Call for Inquiry into Strategy to Reduce Alcohol Fuelled Violence

Independent Queensland Senator Glenn Lazarus wants a parliamentary inquiry to investigate the creation of a national strategy to reduce alcohol fuelled violence.

Senator Lazarus said he would put the inquiry to a Senate vote when it sits in Canberra on Wednesday.

“It is time this issue was addressed on a national level,” Senator Lazarus said.

If the vote for an inquiry is successful, it would be undertaken by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, of which Senator Lazarus is chair.

“I am determined to do something about the scourge of alcohol fuelled violence which is impacting so many people and so many communities across Australia,” Senator Lazarus said.

“Only a few weeks ago, we lost a wonderful young man in Brisbane by the name of Col Miller, as a result of an alleged one punch attack.

“It seems as though every week we are seeing sickening cases of people being killed or permanently injured as a result of non-provoked alcohol fuelled attacks.

“States and territories are dealing with the issue of alcohol fuelled violence in different ways. Some states are doing more than others.

“Clearly, as a nation, the Federal Government needs to show leadership and develop in partnership with all states and territories a national strategy to address the issue in a consistent and comprehensive manner.

“The Senate Inquiry will investigate the need for a national strategy and all of the issues which need to be considered as part of this.”

Senator Lazarus said he had personally been affected by alcohol fuelled violence.

“I received a phone call in the dead of night a few months ago from a hospital in Brisbane. My youngest son had been glassed from behind. Thankfully he is now on the mend,” he said.

Senator Lazarus, a former member of the Palmer United Party, pointed to the efforts of Olympic Boxer Bradley Hore and his partner Andrea Strickland for their work in creating the “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” campaign earlier this month.

Bradley Hore said at the time he was inspired to start the campaign after hearing details of the “sickening” incidence of one punch attacks and domestic violence.

The campaign involves writing the words “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” on the palms of your hands and then posting the image on social media with the hashtag #keepyourhandstoyourself.

The issue of alcohol fuelled violence has also been reiterated by the newly named Senior Australian of the Year, Professor Gordian Fulde.

Professor Fulde has spent his professional medical career warning of the dangers of a binge drinking culture, which he said was overwhelmingly the main cause of injury in Australia’s hospital emergency departments.