|
Thursday April 9, 2009 Youth Drinking
Drinking has dominated our headlines for decades. There does seem to be general consensus that New Zealand has an unhealthy drinking culture. The controversy revolves around how to change it.
I don't believe that focusing on young people alone will create the long term culture shift that we need. Young people's attitude to alcohol is a reflection of New Zealand's attitude to alcohol. According to ALAC, 14% of young drinkers drink to get drunk. But so do 9% of adult drinkers.
But how do we make the shift?
The current Government has raised the possibility of looking at the drinking age once again. It has also adopted the Labour Government's Sale and Supply of Liquor and Liquor Enforcement Bill. This bill:
- Makes it an offence for anyone, other than a minor's parents or guardian, to supply alcohol to a minor without the implied or express consent of the minor's parent or guardian
- Sets up a framework for a new system of enforced self-regulation of alcohol advertising
- Provides for increased community input into licensing decisions by giving effect to local alcohol plans prepared by territorial authorities
- Amends the Sale of Liquor Act so that the only defence to selling liquor to a minor will be that an approved evidence of age document was sighted.
The closing date for submission is Thursday 23 April 2009. You can find more details on making a submission here.
If you have views on the wider alcohol debate, feel free to send your thoughts through by emailing me at [Email]
Back to top Autism Awareness Day
April 2 marked World Autism Awareness Day. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is thought to affect more than 40,000 New Zealanders and approximately 35 million people worldwide, and yet it is a disability some know very little about.
ASD is a lifelong developmental disability that can affect the way a person communicates and interacts socially with other people. I was privileged to spend several years working as a job coach with young people diagnosed with ASD. In New Zealand we have made great gains in the way we work as communities to ensure those with ASD are able to participate fully in education and the workforce, but we have a lot more to do.
Labour's spokesperson for Disability Issues, Lynne Pillay, rightly points out that early diagnosis, intervention and support improves outcomes for young people with autism. So will the full implementation of the New Zeland ASD guideline, a one of a kind piece of work based on New Zealand and overseas evidence, covering the lifetime of a person with ASD. The full implementation of this guideline will make a huge difference to those living with ASD and their families.
Back to top Does National agree with ACT that MYD should be axed?
You might have read about ACT's recent call for the Ministry of Youth Developmehnt to be axed - along with the Families and Charities Commissions. National's Minister of Youth Affairs Paula Bennett is yet to explain whether she shares the opinion voiced by her Government's coalition partner. We've followed up with written questions to the Minister to clarify her position on the future of MYD. We'll let you know the response.
Back to top And on a positive note...
To mark World Autism Awareness Day, I thought I'd pass on the story of Tim Crookes of Papakura. Tim is 11 years old and was recently featured on Attitude TV for the school speech he gave on living with Autism. You can see the full story here.
Have a great week!
Jacinda
Back to top
|