Blue Jackie: Alcohol Advisory Council Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Blue Jackie: Alcohol Advisory Council Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:652;Page:1892] 
Dr JACKIE BLUE (National) 
: 
 I am delighted to support the third reading of the Alcohol Advisory Council Amendment Bill. This bill amends a 30-year-old Act the Alcohol Advisory Council Act 1976. The bill in front of the House is in essence a technical bill an amendment to this Act. 
In 2004 as we have heard from other members’ contributions the Ministry of Health reviewed the levy-setting mechanisms of the Alcohol Advisory Council Act 1976 and found four major problems which are dealt with by the new bill. The first is that the levy-setting mechanism is outdated because it is based on only four classes of liquor: beer wine fortified wine and spirits. In fact we know that there are now many more such as pre-mix cocktails and ready-to-drinks. Secondly some terminology is outdated. The Act uses proof litres which have not been used to measure spirits since 1986. In comparison the New Zealand Customs Service measures spirit volumes as litres of alcohol. Thirdly the review found that the current levy-setting mechanism is unnecessarily complex. Finally the review noted that there is no process for Cabinet to be involved. 
This bill updates and simplifies the current mechanisms for setting the Alcohol Advisory Council (ALAC) levy which is imposed on all alcoholic beverages manufactured in or imported into New Zealand. I would like to take some time to compliment ALAC and to talk about its process and levy. ALAC’s total budget for 2008-09 is almost $13 million and it is funded largely from the alcohol levy that is collected by the New Zealand Customs Service. The levy is charged on both New Zealand - produced and imported alcohol products intended for consumption in New Zealand. The levy ensures that the funds are targeted at alcohol-related problems. In the 2007-08 year the ALAC levy was just over $12 million representing approximately 1.5 percent of the total excise and levies from alcohol. The total excise collected for 2007-08 in comparison was $795 million. 
ALAC is a Crown entity with a single focus on alcohol. It has a statutory role to research provide advice and make recommendations to Government authorities in the fields of health education and social welfare and to any other relevant bodies or persons on alcohol issues. ALAC’s vision is of a nation where people understand the harmful results of alcohol misuse and share responsibility for minimising them. Where people aspire to moderate alcohol consumption in the environments where alcohol is consumed ALAC will also support moderation and abstinence will be accepted as a valid choice to make. These are indeed very commendable visions. 
Alongside this people who have problems with alcohol consumption will be able to receive appropriate support and treatment. As such ALAC’s important mission is to lead a change in New Zealand’s drinking culture. I have heard tonight that New Zealand has a drinking culture that accepts binge drinking as a normal social behaviour. ALAC’s research shows that about one-third of adult New Zealanders consider drunkenness to be socially acceptable. ALAC considers that this view is no longer acceptable nor is it sustainable for New Zealand. The social and financial cost of alcohol-related harm has been estimated to be in the billions of dollars per year in New Zealand. 
In the past ALAC focused on strategies to reduce alcohol consumption; now it focuses more on patterns of drinking and the ways people are drinking as that is the area where most harm occurs. To change the way people drink ALAC is trying to change the drinking culture. ALAC’s social marketing campaign has achieved high awareness and it is encouraging New Zealanders to think about their own behaviour. I applaud its powerful recent television adverts. 
This bill proposes to align the ALAC levy according to alcohol classification bands which is similar to the approach used by the New Zealand Customs Service. In essence this means that drinks with a higher alcohol volume will have a greater levy than drinks with a lower alcohol volume. There is no doubt that this proposed legislation is fairer and modernises current practice. The proposed regime is also simple to calculate and it has been worded in such a way that new composition alcohol drinks not yet thought about or designed other than beer fortified wine or spirits can be accommodated. Back in 1976 who would have thought that ready-to-drinks would be one of the biggest growth markets particularly among young people? The new regime is flexible enough to allow for the emergence of new types of beverages that would not easily fit into the liquor class in the current system such as ready-to-drinks. 
This is not a contentious bill. It was heard by the Health Committee in the last Parliament of which I was a member. The Health Committee was assured that this bill would have a minimal impact and be far easier to operate. Indeed it was evident from submissions that industry groups including producers and importers were generally supportive of simplifying the process of calculating the levy. We were told that price changes would be very small. The estimates were for an increase of less than 1c for a bottle of wine a six-pack of beer or a four-pack of ready-to-drinks and 2c for a 750 millilitre bottle of spirits. 
The Health Committee did however recommend some changes to the original bill. We were concerned that there was inconsistency between the excise and the ALAC levy collection systems. For example in the table in the schedule of the original bill table wine with more than 14 percent alcohol would have incurred a higher ALAC levy than table wine of less that 14 percent but under the current excise system both incur the same levy. The Health Committee felt that this was inconsistent. The new table provided in the bill now ensures that there is consistency between the two systems. In the table wine example there are in fact six classes. Retaining the levy but aligning it to the excise collection system is the option supported by the Government and most stakeholders as it is simpler than the current method as well as being cheaper and more transparent than other alternatives. 
One other change was recommended by the Health Committee. The definition of “rate” has been inserted into the bill to clarify that it is the percentage figure given in the table in the schedule of the bill. 
This bill does not address measures to reduce alcohol-related harm. That is not its intention. That will be for future debate on other legislation currently before the House. This bill aims to simplify the calculation of the levy that funds ALAC which has a significant role in reducing the burden of alcohol-related harm in society. 
There is no doubt that there is growing concern in the community about the effect of alcohol and that the community wants to have more of a say. That has been clearly evident in the community in Mt Roskill where I am a list MP. Last year the Mount Roskill South community came together to oppose the imminent opening of a liquor outlet that was only 100 metres away from a school a kindergarten and a church. If the proposal had been successful it would have meant that there would be 10 outlets in the Mount Roskill South area. Members of the community were concerned about the growing number of serious incidents of youth crime and violence in the area and thought that more alcohol outlets would fuel that trend. They had a number of concerns about the current legislation having no teeth and were concerned that the local body alcohol strategy had no legal status. I am pleased to report to colleagues that in the face of this united front the proposed outlet did not go ahead. 
My community is not alone; many communities around New Zealand are up in arms determined to have their say. But that issue is for other current legislation in front of the House. In summary the Government supports this bill and the amendments that have come through after consideration by the Health Committee.