Embarrassing Back-Flip for Labor on Alcopops

17-April-2009

The Rudd Government and Health Minister Nicola Roxon have been forced into a humiliating back-flip on the Government’s position to give revenue collected under the Alcopops Tax back to the distillers.

Federal Member for Indi Sophie Mirabella today said the Alcopops Tax was never a genuine health measure, but a rushed and ill-considered revenue-raising exercise as evidenced by Treasurer Wayne Swan’s hollow presence at the Government’s political back flip media stunt. Just like the Victorians Government relies speed cameras for extra revenue not for driver safety.

“It is now clear this has been a revenue raising exercise incompetently devised by the Treasurer, but left to the Health Minister to ‘spin’ to the media as a health measure. It was always tricky, always dishonest and it highlights the mismanagement of the Labor Government,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“Now for Mr Swan to come out and say the Government has changed its position and will back the Opposition’s proposal, is not only grossly embarrassing for Ms Roxon, but highlights a Government in policy disarray.”

“The Coalition offered the Government, on three separate occasions in the last parliamentary session, the opportunity to validate the revenue already collected with the condition it be used for alcohol education and rehabilitation purposes.”

“This has always been a blatant greedy Labor tax-grab, with no evidence it has reduced binge-drinking, and as such the Coalition will not support a continuation of the measure,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“It is clearly a desperate political manoeuvre by the Prime Minister and the Treasurer to try and secure extra revenue as they prepare to deliver a disastrous Budget after months of economic mismanagement.”

“The Coalition will support legislation to validate the revenue collected to date. We call on the Government to spend all of the money collected so far on alcohol education, prevention and rehabilitation measures,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“Binge-drinking is a legitimate problem in Australia and it deserves a genuine comprehensive policy response, not a greedy tax grab by a Government clearly out of ideas and out of its depth.”

“If this is truly a measure purely designed to tackle binge drinking, as the government asserts, then Mr Rudd should be honest with the Australian people and commit all the proceeds from the tax to alcohol harm prevention measures. Anything less would be an admission by the government that this is a tax grab dressed up as a health measure,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“It is a disgrace that the Rudd Government have put more effort and thought into tricky revenue raising instead of a genuine measure to reduce alcohol abuse that will have a real impact.”

“This issue is yet another example of the Rudd Labor Government’s panicked and rushed approach to policy making,” Mrs Mirabella said.