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So much is happening on the alcohol front it’s almost impossible to keep up. There is a national alcohol crisis that is affecting all of us, not just a small minority [more..]

Everything we have been working so hard on to date has just been preparation for the upcoming main event. [more..]

Important action required right now to achieve a lowering of blood alcohol levels for drivers. Details of how to come to the Alcohol Causes Violence Conference next Tuesday via the internet. [more..]

The first phase of the alcohol campaign is now over. We couldn't have hoped for a better launch of Alcohol Action NZ. Forty-two meetings involving nearly 5000 people in 30 different towns and cities all came off so smoothly. [more..]

The end of the beginning is in sight. With 40 meetings down and two to go, Alcohol Action NZ will be fully launched by the end of the week. [more..]

This is the final progress note before the launch at the Cutting Edge conference, Te Papa on 10th September. Three things are included: Submissions, Letters to the Editor and Cancer. [more..]

Read a summary and review of the recently released Law Commission's public discussion report "Alcohol in our lives". [more..]

We are now entering the next phase of this national alcohol campaign. This involves a more public stance, building resources for the launch and beyond and engaging in the first set of submissions. [more..]

Mapping of liquor outlets in Manukau City has shown that off licensed premises are located in more deprived areas with greater population density. [more..]

Police warned Christchurch City councillors to back away from plans to ban liquor in public places around the University of Canterbury yesterday. [more..]

Dear Colleague

Progress Note - Let the Show begin

  • Let the Show begin - Tuesday, April 27th at midday
  • 60 Minutes programme - Wednesday, April 21st at 7.30pm
  • Alcohol Causes Violence conference video recordings at www.alcoholaction.co.nz
  • Who is the biggest drug pusher in New Zealand?
  • Postcards to MPs
  • Submissions on the new liquor bill

1. Let the Show begin

Everything we have been working so hard on to date has just been preparation for the upcoming main event.

We now know that the Show begins at midday on April 27th with the public release of the Law Commission's final report of their "first principles" review of the liquor laws. And the signs are looking very favourable. We are expecting the 5+ Solution to be written all over the final report. We look forward particularly to it highlighting the excessive commercialisation of alcohol, the lynch pin to maintaining New Zealand's drinking culture, and ways in which the alcohol industry can be brought under much better control.

There is therefore going to be a very calculated response by an embattled alcohol industry - it could get quite nasty.

But further, the alcohol industry have not been just sitting on their hands wondering what to do in the interim. They have been very active, for many months, lobbying the government behind the scenes.

2. 60 Minutes programme

The backroom lobbying activity of the alcohol industry is likely to be highlighted in an upcoming 60 Minutes programme due to be screened on Wednesday 21st April at 7.30pm. Hon Peter Dunne will be featuring and Alcohol Action NZ is likely to get a mention. It will be well worth watching - tell your friends and colleagues.

3. Alcohol Causes Violence

The Alcohol Causes Violence conference at Te Papa was an amazing success and there are plans for the second Alcohol Action NZ conference at a similar date next year. A video recording of the conference is now available at www.alcoholaction.co.nz. We are detecting already a change in government talk about violence and law & order that assertively includes alcohol as a major driver. Commissioner Howard Broad and Principal Youth Court Judge Becroft have made further strong public and media statements about the primacy of alcohol in causing violent crime and mayhem in New Zealand following the conference.

4. Who is the biggest drug pusher in New Zealand?

You may not have heard about a piece that was published in the Listener (Pacific Wars on the cover) on the role of supermarkets in pushing alcohol. I submitted it with the title "Who is the biggest drug pusher in New Zealand?". They published it as "I'll have some bread, milk and a Class B drug". The unedited version can be found at www.alcoholaction.co.nz under Resources. There is now an ongoing Letters to the Editor discussion on the topic which you may want to contribute to. Go on.

5. Postcards to MPs

We have had a postcard printed featuring the 5+ Solution on one side and ten key appalling alcohol statistics describing "Our Way of Life" on the other designed to send to MPs. If you would like a small or large supply of these please order (free) from: coordinator@alcoholaction.co.nz

6. Submissions on the new liquor bill

We are looking forward to a memorable public submissions process on the new liquor bill around June/July/August. Whether the new liquor bill is limp or courageous, it is essential for all of us to get active in this process, especially giving oral submissions. This is because we know the alcohol industry will be fighting with all its cunning and charm, in either case, to maintain their freedom to generate enormous alcohol profits (tobacco industry all over again). It is not just having the right ideas that counts now, it is how these are presented. A key strength we have is the numbers of concerned ordinary New Zealanders (voters) who want change. Just imagine 5000 of us making written submissions and electing to give them orally to the Committee.

This will be another huge opportunity to present the 5+ Solution that we know would seriously help decrease the dangerous heavy drinking culture. Information can be presented in various ways including personal stories, clinical anecdotes, as well as scientific comment. Take your pick.

Alcohol Action NZ will be actively assisting people with the submissions process, especially first-time submitters. This will include providing personal support for those who want it when giving oral submissions. Start thinking now about what your submission might look like and don't hesitate to make contact.

Don't let the Show end without taking part yourself. We're probably not going to get a chance like this for another 10-20 years. More later.

All the best in the meantime
Doug

Doug Sellman
Professor of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine
Director, National Addiction Centre
Department of Psychological Medicine
University of Otago
Christchurch