Wagner Nicky: Alcohol Advisory Council Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Wagner Nicky: Alcohol Advisory Council Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:652;Page:1588] 
NICKY WAGNER (National) 
: 
 I rise to support the second reading of the Alcohol Advisory Council Amendment Bill. As we are all aware after tonight’s debate this is only a technical amendment to the Alcohol Advisory Council Act 1976. 
The Greens are disappointed that this bill does not tackle the problems of alcohol in the community. That is not the purpose of this bill and that is not part of the scope of this bill. This amendment is designed to produce an updated streamlined and cheaper calculation system for the levy that funds the Alcohol Advisory Council (ALAC). ALAC was established in 1976. It was set up following a report by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Sale of Liquor. The commission recommended the establishment of a permanent council that aimed to encourage the responsible use of alcohol—which is just as relevant today as it was in 1976—and to minimise the misuse of alcohol and ALAC has been doing that useful work ever since. 
This amendment retains the existing levy but it aligns the levy with the separate excise and excise equivalent duties that are also calculated on alcohol. This will make the levy easier to calculate and more transparent. The amendment is also designed to reflect the current alcohol market. For example it repeals four different definitions of wine and replaces them with only one. It is also designed to future-proof the levy calculation process so that it automatically includes future new types of alcohol products—things that we may not have thought about quite yet. It will also catch the present newest products such as ready to drinks—the ready-to-drink alcohol mixes. Yes they have been considered a difficult thing for young people to deal with and they are commonly known as alcopops. They will be caught in this levy as well. 
Operationally the changes will not significantly affect those who pay the levy and the price changes will be minor. They will be less than a cent on a bottle of wine a six-pack of beer or a four-pack of ready to drinks. The changes are all supported by industry groups producers and importers. The levy funds ALAC and ALAC has a significant role in educating New Zealanders to use alcohol sensibly and reduce alcohol-related harm. The money will be used to support ALAC’s work in four different areas: to fund research to help disseminate information to support education programmes and to look into innovative new treatment programmes. ALAC leads research in alcohol and alcohol-related subjects in New Zealand. The ALAC website is a repository of numerous research documents publications and web links. It provides useful guidelines supports training and community groups and provides advice on managing events. 
ALAC is absolutely focused on educating New Zealanders about alcohol and how to manage alcohol. Most members will be aware of ALAC’s controversial binge-drinking advertisements. These advertisements show graphic examples of excessive drinking that leads to harm. The advertisements are so hard-hitting and shocking to the public that they have actually won an award for effective advertising and for cutting through the clutter of the advertising space. The ALAC chair Peter Glensor acknowledges that the commercials are unpleasant but as he says “so are the consequences of binge drinking”. The ads mirror what is unfortunately happening every week around the country and these ads have proved to be enormously high profile. Research shows that 94 percent of adults remember seeing at least one of the ads and many members in the House tonight will also remember them. Members might recall the ads featuring the young woman who gets drunker and drunker over a long evening of drinking in the pub and at clubs or the two men who come to violent ends—one after spending the night round after round in the pub and the other after socialising at a barbecue with family and friends. I do not know about others in the House but I cannot watch the ad that shows a dad playing with his boy. Early in the evening the games are full of fun and laughter but later in the evening the drunkard dad swings his young kid round and smashes the boy against the furniture. There is an absolutely sickening thud as the son hits the sideboard and then of course there is chaos in the family. They are shocking and graphic ads but they are incredibly memorable. 
Again the research tells us that nearly all adults are aware of the “It’s not the drinking. It’s how we’re drinking.” message that accompanies the ads. Interestingly enough over half of the drinkers surveyed reported that after seeing the ads they thought about how much they drank and discussed it with their families or friends or thought about how much they drank and started to drink less. 
ALAC is doing very effective work in our community. We want to see more of it; therefore the Alcohol Advisory Council Amendment Bill will ensure that the levy that underpins ALAC’s work will be collected in the most cost-effective simple and efficient way. I therefore support this bill.