Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I was asked to inform the House about this new research. The point I am trying to make is that it is going to take some work to inform those opposite about this research. Let me tell you one reason why. I have obviously underestimated the amount of time and effort it would take for us to inform not the public but those opposite of how important this was. The latest evidence for the flippant approach is from the member for Mayo. Two weeks ago the member for Mayo read a description of the effects of excessive drinking in the Sydney Morning Herald. The writer had sketched out this portrait:

… early on a Saturday morning, picking my way through vomit and broken glass … I … came upon … 15 drunks fighting over a taxi. This was at 7 am …

So inflamed by this description was the member for Mayo that he was moved to write to the Sydney Morning Herald, and on 16 May I came across his published letter, which read as follows, amongst other things:

Mr Montgomery—

the writer of the previous commentary—

may have found drunks in Adelaide. If he wants a city without drunks, perhaps he should move to Riyadh.

This is the sort of measure we have from the opposition—not a sensible tax measure to protect young women but sending everyone who worries about this issue off to Saudi Arabia. It is outrageous behaviour. We believe that this measure is an important measure to tackle binge drinking, which is affecting many young people, including young women. We think this tax measure will do more than try to send everybody off to Saudi Arabia.

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