Why Its Consumption Has
p. 45 · Read in the full issue
Liquor On Norfolk
Island.
Why Its Consumption Has Increased.
THE following questions were asked in the Federal Parliament by Senator Payne recently: Is it not a fact that the sale of liquor on Norfolk Island is controlled by the Administrator and restricted by special ordinance, known as the liquor prohibi tion law?
What is the explanation of the in crease in the sale of liquor on the island, as disclosed in the annual report, from £843 in the year 1927, to £3,571 in the year 1931, in view of the population be ing shown in the reports as 853 in 1927, and 992 in 1931 an increase of only 139 people?
The Government’s answer was as fol lows : The Administration revenue from the sale of liquor since the year 1926-27 has been as follows: £ 1926-27 843 1927-28 2,414 1928-29 2,628 1929-30 4,517 1930-31 3,572
£ 1931-32 3,608 1932-33 (approximately) .. 2,600 The considerable additional revenue during the year 1927-28 has been as cribed: — (i) to increase in the tourist traffic; (ii) to influx of new settlers, result ing from the making available of a considerable area of land which had been purchased from the Melanesian Mission; and (iii) to the greater volume of trade, and the advance in the ruling rate of wages which took place about that time.
Large numbers of tourists visited the territory up to the year 1931. In 1929, the Customs Ordinance was amended to increase the import duty on spirits from 14/- to 30/- per gallon, on beer from 6d. to 2/6 per gallon, and from 5/- to 10/and 10/- to 25/- for other than Aus tralian wines, and from 10/- to 15/- per gallon for Australian sparkling wines.
This amendment resulted in a consider able increase in the revenue obtained by the Administration from the sale of liquor. In 1931, the system of liquor permits was altered to the issue of weekly permits to “approved citizens”.
The amount of wine and beer under the permits was, at the same time, increased twofold, with the object of encouraging the consumption of light Australian wine and beer in lieu of spirits. No liquor can be imported into Norfolk Island ex cept by the Administration.