Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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WINE GRAPES LEVY REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1991 NO. 145

STATUTORY RULES 1991 No. 145

Issued by the Authority of the Minister of State for Primary Industries and Energy

WINE GRAPES LEVY ACT 1979

WINE GRAPES LEVY REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)

The Wine Grapes Levy Act 1979 (the Act) imposes a levy on prescribed goods (fresh grapes, dried grapes and grape juice) used at a winery. The research amount of the levy finances a research scheme for the wine industry. Administrative and organisational arrangements for the scheme are provided under the Rural Industries Research Act 1985.

Subsection 6(2) of the Act provides that the operational rate of the research amount of the levy may be varied up to a level not exceeding $2 per tonne of prescribed goods. The purpose of the amendments is to increase the operational rate of the research amount of the levy from $1.50 per tonne to $1.70 per tonne for the 1992 vintage and to $1.90 per tonne of leviable goods for the 1993 vintage.

Subsection 9(6) of the Act provides that the Governor-General shall only make regulations for the purpose of subsection 6(2) on the advice of the Executive Council. The Executive Council shall take into consideration any relevant recommendation made to the Minister by a declared winemakers organisation. The Winemakers' Federation of Australia Incorporated has supported the increases in the research amount of the levy. The levy is to be paid to the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation (GWRDC) from 2 July 1991. The Commonwealth matches the expenditure of industry monies by the GWRDC on a dollar for dollar basis up to a maximum level of 0.5% of the average gross value of production of wine for a financial year.