Barmera-based grape grower Jason Perrin has submitted the following opinion piece regarding economic support for the national wine industry

Jason Perrin, Murray Pioneer

Riverlanders would remember Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Clare Scriven, and Riverland Wine, launched a 10-year industry blueprint late last year. A total of $200,000 of taxpayer funding was spent on stage one of its launch, plus another $100,000.

Every Riverlander, particularly grape growers, would remember its first strategic objective was to address the oversupply of wine grapes through mass grower exits, and, in theory, with a significant area of the Riverland to have its vines removed. You would remember this blueprint targeted the Riverland only, with none of the ‘panel’ who worked on this for almost 12 months prior to its release, thinking it logical to have a blueprint designed at the same time involving Riverina growers. Those interstate fellow growers who are in just as bad a situation as we are here. The Riverland was the target, intentional or otherwise. By us removing up to 3000 hectares of grape vines, with a significant vine pull, and everything stage managed around growers ‘exiting with dignity’, our supply situation would be solved. But funding was crucial for this plan.

Many people would remember the February forum in Barmera, that event which again seemed to target the need for growers to exit the industry with dignity. I remember the facilitator skillfully drew forth from an understandably emotional woman, the mother of three children, running her vineyard on her own with two years of historically low prices, that she wanted to ‘exit the industry’. But she needed money to do so, some form of exit package. Most of us would remember that was the theme that the organisers wanted to be front and centre of the whole show. I, and many growers like me, didn’t know anyone who had actually asked to exit the industry, ‘with, or without dignity’. We wanted fair prices, and issues within the industry to be addressed.

In my view the 10-year blueprint quite rightly received criticism, akin to Dorothy skipping down the Yellow Brick Road. Riverland Wine did state months ago funding details would come out later with specifics to be released. What we got was a ‘synopsis’ sent out by email.

But here’s the catch, it appears that no-one had the thought to negotiate and lock in the necessary funding for growers to ‘exit with dignity’, or to remove vines.

Yes, that is correct, the State Government has paid $300,000 of taxpayer money so far for a 10-year blueprint, which has not secured state or federal funding to achieve its two strategic purposes of grower exits, and vine removal funding.

There is no funding for grower exits or vine removal negotiated so far. I believe this leaves the 10-year blueprint as fiction, and there should be a number of people held to account for this fiasco, not just to make amends to that distressed woman at the February forum, but to every grower in the region, as I think we all have been duped at a regional and state level. Anyone can verify the following themselves, from the ABC transcript of an interview done by Greg Jennett on 13/06/2024, with Federal Minister for Agriculture Senator Murray Watt, Federal Minister for Trade Don Farrell, and Ms Scriven.

Mr Watt stated “we’re not in the habit of providing tens of millions of dollars to pay people to exit an industry”. He crowed about providing $3.5m dollars to the industry. He described this package as, “more one of setting the industry up for the future rather than about supporting people in the short term with their financial difficulties”. He went on to say about the $3.5m industry package that it was “to set this industry up successfully for the long term”. Mr Jennett asks “$3.5m is not a lot to go around producers and growing demand”, and Mr Watt responded, “well, this is money that wasn’t available to the industry last week, or the month before that the Albanese Government is now putting on the table along with reopening a market (China) that has already delivered $86m in exports in one month alone. I don’t think we should ignore the size of those figures”.

We have it from the Federal Government’s mouth, there is currently no grower exit money. It was never negotiated. A 10-year blueprint was based around it, but with no funding.

There’s No money stated from state or federal sources for vine removal. In my view this is another fantasy of the blueprint.

The industry nationally gets another $3.5m in funding to ‘set the industry up for the long term’. Note the $86m from wine sales in one month, with $80m of that coming from South Australia alone.

If these sales were over one year, the return would be $1.032bn dollars. So the Federal Government crows about giving the industry the equivalent of 0.33 per cent of possible gross returns to the industry nationally to set it up for the future, and solve its problems. This, in my opinion, trifling $3.5m dollars is supposed to employ a person to undertake marketing activities in China, placing people in the US and Japan, a bit of it to explore the options for a mandatory code of conduct, and establishing a national wine register of varieties. I think this $3.5m is going to have to be like the proverbial loaves and the fishes feeding the 5000. This $3.5m is given like tossing a coin into a busker’s hat. True, it is better than nothing, but I think it is also patronising ignorance at a federal level, considering the gross return from wine industry revenue.

The Federal Government extended the $10 million federal Wine Cellar Door Grants Program for another 12 months. Cellar doors can access up to $100 000 grants to attract more people to come and visit. Wouldn’t it be interesting if a cost/benefit analysis had to be provided to the tax payer. I can’t quite see how I, or my fellow grape growers benefit from cellar door refurbishments when most of the beneficiaries are boutique wineries, which don’t buy our grapes.

There’s no acknowledgement the issues grape growers face in each state, are not of our making, and in my view were largely magnified by the tariff issue caused by the Federal Government’s lack of international diplomacy at the time, and therefore, should be addressed appropriately by the current federal government, no matter the shade of politics. Politicians should remember, Mr Watt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in particular, that the Federal Government, from 2001 to 2013, gave $2.17bn dollars to prop up General Motors Holden. A total of $180.8m per year, for 12 years. That was six years of the Liberal Government, followed by 6 years of the Federal Labor Government. Where is General Motors Holden now? What about the generosity of the current Albanese Labor government giving $600m dollars over 10 years to Papua New Guinea to form another NRL team. Yes, $60m dollars a year for a sporting team in another country.

What scraps do we grape growers get from you? Just $3.5m. I guess it’s obvious the future security and survival of the Riverland, the Riverina and areas of the Murray Valley are not as important as a new rugby team in Papua New Guinea.

Riverland Wine, SA government and Federal government, get your acts together, and come up with the funding for grower exits and vine removal, or retract the blueprint for the nonsense I believe it currently is. Put a stop on further funding of it until this basic funding is approved at government level for the industry nationally. You can’t hide from no funding any longer.

In my view this collective business acumen shows an inability to run a chook raffle.

This article appeared in the Murray Pioneer, 3 July 2024.