Australian craft drinks sector welcomes trading protection
Australia’s drinks industry associations have welcomed plans to crackdown on unfair trading affecting small businesses. The post Australian craft drinks sector welcomes trading protection appeared first on The Drinks Business.
Australia’s drinks industry associations have welcomed plans to crackdown on unfair trading affecting small businesses.
The reactions follow statements from the Albanese government announcing plans to extend protections on unfair trading after thousands of small businesses cited they had experienced challenges when dealing with larger businesses.
Retail Drinks Australia CEO Michael Waters told Australian news service The Shout, that he was looking forward to working with the government to ensure reforms wouldn’t impose any extra burdens on craft drinks producers.
Waters said: “We look forward to participating in Treasury’s upcoming review on the design of unfair trading protections for small businesses, having previously written a submission in response to the Unfair Trading Practices Supplementary Consultation Paper in December last year.”
Waters assured: “We will seek to ensure that any forthcoming amendments to Australian Consumer Law are clear, practical, and do not impose unnecessary burdens on business.”
He added: “We are committed to ensuring that robust standards of practice continue to be at the forefront of the sector” and revealed that the association that represents smaller businesses in the drinks sector has “promoted standards of practice which go further than both Australian Consumer Law and state and territory legislative and regulatory frameworks, including the Online Alcohol Sale and Delivery Code of Conduct.”
According to the Australian Hotels Association (AHA), the new protections will also help its boutique businesses thrive.
AHA National CEO Stephen Ferguson echoed: “One of the primary reasons the AHA was founded was to protect its members from unfair trading practices. Having legislative force actually underpinning that will be welcomed by our members.”
Speaking up for more than 675 Australian-owned craft breweries, The Independent Brewers Association (IBA) agreed that it wants a thorough review of Australia’s beer market, not only to address the market structure but to primarily ensure fair access and routes to market for craft brewers.
Offering a perspective on the topic, IBA CEO Kylie Lethbridge said: “A consultation that enables independent breweries to provide information confidentially is so important – as our members routinely tell us that they fear going on any public record with their concerns due to the likelihood of retaliation.”
Lethbridge explained: “In a market where the big brewers have 83% market share and dominate the on-premise market – losing ranging in retail would devastate a small business.”
Australian Grape & Wine (AGW) also welcomed the news and noted the need for targeted protections to safeguard grape growers and wine producers in their dealings with bigger businesses.
AGW CEO, Lee McLean described the discussions as “an important step towards ensuring that small businesses across our sector, including grape growers and winemakers, are afforded the protections they need to operate fairly and competitively in the marketplace. We have long advocated for a more level playing field, and this commitment from the Albanese government is a positive move in the right direction.”
McLean added: “The nuances of the wine sector must be well understood in this process. While we strongly support measures to prevent unfair trading practices, it is crucial that any new framework is tailored to the realities of our industry. We will engage constructively to ensure the final protections strike the right balance between fairness, competition, and commercial flexibility.”
The reactions follow statements from the Albanese government announcing plans to extend protections on unfair trading after thousands of small businesses cited they had experienced challenges when dealing with larger businesses.
Retail Drinks Australia CEO Michael Waters told Australian news service The Shout, that he was looking forward to working with the government to ensure reforms wouldn’t impose any extra burdens on craft drinks producers.
Waters said: “We look forward to participating in Treasury’s upcoming review on the design of unfair trading protections for small businesses, having previously written a submission in response to the Unfair Trading Practices Supplementary Consultation Paper in December last year.”
Waters assured: “We will seek to ensure that any forthcoming amendments to Australian Consumer Law are clear, practical, and do not impose unnecessary burdens on business.”
He added: “We are committed to ensuring that robust standards of practice continue to be at the forefront of the sector” and revealed that the association that represents smaller businesses in the drinks sector has “promoted standards of practice which go further than both Australian Consumer Law and state and territory legislative and regulatory frameworks, including the Online Alcohol Sale and Delivery Code of Conduct.”
According to the Australian Hotels Association (AHA), the new protections will also help its boutique businesses thrive.
AHA National CEO Stephen Ferguson echoed: “One of the primary reasons the AHA was founded was to protect its members from unfair trading practices. Having legislative force actually underpinning that will be welcomed by our members.”
Speaking up for more than 675 Australian-owned craft breweries, The Independent Brewers Association (IBA) agreed that it wants a thorough review of Australia’s beer market, not only to address the market structure but to primarily ensure fair access and routes to market for craft brewers.
Offering a perspective on the topic, IBA CEO Kylie Lethbridge said: “A consultation that enables independent breweries to provide information confidentially is so important – as our members routinely tell us that they fear going on any public record with their concerns due to the likelihood of retaliation.”
Lethbridge explained: “In a market where the big brewers have 83% market share and dominate the on-premise market – losing ranging in retail would devastate a small business.”
Australian Grape & Wine (AGW) also welcomed the news and noted the need for targeted protections to safeguard grape growers and wine producers in their dealings with bigger businesses.
AGW CEO, Lee McLean described the discussions as “an important step towards ensuring that small businesses across our sector, including grape growers and winemakers, are afforded the protections they need to operate fairly and competitively in the marketplace. We have long advocated for a more level playing field, and this commitment from the Albanese government is a positive move in the right direction.”
McLean added: “The nuances of the wine sector must be well understood in this process. While we strongly support measures to prevent unfair trading practices, it is crucial that any new framework is tailored to the realities of our industry. We will engage constructively to ensure the final protections strike the right balance between fairness, competition, and commercial flexibility.” 
