The Federal Government has today announced that the controversial alcopops tax legislation will be reintroduced to Parliament in May. Speaking at a press conference Health Minister Nicola Roxon and Treasurer Wayne Swan advised that new legislation would also be brought in to validate the tax that has already been collected, ensuring that distillers will not receive a refund. The controversial tax was first introduced in April last year, with alcopop taxes rising 70 per cent before legislation had... ...Read more »

The spirits sector has agreed to ban alcohol advertising during sporting events before 9pm, after carrying through with a pledge to Family First’s Steve Fielding to ban daytime sports advertising for a year after the alcopops bill was not passed. “The Distilled Spirits Industry has agreed to cut alcohol advertising during sports events in family viewing time before 9pm and they will lobby other industry groups to do the same,” Senator Fielding advised. “This is a significant... ...Read more »

The Australian Medical Association is recommending that the money raised by the failed alcopops tax should be spent on a trial buy-back to reduce alcohol advertising in sport. AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said handing the money, $340 million in total, back to the liquor industry made no sense. “This money should be put to good use. It could fund a carefully evaluated trial where government buys back advertising space that would otherwise be used by alcohol marketers during sporting... ...Read more »

The alcopops tax has failed to receive enough votes in the Senate after Family First Senator Steve Fielding sided with the Coalition. The Bill was initially passed 32-31 after National Senator Nigel Scullion missed out on voting as he failed to hear the bell, which signals the time for a vote. The Labor Government bowed to convention, however, and allowed a second vote. It was then defeated 32-31, with Labor Senator Mark Bishop caught missing in action on what turned out to be a chaotic day for the... ...Read more »

A parliamentary committee has today urged the Senate to pass the controversial alcopops tax hike, despite admitting it was unsure if the measure had any impact on binge drinking since being introduced in April last year. The news comes as Health Minister Nicola Roxon meets with Family First Senator Steve Fielding, whose support is crucial to passing the bill. The Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs released a report into the impact of the 70 per cent tax hike on ready-to-drink alcoholic... ...Read more »

The Rudd Government is planning to invest the money raised from the controversial alcopop tax for a number of initiatives beyond tackling alcohol abuse, including increasing focus on healthy eating. Among the plans are intensive programs to support at-risk children achieve healthy weight and greater promotion of healthy eating in “children’s settings” - primarily at schools. The government is also likely to subsidise employers to structure healthy eating into the working day. There... ...Read more »

The Rudd Government has altered their alcopop tax legislation to ensure the 70 per cent tax hike applies to ‘malternatives’ - products which taste like alcopops but use the alcohol extracted from wine or beer to beat the controversial tax. Health Minister Nicola Roxon yesterday said she would extend the excise increase from pre-mixed spirit drinks to those based on beer and wine, despite currently lacking the numbers in the Senate to pass the original measure. The legislation has passed... ...Read more »

Family First Senator Steve Fielding is considering once again taking a stand against the Rudd government’s alcopops tax hike - believing the tax to have been ineffective in tackling binge drinking. It represents another change of heart for the Senator after he first rejected it on the grounds it was merely a tax grab before throwing his support behind it as the financial crisis threatened to blow a hole in the budget. The Federal Government lifted the tax rate on alcopops - Ready-To-Drink alcohol... ...Read more »

The controversial legislation to raise taxes on alcopops by 70 per cent has been introduced to Parliament, almost a year after the Federal Government started collecting the extra taxes.The Government raised the tax on pre-mixed alcoholic drinks, commonly referred to as ‘alcopops’, from $39 a litre to $66 last April, due to concerns that they were promoting binge drinking amongst young people. Since then the merit of the tax has been a keen source of debate, especially since some alcohol... ...Read more »

The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) has labelled the latest action by the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia (DSICA) in delivering look-alike alcopop products to Government Members and Senators, as nothing more than a cynical media stunt. The WFA is supporting attempts to close the loophole that allows the overseas practice of manufacturing so called ‘wine-pops’ and ‘malternatives’ by using alcohol stripped from wine or beer and selling them at... ...Read more »