TWO leading wine industry groups – Winemakers’ Federation of Australia and Australian Vignerons – have begun formal discussions on a potential amalgamation to create a single united peak body.
The single body would represent the Australian grape and wine sector at the federal level.
WFA chief executive Tony Battaglene said this followed years of talk on potentially forming a single body.
“There have been discussions over the years for reform of the grape and wine representative bodies, to deliver greater unity and representation of the sector as a whole,” he said.
“It has been made clear to me, that political parties of all persuasions would welcome representation from a single body for the grape and wine sector and our advocacy efforts would be much stronger.”
AV CEO Anna Hooper said there was potential to improve service delivery.
“The creation of a single body will provide stronger representation for our members, improve efficiency and increase positive outcomes for the entire grape and wine sector,” she said.
“This proposal demonstrates a fantastic example of collaboration and leadership that Australian Vignerons is proud to be part of.
“We look forward to the prospect of being able to deliver more for our members, and the sector as a whole.”
WFA and AV are in formal discussions on the structure of a single organisation, with the objective of a vote on the amalgamated body to be presented to members in November 2018.
The boards of WFA and AV have supported these moves.
