Riverland Wine Grapegrowers

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:11): Supplementary: does the minister have powers under the South Australian Wine Grapes Industry Act to recommend a price for wine grapes and intervene where there are issues with terms and conditions of payment?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:12): I thank the member for his supplementary question. I do have a little bit of background about the Wine Grapes Industry Act 1991. My advice is that when the act was introduced, it was framed as an attempt to come to a basic form of pricing and contract arrangement between grapegrowers and winemakers.

As government policies evolved over the years, I think it is fairly broadly recognised that government generally does not intervene in the marketplace for agricultural commodities and that it is considered more appropriate for industry to have things such as codes of conduct and similar mechanisms. I am advised that essentially the act is not particularly intrusive on modern business practice, but it is largely adhered to and is considered to have the support of winemakers and grapegrowers.

I am also advised that the act provides no powers of compliance to set wine grape prices. Indicative prices, according to my advice, were only published under the act on one occasion, which was for the Langhorne Creek region in 1999. Releasing indicative prices has been continued by the industry without specific reliance on the act.