11 May 2006
Spirits industry congratulates Government and Assistant Treasurer Dutton on spirits legislation reform package
The Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia (DSICA) congratulates the Government, and especially the Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Peter Dutton MP, on the introduction into Parliament today of one of the most significant legislative reform packages affecting the spirits industry in the past 100 years.
The industry strongly supports the reform package, which repeals the Distillation Act 1901 and the Spirits Act 1906, amongst other provisions.
Mr Gordon Broderick, DSICA’s Executive Director says that the industry applauds the Government’s reforms in this area.
‘This package represents a meaningful reduction in red tape for the spirits industry in Australia. Many outdated and archaic provisions of these old laws are being removed, with the full support of the industry’, Mr Broderick said.
‘These bills are a positive demonstration of how a successful reform outcome can be achieved, and red tape can be reduced, when the Government works closely and effectively with industry’.
In particular, Mr Broderick commended the Assistant Treasurer for the very effective consultation process that has been undertaken by the Government and the Treasury in relation to this reform process.
The reform process was initiated by the previous Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Mal Brough. Minister Brough released a detailed issues paper in June 2005. Extensive and detailed consultation at a technical level between the industry and the Government has been ongoing since that time.
As a result of that consultation process, the Government has decided to retain key product standards provisions sought by DSICA.
Those important provisions include:
- Retention of the 2 year maturation rule for brandy, whisky and rum;
- Retention of the product definitions of these spirits products; and
- Retention of the rules regarding use of the descriptive terms ‘old’ and ‘very old’.
‘The retention of the existing maturation rules for brandy, whisky and rum is by far the most significant of these outcomes’, Mr Broderick said.
Storage in wood is a process that provides unique characteristics to spirits. Typically, the longer the period of time the spirit matures in wood, the more the quality of the spirit improves.
‘These rules will prevent the use of false descriptions in relation to these spirits. Those false descriptions might have deceived consumers into believing that they were buying a product of superior quality, when they were not’.
This reform package is a strong combination of two key themes. The first theme is one of legislative simplification and reduction of unnecessary red tape. The second theme is one of retention of a sound framework of products standards provisions which ensure the continued production of world quality spirits in Australia.
‘The Government is to be congratulated for getting the balance right in this reform package of spirits legislation’, Mr Broderick said.
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