PASIN WELCOMES WINEGRAPE COMMITTEE FINDINGS

PASIN WELCOMES WINEGRAPE COMMITTEE FINDINGS

Member for Barker Tony Pasin MP has welcomed the final report of the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee into the adequacy of the voluntary Code of Conduct for Australian Winegrape Purchases.

Mr Pasin said the inland wine regions were hurting as a result of a global oversupply impacting grape prices and it would be comforting to anyone in the industry and region to have their experience acknowledged by a Senate Committee.

“For far too long the plight of wine grape growers and those they employ has been ignored by Labor at a State and Federal level. The issue has been glossed over by those in Government with nothing but insulting half measures and promises of new markets,” Mr Pasin said.

“This report vindicates growers and those advocating for them. We can’t trade our way out of this surplus. Government must step in and support the industry through major structural reform.”

“Most importantly I want to see Government address the immediate issue of over supply by investigating potential support packages to aid growers in transitioning out of winegrapes to alternative or complimentary crops. This is what I have been calling for, for 3 years,” Mr Pasin said.

“I want to see a productive horticultural sector in the Riverland, not a wasteland of unproductive blocks and lost jobs. This means ensuring the correct balance of supply and demand that will see a sustainable thriving region for generations to come,” Mr Pasin.

Report can be found at https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Rural_and_Regional_Affairs_and_Transport/Winegrape