Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Share this | Hansard source

That is right. That is absolutely the way the government voted. I was disappointed with the government’s lack of maturity and its determination to point-score on this matter. But it appears the government has come to its senses. Today we see a government that has recognised that its stubborn stance of two months ago bordered on the absolutely ridiculous. But much of the debate about the so-called alcopops tax was farcical. Initially, we were told with great sincerity by the Rudd government that it was not a tax measure but an important strategy to tackle the binge-drinking epidemic—an epidemic that is creating a climate of fear in Australia and destroying families and relationships.

But the Rudd government finally came clean. After the tax grab failed to pass the Senate in March, the government began talking about the importance of the measure as a tax, not a binge-drinking strategy. Fair enough: it is a tax measure on one product but it is not a binge-drinking strategy. It never has been and will not be. The government hijacked the debate on binge drinking by turning it into a debate about a tax and then had the gall to pretend it was not. What a pity the Rudd government was not honest from the outset. What a pity the Rudd government did not come before this place and say, ‘We want to introduce a tax on this product,’ and at the same time allow an honest and open debate about the problem of binge drinking in our community and the best way to tackle it. The government has missed an enormous opportunity to have a real debate about what is a real crisis in our country. It is a crisis of culture, because Australia has a drinking problem. Australia has a drinking-to-get-drunk culture, and no tax will fix that. We must change the way Australians feel about alcohol and how they act around it. We must tackle the core of this terrible mindset, where the only way to enjoy yourself is to get blind drunk and where you are not a real man if you do not get blind drunk.

Recent research found that 80 per cent of Australians think that we do have a drinking problem, and 85 per cent want more to be done about it. This research comes a year after the alcopops tax was introduced, a year in which alcohol fuelled violence, domestic violence, hospital admissions and car accidents continued unabated. Australians are calling out for change. Australians are calling out for leadership. How does this government respond to that call? With a tax grab on one product. When the swine flu epidemic was considered a reality for Australia, the Rudd government acted immediately, but what does the Rudd government do when it is faced with alcohol abuse, binge drinking and violence that continue to scar our friends, families and colleagues? The Rudd government responds to Australia’s alcohol toll with a blatant tax grab on one product and hides behind it as a solution. What a farce; Australians know it is a farce.

This government is not content with hijacking a decent debate about Australia’s alcohol toll—it costs Australia $15.3 billion each year to mop up after excessive alcohol consumption—and hiding behind the blatant tax grab called the alcopops tax; it also wants to use this issue for a double dissolution.