Full-strength Grog at Events Faces Axe in QLD
Full-strength grog faces axe in bid to curb violence | The Courier-Mail.
Well, well. Bligh and her government are looking to ban full-strength booze at major events across the state. I do hope this doesn’t pass. This will ruin the quality of a good time out for thousands of responsible Queenslanders (not that I believe at all that getting plastered is the means to have a good time at all).
The Courier-Mail reports that Queensland already has the toughest alcohol-related legislation in Australia. Maybe it is time for something else to change? NSW recently forced high-risk venues (determined by the number of reported assults per annum) to provide free food and water to patrons, but lock-outs were also brought back to 2am. I’m not sure about you, but I would rather give free food to my guests to keep them happy and enjoying my services at an event instead of removing all full-strength alcohol from my stock, even if a few hours had to be knocked off for new patrons. There must be other ways to solve social problems other than continuously banning things.
I do see a need to curb violence and drug-related incidents in Australia, but I hope that these new laws, should they come into effect, take into account the good behaviour displayed at the majority of events and venues across the state. One quarter of violence in Australia is related to alcohol; what will we blame the other three quarters on? Will televisions and cinemas be next? I’ve just done a “Aussies ban” search on Twitter… sponsorship from alcohol companies, bottled water, Uluru treks, a whole censorship debate rages on… then there’s the national changes to cigarette prices and packaging. It seems we have no imagination when it comes to solving society’s problems. India, for instance (and I love this!), is investigating doubling electricity in rural areas to increase the use of television; in a bid to slow overpopulation. Now that’s creative!
Drinking in Australia has long been part of our culture. From a cosy glass of merlot in front of a crackling fire in the Blue Mountains to a cool beer after a hard day’s work in Mt Isa. We have a long way to go before this is changed. There are a number of other factors that come into violence statistics, not just the crooners down at the local country town pub about to hit “an old mate” one for sleeping with the wrong young lady.
There is no denying that violence, disease and other ailments which gain the attention of governments all have a financial cost to the state. But these bans and tougher laws must stop when they cease to represent the community’s stance, and only that of politicians.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
I agree completely. What annoys me most about the way some things are banned in this country is it appears a vocal minority whips the media into a frenzy over their specific hurt.
I thought the quote in that article from Sarosh Mehta was very interesting. I’ve heard a few opinions, which have to say are quite compelling, that many of the drinking laws these days move the responsibility from the patron to the staff or the venue. Of course if the patron feels less responsibility for their actions they are less controlled.
I can’t say I’ve got any better ideas. However if you’ve already got the toughest alcohol laws in the country and you haven’t fixed the problem then you either have the wrong laws or laws aren’t the answer. I dare say that in almost all situations, including this one, the truth is a mixture of both.
July 20th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
I’m sorry, but I think you’re wrong. We should go so much further and ban alcohol altogether, along with cigarettes. After this, I propose we ban caffeine and ibuprofen, because each have shown to have detrimental effects to health. We should furthermore ban hoodies and ankle socks because both have known connotations with youth gangs and other juvenile crime.
Then I agree we need to ban cinema, or at least some aspects of it. The filth on screens these days is profoundly disturbing, and I believe it is a major cause of depression and altered moods in the youth these days.
While we’re at it, I propose a tiered 10-12 PM curfew for adults from the ages of of 18-25. The minimum legal age to drive should be raised to 21. Children should be kept indoors after dark, and must be supervised by accredited guardians. Not to mention, we should instate a national database of shady characters that have either taken, or been in a photo with a child under the age of 21.
We need to stamp out such virile filth as Atheism, Gothism, and un-Australianism. Crimes against the crown and flag should be punishable by either death or labour camp — such disgusting things as spitting on the sidewalk; loitering for too long at bus stops; or not being Caucasian.
I’m sorry, but your whining pussy-footedness, and inability to think toward the future is offensive. I suspect you’re probably the kind of person who believes in things like “freedom of speech” and “democracy”, and guess what; Australian doesn’t have any of these things. For good reason, so people like you can’t go around the place ruining it.
July 21st, 2009 at 3:28 am
Nice troll, Ash.
July 21st, 2009 at 6:12 pm
I attended the recent ISES Leaders Luncheon where the licensing officials forecast these new laws and I have to say I was impressed with their response to concerns raised by the commercial impact these laws may have on many public events heavily reliant on the active support and participation of the liquor industry. They presented stat’s and research showing that where low rated beer was only on offer – patrons actually consumed more than when the regular strength was available…. not sure if it occured to the official that he had just demonstrated how ineffective this law may well be. Perhaps some of the answers can be found in greater security coverage at these events, responsible service (already in place to a large degree) and the active participation of other patrons on what is acceptable and what isn’t. Oh… and jacking up the prices of drinks so that it becomes a question of quality over quantity… or not.
July 28th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
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July 30th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
plastic cups it is for 70 ‘high-risk’ pubs and clubs…safer but not so greener…