Alcohol Retail Lobbying: A comparative analysis of profit and not-for-profit alcohol retail peak body written submissions to Australian parliamentary inquiries

Aims

The alcohol, tobacco and gambling industries are notorious for lobbying against increased taxation and public-health focused regulations. These actions are often attributed to the commercial structure of these industries. Here, we examine whether a not-for-profit alcohol retail industry does the same.

Method

We sampled ‘matched’ written submissions from the peak bodies representing Australia’s key not-for-profit and for-profit alcohol retail sectors (licensed clubs and hotels respectively) to alcohol-related parliamentary inquiries from 2009 to 2021 (11 inquiries; 22 submissions). We analysed submissions using content and thematic analysis.

Results

There was a very high degree of overlap in positions of the state and territory divisions of Clubs Australia and the Australian Hotel Association. Peak bodies representing both clubs and hotels lobbied for favourable market conditions and generally opposed measures that would limit their access to the retail market, such as limiting advertising and reducing venue access. Justifications for peak body positions centred around themes of ‘community’, ‘belonging’, and ‘good business’. In general, peak bodies for hotels used the language of ‘business’, while peak bodies for clubs argued from a place of ‘community’.

Conclusion

Australia's not-for-profit alcohol retail sector differs from the for-profit sector in their utilisation of the proceeds from alcohol sales. However, retail structure did not affect acceptance of health and safety measures when those impinge on revenues. Retail structure alone may not be sufficient to motivate ‘healthy’ trading behaviour in the absence of a robust regulatory system.