- Gino Vumbaca
- July 29, 2008
Health experts are best qualified to advise the Government on alcohol.
THE liquor industry's reaction to the increase in the alcopop taxation has been loud, vitriolic and uncompromising. More than that, the debate on alcohol taxation has given an interesting insight into the power and influence of the liquor industry.
Every day seems to bring yet another press release questioning the increased tax rate on some alcopops. The latest is yesterday's announcement by the Liquor Merchants Association of Australia that while there was a 30% fall in the volume of ready-to-drink alcohol sold between April and June, sales of full-strength bottled spirits over the same period increased by 46%.
It's not just media releases. Spending some of their substantial corporate profits to campaign against the Government in the Gippsland byelection was considered fair by one part of the industry in the battle for public support.
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