EditorialThis week, The Age reported on the impact of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) on Aboriginal communities, while freelance writer, Sue Wighton shared her views about how parents should deal with Schoolies week and alcohol. The Australian covered the Northern Territory Minister for Alcohol Policy Dave Tollner’s response to the draft minimum standards for alcohol management plans announced by federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs Jenny Macklin. The Daily Telegraph reported on compensation claims made by war veterans for alcohol dependence.
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Alcohol abuse is crushing future generations
EVERY Australian should hang their head in shame on hearing how alcohol is permanently damaging Aboriginal children in remote communities. Generations of Aborigines have been soaked in alcohol abuse, leading to alarming rates of violence, neglect, chronic mental illness and premature deaths.
Now we learn that half the eight-year-olds in the Fitzroy Valley in Western Australia’s Kimberley region have foetal alcohol syndrome disorder (FASD). Worse, in the Fitzroy Valley region there are no medical specialists to care for these children or provide support to their parents. There is not even so much as a general practitioner. How does Australia, one of the world’s most prosperous countries, allow this to continue?
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Schoolies offers a lesson in trust
IT’S that time again. For parents, Schoolies represents bucketloads of grog and risk-taking behaviour. They think sex, danger, teenage pregnancy and STDs. And they worry.
What to do about this now entrenched event? How should parents deal with the alcohol issue, especially as this is where the other troubles come from? First, let’s call it what it is underage drinking.
When my daughter was 16, I remember the dilemma of her wanting to attend parties where there was alcohol, mostly supplied by parents. She was curious and, at one stage, was pressuring me to provide her with alcohol to take to these parties.
During this time we talked a lot about alcohol, about values, peer-group pressure, decision-making, legal issues, rights and responsibilities, and about keeping safe. I’m a single parent. I worried. I canvassed other parents, friends and relatives looking for a way through the maze.
Sue Wighton is a Brisbane freelance writer.
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NT minister slams federal ‘prohibition’ on grog
GUIDELINES proposed to allow alcohol back into some indigenous communities under strict federal government conditions have been labelled “out of touch” and designed to prevent drinking altogether.
According to Northern Territory Minister for Alcohol Policy Dave Tollner, the draft minimum standards for alcohol management plans announced by federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs Jenny Macklin yesterday were “simply about prohibition”, which, he said, history showed had failed.
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Vets blame war service for alcoholism
ALCOHOLIC veterans are claiming compensation from taxpayers, blaming war service for their drinking problems.
Official statistics reveal 393 claims for “alcohol dependence” were lodged last financial year, and the Veterans’ Affairs Department approved half.
Alcoholism is the twelfth most common disability for which veterans claimed lump-sum compensation or pension payments last financial year.
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