Australian Grape & Wine today welcomed the release of a discussion paper by the Federal Government, which seeks big ideas to kick-start a conversation about the future or rural research and development in Australia.

“We welcome this initiative to take our world class R&D system to the next level” said Tony Battaglene, chief executive of Australian Grape & Wine.

“Australia has a long history of investing in R&D and extension to improve productivity, which has underpinned economic growth and returns at the farm gate. Indeed, much of the success Australia’s winegrape growers and winemakers have experienced over the past 30 years is due to leadership in research, development and innovation”, said Battaglene.

“However, it is critical that Australia’s rural R&D system is fit for purpose and able to tackle the productivity and technology challenges of the decades ahead. For this reason, we strongly support Minister McKenzie’s leadership in undertaking this process” said Battaglene.

The paper seeks views from all stakeholders on a broad range of issues, including how the rural R&D system can deliver better value for money while driving collaboration across the system.

“We hope this process will lead to improvements to the rural R&D system, including a reduced duplication of investments and research efforts, increased efficiencies, and a greater level of collaboration across the system. These improvements would help future proof Australia’s grape and wine industry from future shocks, while driving increased profitability along the wine supply chain and across rural and regional Australia” said Battaglene.

Australian Grape & Wine encourages anyone with an interest in the future of the Australian wine sector to contribute to this process.