Last month Kings Cross ER: St Vincent’s Hospital won the Most Outstanding Factual Program Logie. From a health awareness perspective, the 10-part series, aired on Foxtel, has proven highly effective in showcasing the extent of alcohol-related injuries.
According to the Australian Education and Rehabilitation Foundation the cost to society of the misuse of alcohol is $36 billion. The damage break down is: One in three people report being negatively affected by someone’s drinking; 20,000 children are victims of alcohol-related abuse; 60 per cent of police call-outs involve alcohol; 20 per cent of Australians drink at risky levels; Males are twice as likely to drink daily as females; One in 8 deaths of people under 25 involves alcohol; 1,200 deaths attributed to alcohol in NSW annually; 51,000 people were admitted to NSW hospitals in 2011-12 for alcohol-related reasons.
The report from the front lines (hospitals, police, street cleaners and residents) is that former premier Barry O’Farrell’s plan to curb alcohol-related violence in Kings Cross works – just as it did in Newcastle. Measures include: no alcohol sales after 3am; a 1am lockout (or “one-way door” where patrons cannot enter a venue after 1.30am); a new risk-based liquor licensing framework; a system of fines for people being drunk or causing trouble on the streets; mandatory sentences for some alcohol-related crime.
While some of these remain contentious, a large body of international evidence shows that stopping the service of late-night alcohol reduces assaults, emergency department attendances and other harms. Peter Miller, Research Fellow at Deakin University, reports the streets of Kings Cross virtually empty after 3.30am and no obvious trouble associated with people going home. Miller’s findings are entirely consistent with the evidence but contrary to much of the hype of those with vested interests.
