THE holiday season is over, along with boozy lunches by the beach, and, if the Alcohol Reform Bill is passed, cheap alcohol will disappear too.
A Law Commission review of alcohol use has prompted Downtown Community Ministry (DCM) to launch a campaign for submissions to amend the Bill.
“The Bill does not recognize NZ’s need for an increase in treatment options as recommended by the Law Commission,” says DCM Director, Stephanie McIntyre. The DCM Alcohol Action submission proposes that four alcohol-related problems be added to the Bill: cheap alcohol sales and specials, highly normalized and easy access to alcohol, all alcohol advertising and sponsorship along the lines of the previous tobacco reforms, and legal drink driving.
Deflecting binge-drinking problems on to young people is a problem, McIntyre says. Ninety percent of approximately 700,000 heavy drinkers in NZ are older than 20 years old (Wells, Baxter & Schaaf, 2006).
The review concludes that: “it is hard to think of any other lawful product available in our society that contributes so much to so many social ills”.
The submissions deadline, on February 18, comes amidst a month of alcohol evaluation.FebFasters has launched an alcohol-free month campaign throughout February to benefit Wellington charity – He Taumata Toa – Growing Champions, which provides support and activities for at-risk children and people aged from four to 17.
Johnsonville-based National-list MP Katrina Shanks, chef Jo Seager, singer Maisey Rika, radio presenter Jay-Jay Feeney, and Wellington actor Pinky Agnew have agreed to be ambassadors for the campaign by remaining alcohol-free for one month.
Agnew says she is not “giving up”, just “pressing pause”.“It isn’t about giving up drinking forever,” says FebFast coordinator Catherine Milburn. “It’s about giving our bodies a short break after the festive season and raising funds for charities,” she says.Pinky Agnew is happy to be an ambassador for the cause, and her partner Allan Abbott decided to join her. Now, both her nieces have joined in.
“I decided to do it because when they asked me my first reaction was ‘yikes’. And because I had that reaction I realised I should do it. I think we have become very obsessed with the so-called binge drinking culture of the youth but for me the middle-class and my age-group are tippling away slowly and probably drinking just as much as the teenagers we give a talking to.“Drinking has become for me and my partner a staple. We have a glass at night and sometimes two, or three, and it becomes a habit – a blobbing thing. You sit on the sofa and have a glass of wine and there are a lot of things you don’t feel like doing after having a glass of wine – like going for a run or doing yoga. It’s always good to challenge and break habits. You can compare it to smoking – it becomes a habit,” she says.
Instead of gearing up for her upcoming role in Party Girls by cracking open a bottle of wine each night, Agnew will use her sobriety - to exercise, and prepare herself for the shows. “I don’t need any practice to be a party girl, believe me,” she says laughing. “I will be on stage for two hours and will need the stamina. You may hear a popping sound as I lever my bottom off the sofa,” she says laughing.
Agnew has even started her own Facebook page Team Moose Head which added an element of fun to it, she says.“We have cleared the wine rack and concocted recipes for non-alcoholic drinks – our contingency plan is in place. It is good examining how drinking is for me.”
Febfast has been running for several years in Australia but this is the first time it has come to NZ.
Go to www.dcm.org.nz to make a Alcohol Reform Bill submission.