From the Press Gallery: The first regular sitting of the House of Representatives for 2026 commenced last week so I rode down to Canberra to see what was happening. It was the same day mortgage payments went up for many Australians. Not because of government spending. Oh no. Because of private sector demand increasing. Even though this was factored into last year’s budget, but that’s another story. Basically it was your fault.

Question time ended and my article was already up, so I thought I’d go back to the gallery in the House and see if anything interesting was going on. It was after five, I was the only one there, and the House was sparsely populated. The Teals and Co were moving a motion about the ‘attempted bombing in Boorloo’.

I wondered almost audibly, where the hell is Boorloo? Perth. It’s Perth. The motion was about the failed attempt by an idiot who allegedly threw an explosive device into an ‘Invasion Day’ rally. In Perth.

The motion was passed (with Boorloo in the title) and no division was required. The Teals and Co congratulated themselves then left the House.

There were four people in the House. Barnaby Joyce rose to speak.

The issue being debated was the Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025. In plain language, it was about how much money the government should get from you every time you buy a beer at a pub.

Mr Joyce (who humbly insisted to me today that ‘Barnaby’ was fine), rose and began by quoting Slim Dusty:

‘There’s nothing so lonesome, morbid or drear, than to stand in the bar of a pub with no beer.’

He went on to say that Parliament should ensure that the excise on draught beer should not force people to stay at home instead of being with their communities. Patrons in my local area have bitterly observed the price increases of late.

His work ethic is notable. One of the problems with almost every workplace in Australia is that they flog the willing horse, turn it over and flog it again, then take all the credit.

Last night, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted on Facebook:

‘We have frozen the excise on draft beer for two years ?’

I immediately thought, hang on a minute! The only person who was making the point about the issue of the alcohol excise was Barnaby. I didn’t see Albo lifting a finger. Yet here he was claiming the glory.

I was so annoyed by this I contacted Mr Joyce’s (Barnaby’s) staff with some questions about the beer excise as he had outlined in his speech last week. Last night an appointment was made, and I rode off to Canberra to meet with Mr Joyce.

On the way in, I followed two of the M2A2 105mm Howitzer ceremonial guns used for formal gun salutes in tow. I was fortunate enough to conduct a 19-gun salute for the Prime Minister of Ireland in 1994 as the Gun Position Officer of the 105th Field Battery on the forecourt of Parliament House.

(For a highly strung artillery young officer in a highly strung corps needing to get everything right in a highly strung environment, I knew it must be for the President of Israel and I was relieved that it wasn’t me commanding the gun salute this time.)

I arrived at Mr Joyce’s office just as the bells were ringing for a division. I was happy about this because I was running a minute late. Gunner time remains an important value. If you get it wrong, well. They don’t call we gunners ‘dropshorts’ for nothing.

Mr Joyce arrived and I backgrounded him on how I’d heard his speech from the gallery. I wanted to hear his views on the alcohol excise and the role he’d played in bringing about the freeze on the excise for the next two years.

‘Were you instrumental?’ I asked.

‘No, I played my part’, he replied.

Mr Joyce explained that One Nation has a policy to abolish the excise on alcohol served at venues. This would not be extended to bottleshops. The idea is about keeping pubs at the centre of community. Mr Joyce reinforced that this is particularly important in one-pub towns in regional and rural Australia.

Mr Joyce argued that increasing prices on draught beer forced people to drink at home. This creates problems with unregulated drinking.

Mr Joyce stated that it also creates ‘second tier problems’.

He argued that Al Capone wouldn’t have existed if it wasn’t for prohibition. As a domestic example, Australia imposes some of the world’s highest tobacco excise duties. The ‘second tier’ problems include a growing black market for tobacco, effectively creating little Al Capones. Smokers who feel ripped off by the government will then morally justify purchasing tobacco illegally.

In my opinion, this is not an isolated problem. We’ve seen a similar rise in antisemitism as the actions of radical protesters have been protected by ideas about ‘free speech’. Like the black market for tobacco, the slippery slope of ‘second tier’ effects (what political scientists call ‘perverse outcomes’) of poor governance creates problems that are difficult to solve.

Mr Joyce spoke about how local pubs are the local social club. They’re at the heart of the football club, the cricket club, the community healthcare centre, the Rural Fire Service, the camp draft club, the gymkhana club. Essentially, the ‘focal point’ of the community.

Mr Joyce also said that local bartenders played an important role in building a sense of community. He stated that the only person some people spoke to regularly was the local bartender.

When I returned home to my one-pub village, I paid a visit to my local barman, Bill. I told Bill about my meeting and put Barnaby to the pub test. I mentioned to Bill how Mr Joyce had said that the local bartender was an important part of the community and played many roles:

‘Haha, local psychiatrist!’ said Bill.

I hadn’t even mentioned that Mr Joyce had said something similar. Bill said that he agreed with Mr Joyce’s assessment of local pubs, particularly in one-pub towns like ours.

I knew our local had absorbed one of the recent beer excise increases to help keep the price of a schooner affordable. Bill told me that our local had actually absorbed several of the biennial excise increases over the years. Our local publicans are a major part of the community, and the Friday raffles bring together many local community groups and small businesses who donate prizes to support local initiatives.

Mr Joyce said that most politicians had no idea how an affordable beer was a social good. This echoes the origins of public bars rather than the infamous gin houses in Britain back in the day. Mr Joyce noted that many pubs were going broke because the beer excise was making it unaffordable to drink at the local pub. Anyone in a regional area knows this is true.

Most importantly, Mr Joyce said that killing off pubs was yet another example of how Australians actually want to live but this lifestyle is ‘going away because of government policy’. I couldn’t agree more.

After my formal questions ended, I mentioned the ceremonial guns and my time in the artillery. Mr Joyce told me a few stories about his great-grandfather and grandfather who both served in the artillery. His great-grandfather was a decorated soldier who served in the first world war at Gallipoli and then in the second world war. My great-grandfather did the same, but he was too young to be an original Anzac.

Mr Joyce served in the Reserve Infantry in Queensland, continuing his family tradition as my son and I have done ours. After witnessing his work ethic, I was not surprised to learn that Mr Joyce has worn our country’s uniform.

On the way to my motorbike after leaving Mr Joyce’s office, I froze while a Senator wearing a keffiyeh walked past me. As I rode out of the Senate carpark, I noticed several people walking by wearing keffiyehs. The Australian Federal Police were everywhere.

A person in all black with a black mask wearing a keffiyeh and hunched over a megaphone next to a Palestinian flag stood at the entrance to Parliament House. I turned off my air-cooled bike as the Israeli President’s cavalcade drove past on the other side of King’s Avenue. He received a 21-gun salute as is appropriate for a head of state.

On the ride home I took my scrambler via Murrumbateman, to Yass River and onto the gravel at Elm Road, less than 50 kilometres from our national capital. As I passed shearing sheds and paddocks of Black Angus cattle, I pondered the plight of my country that I love dearly.

Back home and at my local watering hole, it was good to enjoy a schooner of Resch’s Draught. My first ever beer was a Resch’s Dinner Ale back in the day. It’s what my veteran grandfather drank.

Bill my local barman confirmed that Barnaby passed the pub test. If only my mate and local legend Duncan was there, it would have been good to have a beer with him while we still can.

Dr Michael de Percy @FlaneurPolitiq is the Spectator Australia’s Canberra Press Gallery Correspondent. If you would like to support his writing, or read more of Michael, please visit his website.