youngminii
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- 2009
THE drinking age should be raised to 21 and the price of a standard drink at least doubled if state governments are serious about tackling the problem of alcohol-related violence, a leading criminologist says.
Professor Ross Homel, of Griffith University, yesterday criticised the NSW Government's attempt to reduce pub assaults in Sydney with measures such as a 2am lockout and a proposed pub safety rating system, describing them as ''gimmicks unsupported by scientific evidence''.
He said overseas research had shown overwhelmingly that raising the drinking age, increasing the cost of alcohol and reducing hotel opening hours were the best ways to cut violence.
''If you increase the cost of a schooner in Kings Cross from $5 to $10 there will be a difference in terms of people drinking and a direct impact on all forms of alcohol-related harm,'' said Professor Homel, who is devising a strategy to tackle pub violence.
''It's a similar story [for age]. A number of countries have bitten the bullet and raised the drinking age, particularly for high-alcohol beverages, and seen a reduction alcohol-related harm for that age group and in the tendency of younger people to become heavy drinkers.''
The drinking age in Australia was lowered to 18 from 21 during the Vietnam War on the grounds that if 18-year-olds could be conscripted, they should have the right to vote and drink as well.
Professor Homel said he supported some attempts to cut pub violence in Sydney, such as a freeze on new liquor licences. However, other measures were ''peripheral and marginal''.
''Research into lockouts found there were no long-term effects on assaults or violence at all - as a preventative strategy it is purely symbolic,'' he said.
Rather than focusing simply on assault numbers, Professor Homel examined the physical environment inside pubs and the areas around them in devising a way to reduce violence.
He found that violence and aggression increased with overcrowding, a lack of seating and poor pub layouts that restricted movement of patrons to amenities and exits.
There was also a need for basic training for bar and security staff to focus on managing problem behaviour and aggression, and random visits by police to keep hotel owners and licensees on their toes.
A spokesman for the NSW Gaming and Racing Minister, Kevin Greene, said the Government's liquor laws allowed quick and effective action to be taken against irresponsible licensees and unruly patrons, while allowing venues to be released from restrictions if behaviour improved.
Sauce: Australian drinking age lifted to 21
Dear God NO