Alcoholics Anonymous Reviews

By Any account the Federal Government's controversial alcopops tax appears to have neglected to do what the Government claimed it was all about.

Tackling the culture of binge drinking.

Data released by the Liquor Merchants Association of Australia has shown that the alcopops tax has pushed sales of standard alcohol drinks up by a staggering 21 million.

It confirms what Family First thought would happen all along - that taxing alcopops would simply push people to buy the cheaper spirits and mix them with a soft drink themselves.

What this means is that people are using a spirit high in alcohol content and probably generously adding it to their soft drink.

And that means they're pouring more grog down their throats, not less.

So how does that address binge drinking?

The Government's using the blunt instrument of tax and saying that's how to tackle binge drinking and stop the ensuing violence that we see on our streets - but clearly that blunt instrument is not working.

You only have to walk the streets of Melbourne any given night to see what alcohol abuse is doing to our young people. And at what cost?

Australia is forking out $15.3 billion per year mopping up after alcohol and combating the violence and mayhem that unleashes on to our streets once the grog hits.

Our police force doesn't have the numbers to deal with it, staff at our hospitals spend their night patching up the drunks and the wounded that have assaulted each other after drinking to excess.

Then the binge drinkers wake up the next morning bruised and battered but all ready to go out and drink themselves silly at the next opportunity they get.

It's time to get serious about the scourge of binge drinking and the fallout it causes.

We've tackled our road toll, drug toll and tobacco toll.

Now it's time to tackle Australia's alcohol toll. Here's how to do it.

Put warning labels on alcohol. Tell young people what the effects of binge drinking can do to them.

Give them information to ensure they think before they drink.

Back it up with a solid advertising campaign that encourages a culture of responsible drinking.

There's nothing wrong with enjoying a drink, but it's the difference between drinking responsibly and drinking to excess that we need to address.

Look at advertising of alcohol during sports programs when young people are watching.

Cut it out until after 9pm.

Break the link between boozing and sport.

In a recent survey, 71 per cent of the population agreed that advertising of alcohol products shouldn't be on television until 9.30pm.

Alcohol ads are already restricted from running on TV until after 8.30pm.

But there is a crazy "loophole" that exempts live sport, so alcohol ads can run during the day on weekends and public holidays during sporting programs when young people watch.

There's been lots of talk and debate about this tax but surely now the time has come for it to be put to the Parliament and decisions made.

When the Senate resumes on August 26, Family First will be pressuring the Rudd Government to introduce legislation on the alcopops tax and to explain how it's going to help stop binge drinking.

I'll be meeting Mr Rudd to see what he has to say about our three-point plan to stop the violence, stop the excessive drinking and stop our young people seeking to harm themselves and others by binge drinking.

The Government now faces a challenge in the Senate.

It needs my vote and that of the two other parties who hold balance of power in the Senate.

Whether it gets my vote depends on how committed it is to really tackling this issue, to really addressing Australia's alcohol toll.

If the Rudd Government is fair dinkum about breaking the back of binge drinking, it will implement these key points not just focus on tax dollars.

Steve Fielding is a senator for Family First

Herald Sun