Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Would the Minister for Health and Ageing inform the House of any new research on the alcopops industry?

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

I thank the member for Hindmarsh for the question. It is something that he and many members on this side of the House are acutely interested in. Members, probably members from Sydney, would have had the opportunity to see an article in today’s Sydney Morning Heraldothers in the House may not have seen it—which published some findings from the latest Nielsen ScanTrack Liquor survey. The results of this industry survey show that since 2005 the growth in the white spirit—or light-coloured or clear spirit—ready-to-drinks, usually the vodka-based drinks targeted at girls and young women, have increased by 23 per cent. This is against a 15 per cent increase—still a large increase, I might add, but not quite as large as in those white spirit products—of the darker ready-to-drink products.

Within this category, one of the worrying statistics provided in this research is that the highest growth has been in those products with the highest alcohol content—seven per cent and above. These worrying results back up the action taken by the Rudd government to tackle alcohol abuse and alcohol abuse by young women. So while the Leader of the Opposition and the member for North Sydney have been running around the country trying to talk this initiative down, research shows that they just do not know what they are talking about. In fact, only yesterday, the member for North Sydney tried to tell Barrie Cassidy on Insiders that the fact that rum based drinks were popular with older men meant that tackling alcopops growth was a bad idea.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I did not!

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

I hope that, having read this article today and seeing this research, he is feeling just a little bit embarrassed about the comments that he made yesterday.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on a point of order: that is a complete untruth and some would call it a lie.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member will withdraw that remark.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I said that was a complete untruth and some would call it a lie.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will withdraw.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member knows that there are other forms of the House if he feels aggrieved about comments that have been made in the answer. It is not a point of order.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Gillard interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Prime Minister is not assisting.

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

I understand why members opposite are a little bit touchy and a little bit embarrassed about this, because they have been absolutely all over the place. The member for North Sydney has been on radio saying:

… I don’t think you should overplay it. Let’s not go over the top.

The Leader of the Opposition supported the measure; now he opposes it. In fact, there has recently been a single Liberal in the country who has actually spoken some sense on this issue. Perhaps I should take the House to the comments of Dr John Herron, the Chair of the Australian National Council on Drugs and a former senior Liberal minister, who wrote to the Prime Minister recently congratulating the government on the budget initiatives that were taken. In the letter, Dr Herron said:

Utilising the taxation system is one of the most effective measures we have for reducing alcohol-related harm and problems for both individuals—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on a point of order: under the standing orders, the minister was not asked about alternative policy; she was asked about a recent survey. She is now straying from the question that she was asked. If she wishes to stray, she should also refer to the national household survey on drugs and alcohol.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Sturt will resume his seat. The minister will return to the question, which was based on new, recent research.

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to 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.