Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Share this | Hansard source

We are still here at the eleventh hour and Family First are throwing a lifeline to the Rudd government to break the impasse. We have recommended to the government a three-year set date for closing the crazy loophole that allows alcohol ads to appear during sporting programs. Three years is more than enough. We are trying to be reasonable and act in good faith. This link between alcohol advertising and sport needs to be broken. The industry knows that this is a serious issue. In actual fact, it appears some of the industry is prepared to move further than the Rudd government on advertising restrictions, from what I heard yesterday in the chamber. I heard yesterday in the chamber that someone in the industry was looking to restrict their advertising. I do not know whether that is true, but if that is true then it seems a shame that the Rudd government will not move on setting a deadline or a date for stopping this crazy link between alcohol and sport.

Clearly, we have a problem; no-one is denying that. I have never heard the government deny it, but for some reason it refuses to actually set a date, to stand up to the alcohol industry and say that sports programs should not be given a special exemption from the regulation that allows them to put ads on any time of the day for alcohol. No-one can justify it. The government has not had a day, a week or a year but over a year and a half to do this. Family First introduced a bill into parliament, the Alcohol Toll Reduction Bill 2007 [2008], which had three measures in it: firstly, advertising restrictions; secondly, health warning labels on alcohol products; and, thirdly, making sure that the ads for alcohol are taken out of industry hands and into a regulatory body not in the hands of the industry. These three measures are pretty simple. These three measures do not cost the government a cent. The government has conceded on a couple of those points, but all three are not justifiable not to move. The government is willing to move on labels on alcohol products and it is willing to make sure that alcohol ads are out of the industry hands into a regulatory body, but on the big one, alcohol advertising and sport, this government cannot unhook itself even from that addiction. It has not got the courage to stand up to the alcohol industry and say that enough is enough. I am not even asking for it to be done today; I am asking for the government to set a date so we can all work towards when we will break that link between alcohol and sport.

You cannot justify why you would not do it. The Australian public want it. They are sick and tired of the link. As I stated yesterday, the cost of excessive alcohol consumption in Australia is $15.3 billion. That is what it costs the economy. That is a physical drag on the economy. One in five road deaths are alcohol related and 40 per cent of police work is alcohol related. These are your taxes and my taxes. Our streets are not safe because of the alcohol fuelled violence. We must act on this. We have thrown a lifeline to the government, and I am hoping that they do not just say to the Australian people that even a three-year start date is not acceptable. That is ridiculous. There is no use spending money unhooking sponsorship from sport if you are going to put your foot on the accelerator down to the floor and allow advertising and sport still to be so closely tied. You are actually reinforcing the message. You need to actually front up to the Australian people and stop hiding behind a blatant tax grab. That is where you started, and you have ended up with a few other bits and pieces and a bit of money to buy a few more votes, but you have got to address the biggest issue, which is that of alcohol advertising. Everybody knows it. It is like the elephant in your party room. This is a biggie and you will not stand up to it. It is a nonsense that you will not move on this issue.

So here is a lifeline—a three-year date: in three years you will definitely stop the crazy exemption given to sports programming that allows alcohol ads to appear any time of the day. It is a simple thing to do, and it is the right thing to do. All Australians want to see this addressed. As I said, Family First spoke about this issue with the Prime Minister before he was Prime Minister. This is a serious issue. We have brought this issue to a head because we have stood up to the government’s fraudulent position of saying that the alcopops tax is good enough. You have a major problem—a $15.3 billion problem; that is the alcohol toll—and the best that you folks can do is pull the lever on tax revenue and say this is going to fix it.

You have turned binge drinking into a tax problem. Binge drinking is not a tax problem; binge drinking is a cultural problem. We need to create a culture of responsible drinking in Australia. I drink; most Australians drink. We need to create a culture of responsible drinking where it is no longer acceptable to drink until you are blind drunk. We need to look at this as an alcohol toll. I use the term very specifically because people can relate to it. They can relate to it because of the road toll. Governments got fair dinkum with the road toll. It took a long time to get there. And what was the first response to some of the measures? It was: ‘Oh, don’t be a wowser!’ Remember the days when seat belts had to be worn? People would say, ‘Oh, I’m not wearing a seat belt; you’re not a man if you wear a seatbelt.’ Today a five-year-old kid will say, ‘Hey! You haven’t got your seatbelt on!’ That is the culture. It is not a tax problem. You do not turn binge drinking into a tax problem. You have hijacked genuine debate about addressing a very huge issue—a huge elephant that you will not tackle.

The tobacco toll is another toll. There is the road toll, the tobacco toll—and now the alcohol toll. Occasionally, the Rudd government say, ‘Look, with the tobacco toll we pulled the tax lever.’ Hold on! From memory you did not take the most popular brand of cigarettes and up the tax on that. Why? Because you knew there would be substitution. So all of a sudden you come to the alcohol toll and the best you mob can do is pull a tax on one particular product. Do you know how much the price, not the tax, has gone up? Do you think that is going to stop people from binge drinking? You have turned this debate into a tax problem and done all of Australia a very great disservice. This issue deserved better from a government that knew the issues. You knew that this deserved better than just pulling a tax on one product. It is a cultural issue; it is not a tax problem. We need to address that issue.

Three simple measures were not too much to ask: advertising restrictions, warning labels on alcohol products and getting alcohol advertising out of industry self-regulation. But no, you did not go there. You just pulled the tax lever. And then you masquerade around saying, ‘That’s going to do it all!’ And then at the eleventh hour you start giving a bit more money and you say, ‘Only if you vote for the bill will you get these other little bits and pieces.’ But what about the real issue of the advertising restrictions? I have given you a lifeline here—three years. Seriously think about it. Do not just steadfastly say, ‘Nothing we can do about that!’ I am sure in your party room that there is quite a bit of support for advertising restrictions. Listen to your conscience on this issue. You cannot justify to the Australian people why you will not tackle the advertising restrictions. Unhook alcohol addiction from sport. Show some real leadership. Show the courage that the Australian people voted you in on at the last election. Show them that same steely determination to stand up to the big players. Do not roll over at the eleventh hour—show some courage.