ADCA wrote to the Australian Greens before the September election date was announced, seeking a commitment from the party on issues affecting the AOD sector.

Our letter and the Greens' response follows.

Dear Senator Milne

The launch at the weekend of the Australian Greens policy agenda for the next federal election, Standing up for what matters, prompts this letter.

ADCA, the national peak body for drug and alcohol advocacy, acknowledges the importance of the issues your party raises in this document; however the organisation feels that you miss a number of key points in the public health debate.

Your colleague Richard di Natale has been a staunch ally for ADCA with his common sense approach and support for issues we champion; these include the cost of alcohol to society and the incidence of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, alcohol advertising and sponsorship, drug law reform and justice reinvestment.

Senator di Natale has attended several functions and forums with which we have been associated. He was the only politician to support much needed alcohol taxation reform at a recent event the National Alliance for Action on Alcohol (NAAA) conducted in Canberra. His stance was in contrast to responses from the then Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler and his Opposition peer, Dr Andrew Southcott – neither of whom supported a review of the alcohol tax regime, or greater controls on the seemingly unfettered promotion of alcohol.

ADCA and many other organisations in the sector are concerned – even disgusted – by federal, state and territory governments’ unwillingness to tackle the $36 billion annual cost of alcohol abuse and related ills like disease and violence.

The evidence in support of reform is compelling – not only the links between crime and violence and the increased availability and lower prices of alcohol, but also the huge health savings to be made through lower consumption. Worldwide, higher prices for alcohol have shown to lead to a drop in consumption levels.

For years, ADCA has pushed for a consistent, progressive volumetric taxation regime, with rates based on the alcohol content of beverages, and resultant revenue increases being earmarked to support treatment services and prevention programs for alcohol and other drugs problems. The equation is quite simple … prevention is cheaper than cure.

ADCA has written to the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, his predecessor Julia Gillard, the former Treasurer Wayne Swan and the Leader of the Opposition to highlight these issues. None has graced us with a response.

I mentioned earlier the issues of drug law reform and justice reinvestment. Many of ADCA’s associates and former executive members hold the view that the global 30 year war on drugs is a failure … and some of those people have been at the front line of that war. While ADCA doesn’t condone the free availability of illicit drugs, their manufacture and the organised crime that goes with it, we feel the time is well past for young people to be saddled with a criminal record for a minor drug transgression that may revisit them later in life. To that end, we support the thrust of the Australia 21 movement and its efforts to decriminalise some drugs.

So too we see value in justice reinvestment – diversionary programs designed to steer minor offenders away from the correctional system, to prevent recidivism and to counter the high cost to society of the prison system. Deloitte Consulting recently released research commissioned by the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) and the National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee (NIDAC) that showed the huge savings to be made in diversionary programs among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Populations as opposed to the cost of keeping offenders within the corrections system.

The aim in each of these instances is the same that drives our approach to alcohol – prevention being cheaper than the cure.

I would hope the Greens see the value in our position.

Yours sincerely

David Templeman
CEO
16 July 2013

 

THE GREENS' RESPONSE

A u s t r a l i a n  G r e e n s

Thank you for writing to us with your concerns around our policies on alcohol and other
drugs. I would like to reassure you that the points you have raised have not been missed. As
you noted Senator Di Natale has been a strong advocate for reform in these areas and his
comments represent those of the party as a whole.
On the specific points you have raised:
Alcohol Taxation: The Greens remain the only party in the Parliament that is on the record
calling for reform of the alcohol taxation regime, specifically the Wine Equalisation Tax. It is
and remains our policy to move to tiered volumetric pricing and remove the artificial
incentive to produce the cheapest and most harmful alcoholic drinks in enormous volumes.
In government we would task the Productivity Commission with determining the parameters
of the new taxation regime, with an eye to achieving the greatest public health outcomes
and ensuring our small, quality winemakers are not disadvantaged.
As well as taxation reform, we plan to raise the harms of alcohol at every opportunity during
the campaign, addressing issues of labelling, advertising and availability.
Drug law reform: Once again the Greens remain the only party in the Parliament on record
challenging the status quo in the war on drugs. The war on drugs has been a failure by every
measure. Given the mountains of evidence that shows criminalising drug users only causes
further harm, we are strongly supportive of decriminalising drug use by individuals and
instead providing resources for treatment services for those who need it. We stand by this
policy and our other policies to minimise the harms of illicit drugs and will pursue them in
the public debate during the election and beyond.
Justice reinvestment: The Greens are strong advocates for a justice reinvestment approach
and believe it is evidence-based, economically responsible and socially just. Senator Penny
Wright led a Senate inquiry, and announced our policy for a national centre for justice
reinvestment, with a grants program worth $50 million over 4 years. By re-directing funding
towards disadvantaged communities, justice reinvestment has been proven to reduce crime
rates and reduce the costs of incarceration.
27 August 2013