Barry O'Farrell's proposed law to send any person who provides alcohol to a child under eighteen years of age that is not their own - to a twelve month prison term makes sense - but that also presumes that parents have control over their children - and that ceased a long time ago.
The law has relentlessly chipped away at parent's rights to impose house rules and time curfews. Parents are prevented from delivering a soft smack to a naughty toddler, and just about any form of punishment is frowned upon by child support agencies. Kids are perfectly free to walk out the door of the family home whenever they please - and if they decline to live under the same roof as their parent's Centrelink will hand them an allowance to do their own thing - as they please !
This proposed law is supposed to crack down on wild parties hosted by parents who provide the alcohol, but it will be equally illegal to allow your own child access to a small glass of wine with dinner. Many parents believe that a moderate introduction to alcohol in the family home leads to a responsible attitude later - because it is no longer a " new experience ".
One of the problems that will certainly arise is situations where hulking great teenagers - on the cusp of eighteen - bully their parents into providing alcohol for a party. There are many households, particularly where a frail single mother is the breadwinner - where the kids rule the roost. In some cases, saying " No " will involve physical retaliation. If this proposal becomes law, police will need to use discretion and not simply apply it as a bludgeon in all circumstances.
This proposed law specifically targets parents who disagree with alcohol laws and see no harm in providing alcohol to kids under eighteen, but laws presently on the books make it illegal to do that anyway. It will create a huge headache for parents hosting a party for those over eighteen. The guest list will have to be carefully culled to determine that no under eighteens will be present - and to be legal some form of proof of age would be necessary.
What effect this law will have on under age drinking will depend on how it is applied. It took a lot of years for random breath testing of car drivers to convince the majority of people not to drink and drive. We still get offenders, but the ratio has dropped to the exception where mass checking is involved.
Provided this law is applied to blatant cases and discretion is shown where discretion is needed, then there is a chance that over time the message may get home - just as has happened with drinking and driving.
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