Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
As we just touched on with the Northern Territory Chief Minister,
we know the Association of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies
of the Northern Territory is urgently calling on the Finocchio
government to retain minimum unit pricing on alcohol now. They
say it is one of the most effective policies in
reducing alcohol related harms and assaults. And the Association's executive officer,
(00:23):
Stephanie Holmes, joins me on the line. Good morning to you, Stephanie.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Good morning Katie. How are you.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
You're really good, lovely to have you on the show.
I appreciate your time this morning. Now, first off, for
anyone who's not familiar with the well with the association
or the agency, who does it represent.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
We represent twenty four members across the Northern Territory, so
from Darwin to Catherine to Tenant Creek and Alice Springs.
And they're all treatment services, so they could be counseling services, rehabilitations,
so bring up harm minimization, research and evaluation. And we're
(01:05):
funded by the Northern Territory Government PHN and the federal government.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
How critical are these services in the Northern Territory.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Oh, they're very critical. So the services you provide support
for anyone that's seeking to address alcohol and other drug
related harms, and they're in place to provide lots of
support for anyone depending on where they are and what
they need, and to get them receiving the support they
(01:38):
need to be able to withdraw or to recover from
drug and alcohol harms.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Now I know it's towards the end of last week.
There was a statement that the Association sent out noting
that the new government has been elected with the strong
mandate of course, to reduce alcohol related social issues. But
it does sound as though you've got some concerns around
the proposal to scrap the minimum floor price. We caught
up with the Chief Minister a short time ago and
(02:05):
she said that it is something that they're going to
forge ahead with. Stephanie, can you tell us what your
concerns are around the scrapping of this floor price?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, no problem, Katie. Happy to look. The minimum unit
price for alcohol shouldn't be scrapped for several key reasons,
and particularly because with the high levels of alcohol related
harm across the territory. I guess firstly, it's been a
proven impact on reducing harm, so it's about evidence. It
(02:38):
comes from places like Scotland and Canada. And also you
know within the NT that shows that minimum munit pricing
actually reduces alcohol consumption and this is particularly clear in
statistics and around heavy drinkers. And it decreases the alcohol
related health issues, so it decreases hospital admissions, it decreases
(03:02):
the death like from cirrhosis from you know, liver disease
from cancers, and it also helps him reducing fas D
amongst you heavy chronic drinkers who may be pregnant for example.
You know, just recently the stats that came out of Scotland,
which yes, I know are different than Northern Territory, but
(03:24):
the alcohol fails sold by almost eight percent after minimum
munit pricing was introduced. The other reason, Katie, is that
it's targeting cheap, high strengths alcohol. So minimum unit pricing
specifically impacts the availability of cheap, high strength alcohol that
is often consumed by individuals most at risk of the
(03:46):
alcohol related harm. For example, it sets the minimum price
per unit, and the policy ensures that high alcohol products
are not sold the lower price that encourage excessive consumptions.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Stephanie, I know you've got probably a bit of a
battle on your hands in terms of getting the Northern
Territory government on board with this. And I know even
a lot of people that listen to the show say
to me that they sort of can't understand or don't agree.
I suppose it's probably the better way of putting it
that you know that the minimum Munit pricing works, you know,
(04:20):
particularly when people do still seem to be able to
get their hands on alcohol one way or another. I mean,
what would you say to people that are that are
thinking they just don't agree?
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Look, I would say that you know, the economic and
social benefits of keeping this policy that's free. It doesn't
cost the government anything to keep it it, you know
it has. Opponents of minimum UNI price often cite the
economic impact on businesses, but that's not true. It's the
social and economic benefits of reduced alcohol related harm will
(05:00):
outweigh the potential costs. So the health system's face reduced burdens,
which is really important in the territory and anywhere. But
also there's fewer alcohol related hospital admissions as a result
of it, and communities experience far less social issues such
as family and domestic violence, sexual assault, and crime. Link
(05:23):
to alcohol misuse. And I know the government's really strong
on crime reduction, but this actually, over time decreases that.
And the long term change I guess for the territory
and for the for all the listeners is while the
benefits of minimum unit pricing may not be immediately visible
(05:44):
in all areas, the long term impact of reducing alcohol
consumption changing drinking habits that actually lead to sustained health
improvements and better quality of life.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
It's definitely some people asking this morning, where is the
evidence coming from or where's that data coming from.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Look cats right in the team at MENSES has done
some studies on the minimum munit pricing, and there's other areas,
not just nationally but internationally that show, you know, the
long pricing in place. In Scotland. Just recently, in the
last two weeks they've had it in for some time,
(06:27):
they've actually increased it again because they've noticed considerable differences.
But it takes time, and it takes time for all
of those stats to come forward and to be really
seen and understood.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
There'd definitely be people listening this morning saying, you know,
what happens in those other countries isn't relevant to the
Northern Territory. I mean, do we look at things like
the emergency department presentations, what kind of like what kind
of data do you reckon is the you know, the
most beneficial when you when you determine whether this works
or not.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Look, I think there's a lot of data around. I
think in terms of having a look at the crucial
data that demonstrates the effectiveness of minimum unit pricing is well.
And I know I understand territories are saying that it's
different in problem than it is in Australia, but overall
(07:24):
it isn't really because the key findings that we found
in the territory as well as national and international is
overall sales decline particularly and I know the government doesn't
agree with that, but there was you know, there is
an increase in you know, sales in other areas, but
not within cask wine that you know, if you have
(07:45):
six or four leaders and you've got forty eight standard
dreams as opposed to a bottle. But there's also that
super strength alcohol content, so it's the high ethanol products.
But the health outcomes on hospital admissions is that you know,
particularly in all and areas and John Bosser talks a
lot about this is that there is a reduction in
(08:05):
alcohol related hospital admissions across Central Australia and there's also
a decrease in alcohol related emergency department visits that have
been observed in both the top end and also in
Central And I think the most important thing, Katie, what
I really want to say is that the minimum unit
pricing was put into place as a safeguard policy for
(08:27):
people that are heavy drinkers. It was effective in reducing
consumption among heavy drinkers who are most at risk of
that alcohol related harm. And a lot of the stories
that we've got and the evidence that we've got actually
shows that the key findings are that alcohol consumption can decrease,
public impact is quite significant, and the economic benefit is
(08:49):
reduced in the healthcare costs associated with treating alcohol related conditions.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Stephanie, very quick one before I let you go, What
do you fear is going to happen if it is scrapped?
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Look, you know, potentially what can happen is we're going
to see an increase in hospital presentations in chronic conditions
and it's going to be you know, several significant negative consequences.
And that's that you know, increase in alcohol related dot calm,
return of cheap high strengths alcohol without the minimum unit price,
(09:26):
cheap high alcohol products will flood the market again, making
it easier for heavy drinkers and vulnerable population groups that
we experience across the territory access high strength to alcohol.
And we'll also see spike in hospital admissions. So higher
alcohol consumption often leads to increased rates of alcohol related
(09:47):
health issues such as you know, deliver disease injuries and
alcohol poisoning, and we'll see that a lot with the
emergency department, Katie, and also rising death rates, so you
know shows that reductions in alcohol related deaths and removing
minimum unit pricing could reverse those games, but leading to
(10:08):
an uptick and preventable death and related to alcohol misuse.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Well, Stephanie, I really appreciate you having a chat with
us this morning and giving that further detail to our listeners.
Thank you very much for your time and no doubt
we'll talk to you again soon.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Thanks Katie, and congratulations.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Thank you,