Wine Industry

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Riverland

Riverland Winegrape Growers Association, CEO, Chris Byrne
Association established: 2002
Name: Riverland Winegrape Growers Association
No. of growers: 1145
Annual tonnage: 300,000 – 400,000 tonnes (25% national crush)
Hectares: 20,634 (down from 24,392 in July 2007)
Major varieties grown: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Colombard, Grenache, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz
Exports: The majority of Riverland wine is exported to the UK, US, Europe, Canada, China and India.

'A volumetric tax would provide only a marginal Government revenue gain while imposing unjustifiable costs on the wine sector, rural regions and wine consumers. We represent over 1100 growers who are already worried about their livelihoods. Switching to a Volumetric tax would devastate the wine sector and many family businesses in the Riverland.'

Riverina Wine Grape Marketing Board

CEO Brian Simpson
Board established: 1933
Name: Wine Grape Marketing Board
No. of growers: 450
No. of employees: 1500
Annual tonnage: 300,000
Hectares: 22,000 (includes bearing and non-bearing)
Major varieties grown: Over 30 varieties with Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Semillon, Shiraz accounting for two-thirds of production.

'The wine industry is integral to the Riverina region. It is a perennial industry that has created local businesses and jobs in production, processing and value adding. Roughly a quarter of a billion dollars has been invested across the region to establish the necessary infrastructure for planting, and that’s not including plant and equipment, irrigation infrastructure and set up costs.

The majority of growers are family-owned enterprises who employ family members and locals.
The impact of a volumetric tax will be devastating, coming on top of the ongoing issues the industry is facing. Families will be forced to leave the region or find other crops to grow, losing their investments. It would have a large flow-on affect to the region’s entire economy.'

Scholle Packaging

Grant Carling, Carol Cameron, Andrew Wass
Business established: 1979
Name: Scholle Packaging
No. of employees: 240
Products: Films, taps, and wine bags and other flexible packaging
Key awards: South Australian Manufacturer of the Year, Equal Opportunity Employer, Packaging Council Design Award, various supplier of the year awards from major customers.

'Wine packaging has been the backbone of the Scholle business for over 30 years and the company remains one of the major employers in the Northern suburbs of Adelaide. The Elizabeth plant runs 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. We have always valued community engagement and sponsor local sporting clubs, provide access to facilities for school meetings and regularly provide school student and university graduate work experience programmes.

Flexible packaging is 100% of our engagement with the wine industry. The introduction of a volumetric tax would significantly impact on our business, requiring equipment to be shut down and reducing the number of employees. Without the current volume of wine packaging running through our plant our total business viability would be threatened.'