Labour’s Minimum Price for Alcohol Will Penalise Everyone

act-new-zealand

Tue Jul 03 2012 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Labour’s Minimum Price for Alcohol Will Penalise Everyone

Tuesday, 3 July 2012, 3:51 pm
Press Release: ACT New Zealand

Labour’s Minimum Price for Alcohol Will Penalise Everyone
**
Press Release by ACT Leader John Banks
Tuesday, July 3 2012**

ACT Leader John Banks today urged Opposition Parties to dismiss Labour’s Alcohol Law Reform Bill SOP which would introduce a provision for a minimum price for alcohol.

“Labour’s SOP is far too broad. Rather than target those who drink excessively, it punishes the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who drink responsibly,” Mr Banks said.

“Under Labour’s policy, buying a relatively cheap bottle of wine to go with dinner would be a thing of the past.

“And because a minimum price is not a tax, all the additional revenue from a price increase will flow straight out of consumers’ pockets, into the hands of liquor companies and retailers.

“So who is this policy going to benefit? Not the Government, who would receive no additional revenue, not the majority of responsible New Zealanders who would have to fork out more for a drink and it is least likely to impact on problem drinkers, who are the least responsive to price increases. The main beneficiary of Labour’s policy will be the those in the alcohol industry.

“We do have an issue of problem drinking in New Zealand. But punishing everyone is not the way to go about solving it.

“A minimum price on alcohol will penalise responsible drinkers and is a policy that should be dismissed,” Mr Banks said.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from ACT New Zealand on InfoPages.