As the Albanese government moved to freeze increases to the beer excise for the first time in 40 years in parliament this week, the Member for New England Barnaby Joyce argued that the excise should be scrapped completely to “save” regional pubs.
The Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025 will halt indexation of customs duty rates for draught beer for two years from August 1, 2025. Beer excise is currently indexed twice yearly in line with the consumer price index, a system that has steadily driven up costs for brewers and hospitality venues, with those costs either passed on to drinkers or absorbed by businesses already under pressure.
Introducing the Bill, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was “proud” to bring forward what he described as one of the government’s most popular election commitments.
“Forty years is a long time between drinks,” he told the House of Representatives, describing the pause as part of a broader set of cost-of-living measures.
Mr Albanese said local pubs, clubs and RSLs played an important social and economic role, particularly as employers and gathering places.
“The capacity of people together at their local pub or at their local club, RSL is so important because there’s that sense of belonging,” he said, adding that many were family businesses that employed locals, including students and part-time workers.
The Bill passed its third reading on Wednesday, with several amendments defeated, including a Nationals proposal to extend the excise freeze to spirits.
For Barnaby Joyce, however, freezing indexation was “not enough”. Speaking in the debate, Mr Joyce foreshadowed an amendment calling for the complete removal of alcohol excise on drinks sold for consumption in hospitality venues, arguing that pubs were the last remaining social infrastructure in many small towns.
“In so many regional areas, the issue surrounding the excise is closely related to the viability of local hotels,” Mr Joyce said.
“In a local area such as Walcha Road or right out west in Thargomindah, if you didn’t have a hotel you’d have nothing at all.”
He described the local pub as “the cornerstone of the local cricket club” and “for many people, the cornerstone of any social outing”, arguing that rising alcohol prices were making it impossible for working families to socialise locally.
In his remarks, Mr Joyce warned that without dramatic action, more pubs would close.
“In the past in a lot of country towns we used to have post offices. They were closed. We used to have train stations. They were closed,” he said.
“Many medical facilities are not there, and the one thing that’s sort of been maintained is the local hotel. But now we are seeing a rolling closure of hotels.”
“If we lose our hotels in Australia, if we lose our little regional pubs, then we will be diminished as a nation,” he said.
“A freeze on the excise which is exorbitant is not enough. The excise has to be removed if you want your local small town pub to survive.”
Mr Joyce told the House this shift towards takeaway alcohol was “a very unhealthy way to live”, arguing it would be better for people to drink socially in licensed venues rather than alone at home.
“It would be a lot better if people were with other people rather than taking a case of beer home, sitting on the verandah and working their way steadily through it,” he said.
Despite his lengthy contribution to the debate, Mr Joyce did not follow the procedural steps required to have his amendment formally moved and considered by the House. As a result, the proposal was never debated or voted on, leaving his intervention as a speech rather than a substantive legislative effort.
Somewhat ironically, the push for cheaper beer came during FebFast, an annual campaign encouraging Australians to give up alcohol for February, and alongside Sober in the Country’s Big Shout fundraiser, which seeks to raise money to challenge the very same “central role” of pubs and alcohol in rural communities that Joyce praised.
Barnaby Joyce’s passionate speech in praise of the country pub and need for cheaper beer comes less than two years after he claimed to quit drinking alcohol, after being found lying drunk on a Canberra street in 2024. However, Joyce was seen in a number of locations beer in hand during last year’s election campaign.
Got something you want to say about this story? Have your say on our opinion and comment hub, New England Times Engage