Right: Dr Michael Carr-Gregg is an adolescent psychologist, among whose specialities is youth depression and suicide prevention. He sees today's drinking laws as "a joke".
Arguments supporting the supply of alcohol to minors on private premises
1. Minors whose parents do not allow them to drink are less likely to develop problems with alcoholNew Australian research has found that parents who let their children have even a sip of Christmas champagne could be setting them up for underage drinking. A study of more than 2,000 students has highlighted the strong influence parents have on teenage drinking - and found that underage drinking is widespread. The study involved 2,315 students at 24 Melbourne schools, who were surveyed in Year seven and questioned again one year later. Researchers examined the influence of family factors on whether the teenagers used alcohol during their first year of secondary school, relative to their school, peers and individual influences.
The study found parents who ban their children from using any alcohol at home significantly reduce the risk of creating teenage drinkers.
John Toumbourou, Professor of Psychology at Deakin University, has said the findings are a warning for parents who believe they were doing the right thing by allowing their children to have a sip of alcohol.
Professor Toumbourou has stated, 'Parents totally underestimate the influence they have on their teenager's drinking and the harm they put them in by letting them drink at home. We found that teens were around half as likely to have consumed alcohol by age 13 when their parents said that they did not allow their children to have even a small sip of alcohol at home or at celebrations in the first year of secondary school.'
The study also found that adolescents were more likely to drink if their parents drank regularly or smoked but that firm rules banning alcohol still worked in homes in which parents were regular drinkers or smokers. 'The findings suggest clear directions parents can take to curb the currently alarming rates of teenage alcohol consumption,' Professor Toumbourou said.
2. Parents are supplying alcohol to other people's children
Studies have found that Australian adolescents are most commonly supplied with alcohol by family members or other adults whom they know. Australian Drug Foundation research shows that 30 per cent of Australian children aged between 14 and 17 drink alcohol weekly and 70 per cent get it from friends or relatives.
ABC reporter, Kerry O'Brien, commenting during the 7.30 Report on August 6, 2007, observed, 'One of the problems facing authorities is that teenagers are often supplied with grog at other people's homes, without the knowledge of their parents. That's perfectly legal in all states except New South Wales...'
Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, an adolescent Psychologist, has stated more forcibly, 'The reality is the liquor licensing laws are a joke. Even if you as a parent don't want your child to access alcohol, what tends to happen is they'll go to somebody's place where the parents are serving it to them.'
Mary Gearin, a 7.30 Report reporter has also stated, 'It's a common misconception that there's a legal drinking age in Australia. There isn't. It's illegal for alcohol to be sold to or bought by a minor, but in every state except New South Wales, any adult can give as much alcohol as they like to any child in their care, with or without the knowledge of the child's parents. They can be sued for negligence, but health authorities say a specific law is needed in order to leave no doubt that it's an offence.'
The same situation pertains in the United States. The Century Council is a non-profit American organisation which aims to reduce drunk driving and underage drinking. According to a recent study conducted by the Century Council, 65 percent of underage drinkers get their alcohol from relatives or friends, with only 7 percent of teenagers reported obtaining alcohol from retailers. Illinois and Louisiana, along with 29 other states, still maintain lax laws that allow minors to drink in a private residence as long as a parent or guardian is present. While in 2005, South Dakota's Governor Mike Rounds vetoed legislation that would have allowed prosecutors to convict more easily adults who host parties attended by underage drinkers.
3. Binge drinking is a major health issue for adolescents
On February 25 2008 the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) issued a report which indicated that many Australian families are now routinely faced with a young person with binge drinking problems.
The report comes at the same time as the Australian National Council on Drugs is highlighting research figures which show that in any given week approximately 1 in 10 12 to 17 year olds reported binge drinking/drinking at harmful levels (males were drinking 7 or more drinks on the day and females 5 or more on the day).
The same research indicated that in any given week 1 in 10 15 year olds reported binge drinking/drinking at harmful levels;1 in 5 16 year olds drank at harmful levels; and 1 in 5 17 year olds reported binge drinking/drinking at harmful levels.
The Federal Government's health advisory group, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), has reviewed drinking guidelines. It recommends two standard drinks a day as the maximum alcohol consumption for both men and women.
The new guidelines also say that children under 15 should not drink alcohol at all, and children aged between 15 and 17 should use the same limits as adults, but with parental supervision. Clearly the ANCD's research indicates that large numbers of young people are drinking far more than the recommended alcohol consumption levels.
Professor Jon Currie from the advisory council has stated, 'The figures [for recommended alcohol consumption] are based on analysis of new population evidence and new modelling of what risks are, and they're looking at two sets of risks. One is the risk of accident and injury, and the other is the risk of health diseases which are alcohol-associated.'
Long-term binge drinking can lead to addiction, cancer, liver problems, heart attack and brain injury. Alcohol is the second biggest contributor to chronic disease in Australia, after smoking. Many of these effects are intensified when excessive drinking is begun early in life. Binge drinking can cause alcohol poisoning, which can cause death. While young people, especially young women, are at high risk of abuse, including rape, when they are drunk
In addition there is a strong connection between road trauma and death and alcohol consumption. Further violent and accidental deaths and general injury among young people are also frequently contributed to by alcohol. Young people who are drunk can do very dangerous things, such as reckless driving, swimming (most people over the age of 12 who drown are drunk), and getting involved in fights. In Victoria, alcohol-related emergency department admissions have jumped 35% in five years, while over 3,300 14-17 year olds were hospitalised for alcohol related injury and disease in 1999/2000 in Australia. During the ten years from 1993 to 2002, an estimated 501 under-aged Australian died from injury or disease related to high risk alcohol consumption.
4. Adolescent drinking on private premises can readily get out of control
The Corey Worthington incident in January, 2008, demonstrated the ease with which an adolescent party can get out of control. However, that celebration occurred without the permission of the boy's parents and without adult supervision. Other parties have demonstrated that even events organised and supervised by adults can be disrupted.
On February 16, 2008, more than eight police cars and a dog squad were dispatched to Peridot St, Bayview Heights, Cairns, as more than 500 guests and gatecrashers, many apparently under the influence of alcohol, massed on the street and in neighbours' gardens.
Police dogs were used to disperse hundreds of underage partygoers, some as young as 12, from this16th birthday party. The police were responding to numerous calls from neighbours. One teenager who attended the party said it got out of control after the gatecrashers turned up about 11pm. The Bauer family, who hosted the party for their 16-year-old son, said they had taken extra precautions, informing the police about the party and issuing only 200 wrist bands to invited guests.
Incidents such as this have led police ministers in a variety of jurisdictions to consider banning the supply of alcohol to underage drinkers on private premises. The Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh, has indicated that she would consider penalties for parents who recklessly supplied alcohol at underage parties.
5. Some states and other jurisdictions have already outlawed the supply of alcohol on private premises
Currently the liquor laws in New South Wales make it an offence to supply alcohol to a minor - either free at a private party in a home (for example) or after being asked by a minor to buy alcohol on the young person's behalf. Those who supply the alcohol to the minor are committing a second party sale offence and are liable to a maximum penalty of $5,500 - or $11,000 and/or 12 months prison if (for example) young children or large amounts of alcohol are involved. On-the-spot fines of $550 can also be issued by police. If the New South Wales legislation applied in Queensland a party such as that held by the Bauers in February, where alcohol was supplied to 16-year-old guests, would be illegal.
(There is a partial exemption in New South Wales which makes it a defence to a prosecution of supplying alcohol to a minor, if the defendant is the minor's parent or guardian or if the defendant has been authorised to do so by the minor's parent or guardian. This defence does not apply to the sale or supply of alcohol on licensed or registered club premises.)
The New South Wales government is also looking at extending a program where underage children caught drinking are forced to attend a counselling session with their parents, or face the possibility of a $500 fine.
The program has been operating in Sydney's Sutherland Shire since 1999 and has been extended by police into other Local Area Commands. A spokesman for the New South Wales Police Minister said the government was looking at the program's success to determine if it should, and could, be rolled out to other areas later this year.
Some jurisdictions overseas behave similarly. New Mexico has made it a felony to provide alcohol to minors and has recently increased the jail time those who supply the alcohol can face. Colorado, Florida, and Virginia have all passed laws that suspend the licenses of those who help underage drinkers obtain alcohol from 90 days up to six months. A New Hampshire law imposes penalties for parents who hold graduation or post-prom drinking parties, and California has passed a bill that jails parents who provide alcohol to a minor who is subsequently involved in a car accident.