Archive Article: Is Alcohol Part Of The Australian Culture? 5 Sep 03
December 23, 2008

Last month’s NSW Summit on Alcohol Abuse, held at Parliament House, was an historic event. At long last there was a general recognition of the danger that alcohol presents to the community. Drugs like cocaine may get the publicity – but alcohol does the damage.

One of the opening points (in the words of one of the official discussion documents) is “alcohol’s cultural significance in Australian life and the various iconic meanings it can have for families and communities”.

The document went on: Alcohol consumption is embedded in Australian celebrations and recreational activities. For many Australians ‘having a drink’ is synonymous with relaxation, socializing and good times. Many marriages are celebrated with a toast to the new bride and groom, and often families rejoice in the birth of a new baby by ‘wetting the baby’s head’. The irony of this claim – presumably not intended by the public servants – is that having identified alcohol as a standard item of “Australian culture”, the document then goes on for the next 15 pages to set out many of the dangers of alcohol. If a visitor to this country read this document, they would wonder about the sanity of the people: a substance that is so much part of the country’s culture is also doing so much harm to that country. Well, is alcohol, really that much part of the culture? I am not so sure.

First, many people do not drink alcohol at all. For some, it is not culturally significant or with iconic meaning. Therefore, care is required before making a sweeping generalization about the way in which alcohol is embedded in the Australian culture. It may be for some people – but certainly not for all.

For example, the discussion document notes that the overwhelming majority of pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers do monitor their intake of alcohol. In 2001, 36 per cent of women who were pregnant at some point in the previous year reported that they abstained from alcohol during their pregnancy and a further 59 per cent reduced their alcohol intake.

Second, there are various organizations opposed to the consumption of alcohol. Some like, Wesley Mission, do not have alcohol consumed on their premises and are involved in events like next week’s Alcohol Awareness Week that alert people to the dangers of alcohol. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is one of the oldest non-governmental organizations in this country (and part of extensive international network). If alcohol were so embedded within this country, then such organizations as Wesley Mission and the WCTU would not be operating.

Much the same could also be said of some of the new generation of Indigenous leaders, who are vocal in their opposition to alcohol.

Perhaps what is really embedded in this country’s culture is an awareness on the part of some people that the consumption of alcohol is a danger. Therefore, it is important to support those organizations and individuals who are showing that it is possible to have a good life without alcohol. There are more such people around than is commonly recognized. We have to be careful not to blinded by the allegation that alcohol is part of the Australian culture – when in fact it is a danger that even the State Government now thinks warrants its own “summit”.

Broadcast Friday 5th September 2003 on Radio 2GB’s “Brian Wilshire Programme” at 9pm