Melbourne, VIC, 23rd March, 2011 – UnitingCare Moreland Hall, one of Victoria’s leading alcohol and other drugs agencies, today called on Coles and Woolworths to reconsider their pricing strategies for alcohol amidst reports of widespread sale of alcohol below cost by the major chains: http://bit.ly/theagebeerwar, http://bit.ly/heraldsunfosterspullsbeer, http://bit.ly/theaustralianwinewars.
Moreland Hall CEO, Laurence Alvis, stated:
It’s one thing for these companies to try to gain market share by discounting staples like bread and milk, but loss-leading with alcohol is a clear case of putting profit ahead of the public interest.
The links between price and alcohol-related harm have been well established. The recent Lancet report rating alcohol as by far the most harmful drug in the UK (http://bit.ly/lancetarticle) has focussed international attention on the impact that low-cost alcohol has on individuals, families and communities.
The British Government has made a commitment to ban the below-cost sale of alcohol in the UK (http://bit.ly/telegraphcheapalcoholban). The tactics of Coles and Woolworths would indicate that the Australian Government might need to follow suit to prevent the inevitable harms associated with such predatory pricing practices.
Mr Alvis called upon the Australian Government to consider the UK proposal and revisit it’s response to the 2010 Henry Taxation Review recommendations for the introduction of volumetric alcohol taxation:
Price is an effective lever for reducing alcohol consumption. In the face of socially irresponsible pricing policies from two major alcohol retailers, it might now be time for the Government to intervene and introduce new safeguards in order to help reduce alcohol-related harms in Australia.
ENDS
For further information or comment please contact CEO Laurence Alvis on 9384 8880
Background about Moreland Hall: UnitingCare Moreland Hall is an Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) treatment and education agency of the Uniting Church in Australia. Moreland Hall has been operating since 1970 and provides a range of treatment and education services to clients in the North West Metropolitan region of Melbourne. These include counselling and support in the community and at Port Phillip prison, adult and youth home-based and residential withdrawal, education and training, drug diversion programs, supported accommodation and youth and family service.
