Turner Judy: Customs and Excise (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
Turner Judy: Customs and Excise (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:608;Page:5363] 
JUDY TURNER (United Future) 
: 
 Price is a hugely important factor in the decision to buy alcohol particularly for young people on limited pocket money - style income. When a young person can purchase a 750 ml bottle of spirits that is 23 percent alcohol—that is 1 percent below the taxable band—for the same price as a meal in McDonald’s then we have a recipe for disaster. Risk behaviour among adolescents regarding alcohol is well documented. At a time of life when experimentation is at a premium—whether for social status amongst peers escapism or rebellion—it is an unwise nation that does not take every step to protect young people from themselves. Almost one-third of 14 to 17-year-olds are drinking weekly according to the Alcohol Advisory Council (ALAC) report of 2001. Sixty-seven percent of underage teenagers reported being drunk on at least one occasion in the previous 3 months. 
Price influences not only which brand people buy and where they buy it but also the total amount purchased. Taxation which is the Government’s tool for manipulating price should form an integral part of any policy to reduce alcohol-related harm. Internationally pricing policy is recognised as one of the most effective tools in reducing alcohol-related harm. ALAC maintains that by raising the cost of alcohol we do reduce consumption. 
The ongoing lesson that this legislation should teach us is that whenever we further liberalise—as we have done by lowering the drinking age—we need to legislate to compensate to prevent unacceptable advantage being taken. Whether or not individual members agree that 18 is an appropriate age for the consumption of alcohol we now have to acknowledge that that age group whose members still have social contact with high schools has helped supply those same underage drinkers with cheap and dangerously high concentrations of alcohol. 
Although harm minimisation has some merit United Future has ongoing concerns about those young people for whom harm minimisation will not be sufficient to prevent them from deteriorating into addiction. Moderation is not the answer for everyone. We must remember that pricing is only one strategy and initiatives to research the effects of alcohol advertising in all its forms to ascertain its impact on teenage drinking trends need to be worked through. United Future believes that in recent times young people have been directly targeted by the alcohol industry in ways not previously seen. 
Parent education is a vital strategy for combating teenage binge drinking. ALAC confirms that parents are the key facilitators of the supply of alcohol to teenagers. Twenty percent of the 14 to 17-year-old teenagers surveyed admitted that their parents bought them alcohol to take to parties or gave them money with which to purchase it for themselves. 
This bill is the Government’s response to a developing situation that will reduce the availability of high - alcohol content products and United Future will be supporting it.