Alison Penfold (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support this important amendment, this sensible amendment to the Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025. It will ensure that Australia has an alcohol tax system that is modern, consistent and delivers the sort of reform that Australians deserve. I support the bill that is before the House. I spoke on the bill last year and I agree that we should not let perfection get in the way of good.

But the reality is that the bill will deliver only a very small change. What is it—1c a pint? When I spoke to the pubs and clubs in my electorate during the election last year about this bill and about the policy commitment, many of them said to me, 'Well, look, it's really not going to make that much difference because we've actually been subsidising the excise increase for years.' They simply have not been able to afford to put up the price of beer because they then wouldn't get the patrons in the pub. As many, many speakers on all sides of the parliament have said, we value the work that our pubs and clubs do. They support the local footy teams. They do amazing fundraisers. I was at a fantastic one on Saturday night supported by Club Old Bar where we raised $16,000 to build a permanent cenotaph for the Old Bar's RSL sub branch.

I appreciate that this bill intends to make a small change, but the fact of the matter is we have a significant issue with our alcohol excise system, one that has not been properly reviewed really since it was first implemented. I know the Henry tax review some 10 years ago acknowledged that the system was broken and in need of reform. Well, we need to do that work now. It's time to do a full review and have it report back to Treasury with recommendations.

I might just say something a little bit controversial here, which is not going to be about Taree and the Urgent Care Clinic, I'm sorry to disappoint. Look, I'm not a big beer drinker and, frankly, a lot of women are not big beer drinkers. So whilst this is something that speaks to the tradies and to many people across the electorate, to be quite frank, women tend to drink more tap spirits. Certainly, there are some local producers in my electorate looking at tap spirits and low-carb options as well for those of us very conscious of our diets. We need to do something that's far more comprehensive, far more far reaching, far more inclusive of all Australians and their preferences when it comes to having a drink at a pub or a club.

I thank the member for Cowper. We share a border and we share people. Many of my people enjoy the pubs and clubs in the member for Cowper's electorate, so I'm pleased to be able to speak in favour of this amendment.

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