Donald Rod: Customs and Excise (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
Donald Rod: Customs and Excise (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:608;Page:5453] 
ROD DONALD (Co-Leader—Green) 
: 
 This bill is straightforward. It addresses an anomaly in the excise tax regime. Until tonight so-called “light spirits” have been taxed on the basis of the liquor having 18 percent absolute alcohol by volume although the actual absolute alcohol by volume is 23 percent. That loophole has been exploited by opportunist operators who produce watered-down spirits and market them as the real thing. Some of those products are as cheap as $7.95 for a 1.125-litre bottle. If the same excise tax were applied to other alcoholic beverages one dozen 330 ml cans of beer would cost $6.33 only a 750 ml bottle of wine would cost $2.76 only and a 1.125-litre bottle of spirits would cost $12.85 only. But they all cost more than that which is why light spirits are so attractive to young people and heavy drinkers in particular and why it makes sense to increase the excise on them. 
It is a happy coincidence that for a range of reasons the Distilled Spirits Association of New Zealand the Alcohol Advisory Council the Government and the Green Party all support this tax change. By opposing this bill National ACT and New Zealand First have lost all credibility when they express concern about alcohol abuse by young people. The bill does not tackle ready-to-drink preparations or alcopops but that is not a reason for opposing it. This legislation is an important step in the right direction and the Opposition parties are doing young people and heavy drinkers a disservice by voting against it. 
The evidence is clear that teenagers and adults in their early 20s are sensitive to higher prices. Higher excise duties should help to reduce alcohol consumption by those groups. We sincerely hope that the current sales of light spirits will be reduced considerably from the 1.2 million bottles of the stuff currently sold each year. If the Government raises any additional revenue from that tax alignment the Green Party wants it spent on more community-based treatment services for alcohol addiction and on youth groups to provide peer education on responsible use of alcohol. 
If we are serious about irresponsible drinking in our society and the gentleman who keeps rabbiting on obviously is not then we have to tackle other issues. The harm minimisation approach will work only if Parliament reverses its 1991 decision to allow television advertising of liquor. Lifestyle liquor advertisements should be banned and we have a member’s bill to do just that. It is in the Government’s interest to support the Greens on this measure because it is estimated that the existing excise duty on alcohol does not even cover the costs incurred by the public health sector in dealing with alcohol harm and may cover only a quarter of the gross fiscal costs. 
We hope the Government also tackles the issue of ready-to-drinks or flavoured alcohol beverages but as Brian Easton says in his report  
Taxing Harm: Modernising Alcohol Excise Duties  
it is not as easy as tonight’s measure but it still needs to be addressed. In the meantime the Green Party is pleased to support this bill.