Alcohol taxation does not work, says Health Minister Peter Dutton

September 26, 2013
News.com.au

HEALTH Minister Peter Dutton supports raising tobacco taxes but won’t raise taxes on alcohol because he says it doesn’t cut consumption.

The new minister says boosting community-based mental health services will be one of his priorities in government.

And he’s warned bureaucrats working in 18 health agencies they could be axed or merged into the department.

The government’s Mental Health Commission will be absorbed back into the Health Department, where it will outline how to fix a fragmented system of service delivery, he said.

And the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the National Health Performance Authority – which both collect health data – can expect to be merged.

“There are several bodies collecting data and we’ve got to make sure we’re doing it in the most efficient way possible,” Mr Dutton told ABC Radio National.

“We want to make sure we’re getting the most efficient spend possible for taxpayers money so that we can get as much money as we can to frontline services,” he said.

The minister refused to comment on reports that he also has the National Preventive Health Agency in his sights.

In Opposition, Peter Dutton says he proposed a hike in the tobacco tax to cut smoking rates that was finally supported by the Rudd Government.

“I think wherever we can discourage the take up of tobacco we should because we know of the health outcomes and we should do whatever we can,” he said.

However, he says increasing alcohol taxes to combat Australia’s binge drinking culture won’t work.

“The (previous) government imposed the so-called alcopops tax and, in actual fact, the consumption of spirits has gone up since the introduction of that tax,” he said.
“It didn’t work,” he said.

The Abbott Government will do more to stop indigenous Australians taking up smoking, he said.

Mr Dutton says he wants to boost community-based services for the mentally ill and break down the stigma around mental illness that prevents 65 per cent of those with a problem seeking help.