Jones Dail: Customs and Excise (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
Jones Dail: Customs and Excise (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:608;Page:5392] 
DAIL JONES (NZ First) 
: 
 New Zealand First is very grateful to the Hon Nick Smith for the research that he has done. [ 
Interruption 
] I say to Ron Mark— 
John Carter 
: I raise a point of order Madam Chairperson. I am sorry to interrupt the member but there have been a number of interjections but that is not the point so much as the fact that members are not to shift their seats to advantage. I am afraid that the member who was making a loud noise—it was Helen Duncan in particular but other members have as well—had shifted her seat. Either Helen Duncan sits there quietly or she should shift back to her own seat from where she can interject if she needs to and it should be rare and reasonable at that. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Ann Hartley) 
: I certainly call order. 
DAIL JONES 
: I was about to say thank you very much to the Hon Nick Smith for his research. I was also about to say to Ron Mark if he is listening could he come back please. Ron Mark is out there on patrol. He is touring one or two hotels at the moment to get some samples. I suspect they might be full rather than empty and we might have to consume them shortly just to test the taste as much as anything else. 
Helen Duncan 
: The member is talking rubbish and he knows it. 
DAIL JONES 
: I am referring to the first speech made and I am saying sincerely to Ron Mark if he is listening that we have got some samples and he can come back. 
Helen Duncan 
: All of those samples are not affected by the bill. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Ann Hartley) 
: I call the member to order. 
DAIL JONES 
: I have been trying to ignore the member for obvious reasons but she has made me go off the boil for a moment. A recent interjection from the Labour Party indicated that the Labour Party has now realised that the speech made by the Hon Jim Anderton when he introduced this bill is not consistent with the facts. He gave us the clear impression that ready-to-drinks alcopops and suchlike were to be caught by this bill. Dr Lynda Scott made it clear in her speech that those drinks are less than 14 percent so clearly they will not be caught by this bill. It seems that Ms Helen Duncan has now worked that out for herself. She said that they are not caught by the bill so I assume that she will now be voting against this legislation. The light has fallen for her and I think that after her chat with George Hawkins perhaps the light will fall for him as well and a greater number of Labour Party members will now be opposing this bill. I suspect that what happened in the Labour Party caucus today was that it had a quick and sudden caucus because secrecy was required on this measure. I suspect that at some stage they had a caucus where they were told: “We’re going to introduce some rushed legislation into the House. This is what the bill is all about. It catches alcohol over 14 percent. I am sure you will support it because it affects young people.” All the Labour Party members trooped out of their caucus saying: “Gosh what a great idea this is. We must support this legislation.” Those Labour Party members are now discovering that the information they were given in their caucus is inconsistent with the facts. Now of course they should be angry with the people in their caucus who told them that this bill would catch drinks of that kind. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Which other parties are supporting this bill? 
DAIL JONES 
: Well it seems that the same sort of style works with United Future. Judy Turner said she actually saw a 1.125-litre bottle that was 23 percent. Well perhaps she will produce that bottle and we can all have a look to see just what the label says—whether it was 4 percent 5 percent or whatever. I suspect that what she was given may also have influenced her decision. 
Of course the Greens are supporting this bill. They say how important it is to get young people off alcohol but of course they are very happy to get young people on to marijuana. There seems to be some inconsistency there but that does not stop the Greens supporting this legislation. 
I would have thought a name for this bill should be the “Customs and Excise Alcoholic Beverages (Another Attack on War Veterans) Bill” because clearly war veterans who like their port and sherry will be attacked by this legislation. The price of their sherry is going up from $21 to $39 I think on a ½ gallon or something like that. They will get a dreadful shock the next time they go into the liquor store to buy themselves something for the winter. They have been attacked when it comes to smoking. There they were in the Second World War being given cigarettes to keep their nerves under control and now they have been banned from smoking in the Returned Services Association.