Neil Donnelly, Suzanne Poynton, Don Weatherburn  6 March 2017

Source:  NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research  
Owning Institution:  Government of New South Wales

Aims: To assess the longer-term effects of the 2014 NSW liquor law reforms on levels of violence in the inner Sydney area.

Method: Interrupted time series models were used to examine the effects of the legislative reforms introduced in January 2014. Police recorded non-domestic assaults were analysed over the period January 2009 and September 2016. Separate analyses were carried out for the Kings Cross Precinct (KXP); the Sydney CBD Entertainment Precinct (CBD); an area contiguous with KXP and CBD called the proximal displacement area (PDA); a group of entertainment areas not far from KXP and CBD called the distal displacement area (DDA) and the rest of NSW.

Results: Following the reforms statistically significant reductions in non-domestic assault incidents occurred in both the Kings Cross (down 49%) and CBD Entertainment Precincts (down 13%). There was evidence of geographical displacement to surrounding areas with increases in non-domestic assault observed in both the PDA (up 12%) and the DDA (up 17%). The reduction in the combined Kings Cross and CBD Precincts (930 fewer non-domestic assaults) was much greater than the increase in the combined proximal and displacement areas (299 more non-domestic assaults).

Conclusion: Restrictions on the availability of alcohol appear to have reduced non-domestic assault in the target Precincts. Continued research is needed to monitor if displacement of these assaults increases further.

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Joint Letter: When Home Is The Most Dangerous Place
When home is the most dangerous place – millions of children are growing up in families with alcohol problems, but society is largely failing them

Making the invisible visible

For too long, these children have remained invisible, left on their own. As their parents cannot provide shelter and often basic support, also society is failing to protect and promote the rights of these children. Without hyperbole, all available evidence shows that the problem is massive:

In the United States, mothers convicted of child abuse are 3 times more likely to be alcoholics and fathers are 10 times more likely to be alcoholics.

• More than 50% of all confirmed abuse reports and 75% of child deaths involve the use of alcohol or other drugs by a parent.
• In the European Union, there are at least 9 million children growing up with alcohol-addicted parents.
• In Australia ca. 1 million children live in households with at least one adult being addicted.
• There are 2.6 million children of school age living with parental alcohol problems in the UK alone.
• The number of children living in homes that are ravaged by alcohol problems sky-rockets considering the countries around the world that are currently not even measuring the issue.

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1 February 2017
Researchers say industry’s lobbying of politicians and involvement in policy discussions obstructing health outcomes

The alcohol industry makes claims to governments that contradict and obfuscate science in an attempt to influence marketing regulations and prevent more stringent controls on products, an Australian study has found.

An author of the paper, Prof Kypros Kypri, said the findings showed that alcohol industry lobbying of politicians and involvement in discussions about policy were the most significant obstacles to evidence-based health.

Researchers led by Deakin University in Geelong reviewed all alcohol industry submissions made to a government review of alcohol marketing regulations. The review focused on the exposure of children to alcohol and the effectiveness of industry self-regulation.

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A Guide for Local Government

Introduction:
The purpose of this guide is to support local governments across the South Metropolitan Health Service (SMHS) area to reduce the harm from alcohol consumption at a local level. The harm that result from alcohol consumption can go beyond alcohol related diseases to a range of social, economic and environmental impacts on the community. This includes alcohol related assaults, injuries, property damage and other forms of anti-social or illegal behaviour. Local governments are becoming more directly involved in managing alcohol related issues and are ideally placed to facilitate a coordinated response in preventing the harm from alcohol consumption.

This guide provides a practical overview on the:

• harm that individuals and communities can experience from alcohol consumption
• role of local government in reducing these harm
• steps required to plan, implement and evaluate harm reduction strategies

strategies that have been shown to reduce harm.

• The guide applies key health promotion principles to:
• ensure all public policies, not just health policies, contribute in some way to improving people’s health
• create social and physical environments that encourage and support health and wellbeing
• develop people’s personal skills and knowledge about their own health and wellbeing
• strengthen communities to support health and wellbeing improvement
• ensure services are effective, efficient and accessible to all and have a stronger role in preventing illness and disease2 .

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But the truth is, middle-aged drinkers are harming ourselves – because one glass of wine rarely stays at one, and our glasses are now so gargantuan that in just two of these buckets, you could easily have downed half your recommended weekly amount. 

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