Monday 1st March 2010

LICENCE GAINS FOR VIGNERONS: SYKES

Nationals Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes has welcomed the recognition of the position of vignerons in the liquor industry with changes to licence arrangements.

"Vignerons major concerns have been included in the extensive range of representations he had been making to the Minister responsible for the liquor industry, Tony Robinson, in relation to the anomalies and inequities contained within the changes to the liquor licence arrangements.

"In addition to the vignerons licence fee, the vignerons had been hit with a fee of $95 for a temporary limited licence to attend a maximum of three markets or special events per year.

"The fee has been reviewed and one temporary limited licence will allow the vigneron to attend up to 12 markets or special events in 12 months," Dr Sykes said.

Vignerons wishing to attend more than 12 markets or events in any one year will need to apply for an additional licence, and this will be the subject of further representations.

"The Minister needs to give further consideration to the vignerons licensing arrangements, recognising their importance to the economy of Victoria, and indeed including those vignerons operating within the Benalla electorate," Dr Sykes said.

Dr Sykes said the success for the vignerons should not bury the fact that there are still major concerns with the new liquor licences generally and that the Minister must recognise that around 80 per cent of licensees have now paid their fees, without any adjustment and often under duress, and fearful that if they didn’t pay before 21 January 2010 they would face penalties for being technically unlicensed.

"The issue of massive licence fee increases for the 2010 calendar year has been a major concern for the large number of licensees, and I will continue to work to see these unfair and unjust fees addressed so that many businesses can continue without fear of losing thousands," Dr Sykes concluded.