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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-03-23 Daily Xml
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ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:48): For many years now, each day in this chamber I have seen the faces of three significant women involved in winning enfranchisement for this state's female population on the tapestry on the other side of the chamber: Catherine Helen Spence, Mary Lee and Elizabeth Webb Nicholls. Each led a full life working for a better world, especially for women.

Debate now rages around limiting the hours when alcohol should be available in Adelaide. Elizabeth Webb Nicholls was involved with the South Australian branch of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union whose members knew the harm that came from substance abuse. They worked to restrict the sale of alcohol, put in place measures to ensure that breadwinners did not drink the entire weekly wage before they went home, helped women who found themselves victims of alcohol induced violence and worked with women who had turned to drink for whatever reason.

During discussions with people in the past 24 hours, several aspects of the debate have been explored, and it is plain to see that alcohol and substance abuse and all forms of addictive behaviours pose a great problem for our community. Australia has an acknowledged problem with youth consumption of alcohol, with binge drinking appearing to be an accepted way of life. From Schoolies Week to university life, it seems the responsible use of alcohol should be part of the curriculum from the very earliest days.

This Friday, many of the 80 clubs and societies at Adelaide University will be involved in pub crawls. For decades now, pub crawls have been embraced by universities all over the country almost as a rite of passage with, perhaps, the most high profile of these claiming to be the biggest in the southern hemisphere in our city—the Adelaide University Engineering Association Pub Crawl.

The AUES coordinates this much anticipated annual event, which will see this year probably almost 2,000 young people participating, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with a theme. In the past, they have been garnered as collectors' items. This year, they will be wearing a T-shirt with the theme 'plaster chef'. I hope that licensed premises across Adelaide will be particularly vigilant about the responsible service of alcohol to participants and, most importantly, that these young people have a safe and enjoyable evening free of alcohol-fuelled violence.

There are many ways we need to encourage and promote the responsible use of alcohol. There are many benefits to be had if we are able to minimise alcohol and substance abuse. According to the March edition of Of Substance, alcohol remains the most common drug for which Australians seek treatment, making up almost half of all drug and alcohol related treatment episodes in the '08-09 year.

I quote from the 10 November report of The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The report represents information on publicly-funded alcohol and other drugs (AOD) treatment services and their clients. It also shows the proportion has risen for four years in a row. Of Substance also highlighted Dr Frances Kay-Lambkin, who received a Young Tall Poppy Science Award in October 2010 for her work on developing the SHADE program (self-help for alcohol/other drug use and depression), which helps to work out treatments for those suffering co-occurring depression and substance abuse problems. The Tall Poppy Award is of particular interest to me because it is associated with the Florey Foundation.

In the time I have left, I would like to put on record some of the effects of the earliest form of substance abuse that humans are exposed to, that is, foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Alcohol consumed by a pregnant woman can harm an unborn baby. FAS includes a range of features seen in some babies exposed to alcohol before birth. Two other terms—foetal alcohol effects (FAE) and alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND)—refer to effects on babies who have some but not all of these features. Research into the number of babies born with FAS varies. Figures range from 0.02 to 2.7 per 1,000 babies born. FAS effects may be more common than this but the exact rate is unknown.

The exact incidence varies from study to study for a number of reasons. While FAS is considered internationally to be the leading preventable cause of intellectual and developmental problems, there is little public awareness of the syndrome in Australia. Parents and doctors may not realise that FAS is the cause of a child's developmental problems.

FAS is hard to isolate because alcohol is often not the only drug consumed during pregnancy. Evidence suggests that a woman who drinks while pregnant is also more likely to smoke cigarettes, use non-prescription and over-the-counter drugs, or take recreational drugs such as cannabis. Like alcohol, these substances cross the placenta and affect a growing baby's development. The affected child may also be diagnosed with other conditions such as autism. Environmental and individual factors contribute to learning and behavioural problems, and alcohol is linked to many of these.

The syndrome appears to occur more often in Indigenous communities. This could be related to drinking patterns, nutrition and environmental factors, and it remains a huge issue in Australia and the reason the Closing the Gap program is so important. Babies severely affected by FAS are at risk of dying before they are born. Current knowledge suggests there is no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, but there is no convincing evidence that a small intake is harmful. Heavy alcohol consumption in the early months of pregnancy is regarded as particularly dangerous.

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