Speakers at an alcohol summit held in Australia say that if the country wants to curb alcohol-related illnesses, it will have to work on changing the culture surrounding alcohol, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Aug. 27.In opening the summit, Premier Bob Carr called on ministers to change a culture that promotes drinking.
"We're not here to stop people drinking, to curb enjoyment, or impose unnecessary regulation on an industry that employs more than 60,000 people in pubs, clubs, and bars alone," said Carr. "But let's ask the questions: 'Is it mateship to let your friend keep drinking when he's clearly already drunk? Is it funny to watch him pick a fight with a passer-by? Is it part of the Australian tradition to watch your mate downing schooner after schooner when you know his wife and kids are afraid of him? What sort of mateship allows a group of girls to go out drinking and do nothing when a friend gets in a car with a stranger who's been drinking?'"
In particular, Carr cited alcohol advertising that seems clearly aimed at young men despite the country's voluntary alcohol-advertising codes.
"If supposedly responsible brewers are running these ads, they clearly have not got the message," Carr said. "I would like to think that the work you and your fellow ministers are doing means that we will not see any more of these ads. They really stand out as antisocial and recklessly irresponsible."
Police Commissioner Ken Moroney, who also spoke at the summit, said misuse of alcohol puts a strain on police resources.
"In a four-week period recently in Sydney, it was estimated that over 77 percent of street incidents, including assault, offensive behavior, offensive language, malicious damage, domestic violence, noise complaints, and [drunk] driving, involved alcohol," he said. "In the last calendar year police were called to more than 120,000 incidents of alcohol-related incidents. Alcohol consumption itself is not the issue. This issue is misuse of alcohol."
Opposition Leader John Brogden called for more parental responsibility and a 10 p.m. curfew, while National Party leader Andrew Stoner said a move away from the country's "big-drinking, big-hearted" community is needed.
"Just under the surface of country and coastal communities lies a changing and sorry story," said Stoner. "Many people are becoming trapped in a culture that uses alcohol as its support base. This engenders a sense of hopelessness and despair for its victims."
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