: Just quickly on the independent review - how important is that to [indistinct] the wine industry, to make sure we have continuous fruitful seasons ahead?

COLLINS: Well, this is about making sure that we have a sustainable industry. It's about listening to concerns of the industry and the sector, to make sure that everybody along the value chain is getting a fair value for what they are doing and the input that they are having. And it's about making sure that our industry is sustainable going forward. You know, it's been terrific that we have reopened the trade to China in terms of Australia's red wine. But we know that some of our red wine growers, particularly on mainland Australia, have had some tough years. And this is about sustainability of the sector going forward.

JOURNALIST: Thank you.