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

My question is to Senator Conroy, the Minister representing the Treasurer. Isn’t it true that tucked away in the budget papers is the revelation that:

Beer excise is expected to grow by 8.0 per cent in 2008-09, with higher volumes likely to be reflecting some substitution away from ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages—

and that a couple of pages back it also states the following?

Revenue from imported spirits are expected to be stronger by $245 million, or nearly 20 per cent growth, in 2008-09 mainly as a result of consumer substitution from RTDs.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not actually sure what the question was—and I am happy to have it clarified in a moment—but, given that the revelation that the senator is alluding to is published in the budget papers, I will say I am happy to stand by all of the assumptions and figures that are contained in them.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Fielding is entitled to hear the answer.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am happy to provide any other information that is available from the Treasurer’s office, but I can confirm—if the senator read it correctly—the information contained in the budget papers.

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, given that your own budget documents clearly identify and acknowledge that significant substitution is occurring, isn’t this proof that the alcopops tax grab does nothing to tackle the issue of alcohol abuse and binge drinking?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I appreciate the way that Senator Fielding has tried to add two and two to make it equal four, but the Rudd government’s commitment to tackling the scourge of binge drinking in our community is stronger than ever. Yesterday’s budget papers confirm this. They confirm that government action to close the alcopops tax loophole has arrested the rapid growth of consumption of these drinks. It has arrested it. Treasury papers confirm what the government has been saying about the effectiveness of the alcopops measure. In the time since the introduction of the measure, we have seen a massive 35 per cent drop in alcopops sales and an eight per cent drop in total overall spirits sales. Clearly the measure is working. (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Isn’t it true that the government is a substitution denier? And isn’t it true that the government could bring legislation before the Senate in this sitting week to vote on whether the alcopops tax should proceed or not but has purposely chosen to wait until June so that it can manipulate the Senate to ensure this tax can be used as a trigger for a double dissolution?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Even allowing for some substitution, the bottom line is that the Treasury’s figures still show a drop in overall consumption of excisable alcoholic beverages of 0.5 per cent—in contrast to growth in previous years. Here is what the budget papers say if you read them out wholly:

Overall excisable alcoholic beverages consumption declined by 0.5 per cent in contrast to small positive growth rates of recent years.

In addition, the same section of Budget Paper No. 1 states in relation to Customs data:

However, overall spirits consumption has fallen since the measure to increase excise on RTDs was introduced.

When all of the facts are examined, it is clear— (Time expired)