Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Will the minister update the House on the government’s action on alcopops and any recent developments in supporting or opposing the measure?

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

I thank the member for Kingston for her question, because I know that she has been following closely the action the government has been taking to tackle binge drinking. Of course, the government has taken a number of decisive and concrete steps in tackling binge drinking, including encouraging Australians to lead a healthier lifestyle, and an important part of that strategy is closing the alcopops tax loophole.

After 12 months of irresponsible and opportunistic obstruction, I did hold out just a glimmer of hope that maybe today the Liberal Party would finally come to a decision on whether it was going to support this alcopops measure or not. I thought that the party room might have been dealing with this issue. Obviously there has been a lot of speculation from the frontbench and from the leader, and I thought that there might have even been a gradual awakening from the Leader of the Opposition that, if 80 per cent of Australians think that binge drinking is a problem, maybe he should not be the last man standing opposing the measures that we are taking to tackle alcohol abuse. But, unfortunately, today the Liberal Party failed again to finally take a position.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Previous Speakers have ruled it out of order for ministers to comment on matters outside their responsibility, particularly matters in the opposition party’s party rooms or matters to do with other political parties. This is not within the minister’s areas of responsibility.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question related to alcopops and recent developments on support for and opposition to the government’s actions. The minister is responding to the question.

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

I am responding to the question, because in particular I was asked the question of whether there were any recent developments in supporting or opposing the action that the government is taking. The problem is, of course, the Liberal Party now are doing both of those things—supporting and opposing this measure. You have the shadow minister for health, who has always been implacably opposed to this measure, who has been in the pockets of the distillers. He has happily outsourced his policy making to the distilling industry.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Dickson will resume his seat. The minister will withdraw.

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

I withdraw. The shadow minister has, every time that we have debated this measure in the House, walked straight out the door and straight to talk to Mr Broderick to find out if he has followed his instructions properly or not.

What we have seen after the budget is a number of people in the Liberal Party understanding that not only is this an effective health measure, and perhaps it is silly to be standing in the way of it, but also in these global financial circumstances it might not be so bright to be standing in the way of a sensible health measure that has a budgetary impact. So there were some indications from the Leader of the Opposition and from a number of others that maybe there was an opportunity to change this. But we have seen Mr Dutton, the shadow minister, out there, still arguing to the death that this should not be supported.

Then we saw a slight change; they were buying a little bit of time. We heard some speculation in the media that the opposition wanted to see the details of what we were doing. They were pretending, it seems, that they needed more information before they could try and sort out what they were going to do. What I want to know is what it actually is that the Liberal Party is waiting for. This legislation was introduced five months ago, in February this year. Prior to that it was the subject of a Senate inquiry. Then there was a second Senate inquiry. It was debated and voted upon in the Senate on 18 March. We announced on 15 April that the government would reintroduce that same legislation. And then what happened? We still had the member for Dickson saying he wants a little bit more information—he just wants to see the legislation. I do not know why he needs to look at it yet again, but he needs to have a look at it again. In May, we offered the member for Dickson another briefing with the same legislation. It is entertaining but embarrassingly wrong, because it is the same legislation that has been introduced.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, show it to us!

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

We have been showing it to them for five months but still the member for Dickson cannot make up his mind what he wants to do, because he is getting instructions from outside the parliament. He does not want to change his mind, along with the Leader of the Opposition. They do not want to do something sensible so they are still pretending that they need more information. But I am not sure what more we can possibly give them.

Ultimately, we cannot solve their internal problems. If they go to their party room meeting and come out again with no decision, all we gather from that is that they are impossibly divided on this and every other issue. But now is the time to stop ignoring the 80 per cent of the public who want action taken and to stop ignoring that this measure is working: a 35 per cent drops in alcopops, an eight per cent drop in overall spirits and a half a per cent drop in all consumption of alcohol. It is time to clarify where you stand and it is time for the backbench to decide whether they are going to support the Leader of the Opposition or the member for Dickson.

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

Mr Speaker, on that note I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.