Lees-Galloway Iain: Alcohol Advisory Council Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Lees-Galloway Iain: Alcohol Advisory Council Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:652;Page:1886] 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour—Palmerston North) 
: 
 It gives me great pleasure to rise and speak on the third reading of the Alcohol Advisory Council Amendment Bill which is a non-controversial and common-sense bill. 
It is largely a technical amendment bill. Nevertheless it has attracted considerable and at times colourful debate. We have heard a few confessions a fascinating story about Maurice Williamson’s travels behind the Iron Curtain and multiple thorough examinations of some of the finer details and history of the bill. Its progress through the House has been quite an education for me as a new member of Parliament. 
The purpose of this bill is of course to amend the Alcohol Advisory Council Act 1976 in order to create a simplified and more modern approach to the levy-setting mechanisms of the Alcohol Advisory Council (ALAC). The bill changes the method of calculation of the levy charged on each alcoholic beverage. ALAC is currently funded by a proportionate levy on four categories of alcohol—beer wine fortified wine and spirits—according to their volumes consumed during the previous year. The total levy for ALAC during the 2005-06 year was close to $13 million. This is small in comparison with the total alcohol excise which was $712 million for the year ended June 2006 which is in turn minute in comparison with the billions of dollars that alcohol harm is estimated to cost our economy. 
The new method introduced by this bill is a levy per litre of alcohol content. The result is that drinks with higher alcohol percentages will contribute a higher proportion of the levy. The Health Committee has recommended that the rates of levy for particular classes of alcohol be made consistent with the rates of excise duty charged on those classes. This does seem infinitely sensible. It is worth noting that the effect on the price of alcoholic beverages at the point of sale will be negligible. The bill is future-proofed against the emergence of new types of beverages that would not easily fit into any liquor class in the current system. These include for instance some hybrid drinks that have a mixture of wine and spirits—not to my taste to be sure—and the alcopops or ready-to-drink beverages that seem to be evolving at an ever-increasing rate. 
ALAC’s prime objective is to promote responsible drinking and strategies that will minimise alcohol misuse. Although improvements in responsible drinking and the minimisation of harm associated with alcohol misuse and abuse are not the aims of this bill it does support those aims by amending the Alcohol Advisory Council Act to simplify the current mechanisms for setting the ALAC levy. The amendment provides for a levy-setting regime that is fair up to date and simple to calculate thus securing the future of ALAC. 
ALAC’s work is as relevant today as it was in 1976. In fact the council has done a superb job of moving with the times and the range of initiatives undertaken by it today is truly impressive. Anamata is the annual national youth conference hosted by ALAC. The purpose of Anamata is to provide a forum where young people from around Aotearoa come together to discuss alcohol issues as they see them. In addition Anamata provides an opportunity for young people to discuss and debate alcohol issues in culturally appropriate ways. It gives young New Zealanders the opportunity to take part in the wider discussion about the place alcohol should have in our communities now and in the future. That is of immense importance. It is all very well for us to debate the issue of harm reduction and to have a particular focus on issues relating to youth drinking but without the input from our young people our deliberations—perhaps clouded by the number of years that have passed since most members could describe themselves as young—are likely to be wide of the mark. 
ALAC runs a number of campaigns. The “It’s not the drinking. It’s how we’re drinking.” campaign holds up a mirror to New Zealand and our drinking culture. It forces us to question the belief that it is OK to deliberately plan to drink to excess. It forces us to face up to the dangers of alcohol misuse and abuse. ALAC’s television advertisements have become legendary. Yes they are brutal but they bring to our screens some of the very real repercussions suffered not only by those people who take their drinking to the extreme but also by their friends and families. ALAC does not take a prohibitive approach to alcohol consumption—far from it. Indeed ALAC actively supports measured and responsible drinking. However too many New Zealanders do not drink in a measured and responsible way. Too many New Zealanders bank up their drinking then spend it all in one go in one massive binge. That is when most harm occurs. 
ALAC’s programmes are designed to change the acceptance and celebration of drunkenness and intoxication and to reduce the amount of alcohol that we might drink in any one session. It is difficult for us as legislators to tackle something as deeply ingrained in our culture as binge drinking. Clearly change has to come from within our communities and families. However it is possible through legislation to set a regulatory environment that supports safer drinking balances liberty and responsibility and seeks to reduce the rates of crime disease and injury related to alcohol abuse. 
The debate around how best to tackle the enormous costs associated with alcohol abuse must be an informed one. It is vital that we resist the temptation to base our decisions on our own bias or our own narrow range of experiences. We have to take an evidence-based approach and make sure that any legislative change is done in the interests of genuine harm reduction. That is where ALAC comes in. The collection and dissemination of information about alcohol consumption support considered and knowledgable debate both in the public arena and in this House. 
This bill supports the continued existence of ALAC and its continued ability to advocate educate and disseminate information. I wholeheartedly support this bill and I congratulate the previous Labour Government on introducing and promoting it.