Bills Digest No. 73 2003-04
Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment (Wine
Grapes) Bill 2003
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage History
Primary Industries (Excise) Levies
Amendment (Wine Grapes) Bill 2003
Date
Introduced: 26 November
2003
House:
House of Representatives
Portfolio:
Agriculture, Fisheries and
Forestry
Commencement:
Royal Assent
To amend the Primary Industries (Excise)
Levies Act 1999 so as to increase the maximum rate which may
be prescribed for the research component of the wine grapes levy
from $3.00 to $10.00 a tonne.
Background
On 20 August 2003 the Executive Director of
the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation (GWRDC)
announced that the GWRDC had insufficient funds to sponsor new
research projects concerned with grape and wine
production.(1) The investment in existing research
projects continues and is reported to total about $14 million in
2003.(2) The Executive Director, Dr Jim Fortune,
foreshadowed that the GWRDC and the two peak bodies of the
industry, the Winemakers Federation of Australia and the Winegrape
Growers Council of Australia were working actively to gain industry
support for a much stronger research and development
base.(3)
The GWRDC is a statutory authority established
in 1991 under the Primary Industries and Energy Research and
Development Act 1989. Its function is to support the growth of
the Australian wine industry by planning and funding collective
research programs and then to help winegrape growers interpret and
apply the results of research. Its funding for research and
development comes from levies on the annual grape harvest and wine
yield ($7.8 million in 2002-03), with the Australian Government
providing matching funds ($7 million in 2002-03).(4)
A levy is imposed on fresh grapes, dried
grapes and grape juice used in the manufacture of wine by the
Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1999 (the Act). The
levy is payable by the producer of the wine grapes(5)
and is used to fund both both marketing and promotion, and research
and development strategies. Clause 7 of Schedule 26 of the Act sets
the rate of the levy for wine grape producers. The Act prescribes a
research amount of the levy that is calculated on a straight
dollars per tonne basis. The legislation provides for both a
maximum rate of the levy and an operative rate of the levy. The
operative rate may be varied by regulations(6), but the
maximum rate may only be amended by legislation.
The purpose of this Bill is to amend the
maximum rate of the research amount of the wine grape levy from
$3.00 to $10.00 per tonne. The maximum rate was last amended in
1994 when it was increased from $2.00 to $3.00.(7) At
present the operative rate paid by wine grape producers is $3.00 a
tonne. According to the Minister, Hon Warren Truss, the proposed
higher maximum rate will take effect from 1 July 2004, which is the
identified levy year for this particular levy and is therefore the
most appropriate date from which to commence the new maximum
rate.(8) The amendments will provide the industry with
the capacity to seek an increase in the operative rate of the levy
from 1 July 2004.
Item 1 of Schedule 1 amends
the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1999 to
increase the maximum rate of the research and development component
of the wine grapes levy from $3.00 to $10.00 a tonne. The operative
rate of the levy is set in accordance with the Primary Industries
(Excise) Levies Regulations 1999.
Item 2 provides that the
amended maximum rate is to apply from 1 July 2004. This date
corresponds to the start of the levy year as defined by Clause 3 of
Schedule 36 of the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection
Regulations 1991.
-
GWRDC News, 20 August 2003.
-
GWRDC News, 20 August 2003 and 16 May 2003.
-
GWRDC News, 20 August 2003.
-
Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation, Annual
Report 2002-2003, p. 4.
-
The producer is defined as the person who is the owner of the
wine grapes when the wine making process begins at the winery.
-
Schedule 26 of the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies
Regulations 1999.
-
Wine Grapes Levy Amendment Bill 1994.
-
Truss, Hon Warren, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and
Forestry, Second Reading Speech , Primary Industries (Excise)
Levies Amendment (Wine Grapes) Bill 2003, House of Representatives,
Debates, 4 December 2003, p. 24047.
Rosemary Bell
14 January 2004
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This paper has been prepared for general distribution to
Senators and Members of the Australian Parliament. While great care
is taken to ensure that the paper is accurate and balanced, the
paper is written using information publicly available at the time
of production. The views expressed are those of the author and
should not be attributed to the Information and Research Services
(IRS). Advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in
this paper is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for
related parliamentary purposes. This paper is not professional
legal opinion. Readers are reminded that the paper is not an
official parliamentary or Australian government document.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's
contents with Senators and Members and their staff but not with
members of the public.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2004
Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior
written consent of the Parliamentary Library, other than by Members
of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official
duties.
Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
2004.
Back to top