The question is that the amendments on sheets 3627 and 3628, in the name of Senator Tyrrell, be agreed to.
What was debated: Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025
Summarised using AI from the official Hansard transcript of the debate only. It is not a record of the debate and may leave things out. Read the Hansard below to check it.
This bill pauses the automatic twice-yearly rise in tax on draught beer poured from kegs in pubs and clubs for two years, from August 2025 to July 2027. The tax then resumes rising from the paused rate. Every party supported the freeze, and the debate focused on whether it goes far enough and who benefits most.
Arguments made in support
The Government said the pause gives about 10,000 venues, mostly small family businesses, more certainty and helps keep the price of a pint steady.
Labor members said pubs and clubs are community hubs that employ about 160,000 people and have struggled since the pandemic.
Government speakers said the measure is targeted, temporary and affordable, and does not change public health settings or the wider alcohol tax system.
The Coalition supported the bill, noting it had taken the same freeze to the last election.
Arguments made against, or for changes
Coalition speakers said the freeze saves less than one cent a pint and does nothing about wider inflation and cost-of-living pressures.
The Coalition and Nationals moved amendments to include spirits served on tap and to require a full review of alcohol tax.
Independents said the benefit mostly goes to big foreign-owned brewers that control pub taps, and moved to include bottled craft beer and spirits.
Monique Ryan and Senator Tyrrell moved to make the freeze permanent, while Barnaby Joyce and Andrew Gee moved to remove the tax on drinks in venues entirely.
In the Senate, the Greens moved a motion noting links between alcohol and family violence and calling for stronger alcohol rules.
132 speeches by 67 members in the House and Senate over 9 sitting days.
Hansard: House of Representatives, 8 Oct 2025 ›
The official Hansard (PDF), Parliament of Australia
Hansard: House of Representatives, 3 Nov 2025 ›
The official Hansard (PDF), Parliament of Australia
Hansard: House of Representatives, 24 Nov 2025 ›
The official Hansard (PDF), Parliament of Australia
Hansard: House of Representatives, 25 Nov 2025 ›
The official Hansard (PDF), Parliament of Australia
Hansard: House of Representatives, 27 Nov 2025 ›
The official Hansard (PDF), Parliament of Australia
Hansard: House of Representatives, 3 Feb 2026 ›
The official Hansard (PDF), Parliament of Australia
Hansard: House of Representatives, 4 Feb 2026 ›
The official Hansard (PDF), Parliament of Australia
Hansard: Senate, 5 Feb 2026 ›
The official Hansard (PDF), Parliament of Australia
Hansard: Senate, 1 Apr 2026 ›
The official Hansard (PDF), Parliament of Australia
What was debated: Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025
Summarised using AI from the official Hansard transcript of the debate only. It is not a record of the debate and may leave things out. Read the Hansard below to check it.
This bill puts into law the government's freeze on the indexation of draught beer excise for two years. In debate, non-government members Pat Conaghan and Alison Penfold supported the bill but moved and backed amendments to also freeze tax on tap spirits and to push for a wider review of alcohol tax.
Arguments made in support
The government said the bill strikes the right balance between supporting pubs and clubs and keeping the budget sustainable.
Speakers said they valued the role pubs and clubs play in local communities.
Arguments made against, or for changes
Pat Conaghan said the freeze delivers less than a cent per pint and does not fix a broken alcohol tax system.
He argued twice-yearly automatic indexation adds to cost-of-living pressure and called for a full Treasury review of alcohol tax.
Alison Penfold backed extending the freeze to tap spirits, saying many drinkers, including many women, prefer them to beer.
The government did not support the amendments.
8 speeches by 4 members in the House over 2 sitting days.
Hansard: House of Representatives, 8 Oct 2025 ›
The official Hansard (PDF), Parliament of Australia
Hansard: House of Representatives, 4 Feb 2026 ›
The official Hansard (PDF), Parliament of Australia
Australia's Voice
0 Yes
0 No
1–
The last column counts members who did not vote. Party counts are for current members.
3 votes were cast by people who have since left Parliament.
Every party member who voted went with the majority of their party.