Breaking Point for Binging Libs
July 7th 2008 03:34
Can I ask something? When did the Liberal Party become the party of boozers and bingers?
In the red corner, weighing in very light (after dropping years of Opposition baggage and putting factionalism on the backburner... for now) and with a reach extending to every state governent we have the Australian Labor Party. In that corner we have taxes on the hideously named ‘alcopops’ and a crusade against youth binge drinking.
And in the blue corner, weighing in as suddenly very cumbersome with a dead-wood leader and half a dozen others trying to play the part of the man behind the curtain (until Nelson’s inevitable wimpering out of the top job) with a reach that extends... well, to the Mayor of Brisbane and that is about it. In this corner we have support for the right to drink and opposition to new taxes on alcohol.
In what may just be populist pandering, or it may indeed be a commitment to the right of the Australian public to get blotto and warble out a rendition of “Run to Paradise” on a late night mission to McDonalds. Either way, the Coalition have opposed the Rudd Government’s tee-totalling legislation in saying that they respect individualism and would not DARE tell an Australian how much they can and cannot drink. Which makes sense for them. I mean, the more restrictions on alcohol there are the less likely it is that Belinda Neal is going to verbally assault nightclub staff and demonstrate the ALP’s affinity with workers in the hospitality industry.
And with more restrictions on alcohol, it’s less likely that Liberal Leader Brendan Nelson will get his lawns done. Lisa Carty, NSW Political Editor for The Brisbane Times, wrote on the weekend that Nelson’s 21 year-old son had a little too much to drink a few weeks ago, taking a fall and breaking his ankle. Suffice to say he had probably had more than the four mid-strength beers the Rudd Government now classifies as ‘binge-drinking’. Nelson said that this was a lesson for young people about what alcohol can do to your health, and how it had broader implications.
"He's lost six weeks off work and I told him he can work off the medical bills in my garden."
Well, at least the chrysanthiums won’t suffer.
In the red corner, weighing in very light (after dropping years of Opposition baggage and putting factionalism on the backburner... for now) and with a reach extending to every state governent we have the Australian Labor Party. In that corner we have taxes on the hideously named ‘alcopops’ and a crusade against youth binge drinking.
And in the blue corner, weighing in as suddenly very cumbersome with a dead-wood leader and half a dozen others trying to play the part of the man behind the curtain (until Nelson’s inevitable wimpering out of the top job) with a reach that extends... well, to the Mayor of Brisbane and that is about it. In this corner we have support for the right to drink and opposition to new taxes on alcohol.
In what may just be populist pandering, or it may indeed be a commitment to the right of the Australian public to get blotto and warble out a rendition of “Run to Paradise” on a late night mission to McDonalds. Either way, the Coalition have opposed the Rudd Government’s tee-totalling legislation in saying that they respect individualism and would not DARE tell an Australian how much they can and cannot drink. Which makes sense for them. I mean, the more restrictions on alcohol there are the less likely it is that Belinda Neal is going to verbally assault nightclub staff and demonstrate the ALP’s affinity with workers in the hospitality industry.
And with more restrictions on alcohol, it’s less likely that Liberal Leader Brendan Nelson will get his lawns done. Lisa Carty, NSW Political Editor for The Brisbane Times, wrote on the weekend that Nelson’s 21 year-old son had a little too much to drink a few weeks ago, taking a fall and breaking his ankle. Suffice to say he had probably had more than the four mid-strength beers the Rudd Government now classifies as ‘binge-drinking’. Nelson said that this was a lesson for young people about what alcohol can do to your health, and how it had broader implications.
"He's lost six weeks off work and I told him he can work off the medical bills in my garden."
Well, at least the chrysanthiums won’t suffer.
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