There's been a call this week for the Commonwealth Government to raise Australia's legal drinking age from 18 to 21, in a bid to reduce alcohol fuelled deaths and crime. The call comes as teenagers across the nation head off to the traditional party spots for schoolies week, a time that generally results in a lot of binge drinking and social problems. Drug Free Australia executive officer Jo Baxter is one of the voices behind the campaign and she spoke to us this week about the issue.
What do you think about raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21?
Would it be effective or would young people still flout the laws?
Tell us your experience or thoughts in relation to teen drinking.
Comments (1)
Changing the age of drinking will only add to the confused messages young people are already getting. In a community where we can have a baby at 16, but can't get married till we're 18 (without parental consent).
I was drinking at 16 in NZ where the age was 20. The only thing that detures unsupervised kids from drinking is tuff penalties. I aplaud the police for their consentrated efforts this holiday season. The idea of jail is pretty scary for most young people and if we could get more of them in there for a night or two they could then get on with the rest of their lives. Alcohol free.
Alcohol providers should also be put under the spotlight. If I remember correctly the year I left NZ there was a $20,000 on the spot fine police could give to night clubs with underages found in them. This in turn motivated the clubs to offer bounties to patrons who dobbed in these underages. And there were similar penalties given to bottle shops. The culture has to be set from those older, saying "no this isn't O.K!" And in a Godless enviroment money speaks pretty clearly!
Posted by Cara Harris | November 23, 2009 4:12 PM
Posted on November 23, 2009 16:12