Health groups says Alcopops vote crucial

(AAP) - It could be years before the federal government takes on distillers again if its alcopops bill fails in the senate, a public health advocacy group says.

The Rudd government increased the excise on ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages by 70
per cent last April.
It needs to get supporting legislation through parliament by Thursday or risk having
to return the hundreds-of-millions of dollars in extra tax collected to distillers.
The government will need to secure the support of seven crossbench senators if it is
to get the bill passed, as the opposition has indicated it will vote against it.
Chief executive of the Public Health Association of Australia Michael Moore said the
draft laws were not a revenue grab but closed the loophole on the tax exemption for
alcopops.
He said the negative outcome would be three-fold if the legislation was defeated in
the upper house.
"First of all, the government will have to pay back hundreds-of-millions of dollars
to industry," he told reporters in Canberra on Sunday.
"Secondly, the health of young people will be put further at risk.
"Thirdly, governments will be reluctant to take on industry again."