CLEVER children can still too easily find loopholes to fuel boozy behaviour under the state's lax alcohol home delivery laws and regulation, a leading addiction expert warns.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Deakin University professor Peter Miller, an expert in alcohol-related harm, said it took the death of a man from excessive alcohol consumption for New South Wales to change its home delivery regulations. NSW's liquor and gaming authority introduced mystery shopper-style monitoring to crack down on home deliveries in time for this festive season.
But in Victoria, Professor Miller said a lack of action on liquor reform was creating a lot of harm and potential harm for families and vulnerable people.
Professor Miller said "clever kids" could easily outplay the home delivery system, particularly with contactless delivery and under-pressure delivery drivers.
"We've broken the industry method of telling parents you teach your children to drink responsibly. [Studies worldwide show] parents largely no longer give their children alcohol to drink - although I'm sure there are still some that do," Professor Miller said.
"It is getting harder and harder to enforce regulations. For example, parents might have a night-time job and kids are able to get alcohol delivered."
IN OTHER NEWS
Two months into pandemic lockdowns, The Courier reported almost three in four Victorians received alcohol home deliveries when drunk and one in three did not have age identification checked.
Professor Miller said calling on governments to tighten legislation was not about being a "wowzer" or seeking prohibition, but promoted better protection against alcohol-related harm.
He said society did not talk enough about foetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol causing cancer, genetic predisposition to alcohol addiction or that more than six standard drinks a week created a predisposition to dementia.
"A lot of people don't have a choice," Professor Miller said. "A lot of people are alcohol dependent or suffer the harms of someone who is drinking."
Ballarat Community Health alcohol and other drugs manager Suzanne Powell has previously told The Courier about the issues of alcohol-related role modelling on children, such as using alcohol and other drugs as coping mechanisms that could become learned behaviour over time.
Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education also calls for tighter restrictions on online alcohol sales, such as age verification via digital identification checks and on delivery to prevent alcohol supply to children.
"There are unintended loopholes that mean the common-sense checks and balances we expect as a community are not being upheld online," FARE states.
Ballarat Community Health maintains a full suite of counselling programs, including those for alcohol and other drugs, via phone or video conferencing (if suitable).
Family support services are also available for those concerned about a loved one's drinking behaviour or other drug use.
For Ballarat Community Health services, phone 5338 4500.
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.