By Andrew Starke
The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) has expressed concerns that a national alcohol floor price would devastate the local wine industry.
AHA National CEO Des Crowe told TheShout he shared the concerns of winemakers who would suffer a disproportionate impact if the option of an alcohol floor price was introduced nationally.
“We have relied on a diverse wine industry to deliver a great range of wines to our customers,” he said.
”In addition wineries are major tourist attractions throughout regional Australia and are the life blood of many small towns, communities and regions around Australia.”
”Many hotels rely on wine tourism as a key part of their trade and we cannot allow the regions of Barossa, Hunter Valley, Margaret River, Yarra Valley and others across the country to be destroyed by excessive regulation.”
The AHA National Executive will discuss the concept of floor pricing at its next meeting with a view to developing a national position that will form the basis of its input to the National Preventative Health Agency once it begins its industry consultations.
“Alcohol floor pricing is just one of many possible regulations that could be introduced by the Federal Government that would impact upon alcohol pricing,” said Crowe. “It cannot be considered in isolation.”
The AHA has taken the position that the introduction of a carbon tax will inevitably cause alcohol prices to increase.
”The severity of this increase will not be known until the terms of the carbon tax are finalized,” said Crowe.
“What is certain is that the AHA must ensure that the valuable Australian wine industry is not regulated out of existence.”
However Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Issues, believes the Federal Government should act where State Governments have refused to budge.
“Better controls of liquor licences, an alcohol floor price and a minimum price per alcohol unit are all important measures which need to be given serious consideration,” she said.
“The Menzies School of Health Research has shown that alcohol related harm in the Northern Territory is more than four times the national average. Access to alcohol is one of the prime issues we need to be addressing.
“Clearly, action is needed in the Northern Territory. The time has come for the Federal Government to stand up to the alcohol industry.”
SO what you or the government is saying is that if go to my liquor store to buy a $10.99 cask of wine the price will be fixed and i will pay maybe $30.00..is that how its works or is only for bar,hotels,and clubs..please advise me..HOW can a so called responsible government IMPOSE such and impost on responsible consumers of wine and or other alcoholic beverages because of the associtated violence relating to alcohol Why dont the POLICE do more to control such incidents..the wine industry is in trouble now this will destroy the industry
Not only will this move destroy industry and reduce the lifestyle of of RESPONSIBLE drinkers (the vast majority), but it WON’T WORK!
The proposer(s) should study problem drinkers habits. Raise the price and they’ll take more money from their family coffers; steal; and resort to other innovative ways of getting their hands on liquor. Families and society will suffer. Better results would be achieved by giving drinkers MORE alcohol, so that they more quickly reach that desperation point at which they realise they have a problem and seek help. Education and counselling is effective, but ultimately you have to make drinkers responsible for their drinking.
There is an old adage that if you take alcohol away from the worker, you have civil war. Prohibition resulted in all kinds of social problems and failed dismally. This ‘tax’ will yeild the same results. It’s misguided and just plain dumb!