‘A kick in the guts’: Wine sector sour over lack of fed budget support
Wine industry leaders have slammed last night’s federal budget, claiming growers have been left in the lurch. One Riverland MP saying the sector is “on its knees”.
Australian Grape & Wine has expressed “deep disappointment” over the 2026 Federal Budget, claiming its pleas for help were ignored.
“This budget is a bitterly disappointing outcome for an industry under significant and sustained strain,” Australian Grape & Wine CEO Lee McLean said.
“We did not ask for a handout. We put forward practical, targeted measures to support an orderly transition, reduce long-term costs, and minimise the impact on regional communities. Once again, the Government has chosen not to act.”
Chaffey MP Tim Whetstone, whose electorate covers the Riverland wine growing region, said “the wine industry at large is on its knees” and that the 2026 budget was “a kick in the guts” for the sector.
“We’ve now come to the point where people are no longer able to grow grapes, and it’s now becoming cost-prohibitive to make wine and a profit all at the same time,” Whetstone, who was involved in winemaking, trading and exporting for about 20 years, said.
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“Last night’s saving within the budget was $191.6 million over five years, and that is a real kick in the guts to an industry that has been so important, not only to South Australia’s economy, but to the nation’s economy as well.
“We are one of the world’s great wine regions, and from what I can see from last night’s budget, the government have just walked away without a care or concern for what I would consider their role and responsibility is: to help those wine industries in growing, making and sales transition that is so desperately needed for an industry that is on it’s knees at the moment.”
Whetstone has been advocating for a “structural adjustment” from the state government to support growers, including through education programs and “no to low-interest loans”.
The peak wine industry body said that despite providing a comprehensive, evidence-based suite of targeted measures in its Pre-Budget Submission, the sector received no new funding.
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It also said that the Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grant program, which provides grants of up to $100,000 to wine and cider producers, would be phased out.
The 2026 federal budget stated that it would save $104.6 million over the next five years by reducing funding to grant schemes such as the Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grant program.
“At the worst possible time, this government has chosen to withdraw a program that directly supports regional businesses,” McLean said.
According to Australian Grape & Wine, the sector is facing a structural supply-demand imbalance, compounded by the loss of key export markets, rising input costs and global uncertainty.
McLean said the expectation that industry can manage the adjustment alone was “unrealistic”.
“Without timely support, this will not be an orderly adjustment. It will mean growers walking away from vineyards they can no longer afford to maintain, leaving environmental risks and communities without the capacity to respond,” she said.
“If that approach continues, the legacy of this government risks being the decimation of Australia’s wine sector, and the loss of regional communities and livelihoods that depend on it.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmer’s office was contacted for comment.
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