Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Of course, this is early data. We are talking about a month’s worth of data. That is the first thing. The second thing is that this government is determined to act on binge drinking. Those opposite stand on the side of the distilleries on this question. We believe that the responsible course of action lies in acting in the face of the data that we have received, and the data we have received shows that ready-to-drink products targeted at girls and young women have seen a 23 per cent growth since 2005. On top of that, we have seen a 250 per cent increase in RTD sales since the Howard government created a tax loophole back in 2000. So what you can do is: ignore that data, ignore the social problem and ignore the public statements by the police commissioners of the nation and do as those opposite are doing and simply wave a white flag—or act as this government has decided to act.

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