Sepuloni CarmelCARMEL SEPULONI (Labour—Kelston): Labour supports the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Display of Low-alcohol Beverages and Other Remedial Matters) Amendment Bill. This bill corrects certain minor and technical issues that have emerged since the passage of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act in 2012 so we are supportive of it. However we do have a number of concerns. Our major concern is the failure of this bill to deal with a few different issues that are crucial to combatting the harm caused by alcohol in New Zealand.The first is lack of minimum pricing. In its final report the Law Commission stated that We regard pricing policies as the central plank of any reform package aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm." It is clear that inexpensive readily available alcohol is one of the key drivers of alcohol harm and yet the Government has failed to address this issue. The international evidence is unambiguous: price is one of the most effective policies to combat alcohol-related harm. John Key rejected an increase in excise tax as soon as the report was tabled. In saying this the Prime Minister ignored all other mechanisms for addressing the price of very cheap alcohol. The problem really is the $5 bottles of wine. I was on the select committee that was considering the first lot of reforms back in 2009 or 2010 and this issue came up in a number of submissions. So it is disappointing that here we have another opportunity to address it and the Government has failed to do so.Another issue that is a major concern for us is the availability of alcohol. There is a connection—well researched and evidence-based—between accessibility and harm. Accessibility is about the convenience of the outlets their hours of operation and their prices. And although the Government has started to address hours and the proliferation of outlets the problem of easier accessibility will not be solved until price is addressed.Default closing times: people who are purchasing alcohol later in the evening are more likely to have been drinking beforehand and may not have the judgment and self-control required to make good decisions. This should warrant an earlier default closing hour than the proposed 11 o'clock.We have concerns about the inconsistencies in trading hours and therefore availability between neighbouring communities despite our firm belief that communities should have greater say with regard to the sale of alcohol. Our concerns are that there will be pockets of alcohol-related activity burdening certain communities more than others. I am in west Auckland so we have more restrictions with the Waitakere Licensing Trust having a major say in where outlets go. Actually you can see a huge difference between what we have in west Auckland compared with say when you go to other parts of central Auckland or South Auckland where outlets are just everywhere. Just having such a presence in our communities surely—and we know this through the research—has an impact on the levels of drinking that take place.As I said we will be supporting this bill. It is just concerning that there are other issues that could have been addressed by the Government but again we are in the position where it has chosen to ignore some of the big issues and has chosen not to take up some of the big recommendations that have been put before us not just during the submission process for this bill but actually during the major reforms that took place a few years ago.Bill read a third time."