Back in the days when the government first introduced "Booze Buses " it was common for drivers to flash their headlights to warn others that an alcohol check lay ahead. That actually breached a state law but it was rare for police to lay a charge. Today the random breath test is so common that light flashing seems reserved for warning of a mobile roadside speed camera.
What is surprising is that Facebook has a service supplied by one of the Greens elected members of parliament that gives notice of where police will be using sniffer dogs to detect people carrying drugs. It has the approval of 11,000 members of the public who have ticked the "like " box to give their assent. The Greens consider public screening by using canines to be an "affront to human rights " and want it banned.
Probably the greatest area of dispute over "human rights " has been the control measures on the sale and consumption of alcohol. We well remember the assault on human dignity when the law decreed that the serving of all alcohol would cease on the dot of six pm - Monday to Saturday, which resulted in the nefarious "Six O'Çlock Swill ". Swarms of patrons on the footpath outside hotels with as many glasses of beer that they could carry when the door slammed shut at six.
The pubs were not permitted to open on Sundays, but a curious "tourist " provision allowed a traveller to be served alcohol provided they were twenty miles from wherever they had slept the previous night. Hotels that met that criteria outside the city did a roaring Sunday business - and of course those "travellers "were city car drivers and their passengers. It was very unhelpful from a safety point of view.
That was an era when it was almost impossible to get a license to serve alcohol in a restaurant or cafe. Australians travelling overseas were astonished at the Continental custom of a glass of wine with a meal available at almost all eateries. Alcohol in Australia was under such heavy censure that it almost verged on prohibition.
When the alcohol laws were relaxed it seems that the pendulum swung the wrong way. We almost embraced twenty-four hour trading and it was abused by many. Draconian restrictions now apply and once vibrant night spots have become ghostly quiet. The crowds have dissipated to more scattered venues and Sydney night life seems more orderly.
Now another irksome restriction is under review. Sydney harbour hosts one of the world's most watched new year fireworks display and vast crowds line the parks and beaches to watch this spectacle. Often, people queue almost a day ahead to choose a preferred vantage point and many bring food and alcohol to sustain them during their vigil - and some abuse the quantity consumed. There now seems an almost total ban on any alcohol on Sydney's parks and beaches.
That ban is now under review. It is argued that the majority of people behaving sensibly and enjoying a picnic atmosphere that involves the moderate use of alcohol should not be put under curfew because of the excesses of a few other people. There are laws that control that overuse and these should be applied to remove offenders.
Relaxation is being strongly opposed by both the police and the usual "Wowser " element and it is claimed that patrons will use this facility to "pre-load " with cheap liquor shop alcohol before going on to imbibe the expensive drinks available at entertainment venues. Once again the liberty of the law abiding many suffer restrictions because of the actions of a tiny minority.
Some will wonder why the rest of the world seems to control such excesses while here in Australia the only answer seems to be a heavy handed prohibition. Our parks and beaches are there for our use and relaxation all year and not only on new year's eve. Surely a glass of alcohol with a picnic meal should not be out of the question on all occasions in this country !
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