00:02It's been a long time coming. Government support for South Australia's struggling wine industry.
00:07Now, a package for growers to transition to different crops has been announced.
00:12We were never looking for a handout, we were looking for a hand up.
00:15Smaller growers could access loans up to $250,000.
00:19Larger entities can apply for up to half a million.
00:22It means that people can make informed decisions and potentially move into other sectors,
00:27other crops that will be useful for them.
00:30Despite grower frustration with how long it's taken,
00:33the Premier's backed the government's response.
00:35We're ultimately talking about an oversupply, which is different to a natural disaster,
00:40so it's got to be thought through very carefully about how we calibrate this response.
00:44An oversupply that's plagued SA wine regions, brought on by China's four-year ban on Australian imports
00:50and a global downturn in consumption.
00:53There's a large amount of vines if you travel around, there's a lot that are just turned off,
00:57they're not pulled out.
00:59But growers are looking to the future.
01:01We need that money for the opportunities to see what we can do as our next crop going forward.
01:05Expressions of interest for the loan scheme are expected to begin next week.
01:09It's something the opposition says it's been calling for and wants to see more details.
01:14They're in a state of paralysis, not really understanding where to go
01:18and just what that support will mean to their individual businesses.
01:21Individual businesses now assessing their next moves.
01:25Jackson Byrne, ABC News.
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