KEY POINTS:
The pull out of brewing giant Lion Nathan from the Beer Wine & Spirits Council has resulted in the lobby group being disbanded.
Lion said in a statement today it was withdrawing to pursue a more direct engagement with the Government on industry matters.
The council represented only Lion and rival brewer DB Group, which expressed disappointment at the decision.
DB managing director Brian Blake said in the statement that DB had always seen value in an independent voice for the industry.
DB would now engage directly with stakeholders.
The industry has been far from unified with the Distilled Spirits Association operating a different agenda -- largely lobbying on excise tax issues and access to supermarkets -- and the Wine Institute operating another agenda again.
The council largely kept out of the recent issue to reconsider the drinking age, seeing its as counterproductive to be seen lobbying on that emotive issue.
However, it did work behind the scenes giving "balance" on such things as statistics and has been active on other issues such as liquor advertising and health warning labelling.
It worked on "the good, the bad and the ugly", according to one insider.
Lion also pulled out of the Australian counterpart, the Brewing Association, but because there are more brewers there, that body continued.
It was believed cost savings were part of the reason for the move.
- NZPA
