Job losses blamed on alcopops tax hike

The maker of popular alcohol mixed drinks such as Vodka Cruiser and Woodstock
Bourbon is blaming the alcopops tax hike for looming job losses.

The Independent Distillers Group manufacturers and distributes alcoholic beverages
worldwide and has a factory in Laverton in Melbourne's west.
The group's Peter Murphy warned on Monday the 70 per cent alcopops tax hike has
sparked a sales downturn that has already led to 23 job losses.
"We are at risk now of having to close our factory," he told reporters in Canberra.
"That will cost 135 working Australians in the western suburbs of Melbourne their
jobs."
Mr Murphy said the tax was responsible for a 30 per cent sales slump.
The Laverton facility is the group's only factory in Australia and it was
considering moving production to New Zealand, he said.
Mr Murphy said alcopops represented only six per cent of the total alcohol market.
"To put a tax on that small portion of the market will never have an impact on binge
drinking," he said.
"We have been singled out. We think it's a much more sensible approach to address
this issue across the whole industry and tax all products equally."
The alcopops tax hike was rejected by the Senate in March, when Family First's Steve
Fielding sided with the opposition to vote the measure down.
The government plans to reintroduce the legislation into parliament after June 18,
meaning it could become a double dissolution trigger if it fails again.
Earlier, the federal opposition rejected reports it wanted the government to
increase taxes on all alcohol products.
But it does want a debate on the measure if the government is serious about tackling
binge drinking through a tax hike on alcopops.
"Let's have a proper debate if this is about a health issue," opposition health
spokesman Peter Dutton told reporters in Canberra.
The coalition would support a permanent 70 per cent tax hike on ready-to-drink
alcoholic beverages (alcopops) if the government conceded the measure was a tax hike
and not a health measure.
"Spiking one product and making drinkers consume other alcoholic products that don't
have the higher tax rate on (them) is not good health policy.
"(But) it makes sense as a tax grab."