[Greens-Media] Liquor industry lobbying triumphs with alcohol promotions guidelines

[John Kaye]

Liquor industry lobbying triumphs with alcohol promotions guidelines

Media release: 18 July 2013

Documents obtained by the Greens reveal how the liquor lobby was able to weaken the O'Farrell government's alcohol promotion guidelines.

The NSW Upper House supported the motion of Greens NSW MP John Kaye to force the O'Farrell government to table all correspondence with the industry in the development of the new guidelines.

The documents show that the Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing folded to pressure from Coles, Woolworths, the Liquor Sore Association, alcohol wholesaler Diageo and the Australian Hotels Association.

Dr Kaye said: "The O'Farrell government has been caught in the act of weakening proposed liquor promotion guidelines because the alcohol industry found them inconvenient.

"The August 2012 draft, circulated to the industry but not available to the community until I released them, contained a number of important protections for children, young drinkers and at-risk groups.

"The documents show the liquor industry asking for changes that resulted in far too many of these being dropped or downgraded.

"The paper trail shows the same level of willingness to be pushed about by the alcohol industry that destroyed each attempt by the former Labor government to control problem drinking.

"Former NSW Liberal Party chief fund-raiser and current AHA CEO Paul Nicolaou had to send only one letter to get the O'Farrell government's agency to drop the ban on promoting alcohol using celebrities and role models that appeal to minors.

"The AHA is in the business of selling more alcohol and celebrities are a handy way of enticing an increasing number of younger drinkers into becoming frequent hotel patrons.

"Coles and the Liquor Store Association were the biggest winners. They achieved the deletion of the caution against using high energy drinks with alcohol, the ban on deep discounting and the caution against promotions and signage that are highly visible to minors.

"The supermarket chain and their industry lobby group are well aware that young people are a big part of their market and high energy alco-pops, buy-one-get-one-free deals and bright signage capture their target consumers.

"Coles and the distilled liquor industry caused the Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing to dump any mention of at-risk groups, opening the floodgates to promotions targeted at Indigenous Australians and young women.

"Between them the alcohol industry has protected and enhanced its ability to push their products at younger people, groups at risk and underage drinkers using promotions that rely on offensive and manipulative messaging.

"The O'Farrell government should immediately call for public submissions on the guidelines. The least they could do is give parents worried about their children's exposure to alcohol some say in the regulation of the industry's behaviour," Dr Kaye said.

For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455

Background:



What changed

Who asked for it

Intro

Distinction between off and on licence premises strengthened

LSA

Principle 1

Moved celebrities and role model ban from "unacceptable" to "additional information"

AHA



Removed caution against promotion and signage exposure to minors

Coles and LSA

Principle 2

Explicit examples of unacceptable behaviour were replaced with broad concepts increase power of discretion for OLGR

No written evidence of lobbying

Principle 5

Effectively removed off-licence promotions from restrictions on extreme discounts

All elements of industry

Principle 6

Removed caution against selling alcohol with high energy drinks

Coles and LSA



Inserted clause that effectively exempts off-licence stores from restrictions on extreme discounts

LSA

Principle 7

Removed reference to "at risk" groups from unacceptable target group criteria

Coles, Diageo and DSICA



John Kaye

Greens NSW MP
P: (02) 9230 2668 | F: facebook.com/john.kaye.mlc<http://www.facebook.com/john.kaye.mlc> | T: @johnkgreens<twitter.com/johnkgreens> | W: www.johnkaye.org.au<http://www.johnkaye.org.au/>

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