Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to speak on the Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025 and the associated bill. These bills will help pubs, clubs and breweries across our country, across our electorates and across our states, and will deliver a simple, long-overdue measure—that is, pausing the indexation on draught beer excise and excise equivalent customs duty rates for two years. This will be a real relief. This will be a real-money-in-people's-pockets policy. I'm very pleased to be speaking on these bills and supporting them. With bills like these, we are supporting the great pubs, clubs, sporting clubs et cetera of our nation.

Think of your iconic pub. There is nothing more Australiana than a local pub, than being in the front bar with people and talking to them. I've campaigned in plenty of pubs over the years, believe me. I've been a frequent customer in many of them in my electorate because I enjoy them. I feel like it is part of our culture. I enjoy the conversations and I enjoy meeting people. For members of parliament, it is the best place to hear what people have got to say and what the realities of this world are.

When you think of pubs, you also think of the hard work that goes into running a pub. You look at publicans, and a lot of pubs are still run by families, especially in my electorate. I give a shout-out to some of those pubs, and to the Franzon family at the Hilton hotel—and I'm not talking about the Conrad Hiltons and the five-star Hiltons; I'm talking about the workers of the Hilton in the suburb of Hilton in my electorate, run by James Franzon. It was run by his father, Bob Franzon, for many years. Bob was affectionately known as 'Bob the Hat' because he always wore a hat. He passed away a number of years ago but his son James has taken over the business. We talk regularly, when I'm down there with James, about the industry and how hard it is, and the long hours they put into running a successful pub.

The Hilton hotel today has changed completely from the Hilton of many years ago. In fact, it was my first encounter with a pub. As a young schoolboy, I used to sell newspapers outside ETSA, the Electricity Trust of South Australia, which was right opposite the Hilton hotel. The workers would finish at 4 pm and come out. I would sell the papers, and then, with whatever was left, I'd walk into the Hilton hotel, into the front bar and the saloon, and get rid of the rest of the papers. That was my first interaction—and occasionally I'd get a nice tip from someone who'd perhaps had a beer too many!

There is Peter Hurley, of the Hotel Royal and the Arkaba Hotel. They are great businesses that, through hard work, have become successful businesses and community pubs. In my own neighbourhood is the Arab Steed, which I still frequent occasionally on Saturdays; I have a bit of a flutter if I've got nothing to do on a Saturday afternoon, which is very rare. I see the hard work that Shayne White and Jill White put into running the Arab Steed. They've been long-term owners of that pub. It feels like a real family when you walk into that front bar. There are the regulars, the publicans and people that know each other and are friendly.

We have many, many pubs in my electorate—I could name thousands of them—but one that stands out is the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Thebarton, which is run by Jade Flavell. It's known for its significant role in developing the Wheatsheaf's reputation as one of the premier craft beer venues in South Australia. They run a great show down there, with live bands. There are no pokies; they made a decision not to have pokies. This pub was run by the Brown family—Bob Brown and his wife—for many, many years. I used to go to school with Wayne Brown, their son, and many were the days where, when we were kids, we'd be running up and down the stairs of the Wheatsheaf Hotel.

These are real, iconic institutions in the electorate of Adelaide. These are pubs that have been run by families for years and years. This bill, therefore, is a great bill that will relieve some of that pressure. This will help the workers that work in pubs, whether they're in kitchens as a kitchenhand, cook or chef, are the cleaners of pubs or are bar staff. This will help all people connected to bars and pubs around the nation.

As I said, this automatic, twice-yearly increase to duty rates on draught beer every February and August has been a cause of frustration for many years for publicans in hospitality venues and patrons alike, because the end result is the patron pays more. It's something the AHA has been advancing for many years. This has compounded cost for venues and added stress. Industry stakeholders like some of the ones I mentioned earlier have all spoken to me about the excise tax, but they've previously made calls for support and focused on changes to alcohol excise and taxation arrangements.

The AHA of South Australia—David Basheer is the president and also the owner of the Strathmore Hotel and other hotels in my electorate—has said:

This freeze is a win for socialising, your local and most importantly jobs, at a time when cost-of-living is impacting everyone.

That was the AHA of South Australia. The national CEO said:

This is a win for the millions of men and women who like to go down to their local and have a beer. It's a win for common-sense in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis—every little bit makes a difference.

I agree with David Basheer and others who have been calling for this—the other publicans and hotel owners in the industry. We must do all that we can. Rising excise rates through biannual indexation, business costs and cost-of-living impacts have been reported by industry and the media as putting pressure on the survival of businesses in the alcohol industry.

This measure supports around 10,000 hospitality venues across Australia—pubs, bars, taverns and clubs—about 75 per cent of which are small businesses. This freeze will provide crucial breathing space for small hospitality businesses. Not only does this support the venues; it protects the thousands of those hardworking Australians that the pubs employ. Across South Australia alone—in my state—about 60,000 people are employed in accommodation and food services, as bar staff and in hospitality. In my electorate of Adelaide alone, the sector employs 4,461 males and 4,250 females.

The hospitality industry has a large proportion of young workers—especially representing a seat with the CBD in the middle of it. Many of them are uni students and part-time workers, with 2,593 workers between the ages of 25 and 34 years old. Many of these workers are employed part time or gaining experience, often without—

( Q uorum formed) I will kick off where I left off—praising the wonderful workers, the employees, who are dedicated, who are pouring beers, cooking meals and serving guests.

This bill, as I said, acts as a buffer against financial pressure, helping businesses to stay open and keeping young workers employed. I already gave the numbers in my electorate. Around Australia, there are thousands and thousands of young students employed in the pub industry, working part-time, helping to support their studies. This will be a help to them. They will also get their student debt cut this week as well, so it will be a double help for lots of uni students.

The hospitality sector in Adelaide is more than an industry; it is a key connection to our identity. I mentioned some of those iconic pubs in my electorate. The Hilton Hotel that I used to visit quite regularly was a pub where the local Lions Club would meet, the local football club would meet and even our branch of the Labor Party would meet in there on a regular basis. Over many elections, we had election night events in the Hilton Hotel. For those of you hearing 'Hilton Hotel', it is not the Conrad Hilton; this is a Hilton Hotel, named after the suburb called Hilton in a very working-class area of Adelaide.

These pubs are community pubs. Up the road, the Royal Hotel, which was run by Peter Hurley, again, is a great community pub that supports soccer clubs, football clubs, the local dart club and a whole range of other groups that meet there—from Lions Clubs to different community groups. They play an important role, they are a community centre and people gravitate to them. If you are on your own, for example, it is a great place to go and talk to people. They not only provide a wonderful service but, more importantly, they employ so many thousands of people. Therefore, this bill is very important in supporting the pubs and hospitality industry.

The draft beer excise freeze may seem modest but it helps where it matters most—that is, small and local businesses. As I said, I regularly meet with local traders. Many publicans I speak to tell me that the cost-of-living crisis is hurting their business. This freeze will help to alleviate input costs, giving them better stability and certainty, not only helping them keep the doors open but also helping them plan ahead.

The hospitality sector is not just for employment; it represents something bigger. Many of us in our speeches here have tried to explain that bars, pubs and other venues are the heart of local communities. I am sure every member of parliament here speaks to people in pubs. They are the best place to actually gauge what the views are of the public out there. They are places to catch up with your friends, mates, to have a beer, to go to weekly trivia nights, and to celebrate local sporting teams after a game. They bring people together. They connect Australians.

In Adelaide, we're spoiled for choice with such amazing venues. I've mentioned some of them. There are others: Exeter Hotel, the British Hotel, the Strathmore, Cumberland Arms Hotel—great pubs. Currently, I frequent the Arab Steed in my neighbourhood occasionally, as I said, on a Saturday afternoon if I don't have anything on, which is very rare. We may go there with my wife and have lunch and a bit of a flutter on the TAB. It's an outing, it's a great opportunity to talk to people and to meet people, and I see firsthand the hard work of those publicans, who play an important role in our economy, in employing people and in just having a community—like a community centre—there for everyone. At the same time, we want them to flourish and we want their businesses to flourish.

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