Alcohol sponsor ban to cost Australian sport A$300m a year 17/07/2009 |
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AUSTRALIA'S premier sporting codes would be stripped of up to $300 million a year in alcohol sponsorship under a radical blueprint to fight disease and help people live longer.
Kevin Rudd's hand-picked preventative health taskforce has also called for an end to alcohol advertising on the internet and youth magazines.
The health shake-up would see household names such as Bundaberg Rum, VB, Tooheys and XXXX beer disappear from television screens and sporting arenas.
It would rob Cricket Australia, the AFL, National Rugby League and Australian Rugby Union of a massive revenue stream flowing from beer, wine and spirit companies.
And it would pit the Rudd Government against the powerful television networks, who also stand to lose lucrative alcohol-related advertising.
The Courier-Mail can reveal the explosive call to ban alcohol sponsorship of sporting and cultural events is a key recommendation of the National Preventative Health Taskforce.
Set up by Prime Minister Rudd last year, the taskforce's report contains a suite of reforms aimed at reducing the influence of alcohol, particularly on young people.
In its landmark report, to be released soon, the expert group has called for more stringent food labelling and a potential ban on junk food advertising on television.
The blueprint for a healthier Australia is one of a trio of key health reform documents, all under active consideration by the Government.
Last night, a spokeswoman for Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the minister was "considering all the recommendations" before the report was publicly released.
With alcohol-related illness costing the country an estimated $16 billion a year, the taskforce is urging Canberra to embrace a raft of hard-hitting policy reforms.
It calls on the Government to review the current taxation levels for alcohol products, but the taskforce backs away from a specific recommendation on raising the price of beer, wine and spirits.
A report commissioned by the Rudd Government last year found the social costs of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug abuse had risen to $56.1 billion. The cost of alcohol was $15.3 billion alone, the report said.
The taskforce is also expected to urge the Government to raise tobacco tax.
Changes to pub opening hours are also proposed.
(Source: news.com.au)
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