O'Rourke DenisDENIS O'ROURKE (NZ First): This bill is supported by New Zealand First. We support the intent of the amendments to allow for low-alcohol and non-alcoholic beer wine and mead to be displayed in the single area of supermarkets and we support the retailer having the discretion as to whether they will do that or not.But it is not what is in the bill that is a problem here; it is what is not in the bill that is really where the problem is. It is what the Government has chosen to leave out that is what disappoints us in New Zealand First. In fact when I look back the Government's reforms needed around alcohol over the last few years have been a monumental failure. The drinking culture among the young still remains a problem; nothing much is being done about that. And we think that the failure to return the age for purchasing alcohol to 20 years in the principal Act is a major mistake. We think it would have led to less consumption by that age group and it is a great disappointment that that opportunity was not taken in the principal Act when it was passed a couple of years ago.In addition to that the Government has failed to deal with the problem drinks the ready-to-drink alcopops that are so popular especially among young people. We know that those are particularly harmful firstly because of the large quantities that can be consumed so easily and so quickly by young people and also because the sugar levels are very high in those particular drinks. They are very harmful drinks because of the alcohol and because of the sugar levels. And these drinks have to have at least 5 percent alcohol and in many cases actually a lot higher than that. They are treated by young people in particular as though they are soft drinks even though they are actually quite potent alcoholic drinks.They are pushed by the retailers and priced to sell and are sold in large quantities. They are condemned by the experts many of them and they are condemned also by the Law Commission as one of the drinks that are the most potentially harmful to our young people. They actually should be prohibited but this whole area has not even been touched by the Government; instead it passes this quite satisfactory but really very ineffective piece of legislation when there are so many more important things to do.The big commercial interests in alcohol will be very pleased with what the Government has done because they have got what they want but it has been at the expense of a worsening alcohol culture in New Zealand. And yet at the same time we have country pubs that are being forced to close one after the other all around the country. And we have sports clubs and similar organisations that cannot get licences to run events. Both the country pub and those organisations were not the source of significant problems with alcohol in New Zealand and yet they are the organisations that are actually suffering. I think that the closure of country pubs around the country is a really sad thing to see.Those country pubs and other organisations that wish to sell liquor such as at race meetings and events of that kind are really finding it very very difficult to make a living. And yet they provided a very important social facility. The fact that they are closing all around the country is because of the legislation brought in by this Government and it has been without any actual benefit in terms of lowering the rate of consumption of alcohol in New Zealand or trying to avoid any of the worst excesses of the use of alcohol in the country. In fact when country pubs have to close and other organisations cannot continue to operate it means more people drinking at home and there are other problems that arise as a result of that.To make matters worse there are far too many grog shops opening up around our communities in New Zealand; far too many of them. Also they are opening in some of the worst possible places: near schools very close to—in fact in—residential areas and in other places where they should not be allowed. For some reason this has been generated as a result of the Government's legislation or its failure to adopt the correct kind of legislation in the country. We are seeing this problem being complained about by people and communities from one end of the country to the other and yet the Government is doing nothing about that and instead is passing this relatively insignificant piece of legislation.As far as New Zealand First is concerned this particular bill is a common-sense bill. It allows supermarkets to place low-alcohol products in the single area reserved for that purpose and to do so at their discretion thereby preserving the freedom of people to buy the products they want and to be able to find them conveniently in supermarkets. So for that reason New Zealand First has no difficulty in voting for the bill. But as I have said the real tragedy here is that there are so many much more important issues concerning alcohol consumption in New Zealand that this Government should be attending to and is not even interested in and instead we see this insignificant piece of legislation. What we need to see are the changes needed to prevent those closures of country pubs to make it possible for organisations to get the licences they need in support of race meetings or other events whatever they may be and also to stop the torrent of new grog shops opening up in inappropriate locations across the country. Those are three of the most urgent problems that the Government should be looking at and bringing legislation to this House to deal with.But instead what do we get? We get a piece of legislation dealing with where to display non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beverages in supermarkets. That is OK in itself but really a pretty pathetic effort as far as this Government is concerned. We in New Zealand First hope that when a new Government comes along next year—and I am sure there will be one—one of its first priorities will be to review the alcohol legislation and to start doing some of the things that really need to be done to improve the situation as far as alcohol consumption is concerned in New Zealand. So New Zealand First will vote for this bill but with a great deal of disappointment.