Matt Gregg (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In every corner of the country, pubs, clubs and the people who power them have held communities together through tough times, and now we are backing them with targeted, responsible relief through a two-year pause on the indexation of the draught beer excise and the equivalent customs duty commencing on 1 August 2025. This will benefit around 10,000 small venues—pubs, clubs, bars and taverns. All will benefit from this. Seventy-five per cent of these are small family businesses employing local people. This two-year pause to the increasing costs will help keep the operating costs of these venue stable and gives small venues the certainty they need to plan, to retain staff and to reinvest in the futures of their businesses, perhaps taking advantage of the instant asset write-off from this government.

To be clear, this applies only to draught beer served from an eight-to-48-litre container, or, for the larger venues, those 48-plus-litre kegs. It's not for bottles, cans or spirits. It's not the lion's share of alcohol that's consumed, which is consumed in homes, not in licensed venues where you have responsible service of alcohol and a supportive environment for people. This means that we ensure the support goes to the venues, those community hubs. It helps to stabilise the tax component of the price of a pint, reducing the pressure on venue operators and customers alike. It offers breathing space after years of economic strain, pandemic impacts, the loss of customers, supply shocks and some rising input costs. It's a practical, temporary relief measure that will not in any way fuel inflation, because it's not adding any more money to the economy; it will simply put a pause on what would otherwise be a mechanical price increase.

That ability to plan ahead is so important for the 160,000-plus workers who are employed in this industry. For many of us, one of our first jobs was working in hospitality, in many of the small towns. Whether it's the Criterion Hotel in the seat of the member for Gippsland, the Seanchai Irish Bar in the seat of the member for Wannon, or the Burvale Hotel in my wonderful seat of Deakin, these venues are community hubs. They're not the same as other businesses; these are places where we go to celebrate, to mourn and to engage with our neighbours, in good times and bad. It's particularly important for regional areas where the pub is often the very heart of the community.

It's not just for-profit business to whom this will be a great help. I've got a lot of local bowls clubs, footy clubs and cricket clubs who rely on revenue generated from draught beer to help subsidise the important work they do, whether it's supporting a family on a lower income with the cost of a uniform or footy boots, or keeping up the quality of the venue. They are covering essential costs for community organisations who are doing important work and providing a sense of social connection. I've been to enough bowls clubs to know that the avoidance of an increase to the price of beer is going to be a very welcome and important measure, including for many pensioners who go to the bowls club to enjoy a schooner or two every week. This modest bit of support will make all the difference.

It's a supply chain that is full of jobs—truck drivers, equipment technicians, farmers and workers in the transport sector. There are so many indirect benefits when we support these incredibly important venues. It also has a huge benefit to the consumer, because it reduces the pressure to pass on future costs, it makes the cost of living just that little bit easier. It's designed for the Australian pub patron, the person at the bowls club and the person out and about—not the person drinking at home, because we know that's where a lot of the less healthy behaviours are seen.

It's part of a broader plan around cost-of-living relief. This is one of several measures. If we look just those after July this year, we can see a number of them. The national minimum wage was increased by 3.5 per cent. The superannuation guarantee was increased to 12 per cent. Paid parental leave was increased to 24 weeks. Super is now being paid on government paid parental leave. There will be another $150 in energy bill relief before the end of the year, and $10,000 in incentive payments for new housing apprentices. There are cheaper home batteries. We're cutting 20 per cent off student loan debts for three million Australians. Commonwealth prac placements have already started as well, with support for nursing, midwifery, teaching and social-work students. Hardworking aged-care nurses received the next instalment of their pay rise in October following the first instalment in March this year. This is part of a broader mission to ease cost-of-living pressures for Australians as well as being a responsible measure in support of businesses.

Pubs, clubs and taverns all around the country have been doing it tough for a while now, but they're also the very places that are there for people when they're doing it tough. Any small relief we can provide is a very good thing. We need to also consider that this is part of a significant number of measures to support small businesses. We're helping them with technology, with the instant asset write-off, and with energy efficiency and energy bill relief. There is a lot being done at the same time. This isn't an isolated measure and it isn't going to be the fix of the economy by itself. It is one of many measures focused on being well-targeted and delivering real and effective cost-of-living relief as well as relief to the cost of doing business.

I think of the many pubs that I have been to over the years, and draught beer sits at the centre of the business model. It's one of the things that makes going to the pub different from anywhere else. The taste of draught beer is often better—anyone will tell you that—and it has become an essential part of many of the bowls and other clubs in my area where draught beer is routinely sold. Over the years, these clubs, pubs and organisations have done what they had to do to survive what are very difficult times. The habits of consumers have changed. More people are now drinking alcohol at home. The habits of socialising have also changed; they're slowly changing back but they've gone through a rough few years. Anything we can do to support this industry to regain its momentum is going to be a very good thing.

Let's face it; the pandemic shook the economy around like a snow globe. It has taken time for businesses and industries to recalibrate. We are seeing recovery, but it's not instantaneous. As a government, we have to look at how we can assist the economy to recalibrate, re-normalise and regain its momentum and make sure that we're increasing productivity along the way. Every single thing we can do to help business out, even if it's as simple as pausing those routine mechanical tax increases, I know it is appreciated and something that industry has pushed for. I've spoken to a lot of pub owners, including meeting some at the Burvale Hotel in Nunawading in my electorate, and they're very grateful for this measure. It's not only an economic measure; it's also a demonstration that this government has their back. We've got the backs of businesses, we are focused on their interests and concerns, and we appreciate how important they are as part of the economy. Between breweries and pubs and clubs, we're talking about 160,000 jobs. These are people's livelihoods, and to be able to provide that certainty to the organisations who employ them means that their jobs are now safer because of this very minor relief.

The good news is, as I was saying before, that this is in no way inflationary. Because this is a pause, it does not add money to the economy or make any other problems worse. It is simply giving them some breathing space so they can know what the future holds with a little bit more certainty and can invest in their businesses and organisations. The bowls clubs can continue to provide affordable hospitality services, engage their communities, support some of our most vulnerable people and provide a meeting place—in good times and bad—for members of our community.

It's amazing that something that is really quite a modest measure can have such a powerful and profound impact across so many people, but that is the genius behind this temporary measure. It's one of those 'from little things, big things grow' scenarios because this small measure will have so many secondary impacts. While I know that secondary impacts are not something considered in Treasury modelling or other things we read, they are real and they are profound. We're talking about livelihoods, we're talking about jobs and, in the case of pubs and clubs and other venues, we're talking about community life. We're talking about togetherness—maintaining opportunities for people to get out of the house, meet with one another and gather. We achieve that by ensuring that the venues that they do that in are sustainable, that the costs are moderated as much as possible and that we acknowledge times that are challenging.

We know that inflation over a number of years post COVID meant that CPI increases were significant, and so putting a pause on them is a reasonable response to ensure that we can still achieve the important health incomes of having the alcohol excise and the relevant customs duties but, at the same time, give businesses a break when they need it and give consumers a break when they need it. It shows that the Albanese Labor government is standing up for small business, it is standing up for consumers, and it is ensuring that prices remain as low as they can for all involved.

As I was saying, this is not an isolated measure; this is part of a narrative of a government that has been laser focused on the cost of living. Whether it is health care, whether it is education, whether it is free TAFE or whether it is ensuring that people on practical placements receive $331 a week of support, we're focused on those who need assistance to build the best life possible for themselves so they can liberate their talents, and this is just one of the many measures.

Cost-of-living relief is also given with the Medicare urgent care clinics. It's given to small business through unfair contracts legislation. There is so much reform across the board, and, for small business, this is also one of many measures. We're working with them to increase their cybersecurity. We've changed the tax settings so they have that extension of the instant asset write-off. We're working with business to ensure regulations that are duplicated and don't make a lot of sense are being cut. We're reviewing about 400 different regulations at the moment to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness at a government level as well. We are a government that is focused on supporting small business in any way we can. By cutting inefficiencies, we are ensuring that government is a facilitator and is not unnecessarily getting in the way, and, every now and then, you just need a bit of an economic break, and that is exactly what this important measure does. It provides a break at a time when it's needed most. It is temporary. It's impact on the budget is going to be negligible compared to the benefits, and it's something that is well targeted, given the very real and important role alcohol taxes play in the health of our nation.

We've seen declining consumption of alcohol in many areas of the country, although I note that there is more work to be done in rural and regional areas, but the mission of all of those measures remains as it is. Temporarily pausing the increase in the beer excise and equivalent customs duty is a sensible, responsible and proportionate measure at this point in time that will have a significant and profound impact for the very people we're trying to support—the hardworking small-business owners who are employing locals all around the country, not just in suburbs like the ones I represent, but in the small country towns where we all know the pub is really the heart of the town. If the pub closes, community life dissipates and people just stay home.

We need to ensure that those essential businesses, those community hubs, are supported to be successful and that they are supported to continue doing the important work they do for their communities, and that includes not only the services they provide directly but also the sponsorships they offer to sports clubs, to community groups, to the Lions clubs and to the Rotarys. Often the first sponsor on the list of a given footy club, whether it's in the country or in the suburbs, is the local pub. They have been community benefactors for a very, very long time. They are not only an important part of our economy and our employment sectors, but an essential part of local communities. They're the places we meet, but they're also the sponsors and the employers, and they are sometimes the beating heart of industry in a small town.

I cannot think of a thriving small town in Australia that doesn't have a pub or two or three at the centre of it. This initiative to support those businesses, those largely small businesses—we're saying, of about 10,000 taverns, about 7,500 of them are small family business making modest profits but keeping the doors open, and they have done so through very, very tough times over the pandemic. They are the great survivors of our industry.

We know the hospitality sector has been doing it tough for the last few years. The stats on that are very plain. If we can bring in a measure that is not inflationary, that is supportive of that industry and that will also help to protect jobs and the community benefits, then it's something everyone in this chamber should be supporting. But it's something that needs to be done in a steady, responsible way, because all actions have effects. In my view, this is a fantastically calibrated intervention. It not only ensures that it is consistent with our targeted approach to cost-of-living relief but it also reflects an approach by good, steady government that has real results and is calibrated to supporting communities in a way that does not have broader negative implications on our local economy. I commend the Treasurer and the Assistant Treasurer for the work they've done with this measure. I'm also proud to say that it was a promise made and a promise kept by the Albanese Labor government. We're not the party of core and non-core promises. We say what we mean and we will deliver on the commitments we made to the people at the 2025 election and will continue to do so. I commend this bill to the House, and raise a glass to the good people of Australia.

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