English Bill: Customs and Excise (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
English Bill: Customs and Excise (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:608;Page:5396] 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Leader of the Opposition) 
: 
 This Parliament has made quite a big mistake tonight. The mistake is that it believed what Jim Anderton said about this bill. I was pulled up for referring to Jim Anderton by the term “crocodile tears” as I saw him dripping with sincerity and concern about the drinking habits of our— 
Jill Pettis 
: What’s the Leader of the Opposition doing debating a bill like this? He should show some leadership. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: That member is worse than a screaming seagull—I saw him dripping with sincerity and concern about young people only to find that that was wrong. It is as simple as that. I say to Ms Pettis that that is why I am speaking on this bill—because Parliament Ms Pettis the Labour caucus and United Future have been misled duped. Jim Anderton drips with concern for young people who drink these products—not the ones that he is taxing; maybe it is only the children of dessert wine socialists who drink Baileys for recreation—not the young people whom I know that is for sure. 
Why bother constructing such a sophisticated version of spin to run in the media and to corrupt officials by making them put it in the commentary on the bill? The bill states: “Light spirits in particular are the drink of choice for many teenagers and young persons ...”. What did he think they meant? Why bother with the dishonesty? If the Government wants to pass this bill under extraordinary urgency to keep it out of the Budget why bother making up a story? The worst aspect of it is not so much that it took in United Future or that it fooled the Labour caucus but that it is a cheap shot on New Zealand’s young people. 
Are they as stupid as this? Are they so stupid that they will not know by tomorrow night that this tax and Labour’s big story about it are a monster lie? Of course they will know. And John Tamihere “Mr brave courageous outspoken Minister” has stood by rattled through a patronising and insulting speech as if he did not care and the young people of New Zealand are apparently going to buy this story. [ 
Interruption 
] Mr Prebble would know about the level of intellectual debate in the Labour Party caucus! 
Why did Jim Anderton use up his reputation as someone who has been seen to be concerned for young people in making up a story about this bill? Until tonight I thought he was genuine in that respect. I thought he was. He was put in charge of a task force on young people after the election with 15 different Government departments and a budget to do something about young people who were feeling depressed and who suffered from mental illness. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: He issued all the press releases on youth suicide. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: He issued all the press releases on youth suicide and he comes in here with a dishonest bill that does not do what he said it would do. It is as simple as that. There is no other conclusion from this debate because he has not bothered to stand up and explain as I hope he will how this bill taxes those drinks. So there we go. The honourable former deputy Prime Minister the man who stood up dripping with sincerity should get up and tell us how this bill taxes the drinks that young people drink. It does not. He made it up. The Government made it up. It is a simple tax grab. It is simply Dr Cullen’s ego at work. He has been quoted and I will quote it again: “Smokers and drinkers need not fear sharp increases in tobacco.”