Description

Alcohol abuse has a corrosive effect on individuals and whole communities, increasing violence, abuse, unemployment, debt and ill health. This monograph starts by looking at the harms excessive alcohol consumption can cause, and the impact that heavy drinking has had on Indigenous communities. It then considers the origins of the alcohol problem and some of the unintended consequences of various government polices and interventions. Next, the state’s role in controlling alcohol is discussed. Due to the negative consequences of excessive alcohol consumption, some controls on its use are necessary if a civil society is to be restored and maintained in remote Indigenous communities. But what form those controls should take is open to debate, and options range from total prohibitions to restrictions on the days, hours and strength of alcohol that can be sold. This monograph considers the effectiveness of recent alcohol restrictions in Indigenous communities and frontier towns in the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia.