BACKGROUND
During 1974, the Queensland government changed the drinking age from 21 to 18. Since the early 2000’s, there has been an increase of alcohol-fuelled violence, causing communities to become concerned. This briefing note has been created as requested from the premier to see the viable options to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence. The proposed changes target young adults, as statistics show individuals aged between 15-24 were accountable for 52% of all alcohol related injuries in 2007. It is hypothesised that changing the drinking age will cause the rate of alcohol-fuelled violence to decrease in Queensland. The argument is not based only in Queensland, with other jurisdictions considering a higher legal drinking age as the other implemented strategies, are having a small impact. There have been strategies implemented in Queensland to combat the increase as described in the Liquor Act (1992). This includes removing glass from major venues and implementing the Safe Night Out Strategy. The stakeholders of the issue: young adults, parents, police, health professions, and nightclub owners and security, have mixed opinions on the proposed solutions. Young adults and nightclub owners have displayed anger against the proposed solutions, while the …show more content…
However, the sudden interest in the issue is a result of the media attention brought by the severity of the injuries sustained. According to data collected by the Drink Safe Precinct trial, there has been a significant increase of violence in the Fortitude Valley from 2010 to 2012, with little reduction in other areas of Queensland. The amount of alcohol-fuelled violence has causes communities to feel unsafe when they are around intoxicated patrons. The issue can also be reflected in the increased work amount for government sectors such as health and security, as they have to deal with the problems surrounding violent intoxicated
During 1974, the Queensland government changed the drinking age from 21 to 18. Since the early 2000’s, there has been an increase of alcohol-fuelled violence, causing communities to become concerned. This briefing note has been created as requested from the premier to see the viable options to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence. The proposed changes target young adults, as statistics show individuals aged between 15-24 were accountable for 52% of all alcohol related injuries in 2007. It is hypothesised that changing the drinking age will cause the rate of alcohol-fuelled violence to decrease in Queensland. The argument is not based only in Queensland, with other jurisdictions considering a higher legal drinking age as the other implemented strategies, are having a small impact. There have been strategies implemented in Queensland to combat the increase as described in the Liquor Act (1992). This includes removing glass from major venues and implementing the Safe Night Out Strategy. The stakeholders of the issue: young adults, parents, police, health professions, and nightclub owners and security, have mixed opinions on the proposed solutions. Young adults and nightclub owners have displayed anger against the proposed solutions, while the …show more content…
However, the sudden interest in the issue is a result of the media attention brought by the severity of the injuries sustained. According to data collected by the Drink Safe Precinct trial, there has been a significant increase of violence in the Fortitude Valley from 2010 to 2012, with little reduction in other areas of Queensland. The amount of alcohol-fuelled violence has causes communities to feel unsafe when they are around intoxicated patrons. The issue can also be reflected in the increased work amount for government sectors such as health and security, as they have to deal with the problems surrounding violent intoxicated