Prebble Richard: Customs and Excise (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
Prebble Richard: Customs and Excise (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:608;Page:5391] 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE (Leader—ACT NZ) 
: 
 I compliment the previous speaker the Hon Nick Smith on his contribution because not only has he spent some of his own money he has done something that the United Future party has not done. United Future members told us that they supported this bill because it would attack young people drinking the sorts of mixes he has put in front of us. Members have said to us that those mixes are typically less than 7 percent alcohol but he has actually produced the bottles. I am sure the member would allow Judy Turner to come across and examine those bottles so that she could have a look for herself and see that this bill does not attack the youth drinks. Now that we learn that it is Baileys—the favourite of the middle-aged— 
Brent Catchpole 
: My mother. 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: And one’s mum—the matriarchs. This bill is another attack on motherhood by this Government! The member said he was going to move an amendment to the title. I think he should. I have put down a couple. One may be out of order and it is that after the word “Beverages” we should add the words “Stealth Taxes” because that is what I think the bill is all about. But an alternative to that is that we should add after the words “Alcoholic Beverages” the words “and Ice Cream”. If members look at the schedules they will see that this bill taxes ice cream with an alcohol content of more than 14 percent. I invite anyone— 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: That would be a good ice cream. 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: Great ice cream! Not only is the Government attacking Baileys it is attacking Baileys ice cream. What will be next? 
Barbara Stewart 
: And chocolate. 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: And chocolate. I am glad that Mr Anderton is the Minister in the chair because I am sure he was not trying to mislead the House but I took his speech to be that he was making an attack on alcopops—those ready-mixed drinks. However if he was he clearly did not do his homework. I do not believe that the United Future party did its homework although the United Future party is easier to roll over than the Labour Party caucus. All that it does is get a briefing and it immediately decides to support it. But then it might be that Mr Dunne is looking for a new job back with the Alcohol Advisory Committee (ALAC)— 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: His old job with ALAC. He used to be executive director. 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: He may want his old job back because the idea that it is Baileys that is leading our young people to grief is just not credible. I do not think that any member opposite did any homework. I do not think that any of them went out and had a look at those bottles. Did Helen Duncan find out what the alcohol mix level was? She tells us that every parent is going to be— 
Helen Duncan 
: Those bottles are less than most beers and the member knows it. 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: I am sorry? What do I know? 
Helen Duncan 
: They’re all empty. 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: The member says that they are all empty. Does that make a difference? 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: Does it change the labelling? 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: Does it change the labels? I ask Helen Duncan whether the label changes once one has drunk the bottle. I suppose that after she does everything changes! Maybe that is her personal experience with alcohol. I say to members opposite that this is a stealth tax. We were told that it was based on the recommendations of the Easton report. I went and got the report from the library and found that Easton actually recommended that full spirits above 37 percent be lowered. He actually recommended that lower levels of alcohol be completely exempted. The idea that this bill is based on the Easton report is rubbish. Of course if we look at the McLeod report that this Government paid for it stated that the tax on alcohol is almost certainly too high and cannot be justified. So this Government decided to take another little nibble. I guess it might have thought that the moralistic United Future party would be delighted to see a whack on alcohol tax. The fact that it is not aimed at the right group and the fact that the Government is not taxing—