The decision by the Northern Territory Government earlier this year to formally repeal minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol has divided the industry.
First introduced in 2018, the MUP for alcohol was intended to minimise harm associated with high-alcohol, low-cost beverages and applied a minimum price of $1.30 per standard drink to all alcohol products. The MUP faced backlash relating to its ineffectiveness in addressing alcohol-related harm, and in March legislation officially passed through the Northern Territory Parliament to formally repeal the MUP.
At the time, the decision was welcomed by Retail Drinks Australia, but the People’s Alcohol Action Coalition (PAAC) has since claimed that while other outlets in the town have agreed to keep their prices at $1.30 per standard drink, liquor giants Endeavour Group and Coles Liquor are seeking to benefit from the Government’s actions.
PAAC’s spokesperson, Dr John Boffa, stated: “It’s bad enough that we have a government that says on the one hand that it wants to reduce crime, and especially domestic violence, and then changes the law to allow ultra-cheap grog to be sold for the first time since October 2018. Now the two big takeaway outlets are taking advantage of this populist but incongruous move, and low-priced wine is again flowing out of the bottle shops.
“What makes it more disappointing is that Coles and Endeavour (then Woolworths) actually had their own voluntary, if modest, floor price in Alice Springs from 2011, years before it was eventually legislated by NT Labor.
“Make no mistake. The MUP was one of a number of useful supply measures that helped to reduce alcohol-related harm over several years. Whilst it is hard to isolate its effects entirely given all the other alcohol reforms, no review has ever suggested it should be abolished. It had no negative effect on the liquor industry.
“We will see the harmful results reflected in police, health and other data if Endeavour and Coles Liquor don’t pull up and join the other Alice Springs licensees by maintaining the price at least at $1.30, with (long overdue) indexation as proposed by the Accord.”
Retail Drinks Australia has maintained its position on the repeal of the MUP, with CEO Michael Waters noting that the MUP failed to address alcohol-related harm effectively and punished those who drank responsibly.
He told National Liquor News: “Retail Drinks Australia supported the NT Government’s abolition of the MUP in March. The Government’s own commissioned report by Frontier Economics in 2022 showed the MUP only shifted the purchasing behaviour of individuals to other products.
“We note the calls by some on the Alice Springs Liquor Accord to maintain the MUP. However, we strongly believe other targeted measures, such as an enhanced Banned Drinkers Register, would be much more effective in addressing alcohol misuse and abuse rather than measures that artificially distort prices and punish the vast majority who drink responsibly.”
The Alice Springs Liquor Accord will meet in August to review the current approach to MUP across members, and in the meantime, Endeavour Group says it is committed to working in the best interest of the community. In consultation with the community, the group has already reduced the licensed trading hours for certain periods at BWS stores in the Northern Territory in recent years.
Endeavour Group issued the following statement: “Following the Northern Territory Government’s decision to remove MUP, our price setting in the NT will continue to reflect our values and our commitment to responsible service and the wellbeing of the community.
“BWS in Alice Springs has voluntarily imposed a range of volume restrictions over recent years. In a single transaction, a customer cannot purchase more than a single bottle of spirits, six bottles of wine, or three cartons of beer. The store does not trade on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and is open from 3pm until 7pm Wednesday to Friday and 11am until 7pm on Saturday. BWS sales in Alice Springs, for example, are down compared to the same time last year.
“We will continue to work constructively with the NT Government and local stakeholders in the interests of the community.”
Coles Liquor, as part of its ongoing commitment to the responsible service of alcohol, has implemented its own voluntary MUP across all Northern Territory stores. Though Coles Liquor does not publicly disclose its MUP, it is reflected in its shelf prices.
A spokesperson for Coles Liquor stated: “We have implemented a new floor price that seeks to balance the MUP’s removal, whilst upholding our commitment to the responsible service and consumption of alcohol. Coles Liquor stores operate on a Territory-wide pricing model, so this new pricing structure has been implemented in all of our NT stores.
“To minimise the potential harm from the misuse and abuse of alcohol, our Liquorland store in Alice Springs has also continued to impose a range of voluntary measures, including purchase limits on the quantity of alcohol sold, a limit of one transaction per person per day and no retailing of cask wine.”