If further evidence was needed that NSW is in the grip of the liquor industry, look no further than the recent State Government decision concerning liquor restrictions at pubs and clubs.
Recently, police, medical and emergency service workers joined forces in calling on the NSW government to introduce revised alcohol service laws across the state, to reduce the level of alcohol-related violence. These laws include pub 'lock-outs' after 1am (meaning that new patrons are not allowed in, but those already there can stay), closing all pubs at 3am, not serving double-strength shots after 10pm and not serving alcohol 30 minutes before closing.
Similar regulations have seen a 29% reduction in grog-fuelled violence in Newcastle. Certain 'problem' hotels elsewhere are also currently subject to similar restrictions.
Even in the face of a broad coalition of front-line forces and empirical evidence showing that such policies work, the NSW Government has refused to implement similar rules across NSW. In opposing the suggestion, Premier Kristina Kenneally stated that she did not want NSW to be the 'wowser state'.
Perhaps we are the state of drunkenness instead.
Silence from the Liberal-National side of politics on all of this has been deafening. The liquor, clubs and hotel lobby is a powerful one indeed.
Drinking is a matter of personal choice but the effects of over-consumption affect the whole community. As doctors, nurses, ambos and police will tell you, the effects of alcohol are no laughing matter at 2am on a Saturday night. Excessive drinking affects the brain's capacity to make sound personal judgments. Binge drinking amongst teenagers is at endemic proportions. Hospitals and homeless shelters are crammed with people suffering the effects of drink-related injuries, mental problems and illnesses. Many families suffer the effects of drink-related violence and depression.
As a community, we seem more comfortable discussing the problem of crystal meth and ecstasy than having a debate about excessive alcohol consumption. Alcohol is a legal drug of choice for most adult Australians and even Christian leaders have been silent for a long time.
The intersection of personal responsibility and Government regulation is a complex one. There are limits to what Government can do to moderate individual behaviour. But it can be done, witnessed by the combination of measures to stigmatise and reduce smoking.
In the end, political (and community) will to tackle the problem is required. Both are lacking, and disappointingly, little will happen on the political front in the lead-up to the state poll.
