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:5437] 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE (Leader—ACT NZ) 
: 
 I hope that the Chair is taking advice on the points raised by Mr Sowry because I was following them and if they are correct it would appear that the Government has made a mistake. That is one reason that putting legislation through under extraordinary urgency is not a great idea. Members might be interested to know that the United States for example which has regular tax bills does not put them through under emergency urgency. It has never found that there is a great problem with people rushing out and buying every bottle of alcohol. This extraordinary urgency is a nonsense. I suspect the real reason we are doing this is that the Government knows the bill is bad news and wants to get it over with as soon as it can and do it now so that it does not overshadow the Budget. 
We have been told that the whole purpose of this bill is to prevent teenagers from drinking. If we look at the schedules to see what the measures for increased tax are we see that the first item is ice cream. I have asked whether there is any evidence of any teenager being admitted to hospital for having eaten too much ice cream containing alcohol. The next one is “Food preparations not elsewhere specified … containing alcohol which if imported would be classified with Tariff item 2106.90.98:”. That must be Christmas cakes with rum in them. 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: And chocolate. 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: And chocolates. Is there any evidence of teenagers being seen staggering down the road after eating alcoholic chocolate? The next one is “Wine of fresh grapes and grape must with fermentation prevented or arrested by the addition of alcohol including sparkling fortified and table wine which if imported would be classified within Tariff item 2204.21.13”. Again I ask how many teenagers drink that sort of beverage. The fourth one is vermouth. There might be some teenagers who drink vermouth but I do not myself think so. I do not believe that that is a drink of choice. The next item is “fermented beverages (for example cider perry mead)”. Again I do not believe that those are drinks bought by teenagers. The next one is “Liqueurs cordials and bitters”. There might be some young ladies who occasionally drink those. That is the first schedule but nowhere can be seen the items that United Future tells us are the reason it is supporting this bill. 
This bill is a tax bill. The Committee would feel better if the Minister would tell us the true facts. The true facts are that he wants to raise another $18 million and the Government has come up with a great idea. It has found a bottle of gin that is it says 23 percent alcohol. It cannot actually produce one but it says this is a terrible loophole that must be closed. I ask the Minister where in the first schedule is that bottle of gin? I say to the Minister that it is not there at all is it. 
Hon Jim Anderton 
: It is. 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: Where is it? Is it under “Ice cream” or “Food preparations”? 
Hon Jim Anderton 
: Keep going. 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: The wine of grapes? 
Hon Jim Anderton 
: “Containing more than 14% vol. but not more than 23% vol.” 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: Which one? Perhaps the Minister would like to take a call because I am suggesting that this is a tax that will hit principally superannuitants. The Government knows that. I do not know whether Government members knew it when they introduced the bill but they know it now. 
I say to members opposite that that is just the first schedule but one could make very similar observations about every other schedule. They will find that the first item is ice cream. Where is the great problem being caused by ice cream? This Government is actually increasing the tax on ice cream. There is no doubt that that is what it is going to do. I would like to know how much money it expects to raise from it. How big a problem is it when one sees Baileys ice cream in the supermarket? Is that what the member is referring to? I very much doubt it. I believe that the Government is using this mythical bottle of $9.99 gin that apparently has 22.9 percent alcohol in it which it cannot actually produce—