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Australia’s Northern Territory scraps MUP
Legislation has been passed through Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) parliament to formally repeal the minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol.
The MUP (also known as the alcohol floor price) of AU$1.30 per standard drink on all alcohol products was introduced in 2018 in a bid to minimise harm associated with high-alcohol, low-cost beverages.
It applied to retail sale and supply of all alcohol products in the NT, including those from takeaway outlets and on-premise sales. It did not apply to wholesale prices.
The MUP was a recommendation from the Alcohol Policies and Legislation Review final report, and was an initiative under the NT government’s alcohol harm minimisation action plan.
Since its implementation, the MUP has faced backlash on account of its ‘ineffectiveness in addressing alcohol-related harm’ and for ‘unfairly targeting’ responsible drinkers.
Michael Waters, CEO of Retail Drinks Australia, praised the government’s U-turn: “We congratulate chief minister Lia Finocchiaro for acting on the CLP’s (County Liberal Party) election promise to repeal the MUP, which failed to address alcohol-related harm whilst punishing the vast majority of Territorians who drank responsibly.
“The failure of the floor price to positively impact alcohol-related harm was the result of retail sales shifting to products unaffected by the floor price, which resulted in its own unintended consequences.
“The previous NT government’s own review of the MUP noted that a reduction in alcohol-related harms was attributable to other policy measures introduced at the same time as the floor price, such as the introduction of police auxiliary liquor inspectors (PALIs).”
While praising the government’s decision, Waters also took the opportunity to to highlight the need to shift the focus to other areas of the Liquor Act that he believes need critical amendments, such as raising the arbitrary cap on liquor sales for grocery store licences.
“In repealing the MUP, the NT government has demonstrated its commitment to enacting common sense and evidence-based policy measures,” he stated.
“We now turn our attention to other key areas of the Liquor Act requiring amendment, including the unfair 25% liquor sales cap on grocery store licences, and look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the NT government to ensure the Act is fit for purpose, and strikes the right balance between industry and community needs.”
In September 2024, Scotland increased its MUP to 65p (US$0.81), up by 30% from the 50p first introduced in 2018.
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