Smith Nick: Customs and Excise (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
Smith Nick: Customs and Excise (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:608;Page:5411] 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (NZ National—Nelson) 
: 
 I want Mr Jim Anderton the Minister in the chair to answer a very simple question: where is the research to back up his contention that this bill will increase taxation and reduce the problems associated with alcohol abuse by the young? We have maybe an hour or two— 
Ron Mark 
: He’s not going to answer that. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: Is the Minister in the chair prepared to answer that question? It is a very fair question because he cannot trot into this Chamber hand on heart and say he will save our young people from the evils of alcohol without delivering a skerrick of evidence that this bill will in any way affect the popular drinks. 
Ron Mark and I have spoken to people who work in the bars. I spoke to three of them and they pointed out to me the alcoholic drinks that are popular with young people. I also want to recite for the benefit of the Minister in the chair that in Nelson we did have a serious alcohol riot at Tahunanui beach. The place was strewn with bottles of alcopops. So when I heard the Minister say that this bill would deal with those sorts of drinks I took him at his word. I thought the Minister would be giving us a fair steer. However I am mighty angry that I now find out with a small amount of research that that is absolutely untrue. I say to the Minister in the chair that he can do better than that for goodness’ sake! 
Does the Minister in the chair intend to do better than that? Does he intend to provide the United Future party the Labour Party and any other party in this Chamber with any evidence that the alcohol products that are a risk for young people are addressed at all by this bill? We have heard speech after speech that shows that in terms of what this bill provides for that is absolutely untrue. The explanatory note of the bill states that young persons and teenagers are contributing to excessive levels of alcohol consumption and that this bill will attack that. Does the Minister stand by that comment in the explanatory note? Does he stand by the speech he gave when introducing this bill? Such is the arrogance of the Minister in the chair that he is not prepared to answer even perfectly reasonable questions about this bill. 
The second question relates to what members have against the products that are affected. When I asked at the Wellington Sports Cafe in Courtenay Place about the products that would be affected I was told they were dessert wines. What do the Government and the United Future party have against dessert wines? In my electorate there happen to be a large number of wine producers who have won wonderful prizes for New Zealand and who export large amounts of dessert wine. Why do this Minister and this Government want to attack them? Why do they want to increase the tax on them? I thought that Government members were the Chardonnay socialists who always come to Nelson to gloat about its wonderful wine industry. But then secretly in the dead of night they want to ping that industry with an extra tax. And what will the Minister for Economic Development—who is also the Minister for Industry and Regional Development and who wants to help regions like Nelson—do about the impact of this legislation on the dessert wine industry? 
I also challenge the member Judy Turner to say what on earth she is proposing to do by supporting this bill. I refer to all the alcohol products that are commonly used by young people such as Vodka Cruiser Vodka Teaser Archers schnapps Ruski Tattoo or KGB Vodka. Did she know that all those products were unaffected by this bill? 
Judy Turner 
: Yes. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: She knew that? Then how could Judy Turner support this bill saying it would deal to the problem of young people abusing alcohol when none of those products are affected? Can Mr Paul Adams explain why that is? 
Paul Adams 
: Yes. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: OK why are none of those products affected?