Mr ELFERINK - 1999-04-28
Recent reports of antisocial behaviour and other alcohol related issues in the Northern Territory have been some cause for concern. Can the minister advise the latest information on the drinking habits of Territorians from the Living With Alcohol Program?
ANSWER
Excellent question, Mr Speaker. This House, some 10-years ago, had extensive debates about alcohol and the problems it caused to the community, and there was some good work done through parliamentary committees at that time.
The brave step that the House took was to set up the Living With Alcohol Program which cashed up a program that enabled us to trial, invent and plagiarise various strategies and interventions that had worked around the place or that we thought might work here. It was a very important factor when we put that initiative in place that we looked at the capacity to monitor these programs, because hitherto the data had been fairly sketchy. There had been a fair amount of anecdotal and emotional rhetoric accompanying the problems to do with alcohol abuse.
The maxim that AA uses is that you can’t first commence solving a problem unless you admit you have a problem. We have put in a variety of strategies to measure the dimensions of the alcohol problem in the Northern Territory. In 1984, we started with a program that conducted a street intercept survey through the urban centres in the Northern Territory. We wanted the study to elicit information from young people aged 16 to 24 who were no longer at school. Our intention was to look at their attitude to alcohol and their knowledge of the affects of alcohol, and also some assessment of the problems that it might have been causing them.
In March last year, we applied the same methodology to replicate the study and we now have comparative data as to trends in the alcohol area, particularly for young people, and this can act as an adjunct for surveys of other student populations. A total of 330 young people were surveyed in the 4 urban centres of Alice, Tennant, Katherine and Darwin. The report entitled Young People and Substance Use in the Northern Territory 1998 I table for the benefit of members. It has been released in the last day or so to those participant groups in those organisations in the community which deal with alcohol. I can alert members to some of the important findings in there.
The results endorse the continued targeting of young people for alcohol and drug interventions, and in particular it shows that young women are developing harmful patterns of alcohol consumption which are nearing the consumption levels of young men. I admire the principle of women seeking equality with men, but in this particular arena, I wish they were a little less successful.
The patterns of alcohol consumption for males is similar to 1994, and there’s a marked change for female drinking. Fewer young women are drinking at responsible levels and a greater number are engaged in harmful drinking. In addition, the gender gap in substance use appears to be closing, which is consistent with the world-wide trend towards increasing substance use among young women. Unfortunately, young women are placing themselves at greater risk of alcohol-related harm, because women generally have lower tolerance to alcohol than men, and develop alcohol dependencies at lower levels and in a shorter time than males.
Some of the significant findings of the survey are that spirits were the preferred beverage, followed by full-strength beer for males and alcoholic soft drinks for females and under-age drinkers. 51% of under-age drinkers accessed takeaway outlets as their usual source of alcohol, and 82% accessed licensed premises to obtain alcohol. While the majority of people did not view their drinking as problematic, 57% had experienced some type of alcohol-related trouble, which is predominantly fights and arguments. The survey shows that binge drinking is not as prevalent as it was in 1994, but is still common, unfortunately, among males and those aged 18 to 20 years.
The result surveys will be designed to educate people, and to inform interested people, including this House. I can also inform the House that when the parliament put the Living with Alcohol program in place, it had a 10-year life. That life is nearing its end. It is necessary for me as minister, to bring a report back to Cabinet in this parliament, to show how the program may be redesigned, redirected into the future. I would hope to be able to do that over the coming months
ANSWER
Excellent question, Mr Speaker. This House, some 10-years ago, had extensive debates about alcohol and the problems it caused to the community, and there was some good work done through parliamentary committees at that time.
The brave step that the House took was to set up the Living With Alcohol Program which cashed up a program that enabled us to trial, invent and plagiarise various strategies and interventions that had worked around the place or that we thought might work here. It was a very important factor when we put that initiative in place that we looked at the capacity to monitor these programs, because hitherto the data had been fairly sketchy. There had been a fair amount of anecdotal and emotional rhetoric accompanying the problems to do with alcohol abuse.
The maxim that AA uses is that you can’t first commence solving a problem unless you admit you have a problem. We have put in a variety of strategies to measure the dimensions of the alcohol problem in the Northern Territory. In 1984, we started with a program that conducted a street intercept survey through the urban centres in the Northern Territory. We wanted the study to elicit information from young people aged 16 to 24 who were no longer at school. Our intention was to look at their attitude to alcohol and their knowledge of the affects of alcohol, and also some assessment of the problems that it might have been causing them.
In March last year, we applied the same methodology to replicate the study and we now have comparative data as to trends in the alcohol area, particularly for young people, and this can act as an adjunct for surveys of other student populations. A total of 330 young people were surveyed in the 4 urban centres of Alice, Tennant, Katherine and Darwin. The report entitled Young People and Substance Use in the Northern Territory 1998 I table for the benefit of members. It has been released in the last day or so to those participant groups in those organisations in the community which deal with alcohol. I can alert members to some of the important findings in there.
The results endorse the continued targeting of young people for alcohol and drug interventions, and in particular it shows that young women are developing harmful patterns of alcohol consumption which are nearing the consumption levels of young men. I admire the principle of women seeking equality with men, but in this particular arena, I wish they were a little less successful.
The patterns of alcohol consumption for males is similar to 1994, and there’s a marked change for female drinking. Fewer young women are drinking at responsible levels and a greater number are engaged in harmful drinking. In addition, the gender gap in substance use appears to be closing, which is consistent with the world-wide trend towards increasing substance use among young women. Unfortunately, young women are placing themselves at greater risk of alcohol-related harm, because women generally have lower tolerance to alcohol than men, and develop alcohol dependencies at lower levels and in a shorter time than males.
Some of the significant findings of the survey are that spirits were the preferred beverage, followed by full-strength beer for males and alcoholic soft drinks for females and under-age drinkers. 51% of under-age drinkers accessed takeaway outlets as their usual source of alcohol, and 82% accessed licensed premises to obtain alcohol. While the majority of people did not view their drinking as problematic, 57% had experienced some type of alcohol-related trouble, which is predominantly fights and arguments. The survey shows that binge drinking is not as prevalent as it was in 1994, but is still common, unfortunately, among males and those aged 18 to 20 years.
The result surveys will be designed to educate people, and to inform interested people, including this House. I can also inform the House that when the parliament put the Living with Alcohol program in place, it had a 10-year life. That life is nearing its end. It is necessary for me as minister, to bring a report back to Cabinet in this parliament, to show how the program may be redesigned, redirected into the future. I would hope to be able to do that over the coming months
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016