Inconceivable it may seem, but the GIC has been effectively outed from the AAT’s hearing into the most controversial issue facing Australian wine, the boundary of the Coonawarra region. Established by the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Act, the GIC is a statutory committee that examines and checks applications for regional determinations (GIs) and makes its own determinations, which are then entered into the Register of Protected Names. The AAT, into whose hands the Coonawarra farce has been dropkicked, has directed the GIC only to play a minor role in the hearing – limiting it to providing opening and closing remarks or information on request. According to the GIC’s Acting Presiding Member, Guy Darling, the GIC does not want to defend its (latest) boundary, but it ‘does want to be able to test any new evidence and to ensure the public interest and the wine industry interest is adequately represented and protected’. ‘Other parties to the hearing are present to protect and promote their individual interests and it is essential there be adequate debate on the consequences of adopting alternative boundaries. ‘To ensure this, the GIC does need to be more dynamically involved in the process – the GIC needs to protect the integrity of the GIC process as defined by the relevant Act and regulations gazetted in 1994’, he says. Guy Darling also points out that the exclusion of the GIC does set a potentially dangerous precedent which might affect future GI determinations, such as Heathcote for example. ‘This is the type of test case which could have long term consequences for the GIC system. It should not be allowed to simply become a civil action dominated by the commercial interests of the parties’, he argues.
