Page 4572 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 20 November 1991
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solve the problem and how we could reduce their access to that substance. I think that really is the key to the whole issue. Once we find out where the stuff is coming from and prove it - I think most of us know where it is coming from - we can take direct and decisive action to avoid it.
It is not the young people in these cases that we need to come down on like a ton of bricks; it is the people who are providing our young people with this alcohol. That is the issue that we really need to look at. They are the people who should be suffering the full brunt of the law. That is why the inquiry that was recommended is important. The Minister said on page 3:
Now is the time for action.
I could not agree more. But a combination of actions is needed. I suggest that, unless the whole issue is addressed by the Government, these sorts of campaigns will be just window-dressing, because we are not really attacking the root cause of the problem. We will not be finding out where the alcohol is coming from; we will not be seeking to address that problem. All the kits in the world are not going to solve the problem unless we find out and cut off the source of supply to those young people. We all know that binge drinking is having a major effect on the health and welfare of our community.
What is happening now to our young people, and our adults, for that matter, is also going to impact on other parts of the budget. It is going to impact on the health and welfare budget; it is going to affect the youth budget; it is going to affect Mr Connolly's budget in relation to vandalism; it is going to affect Mr Connolly's other budget in relation to corrective services. All these problems are going to be reflected in those budgets. If we do not come to grips with the problem, we are going to cost ourselves much more money in other parts of the budget. By spending some money on really identifying and pinning down the root cause of the problem we may - I believe that it is probably stronger than "may" - we will, be able to reduce the effect on other budgets by seeking to reduce access to alcohol, particularly by those under the age of 18.
MR STEVENSON, by leave: Hector Kinloch mentioned that he and I gave dissenting reports on the Social Policy Committee's inquiry into public behaviour. Our major recommendation or suggestion was that drinking hours or licensing hours in the ACT be restricted. This was similar to the recommendation by the Australian Federal Police at the time. That is one thing that we believe, and many other people believe, would have an immediate and beneficial effect on the problem; yet nothing is done. We go on and on. We hear about more and more criminal injury compensation cases and criminal cases - of people being assaulted - and many of them involve drinking.
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