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03-03-2025
Bureau Report
SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday that his government would temporarily halt tax hikes on draught beer, amid sagging popularity for the governing Labor Party ahead of a general election due by May.
Australia is one of the world’s wealthiest countries per capita and one of its highest-spending on alcohol per capita. Its centre-left government, lagging the main conservative political opposition in recent polling, levies inflation-indexed tax hikes on alcohol producers twice a year.
“The Albanese Labor Government will freeze the indexation on draught beer excise for two years, in a win for beer drinkers, brewers and hospitality businesses,” Albanese said in a statement.
The measure, to start in August, would take pressure off beer prices at the nation’s pubs and clubs as well as support local businesses and regional tourism, he said.
Speaking to media at a brewery in Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, Albanese said that attending pubs was “part of who we are as Australians”.
“This is something that has been requested for a long time,” he said, referring to the tax relief, in remarks televised by the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Alcohol is infused in the social life and identity of many Australians, but researchers expect a trend towards abstinence from alcohol to grow in coming years driven by health concerns and rising prices.
The majority of Australian voters want the current Labor government out of office, posing a threat to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s re-election plans just months ahead of a national election as his approval rating hit its lowest point, a widely watched poll showed on Monday.
A Newspoll conducted for The Australian newspaper said a hung parliament would be the most likely outcome if the poll numbers were to be replicated at an election due by May.
Some 53% of 1,244 voters surveyed said they did not believe the Labor government deserved to be re-elected with Albanese’s approval rating hitting a record low of minus 21, his worst as prime minister. A total of 34% said Labor should be re-elected.
The Albanese-led Labor government is struggling to lift support despite a slew of measures aimed at pleasing families and businesses grappling with high living costs and boosting jobs.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has held its monetary policy restrictive, keeping rates steady at 4.35% for more than a year as it looks to bring inflation to its target band of 2%-3% while preserving employment gains but core inflation is now almost back in the RBA’s target band and markets widely expect the central bank on Tuesday to cut rates for the first time since late 2020.
The latest Newspoll survey showed the opposition Liberal-National Coalition has maintained its 51-49 lead on a two-party-preferred basis under Australia’s preferential voting system, where votes from minor parties are redistributed until a winner is elected.
Labor’s primary vote remained stuck on 31% compared to its 2022 election result of 32.6%, indicating Labor could lose up to eight seats preventing Albanese from forming a majority government, the survey said. A party needs 76 seats to govern in majority. Labor won 77 seats in 2022 and the coalition 58.
Even as more voters are turning against Labor, the opposition coalition has failed to capitalize on it with minor parties and independents lifting its support by a point, the survey said.
