People Against Raising Legal Drinking Age

The federal government would consider raising the legal drinking age and increasing alcohol taxes if there was a community push for such measures.





Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and state and territory leaders will consider a range of anti-binge drinking proposals at a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Adelaide on Wednesday.





Leaders will discuss proposals to put cigarette-style warning labels on alcohol packages, establishing national laws to govern the supply of alcohol to minors and nationally consistent rules for the responsible services of alcohol in bars, pubs and clubs.





Health Minister Nicola Roxon said raising the drinking age and hiking alcohol taxes were not priorities, but did not rule out either measure.





"If the communities do raise ideas like this that should be considered, were happy to consider them but theyre not part of our first tranche of priorities that well be focused on," she said.





Ms Roxon said the government was seeking to address binge drinking by changing community attitudes as well as laws.





"This is a social problem not just a legal problem and we need to make sure that we are addressing it as such," Ms Roxon told reporters.





But Paul Dillon from Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia said the community wouldnt feel comfortable with graphic images on alcohol bottles.





"I dont think a person sitting down having a meal at a restaurant would like to see a rotting liver on the side of their bottle of red," Mr Dillon told AAP.





Mr Dillon said information labels on alcohol packaging would be more effective than pictures.





The governments proposals would also strong face resistance from alcohol companies, he warned.





Family First Senator Steve Fielding, a prominent advocate of alcohol law reform, said he hoped COAG would produce real action rather than just a "cosy chat".





Senator Fielding said NSW laws which make it illegal to serve other peoples children alcohol in their home should be extended nationally.





AKA THEY WANT TO RAISE THE LEGAL DRINKING AGE FROM 18 to 21!