Thank you to every member who participated in the campaign to call on their local MP to support our request for a Parliamentary Inquiry into the Australian spirits Industry. The Minister for Industry, the Hon Ed Husic MP announced the Parliamentary Inquiry into Food and Beverage Manufacturing in Australia. We established a Taskforce to ensure we as an industry maximise the benefits of this critical and hard-fought opportunity. Members may be aware that more than half of the submissions to the inquiry came from the spirits industry and associated supply chain. This was a mammoth task and thank you to all who participated in the process.

Special thanks to the members who appeared before the committee and hosted the committee at site visits. I have no doubt the Parliamentary Committee have a deeper understanding of the issues that are facing our industry. More significantly, they have a better understanding of the opportunities that lie ahead.

  

We argued that the Australian Spirits Industry could be a $1Billion export industry by 2035 if the Government got the policy settings right. Just like the wine industry, a generation before us, with a focussed and coordinated response, and just the right incentives in place, our industry can flourish.

We told the committee that Spirits production is not new to Australia; however, the modern craft spirits industry is still emerging, having been dormant for a long time. Decisions by successive Australian governments had a disastrous effect on the local spirits industry. This led to the closure of most large-scale domestic spirits production in Australia.

Today, there are now 700 distilleries – half of them in regional Australia, bringing important economic benefits to these communities.

The Australian distilling industry should be integral to the government’s Future Made in Australia policy. However, the government’s outdated policy settings and inaction has placed Australian-made spirits at a significant competitive disadvantage in our home market and abroad.

The current policy settings are a tax on premiumisation and a handbrake to growth – and are at odds with consumer trends.

A recent report by Mandala shows that with the right policy interventions and support, Australian spirits manufacturing could grow to be a $1 billion export industry by 2035.

Just as previous governments recognised the potential of Australian wine, with the right policy settings and infrastructure, Australian spirits can become the next export powerhouse.

Consumers know that nothing tastes like Australia. Australia outclasses the world’s best in terms of quality, innovation and flavour.

This is evidenced by Australia taking home prestigious international honours like:

We have the natural advantages, the unique Australian agricultural inputs, native and indigenous ingredients, the climate, and the innovation, that differentiate Australian spirits from the rest of the world.

The risk is that other spirits markets will outpace Australian distillers from realising the potential to capture global consumers who value provenance, quality, and premium and distinctive spirits.

We emphasised to the committee that if we do not act now, Australian distillers will lose market share – that we have every right to claim – to other new world and emerging spirits markets. This will be an opportunity missed.

A generation ago, in a Parliamentary Committee just like this one, gave the wine industry the recognition, direction, and support it needed to become the industry it is today.

We called on the committee to adopt all our recommendations. They all need to be done.

If they do so, Australian spirits will truly become an export powerhouse and a domestic growth success story.

Ahead of the report being finalised, the Australian Distillers Board met to discuss an engagement strategy for each of the recommendations in the submission. The Board also agreed that whilst they will develop a strategy for each of the themes, it would be prudent to determine a focus for achievable, relevant and impactful outcomes in line with government priorities.

The strategy focuses on developing a theme that has a broader benefit to members and is consistent with an industry wide approach, that of an Export Assistance Package.

Trade Assistance Package

The Australian spirits industry could be a $1 billion exporter by 2035, with the support of the Federal Government to deliver the policy interventions needed to realise this potential.

In delivering such support, the Government will create the conditions for the industry to thrive in both international and domestic trading environments, delivering support across three key areas: trade tools, trade promotion and product integrity.

Further details of the strategy will be provided in the following months.

If any member has anything to add to the discussion, they are invited to email the CEO directly with their comments.

The following information covers the key areas of the export assistance package.

Trade Tools

Delivering the frameworks and tools to support increased trade in Australian spirits.

Trade Promotion

Building the profile and reputation of the Australian spirits category

Product integrity

Protecting the reputation and quality of spirits