“When Mr Rudd and Mr Swan said they had a problem with binge drinking then that hardly justifies them profiting by $3.1 billion from the people who have that problem. You cannot collect $3.1 billion on a problem upon which you only outlay $53m to fix and say you have the moral high ground.

“The crux of this issue is that it is a swindle! If you were to announce a $3.1 billion package to deal with the use of meth amphetamines (ice), under age drinking, naltrexone treatment for heroin addiction, a holistic and substantial education campaign targeted at primary schools, a massive increase in law enforcement against outlaw bikie gangs who transport the illegal party tablets around the country, an increase in outpatient services which deal with the effects of meth amphetamines, an increase in alcohol treatment services and an increase in services at psychiatric hospitals that deal with the final chapter in the use of illicit party drugs then I would be inclined to take you seriously. But this has not happened.

“This is a tokenistic swindle and the insincerity of it is what makes it galling. Even if Mr Swan and Mr Rudd were going to take half the money and help out the binge drinkers' grandparents, who by reason of the complete oversight of pensioners in the Budget have found themselves in dire financial circumstances, then this would help mitigate the inherent cynicism about this 'alcopops' tax.

“If Mr Rudd and Mr Swan said that they would tie funding to a decisive campaign to breath and drug test patrons before they entered licensed establishments on big turnover nights, so hotels did not have to deal with the problems that arrive at the establishment rather than the problems the establishment causes, then this may be investigated to be supported.

"Many publicans tell me that when patrons arrive at hotels and clubs they have already had half the party but it has to be a ‘one in all in’ approach to stop this otherwise you will put the hotel which does the right thing out of business. There would be more ownership of the problems outside the doors of night clubs and hotels on Friday and Saturday nights if it was solely the owners of the establishments who had been selling the alcohol.

"These are the sorts of ideas that need clear investigation and deliberation if you truly want to deal with binge drinking otherwise we must call this so called 'alcopops' tax for what it is: a cynical, tokenistic, irrelevant gesture which raises revenue for the government and does not even touch the problem."

Ends