Australia: Australians facing increase in alcohol prices

Drinkers in Australia would face significant price increases for beer and wine under a proposal to cut the nation’s alcohol consumption, the Herald Sun reported on December 19.

Under the draft plan, released by federal and state ministers, the cost of all alcoholic drinks would not be allowed to fall below a set level.

Industry sources expect that base would be A$1.50 per standard drink, leading to rises on a raft of cheap booze options.

A slab of Victoria Bitter — with 24 cans holding 1.4 standard drinks — now costs about A$47 but would jump to over A$50.

A bottle of Yarraglen Yellow sparkling wine would increase from about A$7 to nearly A$10.

But a A$10 four-litre cask of Golden Oak dry white wine holds the equivalent of 30 standard drinks — and that volume would mean a shocking price rise to at least A$45.

The draft plan, designed to reduce binge drinking and alcohol-related harm, also proposes one flat rate of taxation for all alcohol.

For now, there are different rates of tax for beer, wine and spirits. The reform would hit wine drinkers particularly hard, because it is taxed less.

The draft national alcohol strategy, quietly released last month, also calls for tough restrictions on alcohol advertising during sport, and laws to stop bottle shops providing two-for-one offers and bulk-buy booze discounts.

Other proposals include:

New restrictions on the serving of drinks after a certain time, and plastic glassware to be used in “high-risk venues”;

Mandatory sobriety conditions on repeat offenders, and linked ID scanners to prevent entry to venues;

Undercover checks to ensure bottle shops and venues do not serve those under age;

Asking alcohol companies to put “readable, impactful health-related warning labels” on their products. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt chaired last month’s ministerial forum which agreed to release the draft strategy for a final round of feedback, after three years of consultation, with the aim of finalising it by March.

He distanced himself from it on December 19, with a spokesman telling the Herald Sun: “It’s not a Commonwealth initiative, policy or anything we are proposing to adopt.”

But the spokesman added that it could be considered by the states: “This would be a matter for individual jurisdictions.”

The strategy suggests the revenue from bolstered taxes be directed to preventive health efforts.

It said increasing prices had been effective in reducing the proportion of young people who were heavy drinkers, cutting the amount of under-age and binge drinking, and slowing people from drinking larger amounts of alcohol.

The strategy seeks a 10 per cent reduction in regular binge-drinking sessions and harmful consumption.

Alcohol is the second-leading cause of drug-related deaths in Australia, linked to more than 5500 deaths every year as well as a quarter of road fatalities and a quarter of all frontline police work.

One in four Australians drink at risky levels.

17 December, 2017