Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan): Two weeks ago I visited the Brunswick Temple Brewing Company, an excellent establishment with great food and delicious beers. The brewery is energy efficient, reclaims wastewater from the brewing process and sends organic waste to farms. I was really impressed with owner Nicholas Pang’s dedication and commitment to his craft.
The microbrewers of Victoria and northern metro are a growing and popular small business sector with locals and tourists alike, but they are being done over by an unfair tax and tariff. They pay far more tax and have a far lower tax threshold than any other business making alcoholic beverages, such as small wineries and small distilleries. What is the government doing to improve the lot of microbreweries in Melbourne in order to best support these small but essential businesses?
ANSWER:
I thank Ms Patten for this question, as she shares the same dedication to Victoria’s diverse small business sector as I do. We both know the emergence of microbreweries is a fantastic sign of the entrepreneurial nature of Victorians — Victoria had the most new businesses in Australia last year, with 8000 starting up operations. It also reflects the growing diversity of the Victorian economy, which the Andrews Labor Government is working hard to increase and grow.
Ultimately, alcohol taxation is administered by the Federal Government. However, the Andrews Labor Government is dedicated to reducing red tape for small businesses which sees them spend their valuable resources, and time on unnecessary and burdensome regulation. The Victorian Government’s Small Business Regulatory Review is currently engaging directly with small businesses to reduce the regulatory burden and costs on day to day business operations. The review will look at regulations across each level of government, including taxation arrangements, to identify opportunities for reform.
Further, Victorian microbreweries are strongly encouraged to utilise the range of the Victorian Government’s small business programs available through Small Business Victoria.
