Motions

Wine Industry

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. N.J. Centofanti:

That this council—

1. Recognises the importance of South Australia's wine industry to the state's domestic and international export economy;

2. Acknowledges the resilience of our wine grapegrowers through a time of uncertainty and the need to explore structural adjustments on-farm going forward;

3. Urges the Malinauskas Labor government to enable more diverse global partnerships for South Australian wine exporters by facilitating a higher trade presence in both traditional and emerging trading countries; and

4. Calls on the wine industry bodies to unite as one to rebuild our global reputation.

(Continued from 19 March 2025.)

The Hon. T.T. NGO (19:56): I rise to speak on the Hon. Nicola Centofanti's motion and on behalf of the government to put forward the following amendment. I move:

Leave out paragraph 3 and insert new paragraphs as follows:

3. Notes the Malinauskas Labor government has announced a $5 million boost in this week's budget for key sectors to respond to continuing challenges in the global trading environment, in addition to other supports for exports; and

We thank the honourable member for recognising our important wine industry. South Australia is undeniably the heartland of Australian wine, producing an impressive 80 per cent of the nation's premium wine and half of all bottled wine. I think we can proudly say that we are Australia's best wine state. South Australia's wine industry is not only a cultural hallmark but also a critical pillar of both our domestic economy and international trade.

In 2023-24, this sector generated a remarkable $1.81 billion in revenue, with over 394 million litres of wine valued at $1.55 billion and exported around the world. However, the grape and wine industry faces a number of significant challenges from market oversupply to reduced consumer demand due to healthier lifestyle choices and cost-of-living pressures. Other significant impacts include international trade barriers as well as the harsh impact of prolonged droughts across many parts of South Australia.

In response to these challenges, the South Australian government remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting the sustainability and resilience of this vital industry through targeted initiatives and collaborative partnerships. This included forming a working group with members from state and federal government agencies and the wine industry, which commissioned an Adelaide University report. The report produced by Emeritus Professor Kym Anderson highlighted a need for better data, greater transparency, targeted marketing, and research and development. The report findings resulted in the following key responses:

establishment of the South Australian Wine Recovery Program, which is an initiative developed with the SA Wine Industry Association and Wine Grape Council of SA, that aims to boost domestic demand and strengthen regional capability;

a $3.5 million grape and wine sector long-term viability support package was launched by the commonwealth in June 2024 in order to address the red wine oversupply and support industry sustainability;

the establishment of trade funding to tap emerging markets;

the formation of a National Vineyard Register for real-time planting and data collection, along with contracting and fair-trading reforms;

following China's decision to remove all trade barriers on Australian wine, the Malinauskas government announced a further $1.85 million China Re-Engagement Support Program to help South Australian wine businesses re-enter the China market in a risk-controlled way. This included two-way market activation and immersion activities for South Australian wine exporters to attend industry events in China during 2024 and 2025.

In addition to these initiatives, South Australia will also showcase its top-tier wines to Chinese importers and high-end consumers through coordinated marketing aligned to key trade events and celebrations.

The Minister for Trade and Investment, Joe Szakacs MP, announced this week that South Australian exporters will receive a $5 million boost in next week's state budget. This will help further support our wine industry to respond to the continuing challenges in the global trading environment. With worldwide trading, the US happens to be Australia's second largest market for wine by volume, and the third largest market by value, so the 10 per cent tariff the US has put on all Australian goods entering the US impacts on the current uncertainty about our red wine oversupply.

To support the challenge of red wine oversupply, the Ethephon grant ran for a second year for growers who chose to rest their red wines in the 2024-25 growing season, offering them a saving of up to $2,000 per hectare in input costs.

In June 2024, a $260,000 grant was provided to the Riverland's Consolidated Cooperative Wineries Cooperative to encourage South Australian wine grapegrowers to consider diversifying to alternative crops by improving their access to information on options and revenue streams. Due to current drought conditions being faced by farmers, on 8 April 2025 the Malinauskas state Labor government announced a further $55 million package to support drought-affected farmers and communities across South Australia, taking the total drought assistance available to $73 million.

Labor has also recognised the emotional toll these challenging conditions are having on our growers in regional communities and has committed $50,000 to help our statewide wine industry to hold community events that focus on mental health and wellbeing forums in their region. We have also recently made an additional $250,000 available for grants of up to $5,000 for drought-affected communities to host events that foster social connection and provide support through the Connecting Communities Events Grant program as part of its $73 million drought assistance package.

South Australia's wine regions are the backbone of many regional economies. From the Barossa to McLaren Vale, the Clare Valley and Coonawarra, we are globally recognised for our exceptional wine experiences. The Malinauskas Labor government will continue to respond and support the grape and wine industry. We commend the amended version of this motion to the chamber.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (20:05): I take this opportunity to thank the Hon. Tung Ngo for his contribution to this motion. It may surprise the Hon. Tung Ngo to know that, despite the fact that his amendment was very late in the piece, we will not be opposing that amendment on this side of the house, noting the government has announced—apparently—$5 million in tomorrow's budget to respond to challenges. I appreciate the honourable member's personal apology for the tardiness of the amendment, although I am sure it is not his fault. He is always dragged out by his side to face the music when best practice falls by the wayside.

I am glad to hear that this is what the government are doing, that they are putting some funding towards this situation. I note that announcement for what it seems to be on paper and I am happy to be bipartisan, multipartisan, in supporting our wine industry, but in doing so I implore the government to ensure that the funding and support reaches both the premium and the commercial sectors of the wine industry because this is absolutely critical.

The wine industry, like other parts of our primary production sector, is doing it very tough at present, and in particular the commercial segment is facing significant combined headwinds. The restructure taking place in competitor wine-producing regions overseas gives no reason to think that locally we can be immune, and we need to find supporting solutions. Finding new markets will take time and it is unlikely to be the only solution. There needs to be a genuine commitment to finding a way forward and that will be most effective through a combination of market development and supply adjustment.

It will be critical also that leaders in the wine industry bodies can collaborate and show leadership and are then supported by the wine sector—and indeed the government—to work together to build a better future. The sustainability of regional businesses and the ongoing socio-economic security of our wine-growing regions depend on this success, and I thank members for recognising and supporting this. I commend the motion to the chamber.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.