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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-09-04 Daily Xml
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ALCOHOL-FUELLED VIOLENCE

Mr SIBBONS (Mitchell) (14:40): My question is to the Premier. Can you inform the house about strategies the government is putting in place to curb alcohol-fuelled violence?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:40): I thank the honourable member for his question. The recent spate of alcohol-fuelled episodes is part of a problem which destroys the lives of innocent people, drains the resources from our hospitals and makes people feel unsafe. The message is simple: we cannot go on like this. We need to tackle violence caused by excessive drinking. We have to make violence in our community so unacceptable, so unthinkable, that nobody sees violence as part of a night out.

We have already taken significant steps to help control binge drinking and reduce the number of serious alcohol-related crimes. We have introduced barring orders, which allow licensees and the police to bar offensive or disorderly people, and we have increased the number of managed taxi ranks around our entertainment precincts. We have introduced new laws making it easier for licensed venues to determine whether somebody drinking alcohol is drunk, as well as making it easier for licensees and staff to refuse service on 'reasonable grounds'. We have given licensees and staff the power to remove or refuse entry to people who supply liquor to an intoxicated person on licensed premises.

These are some of the strategies that we have put in place so that people can go out and feel that they can have a good time while remaining safe. We are also looking at additional measures for a new code of practice for licensed premises including requiring venues to install CCTVs in prescribed areas, requiring ID scanning technology for nightclub entry, requiring more security staff after a certain time, banning certain glassware and banning certain types of drinks.

But there is only so much governments can do. There is a need for a shift in community attitudes. It is important that we all speak out—this parliament, leaders at every level, every member of the community—against the idea of getting drunk and hitting somebody being okay. We need the vast majority of our young people, who enjoy a night out responsibly, to take the message to their peers that one punch can kill and that violence is never acceptable, funny or cool.

It is not okay to vandalise property when you are having a big night out. People must think about their behaviour and that of their mates and the impact that it will have long after the night is over. Foundations like Sammy D, Hello Sunday Morning and the Matthew Stanley Foundation are all doing great work in trying to change a culture that thinks binge drinking and having a bit of a blue is okay.

Tonight I will meet with the father of Jason Lindsley. Jason remains in a critical condition in the Royal Adelaide Hospital after being assaulted inside the Zhivago nightclub. There are a number of different ways a parent could have dealt with what Mr Lindsley is experiencing but Mr Lindsley has chosen the most constructive way of all, that is, finding a way of making sure that this never happens to any other family and I respect the decision that he has taken.

I also need to inform the house that I have spoken today to the wife of Henk van Oosterom and expressed our regret that her family has suffered this dreadful experience in South Australia. Over the coming weeks we will launch consultations about our new code of practice for licensed venues to progress the other measures that we have spoken about today. We are committed to addressing this problem and I ask the whole of the community of South Australia to join with us in this endeavour.

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