With the 2025 Federal Election looming, the Independent Brewers Association (IBA) is encouraging voters to consider which candidates best represent the independent brewing industry.
“We know that it’s election season when there are photos of politicians pulling a pint behind a bar, or pretending they are ‘one of the people’ enjoying a beer at their local,” says the IBA in its latest campaign.
Beer are breweries are about community, they’re a huge part of Australia’s culture on both a local and national level, which is why they become such a hot topic over election season.
While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has the Inner West Ale Trail in his electorate, Peter Dutton visited XXXX brewery last week for an election campaign event. Bob Katter has even launched a new beer, Patriot, in collaboration with independent Cairns brewery Copperlode.
But despite politicians increasingly popping up in breweries across the country with their election campaigns now in full swing, the IBA highlights the lack of support provided by the Government to Australia’s independent brewers.
Australian-owned breweries might contribute $4.5bn to the economy each year, yet 48 per cent of independent breweries say they are struggling to maintain profitability, leading 52 small brewing businesses to close their doors in the last two years.
Last week, in conversation with Beer & Brewer, IBA Chair Evin Craney said: “Asahi and Lion Nathan by their own admission own roughly nine-10ths of the beer market which means consumers are not being allowed fair access to alternative products.
“Twice-annual increases on production, matched with heavily restricted market access, puts the long-term viability of our industry in grave danger.”
Addressing the lack of support provided to the independent brewing industry, the IBA says: “We can only presume it’s because [the Government] is happy to collect campaign contributions from big beer and their lobbyists that incentivise them to take no action further, intrenching their market dominance. The risk being the only beer left for Australians to choose will come from two foreign-owned multinationals, or the home brand beer from supermarkets.”
To ensure the longevity of the independent brewing industry, the IBA is calling on the Government to undertake an inquiry into the competition in the beer industry and review the unfair alcohol tax regime.
The IBA claims that big beer companies are donating significantly to Government campaigns, therefore influencing policy decisions, and the association is urging voters to carefully consider who they vote for.
“We are saying – a vote for the major parties is a vote for the status quo. This election we’re encouraging indie beer lovers everywhere to ask questions and to take a good look at which candidate actually has the courage to commit to the necessary reforms to #saveindiebeer,” says the IBA.