Wine Australia has admitted that the draft One Grape & Wine Sector Plan was partly modelled on the Red Meat 2030 document released by the Red Meat Advisory Council in 2019.
“From the start of the planning process for the One Grape & Wine Sector Plan, we knew that we needed to look to other plans that had successfully considered the needs and priorities of a broad, diverse sector,” Wine Australia CEO Martin Cole said.
“The red meat plan and the One Grape & Wine Sector Plan share similar framework themes to focus discussions and organise areas for action.
“However, the content within each theme is a direct result of the consultation with our own sector and the collective priorities for action that were put forward.”
Mr Cole was responding to questions raised by The Week That Was – WBM‘s weekly newsletter – about the similarities between the One Sector Plan and Red Meat 2030.
Red Meat 2030 and the One Sector Plan both use language like “unifying strategy” and “enabling practice change”.
The corporate-speak and motherhood statements in the wine plan have been roundly criticised in the wine industry.
Red Meat 2030 lists “Our Priorities” on Page 5 which are: Our People; Our Consumers, Customers and Community; Our Livestock; Our Environment; Our Markets; Our Systems.
The “Key Priorities” listed on Page 4-5 of the One Sector Plan are the same except Our Livestock is replaced by Our Place and Product and Our Environment is replaced by Our ESG.
The similarities don’t end there.
WBM is not accusing anyone of plagiarism. The One Sector Plan is not a cut-and-paste.
Lee McLean, CEO of Australian Grape & Wine said, “I am aware of the similarities between the frameworks of the Red Meat 2030 plan and the draft One Sector Plan.
“From my understanding, Red Meat 2030 was well received by both its sector and the Australian Government.
“While the framework may be similar, the content of our One Sector Plan is derived directly by the input we received from producers, state and regional bodies and other stakeholders during the extensive consultation we conducted throughout 2023.
“This feedback also informed AGW’s 2024 Pre-Budget Submission, which is an example of how we are taking themes raised in the One Sector Plan and turning them into actions for the sector.”
When asked who actually wrote the One Sector Plan Mr McLean said, “The One Sector Plan was jointly written by ACIL Allen, Australian Grape & Wine and Wine Australia.”
AGW says “the same person did not write both documents”.
“Like we said earlier, that framework worked well for our content.”
Asked how much ACIL Allen was being paid, Wine Australia said, “Financial information is commercial in confidence.”
The “Our People” section of the One Sector Plan on the left, and Red Meat 2030 on the right.