SAVE OUR STREETS: Real Action on Alcohol Now

Communities across New South Wales are becoming increasingly concerned about the alcohol harms that impact their local communities, and disappointed by the O’Farrell Government’s failure to step up and effectively address the issue.

We are not talking about a few dissenting voices, but rather an overwhelming majority of NSW adults; 76 per cent in fact, who believe more needs to be done to reduce alcohol harms.

Tired of waiting for the Government to act, communities across the State have attempted to participate and influence the current licensing regime and rightly so.

Communities should be able to raise concerns about a pub, club, bar or bottle shop applying to trade at the end of their street and they should be able to raise concerns about the operation of established venues and the behaviour of their clientele.

Not only should communities have the ability to raise these concerns. They should also expect these concerns will be listened to.

Yet in this, communities are also frustrated by a system which does not provide communities with a fighting chance.

We need to even up the playing field between the cashed up alcohol industry and its expensive lawyers and the local community resident, who is justifiably concerned about the impact that a liquor licence will have on their family.

There is a clear and urgent need for institutional support of communities in the battle to combat the harms from the over-supply of alcohol.

There is a need for communities across NSW to have a greater say in decisions made about alcohol licensing in local communities.

To enable this FARE has proposed the establishment of a Community Defenders Office.

A Community Defenders Office would provide people with the information and support they need to navigate the complex system of liquor licensing and regulation. It would provide them with the research and data that they need to support their claims and it would provide them with the opportunity to engage with those who share concerns.

A Community Defenders Office is not a panacea. But it is a start.

Legislative and regulatory reform is also needed to allow for further community engagement and to reduce the far-reaching and devastating harms that alcohol has on our community.

Each year in NSW there are 50,000 alcohol-related hospitalisations, 15,000 non-domestic assaults, 10,000 domestic assaults and 1,200 deaths.

This comes at a cost to the NSW Government of $1.029 billion every year.

This is far too great a toll for the Government and taxpayers to ignore.

Which is why NAAPA has launched the campaign, Save Our Streets; Real Action on Alcohol Now.

The Save our Streets campaign calls on Premier O’Farrell to act now to introduce meaningful changes that will reduce alcohol-related harms.

The Government is currently reviewing the laws relating to alcohol control. There has never been a better opportunity to make the changes that we know will have an impact.

Alcohol control is a complex issue, but it is not a problem without solutions.

Save our Streets calls on the Premier to introduce real solutions; to establish a Community Defenders Office to support communities to engage with the liquor licensing system, change the liquor licensing system to ensure greater engagement of communities in liquor licensing decisions, stop the free ride for liquor licensees by making them pay annual fees for their licenses based on the risk the venue poses to our community, and finally, abolish all 24 hour trading and close late trading licensed venues by 3.00am.

I would encourage you all to participate in this campaign.

Since the launch of NAAPA in December last year we have promoted a consistent message to the Government of NSW that comprehensive evidence-based action is needed to reduce alcohol-related harms.

This message has not changed – and will not change.

As community members, health professionals and police we have had enough. It is time for change.

It is not often that we have the opportunity to influence legislative processes like the current review of the Liquor Act.

I ask you to support NAAPA’s Save Our Streets campaign.

This post was first published by the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association in their online newsletter ‘Nurse Uncut’