Yes. We do have a problem with alcohol in New South Wales, and.it has been with us since the arrival of the first fleet. The troops sent to guard the new settlement in Sydney became known as " the Rum Corps " because they had a monopoly on the import and sale of alcohol and used it to barter goods and services at favourable rates.
The pubs usually closed at eleven or eleven thirty in the early days, but new laws came into force in 1916 and New South Wales closed the bars at 6 pm. This led to the notorious " Six O'clock swill " in which it became the custom to down as many beers as humanly possible between the end of work at 5 pm and the closing of bars at 6 pm. When a publican called " Last drinks ", drinkers bought as many glasses of beer as they could hold, and consumed them on the footpath outside the hotel to remain within the law.
In 1937 Tasmania changed it's drinking laws to 10 am opening and 10 pm closing, something bitterly opposed by the Temperance Union. It was not until 1964 that this more civilized arrangement was adopted in New South Wales, but pubs were still restricted to not opening on Sundays, despite the fact that clubs could trade on that day. Sunday opening arrived in 1979, putting an end to drivers travelling twenty miles away from their homes to be officially recognised as " Traveller-tourists " and be served by pubs that were allowed Sunday trading to service the tourist trade.
Pressure began to build on that 10pm closing requirement. " Special event " later trading was introduced to cater for wedding receptions and party events, and in the big cities the nightclub phenomenon began to flourish. Originally, pubs had been the exclusive domain of men, but the appearance of the " Ladies lounge " saw women frequenting hotels and eventually women were allowed to drink in public bars.
This stripping away of restrictions on trading hours has reached the stage of twenty four hours trading at some venues, and others empty out between four and five in the morning. The pricing of alcohol has also undergone change. Years ago the " cheap " beer was in the glass a barmaid poured and served across the bar. The expensive alcohol was the bottled beer you bought and took home from the bottle shop. Now that situation is reversed.
Today's citizens have more money in their pocket and a custom has developed that sees many men and women imbibing way past reasonable limits. This fascination with alcohol is resulting in street fights, glassings, attacks on police and ambulance paramedics and property damage in areas surrounding clubs and pubs. Various law changes such as timed lock-outs have been used or are planned to curb these excesses - with varied results. In many venues, glass is replaced by plastic at midnight to reduce it's use as a weapon and there are bans on the serving of spirits late in the evening. Some establishments only serve low alcohol beer within an hour of closing time.
Unfortunately, alcohol abuse is continuing to deteriorate and the authorities are looking for measures that will work - and the consequences could be unpleasant for the average moderate citizen. One proposal is to price alcohol to take it out of reach of those tempted to excess. That would probably see the end of cheap cask wine and a floor price based on alcohol content pushing all alcohol, prices higher. Another consideration is a return to more limited opening hours.
There is no easy answer to this problem and in all probability if measures become necessary to curb this excess they will rebound on the liberties and wallets of moderate people. What is certain is that we can not go on indefinitely tolerating the blood and mayhem on our streets when those affected by alcohol go on the rampage, attacking others and damaging property.
Hard problems need hard answers !
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