Australia: Calls for drinking age to be raised to 21

[wprime]

Australia has a problem with drinking. There's a nasty drunk, punch happy culture developing. There's huge problems with young people drinking and assaulting each other. Young Adults are dying in the streets.

I'm an Aussie, I split my time between OZ and Thailand.

Also, I'm not saying that that I agree or disagree with the 'push' to raise the legal drinking age to 21 but neverdie nailed it with his opening line ...

Australia has a problem with drinking. There's a nasty drunk, punch happy culture developing. There's huge problems with young people drinking and assaulting each other. Young Adults are dying in the streets.

I hang my head in same as a proud aussie that every word above rings true.

Plus, it's crossed the gender line with often the females being amongst the worst offenders.

Sad fact that it is.

As sad as it is I fail to see the connection with the drinking age other than one recent young adult victim. Are they trying to argue that people between the age of 18-21 are unaware that there is a 1 in 10^7 chance of being the victim of an unprovoked attack?

[xerostar]

I agree with Neverdie.

A major part of the problem is this generation of drinkers (teenagers included) are becoming parents themselves.

The culture now appears to accept not only alcohol but all manner of recreational drugs which mess with the brain.

The result is that you have children being born with varying degrees of fetal alcohol syndrome disorder or drug related abnormalities.

When these children begin drinking before maturity, the whole cycle begins again only with much worse outcomes - as we have seen on a daily basis.

I believe this cycle needs to be broken somehow.

Raising the drinking age may be just one way to make people aware of the serious nature of the problem.

[lucjoker]

wow ,a raise of 10 years ! up to 21 y !

First they tried to block alcohol selling DURING school hours,lol,when the children were in school lol,how effective?

Now the children can not drink alcohol ?

So they will 1/ ignore it 2/ switch to ya ba ...or probably do 1 and 2 together?

What they will not try is :education or good example (whole family drinks,litter their own floor,drive without helmets,swear,fight (like in the soaps)..........

How do we expect children to know what is normal ???????

Mixed thai-farang families might be the first step to rise out of this medieval spiral?

[RickBradford]

This is the classic type of law that politicians pass, to try and disguise their own responsibility for the increasing mayhem in society.

They dress it up as 'concern for the young', so as to deflect attention from all the things they have done to encourage fecklessness, irresponsibility and immaturity among the young.

In a few years' time, they'll have to bump the drinking age up to 25 to keep pace with the next generation's follies.

[Gandtee]

Funny that, as in Germany people can legally from a much younger age but the "sport" of king hitting is pretty rare.

As soldier In 1952 I was stationed in Germany. Heading back to camp one night I was joined by two German blokes who stepped alongside me..I knew their faces as days earlier they had threatened one of my mates for going out with a German girl.I was a bit wary as I thought that they might be setting me up. Approaching us on the pavement was a man accompanying a woman. As we passed them, for no apparent reason one of the two men punched the man in the face,dropping him instantly. And we continued on with both of them laughing and myself waiting for my turn to be attacked. Fortunately I wasn't and consider myself lucky. Why I wonder does anyone get a kick out of attacking an unsuspecting victim? I don't think alcohol was the reason for this attack.

[Rorri]

hanno, on 12 May 2014 - 16:55, said:

Gawd, soon people in Oz will just be packed into cotton wool and everything remotely fun will be illegal. They can still join the army at 18 though I guess.

The fact that they can join the army, and die for their country, is why the age was lowered from 21 to 18, this was during the Vietnam conflict. Personally, as I am much older, I think they should make it higher...lol

[neverdie]

Oh come on neverdie, what makes you such an expert? Yes, I agree that some people can't hold their alcohol. Some are just going to cause trouble no matter what happens. That is just a small portion of the population. Yes, I understand what you are trying to say, in your narrow viewpoint, but not everyone who drinks at a young age is going to rape or beat up on people. I have seen older guys get intoxicated and take out their frustrations on a nearby passerby as well.

Hi Sevenseconds,

Luv your handle, hasn't got anything to do with your sexual prowess, has it? If not, maybe you could lend it to MRTOAD, his misses mentioned something to me recently.

SERIOUSLY, tho, at the risk of sounding like a nob, I can tell you that in any Australian court, at any level (& Ive given evidence all the way to the Supreme Court level, I am class (or was) considered an expert in relation to some aspects of Alcohol, for other aspects I would use a pharmacologist to prove certain points. On this subject, I can assure you 23 years of Street Policing gives me at least some credibility on the subject.

Mate, I don't have all the answers, I'm not sure anyone has them, BUT most people and many in the field will recognise the need to address the 'alcohol related' problems within Australia. I will say the problems have reached epidemic proportions, the reality is scarey.

Irregardless of what age the limit is set at, there will always be those that can get their hands on alcohol. The problem needs to be dealt with from many angles and there's a lot opportunity to get it right. The industry has come along way in recent years with the 'Responsible Service of alcohol' laws and the training and regulation within licensed premises......But a whole lot more needs to be done.

I certainly agree that not everyone turns into a monster after consuming the substance but the overall statistic AS WELL AS the reality of what happening looks really poor. Not acceptable in my eyes.

I do believe, in the correct environment, proper education with alcohol needs to start at home and of course many decent parents would be the best ones to monitor and judge when's best for the individual child to start experimenting. When you move from that realm out into the world where the rest of the people gather, that's when we need to examine what is and what isn't socially acceptable. The rules can't be set and applied to individuals, they need to be applied to the majority and in the fairest of ways.

To merely legislate is not the answer but to stand by and allow the current and worsening bloodbath to continue would be a real shame and most certainly not for the greater good of all (society).

I can certainly see why users of Cannabis get so worked up about alcohol.

Anyway, I'm not going to get into an online disagreement over it, if you doubt what I'm saying, head into any major part of Sydney, Melborne, Brisbane, Perth or even Darwin, don't consume any alcohol and just roam around witnessing what's going on. Have a look at the data and statistics about Assaults, domestic violence and other social issues where Police/ambulance personnel take notes regarding alcohol as a contributing factor. Head down and sit in virtually any A & E department on a Friday or Saturday night, you will see a small slice of what I'm on about.

Interestingly, prohibition has worked in some remote Aboriginal Communities. Head out to some of these places and speak with the real elders and the people that worl closely with law enforcement and health department people.

Finally, every person should stop and question their own position in regards to alcohol. If you really MUST ABSOLUTELY have that alcoholic beverage to enjoy yourself (yes, even just one), just ask yourself, why.

I haven't consumed alcohol for years, the smell of virtually any beverage makes me I'll, physically I'll. It gives me flashbacks and I get anxious, but as I say, I've seen a lot and experienced some of the very worse human behaviours and in the majority of circumstances alcohol played a part of that. I accept for every bad case I've experienced, there's multiple examples of people consuming alcohol and not causing any issues but them that's not what gets these issues brought up.

Unfortunately in greater communities we need a balance and at the moment it's out of whack and needs to be adjusted.

Anyhow, it's just really those boof head comments that irk me, people that are either part of the problem or have absolutely no idea about what they are on about. I reakon, it's fair, you want to get plastered, stay at home, don't come into the street. If you want to try your luck out in the community BEHAVE or be subjected to the consequences.

When I was 18, I was mature, making my own way in the world and paying for stuff with my own cash. These days the little baaaastards are at home sponging off their silly parents, bingeing on the weekends and getting into all sorts mischief. How would restricting alcohol for an extra 3 years in the public arena affect the situation is anyone's guess at the moment, but it might just allow a few of them to grow up a little more and maybe some lives will be saved. In the meantime, of the law is passed and under 21s want to consume alcohol, STAY AT HOME, simples.

It's time to wake up Australia, the daily goings on there are a bloody disgrace.

[neverdie]

I would also like to point out that I realise that I'm a cranky old fart and that nobody give a <deleted> about what I think.

I also acknowledge that everyone's entitled to their point of view, but in my view just ignoring the problem isn't the right way to go.

I will shaddup now.

I apologise for all my tops, shocking, these digital keyboards just arnt like the ole manual type writers I would prefer

[smotherb]

Old enough to fight. Old enough to drink.

gee, I got into a fight when I was five, ya think I should have gone out and had a beer to celebrate?

[hanno]

Old enough to fight. Old enough to drink.

gee, I got into a fight when I was five, ya think I should have gone out and had a beer to celebrate?

I think this was more in reference to joining the army.

[coma]

Old enough to fight. Old enough to drink.

gee, I got into a fight when I was five, ya think I should have gone out and had a beer to celebrate?

If you were fighting for your country, then yes.

[kaorop]

Australia is a crushed and agro society these day,

crushed by all the laws and regulations and angry about it

but, here lies the rub,

they have no one single entity to rally against,

hence imo the increase in mindless street violence.

Good idea to bring in more regulations.....lol

[Cats4ever]

Drinking age varied between states. Always been 18 in Victoria, as long as I have been around, and I grew up in a pub. Was 21 in Qld. Fortunately I always put my age up when asked, back then (opposite now), as a habit from going in to have a bet and that saved me when I was there in 1966. This is brought about by a subset of people, who are usually chasing funding, who think they have discovered the perfect way to live and want us all to share it with them. The violence has grown, maybe because of the use of ice and steroids in conjunction with grog, and the crazy macho bullshit that seems to attract airheads.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Cats4ever

[transam]

The "doooo gooders " should be told,

"It's our brains and are free men to do what we like with them, and hey, you want to fight a war, don't come knocking at my door, I am 20 mate".

[Zumteufel]

Australia has a problem with drinking. There's a nasty drunk, punch happy culture developing. There's huge problems with young people drinking and assaulting each other. Young Adults are dying in the streets.

Nobody is coming up with these ideas through boredom.

The issue is being addressed from all sorts of angles.

I support the raising of this age.

Some people need to grow up a little bit before they take substances that reduce their maturity. Kids just arnt the same anymore, all started around around the same time the do gooders started moaning about letting kids get away with what ever they wanted.

Try Policing some of these issues first hand before running off at the mouth or keyboard. I've been there, seen what's happening and the situation is not improving.

I personally doubt that raising the age will help solving the real problems. Alcohol abuse and violent behaviour is a symptom, and the root cause needs to be fixed. People will find alcohol or other substances easily no matter what.

[neverdie]

Australia has a problem with drinking. There's a nasty drunk, punch happy culture developing. There's huge problems with young people drinking and assaulting each other. Young Adults are dying in the streets.

Nobody is coming up with these ideas through boredom.

The issue is being addressed from all sorts of angles.

I support the raising of this age.

Some people need to grow up a little bit before they take substances that reduce their maturity. Kids just arnt the same anymore, all started around around the same time the do gooders started moaning about letting kids get away with what ever they wanted.

Try Policing some of these issues first hand before running off at the mouth or keyboard. I've been there, seen what's happening and the situation is not improving.

I personally doubt that raising the age will help solving the real problems. Alcohol abuse and violent behaviour is a symptom, and the root cause needs to be fixed. People will find alcohol or other substances easily no matter what.

Zum,

I respect your opinion. Tell me, what do you think will work?

If people can speak up and state what won't work, how bout they come up with a few suggestions about what might work.

I think most reasonable people would agree that the Australians need a multiple-pronged approach to fixing the situation. How do they go about that.

I suspect most people would agree that 'education' is one approach, what's next?

I believe the alcohol supply laws need to be adjusted/tweaked. Surely you have some suggestions?

[Calach]

Society has to protect people from themselves so that everyone can have the chance to die old and healthy, of boredom.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Calach

[gawaterman]

Australia has a problem with drinking. There's a nasty drunk, punch happy culture developing. There's huge problems with young people drinking and assaulting each other. Young Adults are dying in the streets.

Nobody is coming up with these ideas through boredom.

The issue is being addressed from all sorts of angles.

I support the raising of this age.

Some people need to grow up a little bit before they take substances that reduce their maturity. Kids just arnt the same anymore, all started around around the same time the do gooders started moaning about letting kids get away with what ever they wanted.

Try Policing some of these issues first hand before running off at the mouth or keyboard. I've been there, seen what's happening and the situation is not improving.

Agree with you neverdie, but also know that it will never happen, the hotel/alcohol lobby is far too strong to let it happen.

Plus the amount of revenue the government collects in tax!

Edited May 14, 2014 by gawaterman

[hanno]

I believe one of the leading causes of death in young males are accidents. Thus, I suggest to raise the legal driving age to 35. Wait, let's ban cars altogether. And ban access to beaches so people don't drown or get gobbled up by Great Whites. And all outdoor activities should be illegal to reduce the risk of skin cancer......

[geriatrickid]

How is it that one doesn't see quite the extent of the problems in other similar countries? In Canada, the drinking age is 18-19 depending upon the province and in much of Continental Europe it can it is 14-16 for beer and wine, and 18 for spirits. Perhaps it has to do with culture and education. Raising the drinking age won't have the impact expected. It's a quick fix like putting duct tape over a leak in a pipe. The pipe will still leak. Australians have to grow up and deal with their problems in the home first. It's not a nice thing to say, but the ill discipline, the violence and the nastiness starts at home. It is easy to blame it on TV, movies, schools, etc. Unfortunately, if Australians don't have the courage and resolve to examine the root causes of why a large segment of the population are savages, the change in drinking age won't change a thing. In the meantime, people will continue the trend of avoiding Australian tourists because of their tendency to misbehave. It's a shame because when I was first in Thailand, the Australians were the best people to have around because they always had your back. Very strange that in the short period of 15-20 years, it all changed. Is Australian society falling apart that fast. I hope not. Or maybe, the old mechanisms of dealing with idiots have been abandoned. There was a time when you mouthed off to a cop you got a smack. If you caused a disturbance in a bar or club, the bouncer and patrons taught you some manners. Now, everyone has to be treated with kid gloves, lest their feelings be bruised.

[neverdie]

How is it that one doesn't see quite the extent of the problems in other similar countries? In Canada, the drinking age is 18-19 depending upon the province and in much of Continental Europe it can it is 14-16 for beer and wine, and 18 for spirits. Perhaps it has to do with culture and education. Raising the drinking age won't have the impact expected. It's a quick fix like putting duct tape over a leak in a pipe. The pipe will still leak. Australians have to grow up and deal with their problems in the home first. It's not a nice thing to say, but the ill discipline, the violence and the nastiness starts at home. It is easy to blame it on TV, movies, schools, etc. Unfortunately, if Australians don't have the courage and resolve to examine the root causes of why a large segment of the population are savages, the change in drinking age won't change a thing. In the meantime, people will continue the trend of avoiding Australian tourists because of their tendency to misbehave. It's a shame because when I was first in Thailand, the Australians were the best people to have around because they always had your back. Very strange that in the short period of 15-20 years, it all changed. Is Australian society falling apart that fast. I hope not. Or maybe, the old mechanisms of dealing with idiots have been abandoned. There was a time when you mouthed off to a cop you got a smack. If you caused a disturbance in a bar or club, the bouncer and patrons taught you some manners. Now, everyone has to be treated with kid gloves, lest their feelings be bruised.

Boy o boy, you nailed this one 98% on the head, almost like your finger was right in the pulse.

I can't hit like, I'm out of credits, but cheers !

[hanno]

There was a time when you mouthed off to a cop you got a smack. If you caused a disturbance in a bar or club, the bouncer and patrons taught you some manners. Now, everyone has to be treated with kid gloves, lest their feelings be bruised.

This.

[GOLDBUGGY]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Gawd, soon people in Oz will just be packed into cotton wool and everything remotely fun will be illegal. They can still join the army at 18 though I guess.

Agreed!

If you are old enough to choose (or in some cases not choose) to fight and die for your country at age 18, work, get married, raise a family, and vote, you are certainly old enough to drink!

I wish these "Do -Good-Errs" would get a life and go to Africa were they really can do some good. That is instead of crap like this or chasing everyone else around who has a cigarette in his hand, and preaching the harm of second hand smoke. I never knew anyone personally who died from second hand smoke or was an automatic alcoholic or a lunatic all because he started drinking at age 18.

I just wish these people would stop trying to protect me with this crap and a whole bunch of new sets of rules to enforce on us. Just another load of crap and another step back on personal rights and freedom with young adults losing the right to have a cold beer after a hard day at work only because he is just 20 years old.

[smotherb]

Old enough to fight. Old enough to drink.

gee, I got into a fight when I was five, ya think I should have gone out and had a beer to celebrate?

If you were fighting for your country, then yes.

Actually, I was. This German boy and I had an argument over whose toys were best.

However, I was just stirring the pot. I do not disagree with the notion; if you are old enough to serve in war, you should be old enough to both drink and vote. In fact, the US military used to serve 3.2% alcohol beer to its underage troops to circumvent any state law that said 21 was the minimum drinking age. And, in Washington, D.C., the drinking age for beer and wine has been 18 for many years.

[neverdie]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Gawd, soon people in Oz will just be packed into cotton wool and everything remotely fun will be illegal. They can still join the army at 18 though I guess.

Agreed!

If you are old enough to choose (or in some cases not choose) to fight and die for your country at age 18, work, get married, raise a family, and vote, you are certainly old enough to drink!

I wish these "Do -Good-Errs" would get a life and go to Africa were they really can do some good. That is instead of crap like this or chasing everyone else around who has a cigarette in his hand, and preaching the harm of second hand smoke. I never knew anyone personally who died from second hand smoke or was an automatic alcoholic or a lunatic all because he started drinking at age 18.

I just wish these people would stop trying to protect me with this crap and a whole bunch of new sets of rules to enforce on us. Just another load of crap and another step back on personal rights and freedom with young adults losing the right to have a cold beer after a hard day at work only because he is just 20 years old.

That's just the thing, if only people just had a beer or two after a hard days work. There wouldn't be a problem. You go on about do gooders but you fail to recognise 'the problem' and would just rather go off on a tangent about do gooders, second hand smoke and so forth.

Obviously you don't give a rats about young people being slaughtered in the streets and other alcohol fuelled violence amoungst young people. Perhaps there's been no victim close to you, people like you need a sniff at that side if the fence, perhaps.

There's a chance you've yet failed to recognise the damage done by the doo gooders several years back that has somehow transformed the easy going young people of yesteryear into the little mongrels that now roam the streets, after dark.

Again, there's no shortage of people going on in this thread about WHAT WONT WORK, but they don't offer solutions.

Makes you wonder? Anyway, wouldn't want to hold you up from your next cold one.

PS: Regarding the smoking thing, had it ever dawned on you that people might not like you smoking in their vicinity because it stinks, irregardless of health effects. It's hard to escape these days, walking down the street and some grub is exhaling that &lt;deleted&gt; Everywhere. Imagine if I just stopped in the street and took a dump in your direct line. You may not be aware but there is new legislation being considered for Melbourne CBD, Victoria ATM, that would totally prohibit people from smoking in the street & about time IMO.

Edited May 15, 2014 by neverdie

[coma]

Old enough to fight. Old enough to drink.

gee, I got into a fight when I was five, ya think I should have gone out and had a beer to celebrate?

If you were fighting for your country, then yes.

Actually, I was. This German boy and I had an argument over whose toys were best.

However, I was just stirring the pot. I do not disagree with the notion; if you are old enough to serve in war, you should be old enough to both drink and vote. In fact, the US military used to serve 3.2% alcohol beer to its underage troops to circumvent any state law that said 21 was the minimum drinking age. And, in Washington, D.C., the drinking age for beer and wine has been 18 for many years.

I hope you won that fight.

[stevecm]

Gawd, soon people in Oz will just be packed into cotton wool and everything remotely fun will be illegal. They can still join the army at 18 though I guess.

16 and 9 Months with parents permission if they are trouble at school

Sent from my HUAWEI G510-0251 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[tw25rw]

Why not just raise the price and reduce the amount of alcohol in a measure of drink?

Sent from my GT-P6800 using Thaivisa Connect App

Or raise he price per unit of alcohol so they pay the same amount of levy for drinking a lot of beer or a smaller amount of spirit.

Many people think they aren't having a good time if they aren't off their faces. They need to be educated out of this way of thinking. The British are similar.

[Scott]

Troll post removed.

[Old Croc]

The drinking age was 21 when I turned 18.

Everyone I knew started drinking at about 17-18, grog could always be procured. We used to get pissed at home or in the car before going into the dances (stomps!) where we chased girlies with the help of Dutch courage. Very rarely did anyone get into a fight and they always amounted to nothing.

I was done for underage drinking 3 times in those years. I was variously warned, fined and had to attend a lecture and watch a gruesome road accident film. I considered it all to be a childish imposition, as I had moved out of home by that time and considered myself an adult. It certainly didn't change anything.

You could make the drinking age 21, 52 or bring in prohibition. People will still booze when they, and their peers, decide to.

I used to live near a park and regularly saw gangs of kids, some not even in their teens, completely rotten on their parents stolen spirit supplies. Raising the legal age to 21 wouldn't make any difference to them.

The violence situation, while fuelled by grog, really reflects more deep seated problems. Perhaps something to do with the much mentioned, stifling, nanny state Australia has become. Something rare in parts of Europe

And, for the holier than thou Poms who never miss a chance to bag Australians, I've seen Police reality shows filmed on the streets of places like Bristol, when the clubs empty out. Your youth are as drunk, violent and pathetic as any from other countries.