Sio William: Alcohol Reform Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sio William: Alcohol Reform Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 06 December 2012. Volume:686;Page:7300. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Su’a WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Mangere) 
: 
 Mr Chairman thank you very much for the opportunity. Listening to the contribution from the other side I find myself feeling quite disappointed because I would have thought those who have made their contribution to defend the industry knew better particularly those who have had experiences in the community and particularly those who have formerly held roles in the community where they would have seen firsthand the harm that alcohol-fuelled violence creates. 
Certainly the police are telling us that we have a national crisis. The professionals—doctors and nurses—are telling us that we have a national crisis on our hands. We know that the emergency departments in our hospitals are telling us that we have a crisis on our hands. I do not know why it is that the members of that Government do not recognise that there is indeed a national crisis here. If they do not recognise that all they need to do is get in a police car one evening and just travel around the streets. You will find young men and young women fuelled with alcohol who are not only doing harm to themselves but also doing harm to the property around the neighbourhood and doing harm to other people. 
I am quite disappointed with that last contribution from Simon O’Connor because I thought he understood but it seems to me that members on that side have sort of sold their soul to the liquor industry to some extent. 
I want to say that as a country we have created and allowed the situation that we now have where we have excessive commercialisation of alcohol. What we are asking on behalf of our community is not for a prohibition but that we need to take this opportunity to have stronger regulation around the use of alcohol. 
I have heard others from that side say that they have met with Professor Doug Sellman and his group. If they have met Dr Sellman and the group they will have heard the evidence collected by that organisation and many others that says the solution is that we have got to raise alcohol prices we have to raise the purchase age we have to reduce alcohol accessibility we have to reduce marketing and advertising and we have to increase our drink-driving countermeasures. Many of the Supplementary Order Papers that my colleagues have put forward are aimed at giving us more regulation so that we can deal with the national crisis that we have. 
I am appalled that we allow the industry to target the younger generation—to target through advertising to target through labelling and to target by making it easier for them to access alcohol. I am appalled that young people walking to school face the litter of alcohol advertising on the streets one after the other. So I do not think that this Government is taking the opportunity that is available to it as the Government to really address the issues that I think every group throughout our various electorates has a view about. This is no different from addressing the harm that smoking causes in our society. We know it causes death. We know that people fuelled with alcohol cause harm. 
I hear the other side saying that we need to look at personal responsibility. That is an argument that the industry keeps throwing up in our faces every time we ask for more regulation. So what does that say to me? It says that that side of the Chamber is supporting the liquor industry. This side of the Chamber is arguing on behalf of our communities who are saying: “Enough harm.” There is a national crisis caused by this. You cannot simply continue to have your heads either in the sand or in the clouds without recognising the harm that it is causing right now and for the next generation coming through.