And that secondary supply train just keeps on chugging!

John Gardner, a South Australian liberal backbencher, has introduced a private member's bill to the Lower House, hoping to ban the supply of alcohol to underage people in private homes in South Australia without their parents' consent.

If the bill goes through, South Australia will be in line with New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria (where legislation will be enacted in February 2012).

Mr Gardner said "it will give police an extra tool to be able to shut them (private parties) down and it'll give parents the opportunity to say 'no sorry, I can't serve alcohol to your friends because it's not appropriate'," he said.

"I think fundamentally there's a need for all parents to be the ones having the opportunity to make all decisions regarding their own children's alcohol use."

However, South Australian Health Minister John Hill thinks a little bit differently, claiming that he needs to be convinced the proposed legislation could actually make a difference.

And that’s fair enough – even though most would agree that secondary supply legislation is a policy that just makes sense, we really need to monitor and evaluate the impact that it has.  And rumour has it that the Victorian Government will be evaluating the impact of the change in legislation when it is enacted at the end of this year.

Until next week,

Sarah Jaggard
Community Mobilisation Policy Officer

The Australian Government has released the Tax Forum Discussion Paper which is designed to generate debate in the lead up to the Tax Forum being held on 4 – 5 October 2011 at Parliament House in Canberra.

On page 30 the report mentions alcohol and tobacco taxation.  Despite reporting in last week’s GrogWatch that NAAA has successfully lobbied for alcohol taxation to be on the forum agenda, I have since heard that this won’t be the case.

The US based Marin Institute is now called "Alcohol Justice," the one and only alcohol industry watchdog.

This rebranding of Marin Institute reflects their global mission: To hold the industry accountable for the harm alcohol inflicts upon our many diverse communities.

Alcohol Justice uses research, media and organising to expose the industry's products and practices, and actively advocate for effective policies such as increasing alcohol prices, restricting youth-oriented products, limiting ubiquitous and inappropriate alcohol advertising, and supporting state alcohol control.

Click here to learn more about Alcohol Justice.

Gay drug use must be addressed: Alliance
Star Observer, 27 July 2011
Australia’s peak LGBTI health body has called on the Gillard Government to help address drug and alcohol issues in the LGBTI community following the release of research showing gay, lesbian and bisexual people smoke, drink alcohol and use illicit drugs more frequently than their heterosexual peers.

Binge drinking an increasing problem among WA teenage girls
WA Today, 29 July 2011
Binge drinking among teenage girls is almost equal to that of boys and they tend to incite much of the street violence dealt with in hospitals, the Australian Medical Association says.
Speaking at a forum for the McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth, AMA Professor David Mountain said girls were often worse to handle than the boys because they were so verbal and the driving force behind the males' aggression.

Grog woes so close to home
Northern Territory News, 30 July 2011
We Territorians have a tendency to live happily in our own world, oblivious to much of what is going on elsewhere. And that's because much of what is going on elsewhere is not very nice. One of the most contentious issues in the Territory is the banned drinkers register. Some say it won't work; others say it will work as more and more ugly drunks are added to the list.

Lawyers challenge police alcohol ban powers
The Age, 31 July 2011
Police powers to ban people from licensed venues could be challenged in the Supreme Court after a young woman was excluded for a year from every pub, bottle shop and licensed restaurant in her home town despite not being found guilty of any crime.

Growers at odds with health experts over wine tax
Adelaide Now, 2 August 2011
Changing the tax system for wine will be back on the agenda in Oct when the Federal Government convenes its tax forum. But winemakers say they don't expect any immediate change by the Government from the current Wine Equalisation Tax,  where wine is taxed on its value, to a system which taxes wine on the volume of alcohol.