Thank you all for coming, for those who don’t know me, I am Alison Byrnes, the Member for Cunningham an electorate covering the beautiful Illawarra.

I’d like to acknowledge that we are hosting this event tonight on Ngunnawal country and I’d like to pay my respects to elders past present and emerging.

There are a few VIPs here tonight that I would like to welcome to Parliament House including:

• Chair of the Australian Brewers Association, Tim Cooper, and CEO John Preston
• Independent Brewers Association Chair Richard Watkins and CEO, Kylie Lethbridge and;
• Stephen Ferguson from the AHA who recently came down to the Illawarra to visit one of my pubs and our Sustainable Buildings Research Centre at our University of Wollongong.

It is so wonderful to see a such a diverse group of brewers, publicans, farmers, Ministers, MPs, Senators, staff and journalists here tonight to launch the Parliamentary Friends of Brewing.

I’m sure many people would have thought given how many Parliamentary Friendship groups there are, this one would have already existed. 

So, I was delighted to work with Sam to establish this group, and I think it’s a testimony to the brewing industries contribution to the country that we have 19 founding MPs and Senators from across the Parliament and the country. I thank you all for your support and interest in this industry.

And, this is what beer does, it brings people together. It is one of the reasons why I wanted to co-chair this group with my mate across the aisle, Sam Birrell the Member for Nicholls.

The other reasons are that this industry:

• is an Australian made success story;
• along with being a leader in sustainability;
• and of course, a significant employer.

In fact, around 100,000 people are employed throughout the brewing supply chain, be it staff in bottle shops, pulling beers in pubs and clubs, the brewers of the beer, transporting products, or the hard working farmers growing and sowing the ingredients.

Which means that beer is an Australian success story, with more than 90 per cent of the beer made here is actually consumed here using almost 100 per cent of Australian produce.

But it is also so much more.

You will hear more from our guests tonight but before I pass over to Richard, I want to touch on two attributes that really are personally important to me, they are sustainability and connectedness.

You should never single out people in this game but I do want to say that two local venues are what really inspired me and taught me about what beer and brewing does for the communities in which it operates.

Ryan Aitchison and his lovely wife Nikki from the Illawarra Hotel are sustainability trailblazers! They run a sustainability program by recycling their bottles from the pub, which funds a 200-square metre urban farm in the CBD. They compost organic waste from their venue and others, to be able to grow their own vegetables and salads, as well as cultivate honey and eggs! They’ve even employed their own sustainability officer, which I think is outstanding for a small, family owned hotel!

Lachie, Selena, Daniel and Sam from His Boy Elroy – best burger bar in the country by the way- so I keep reminding my mate Dan Repacholi - and what they have done bringing 1500 local men together through their charity arm Bar Stool Brothers.

They are wanting to train 700,000 people in Australian hospitality jobs and the like in being able to recognise and respond to customers who may be having a touch time with their mental health as well as helping staff communicate better with their managers.

Breweries right across the country are leading the way in sustainability and I want to point out that no matter the size, everyone is making a difference and I know that this Friendship group will help tell the stories and help brewing and all the people in the industry leave a lasting legacy for years to come.

Thank you to some of my local brewery owners and operators that made the journey here tonight, Phillip O’Shae of Five Barrell Brewing, David Mason of Principle Brewing and Graeme Paterson of Shark Island Brewing Co.

I would like to quickly thank those that helped organise and make tonight possible, Sarah Lovett, John Preston, Kylie Lethbridge, Jewels Lodewijk, Morgan Dyer and Frances Kerkham.

Thank you again everyone for coming tonight – let us raise a glass – or tin – to the Parliamentary Friends of Brewing.