Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Will the minister outline actions to tackle binge drinking and any attempts to undermine those actions?

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Isaacs for this question. I know that many on this side of the House are worried, as we get into the festive season, about making sure that people do celebrate and enjoy themselves in a sensible way and particularly that young people take care to look after themselves. We have discussed the comprehensive strategy that the government is taking, on a number of occasions in this House. We have now announced 19 community grants in local communities across the country; we have launched our new, hard-hitting campaign particularly targeted at young people to highlight the risks of binge drinking; and at COAG on the weekend we committed the largest Australian government investment in preventative health, including establishing incentive payments for the states who reduce hazardous consumption of alcohol, as well as programs to target alcohol abuse through the workplace. And of course we took action in the budget to close the dangerous coalition loophole on alcopops.

The early signs are that the alcopops measure is working. As I have reported to the House previously, the data that is available to us shows that spirits sales have dropped by almost 10 per cent since the loophole was closed. But, unfortunately, I must report to the House that, as the sales are dropping, parts of the alcohol industry are getting increasingly desperate. They first used deceptive data, trying to argue that the measure was not working and therefore should be dropped. More recently they tried arguing that the measure was working so well that revenue was down and therefore the measure should be dropped. It seems to us that the only thing they have not been prepared to do so far is to come out directly and say that they are trying to protect their profits at the expense of young people and therefore think the measure should be dropped.

But recently—and I think this might be what the member for Isaacs was particularly interested in—their desperation has reached new heights. We have seen reports in the media and evidence from retailers that new products are being introduced purporting to be beer based alcohops, or ‘malternatives’, as they have been dubbed, which the industry believe can get around the alcopops measure. This was a cynical and ruthless tactic from parts of the industry that are getting increasingly desperate to protect their profits and continue to harm young people.

But I can inform the House today of action that has been taken by Customs officials. I am advised that Customs have in fact chemically tested imports of certain beverages that have the appearance of alcopops but that are claimed to be beer—and ‘claimed’ is the operative word here, because I am advised by Customs the chemical analysis shows that the beverages did not have the essential characteristics of beer and were therefore not able to be classified as such. So trying to get around the law does not always pay. I am further advised by Customs that it is their view that these should be correctly classified in such a way that they attract the rate applying to ready-to-drinks and spirits, which is $68.54 per litre of alcohol content. Customs will monitor the classification of these beverages in accordance with normal risk based compliance approaches. In accordance with Customs’ normal response to noncompliance, duty will be required to be paid at the correct rate and penalties may be applied but only after considering the individual circumstances of each case.

So I am pleased to be able to inform the House that these increasingly desperate attempts by parts of the industry to get around this measure will not be successful. With four Australians under 25 dying in an average week due to alcohol related injuries, we cannot afford to ignore this problem. This government is not prepared to stand by and do nothing, as those opposite were. We are going to remain vigilant as parts of the spirits industry try every trick in the book to keep their profits high, leaving their credibility rock-bottom low.