Ms BYRNES (Cunningham) (18:43): I am absolutely delighted to rise today in support of the Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, which accompanies the Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025.

I am really excited about this bill for so many reasons. As I'm the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Brewing with my good friend, the Member for Nicholls, it is probably not all that surprising. The Illawarra has a bustling and ever-expanding craft beer industry growing our tourism industry, delighting locals and visitors alike and working together to support the growing network of local brewers. But one of the big reasons is that this is a win for regional communities like mine in the Illawarra.

I want to share a little story about why this bill excites me so much. Like so many of us here in this place, I spend many mornings standing at local train stations talking with commuters and local people about what matters most to them. There was one gentleman that really stood out to me. He used to drop in and see me when I was at Thirroul train station, one of our major commuting hubs, because he wanted to tell me how hard it had been getting together with his mates. This group of local blokes would get together on a Friday night down at the local bowlo in Thirroul. They are pensioners, and it was one of the treats they gave themselves, to have a bit of fun and keep in touch with each other—a group of blokes who really needed that weekly beer to check in on each other and keep them going for another week. But their beer was getting more and more expensive, and they were having to wind things back. Not everyone could come every week, and it was getting tougher to stay in touch. This might sound small, but, to this group of local Thirroul blokes, that Friday beer could not be important. I could see the impact it was having, and I was really grateful that this lovely gentleman was persistent in bringing this to my attention.

So, when discussion about the beer excise came up, I shared this story with the Treasurer to let him know the impact the cost of beer was having on groups of pensioners in my electorate, because this is absolutely not an isolated group of blokes. That social interaction is so important to so many people across Australia. One of the best texts I have ever received from my good friend the Treasurer was to let me know that we were freezing the beer excise. I knew straightaway that there was a group of blokes down at Thirroul bowlo who would be cheering. I want to thank the Treasurer not only for listening to this story but for taking it seriously and taking action—just one more piece of cost-of-living support from the Albanese government.

This is what these bills are about—a targeted, measured change to pause indexation on draught beer excise and excise-equivalent customs duties for two years. For 40 years, beer excise indexation hasn't changed, with two annual excise increases in line with CPI each year. The pressure on small businesses has been growing. Pubs, clubs and breweries are part of what makes Australian culture. They bring us together, and in some cases they hold us together during good times and bad. In the regions in particular, they are community hubs, and they are important for our economy. The measure applies only to containers between eight and 48 litres, those commonly used in pubs and clubs, and containers over 48 litres, used in larger hospitality venues, helping to ensure this is targeted at keeping operating costs stable for our hospitality venues while maintaining our broader alcohol excise framework. This is sensible, practical and responsible, and that is what our government is about.

In my work as co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Brewing, I have worked closely with the Brewers Association of Australia. A 100 per cent member funded association, they have worked hard, along with the Australian Hotels Association and others, to see this issue given the attention that it deserves, and they have worked with the government on a practical solution.

Around 10,000 hospitality venues across Australia will directly benefit from this change. Around 75 per cent of those are small businesses, and small businesses have been doing it tough. Across the supply chain, the brewing industry contributes $17 billion every year to our economy—that's agriculture, transport, logistics, hospitality, retail and tourism—and it creates about 100,000 full-time-equivalent jobs. In fact, there are 6,591 full-time-equivalent jobs linked directly to brewing. In New South Wales alone, brewing supports more than 28,000 full-time-equivalent jobs across the supply chain and adds around $4.2 million to our economy. It's significant. Without support, jobs are at risk, communities are at risk and the economy will be left worse off.

These bills also support Australian brewers, particularly those small and independent producers supplying draught beer to local venues. The government has announced tax relief for Australia's distillers, brewers and wine producers. Currently, brewers and distillers get a full remission of any excise paid, up to $350,000 each year. We will increase the excise remission cap to $400,000 for all eligible manufacturers, and we will also increase the wine equalisation tax producer rebate cap to $400,000 from 1 July 2026. In my electorate in the Illawarra, I know this is going to make a huge difference, because this local industry is absolutely booming. Independent breweries alone contribute $1.18 million to the Australian economy every year.

Back home, the Illawarra Brewing Company started brewing local beer in 2011, taking over from the Five Islands Brewing Company, which began in 2001. At the time, it was the only one—a small father-and-son outfit run by Garry and Dave McGrath that supplied beer to the Illawarra Brewery, a popular local venue. In 2012, they won five awards at the Australian International Beer Awards, and they became the first pioneers of craft beer in the Illawarra.

Flash forward to 2025, and now we have eight local brewing companies: Resin Brewing, the Barrel Shepherd, Principle Brewing, Reub Goldberg Brewing, Dusty Lizard Brewing, Five Barrel Brewing, First Light Brewing Co and Seeker Brewing. We also have the South Coast Ale Trail and the Wollongong Brewers Association—local companies banding together to change the face of beer in Wollongong and to catapult this booming local industry. And it's working. Local bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants are getting on board, fighting to become stockists of locally made beer.

And it is really good beer, at that. Seeker Brewing in Unanderra took home six silver and two bronze medals at this year's Australian International Beer Awards—their latest haul in an impressive line-up of awards, having won multiple golds in 2022 and 2023. Their specialty, hop-focused brewing, makes them one of the country's top producers in this style.

Five Barrel Brewing was the Illawarra's second brewery, and it was named the state's best new brewery in 2016. Five Barrel is owned by Phillip O'Shea and his sister Lucy Timpano, with help from their parents and other family members as well, making Five Barrel a true family organisation. Since 2016, they have kept moving to greater and greater heights. Following in the footsteps of Dave McGrath from the Illawarra Brewing Company, Phil and Lucy wanted to turn the Gong from a VB town to a craft beer town, and I think you could say they've had a lot of success.

Local brewers are focusing on shifting attitudes to drinking from drink-to-drink culture to drink-to-enjoy culture, by educating patrons on what craft beer is all about. In an exciting new venture, the Bus of Hoppiness rolls into town this coming weekend—a bus tour on a travelling loop of five local breweries: Seeker, Five Barrel, First Light, Dusty Lizard and Principle, helping to shepherd beer lovers and novices alike around the Illawarra's exciting craft beer culture, all thanks to the new Wollongong Brewers Association. I think this is the other important point: that craft beer is actually about doing beer differently—doing it responsibly and doing it for enjoyment. They are a community helping and supporting each other to give the Illawarra just one more reason to be the best region in Australia. And I certainly agree with that. That is why I am so thrilled that the Albanese government is supporting this industry.

We are also supporting businesses, like the Headlands hotel, the Illawarra Hotel, Howlin' Wolf Bar, the Prince, His Boy Elroy, Steamers Bar and Grill and so many others, who are getting on board and stocking local Illawarra beers on tap, because supporting small businesses and supporting local people to deal with the cost of living is No. 1 on our priority list. Manufacturing, hospitality, tourism—they run the regions, they feed our national economy, and they are vital. We want to support our small local brewers to compete against the large multinational producers. We want to ensure that our beer and hospitality market has diversity and healthy competition. We're keeping it measured, we're keeping it responsible and we are keeping it in line with what will help these important small businesses right now, protecting the jobs that they create, protecting the economic value they drive and protecting our Australian culture, by responsibly enjoying our pubs and clubs—just like that lovely gentleman and his mates down at the Thirroul bowlo.

I am proud to be part of a government that knows our values, knows what is important to protect and knows what can be adjusted for the benefit of all Australians. I will keep doing what I can to ensure that local voices are heard in these important conversations. I will keep doing what I can to ensure our local beer industry can continue to thrive. We have so many people employed in manufacturing. I will keep doing what I can to support my community with real and impactful cost-of-living relief, just like we have done by investing in Medicare, making home solar batteries 30 per cent cheaper, cutting student debt by 20 per cent, increasing the minimum wage, increasing the super guarantee and paid parental leave, boosting the pension, cutting taxes, cutting energy bills and helping more people to be able to afford a home. Always, we have given cost-of-living relief to local people.

All of this support has been done at the same time that headline inflation has come down, our economy has stabilised, unemployment has been low and real wages have grown. It is sensible economic management by a government that knows which levers to press and when, balancing support of our community with support of our economy. Our plan is working, and we will keep at it.

Again, I want to thank the Treasurer and the Assistant Treasurer for these bills. I want to thank all of those industry bodies that worked constructively with us through this process. I'm looking forward to another term as co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Brewing. I'll again be working closely with the Brewers Association of Australia, the Independent Brewers Association, my co-chair, the member for Nicholls, as we keep bringing the spotlight on Australia's brewing and live music industries to the Australian parliament. I encourage everyone who hasn't yet tasted the amazing craft beer that the Illawarra has to offer to come and visit the South Coast Ale Trail. You won't be disappointed. I commend this bill to the House.