Lodging formal submissions to governments is an important part of the Brewers Association’s constructive policy and advocacy role. Here you can find submissions the Brewers Association has made to various government policy reviews and inquiries…
The economic measures that the Federal Government has introduced to support business, such as JobKeeper and its subsequent extensions, have kept thousands of Australians connected to their jobs with our customers (the operators) in the hospitality sector.
Brewers Association Budget Submission(PDF 456.4 kb)
Australia’s three major brewers – Coopers, Lion and Carlton & United Breweries – have today called on the Government to make the humble pot, schooner and pint of draught beer at pubs and clubs more affordable to help stimulate Australia’s flailing economy and many struggling industries
US Dietary Guidelines(PDF 155.0 kb)
The Brewers Association of Australia is concerned by the shift in academic dietary guidance away from rigorous, evidentiary data in preference for engineering social change without scientific basis or, indeed, ignoring established, relevant research. Any out-of-scope departure from core aims that produces misleading information to affect social change would be misguided and undermine the very purpose of dietary guidelines in providing factual materials for consumers to make informed choices…
NHMRC Drinking Guidelines(PDF 256.4 kb)
Dr Tim Cooper AM MSc MD MBA, Deputy Chair of the Brewers Association of Australia and Managing Director of Coopers Brewery, pens his submission on the NHMRC Drinking Guidelines, bringing to the fore his medical expertise and real world knowledge of the science underpinning alcohol consumption…
NHMRC Proposed Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol(PDF 581.8 kb)
Fundamental flaws in the methodology and ultimate findings in the draft Drinking Guidelines are not consistent with the very data provided in the document itself. The recommendations appear to be deliberately misleading and, clearly, not supported by evidence…
Senate Select Committee Inquiry into Jobs for the Future in Regional Areas(PDF 307.8 kb)
Local pubs and clubs are essential community infrastructure in regional areas. Research demonstrates that having a ‘local’ brings numerous positives, including higher life satisfaction, greater interpersonal trust, and greater connectedness with community. Isolation, loneliness and social cohesion are important considerations for population health, especially in regional areas…
Carbohydrates & Sugar in Alcoholic Beverages(PDF 383.2 kb)
With the majority of Australians seeking more information about the products they consume, it is bizarre that governments, through FSANZ, are seeking to prevent consumers making informed choices by denying them access to the proven scientific evidence on sugar and carbohydrate content in beers…
Consultation on Extending Support to Craft Brewers and Distillers(PDF 148.4 kb)
While welcoming bipartisan support for the proposal, even after the new measures take effect Australians will still pay among the highest excise on beer in the world, in addition to a 10% GST. These taxes on beer drinkers netted the Australian Government $4.2 billion last year. Only by addressing current excise rates across the beer category will there be a real and significant impact on reducing the cost of living pressures for Australians…
ACT Drug Strategy Action Plan 2018-21(PDF 858.7 kb)
Any reforms must target the harmful consumption of alcohol, while not adversely affecting the overwhelming majority of the population who consume responsibly and sociably. The drivers of alcohol misuse and anti-social behaviour among a small part of the population are complex and must be addressed directly, not through population-wide measures that are ineffective and ultimately penalise responsible consumers…
Pregnancy warning labels on packaged alcoholic beverages(PDF 449.9 kb)With exceptionally high awareness and comprehension, especially among women of childbearing age, the current on-label pictogram has been very effective. Australia’s major brewers have been 100% compliant with this voluntary regime since 2014, so it would be inherently unfair to ask them to go to that effort twice, when others have failed to comply at all. Any new regime aimed at bringing the rest of industry up-to-speed should mirror the labelling requirements already in place…
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission – Application by the Recyclers Association of South Australia(PDF 91.4 kb)
The Brewers Association of Australia opposes the Recyclers Association of South Australia’s application to the ACCC to negotiate on behalf of its “Participating Members”, to negotiate collectively and to provide its Participating Members with advice (collective bargaining)…
Draft National Alcohol Strategy 2018-26 Submission(PDF 3.1 Mb)
Bereft of scientific rigour and intellectually dishonest, the draft National Alcohol Strategy is driven by dogma, not fact or evidence. Of it’s 64 references, only 10 are peer-reviewed and just 4 of those are from the last 5 years. It even cites media reports as evidence. Our submission quotes 187 scientific and factual sources exposing the seismic flaws in the misguided draft and debunking the bunkum within…
Questions on Notice: NSW Inquiry into the Alcoholic Beverages Advertising Prohibition Bill(PDF 568.1 kb)
The claim that there is “no safe level of alcohol consumption when it comes to cancer risk” is not supported by the study referenced by the Cancer Council of NSW. We also reaffirm to the Inquiry that the significant body of evidence from multiple jurisdictions around the world where alcohol advertising has been banned demonstrates neither alcohol advertising nor sports sponsorship target or influence young people in their attitudes to drinking and drinking behaviour…
Opening Statement: NSW Alcoholic Beverages Advertising Prohibition Bill Inquiry(PDF 50.1 kb)
The evidence is crystal clear – alcohol advertising and/or sports sponsorship do not target, nor do they influence, young people in their attitudes to drinking and drinking behaviour. If there were any correlation between advertising and alcohol uptake, as some claim, the Australian Government’s independent and authoritative alcohol statistics would be tracking in a very different direction…
NSW Inquiry into the Alcoholic Beverages Advertising Prohibition Bill 2015(PDF 510.6 kb)
Australians – most notably younger people – are drinking less alcohol than ever before. Meanwhile, international experience and Australian research show that advertising is not a driver for uptake or drinking behaviour. The very premise of this legislation misdiagnoses the issue and risks perpetuating problems by masking the real causes of harmful drinking and anti-social behaviour…
National FASD Strategy 2018-28(PDF 135.8 kb)
Making further inroads into the incidences of FASD will take a long-term commitment and, to be effective, evidence-based, targeted interventions will require a combination of resources and effort from government, industry and the community…
Energy labelling of Alcoholic Beverages(PDF 118.9 kb)
Brewers make it clear that industry and consumers have moved on since the 2009 Blewett Review. The advent of Apps, backed by websites, mean that in 2017 there is no shortage of nutritional information for consumers. The label is simply out-dated…
NT Government Alcohol Policies and Legislation Review(PDF 208.4 kb)
Our submission advocates reducing harmful alcohol consumption by improving alcohol literacy through community education, combatting foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and addressing alcohol-related violence…
NT Alcohol Review Draft Terms of Reference(PDF 96.3 kb)
The Review’s Terms of Reference must focus on targeted, evidence-based interventions to reduce harmful and anti-social practices…