IN AN audacious bid to curb underage drinking, local pubs and clubs are banding together to fire the message to grogged-up kids that it’s not okay.
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Local watering holes have adopted a bold – and arguably controversial – policy of “banned from one, banned from all” in an unprecedented crackdown on underage drinking.
Venues caught with underage kids drinking face a fine of tens of thousands of dollars – a price tag so expensive it could send them out of business – so it is little wonder they have taken radical steps to avoid it.
Gunnedah Liquor Accord has followed the lead of its Tamworth counterparts by approving measures to ban those under 18 years of age caught drinking in licensed premises until their 19th birthday.
Not only will they be banned from the place they were caught, but from all licensed venues.
It will mean kids will be prohibited from any licensed venue in Gunnedah – including restaurants with their parents – until they are 19. While the decision is likely to be criticised as being too harsh, the reality of kids drinking illegally is a problem that needs addressing.
The bottom line is, kids full of alcohol aren’t themselves. They become over confident and are lulled into a false sense of invincibility. We only need to look at the spike in alcohol-fuelled violence and coward punches in metro areas to realise our country has a drinking problem.
Alcohol remains the most-used drug in Australia and the abuse of it can have a damning impact on communities.
The latest statistics released by NSW Health reveals 70.7 per cent of school students aged between 12 and 17 in the Hunter New England health district have consumed alcohol.
With fines for venues caught with minors drinking amounting to up to $33,000 and with the state government allowed to close the venue for up to 28 days, the accord has rightfully chosen to take a no-risk approach.
Newly-elected Tamworth and District Liquor Accord chair and Albert Hotel publican Nick Weir said the bans were already in place in many CBD venues, but called on all pubs to rally behind it.
Wrongly or rightly, alcohol plays a huge role in Australian culture. But it’s the abuse of it – those underage and those who over-consume – that is causing real problems. A blanket ban for kids caught underage drinking is a step in the right direction.