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LIQUOR NEWS
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New Ministers for Liquor, Gaming & Racing As recently reported by Liquor, Gaming NSW, following the NSW election in March, Victor Dominello has been sworn in as the Minister for Customer Service and is responsible for liquor and gaming legislation, with Kevin Anderson being sworn in as the Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation, and is responsible for racing legislation. Liquor & Gaming NSW (L&GNSW), the Office of Racing, and the Office of Responsible Gambling will become part of the newly created Department of Customer Service. The new department includes the NSW Government’s Behavioural Insights function, Data Analytics Centre and Service NSW, enabling L&GNSW to leverage these key capabilities to boost the digital strategy and risk-based regulatory approach.
The move to Customer Service will put L&GNSW at the centre of the Government’s drive to see NSW become a world leader in digital technology and customer service. As part of a reconfiguring of the public service following the election, senior executive roles have been consolidated. As a result, there is no longer a standalone Deputy Secretary for Liquor, Gaming & Racing, the role held by Paul Newson. Paul is currently assisting the Department of Customer Service’s senior executive team to support the integration into the new cluster and will remain a Trustee of the NSW Responsible Gambling Fund. Paul is a highly regarded senior public servant and has achieved much during his time as Deputy Secretary, including positioning L&GNSW as
an internationally leading regulator. Paul is looking forward to the next phase in his career, including options to continue to advance regulatory policy and practice and contribute to public service leadership. From Monday 1 July, Rose Webb, Deputy Secretary of the Better Regulation Division in the Department of Customer Service, will have responsibility for Liquor, Gaming & Racing. The Executive Director roles have also been consolidated. Natasha Mann, currently the Executive Director for Regulatory Policy & Strategy will become the Executive Director of Liquor, Gaming & Racing from 1 July. Charlie Dowsett, currently the Executive Director of Regulatory Operations, will remain until 1 July.
Germany’s beer purity law Five hundred years ago, in April 1516, Germany introduced a Beer Purity Law under which beer can only be made from water, malt and hops. Known as the Reinheitsgebot or “purity order”, it was originally brought into effect in Bavaria for health and economic reasons. From a health perspective, it was designed to stop the use of herbs, some of them poisonous, in brewing. Economically its restricted brewing to barley, so that
mga.asn.au | June 2019 | Edition 4
there was enough wheat and rye in the nation to produce bread. Germans, it could be argued, were the original hipsters, craft beer makers well before their time. To this day some believe German beer tastes different and cleaner than that produced in the rest of the world due to the restricted ingredients, which forces producers to search for only the highest quality water, malt and hops.
By comparison Australia, where Captain James Cook is said to have introduced beer to “preserve water”, permits additives such as antioxidants, colouring and flavouring agents, foam stabilisers and preservatives. While Germany’s Beer Purity Law was slightly amended at the end of the 19th century to also allow yeast, this strict law, one of the oldest food regulations in the world, still stands today.
