The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) response to the Federal Senate committee’s report into red tape in the alcohol industry is that the government should implement evidence based policies to promote job creation, business growth and investment.
The inquiry made several recommendations including taxing alcohol by content, allowing packaged alcohol to be sold in convenience stores, petrol stations and supermarkets and getting rid of restrictions on trading hours for liquor stores.
AHA CEO Stephen Ferguson recently said his organisation believed job creation and investment are best achieved on premise rather than in a take-away environment and any changes made by the federal government should take into account employment, GST revenue and the fact that hotels support other industries as well as such as live music.