Make mine freedom

But let's not let the facts get in the way of the desperate knee-jerk desire of politicians to re-regulate alcohol. Bad policy, like taxing alcopops drinks and 2am lockouts, is but the tip of the iceberg unfortunately.

Last week, federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon pilloried the National Party MP whose electorate takes in the Queensland town of Bundaberg - because he has a large photograph of the white bear that features in the Bundaberg Rum advertisements. What's next?

What we are putting at risk here, by panicking about a crisis that is totally manufactured, are the liberal drinking and entertainment laws which governments around Australia have rightly introduced in a national wide deregulationist push. Now one can drink without having to order a meal, sit out on the pavement and consume a glass of wine, imbibe a liqueur with friends late into the night, and even throw back a vodka or two at a nightclub in the early hours of the morning.

The liberalising of liquor laws has created jobs, investment and created a healthier drinking and social culture. We should stand firm against the wowsers, moral vigilantes and health fanatics who want to wind it all back.