Posted on 10/31/2005 11:52:51 AM PST by NormsRevenge
SYDNEY, (AFP) - Occasionally getting drunk is a core part of national identity for most Australians, according to new research.
The National Drug and Alcohol Research Council study of 1,500 Australians found that some 58 percent of people agreed that sometimes having too much to drink was "simply part of the Australian way of life."
The survey found that about one in 10 people had a problem with alcohol at some point in their lives and that about 60 percent were close to someone who had experienced a drinking problem.
The study also found that 17 percent of those interviewed said that they sometimes felt pressure to drink alcohol while in a work situation.
Paul Dillon, information manager with the council, said the findings showed that Australians appeared to be having their first alcoholic drink at a younger age than previously.
The study found that 54 percent of respondents had their first alcoholic drink when under the legal drinking age of 18, with people in the 30 and under age group saying they had their first drink when they were only 10-12.
Dillon said while Australians had been successful in banning smoking in most public places, the community was not ready to sever its ties to booze.
"Australians are not ready yet to make that big leap that we've seen with tobacco," he told AFP.
"I don't think the community is ready for a wave against alcohol. It really is part of our culture," he said.
Most Australians interviewed for the survey said they did not think that warning labels on bottles would encourage people to drink less.
Two girls show off the range of beer available at a festival in Melbourne. A study by Australia's National Drug and Alcohol Research Council of 1,500 people found that some 58 percent of them agreed that sometimes having too much to drink was 'simply part of the Australian way of life'(AFP/File/William West)
I think I might move to Australia...
G'Day, y'all!
Huh, I must be part Australian.
unlike the USA, UK, Ireland, Germany, Russia, etc., etc., etc.???
Sounds as if Australia should stop calling itself a country or even a continent and start calling itself a college campus.
"I think I might move to Australia"...
I know it's anecdotal, but in my experience those numbers are pretty much an exact match in every category for the USA.
(Oh, and incidentally, nearly all the opposition to the new anti-terrorism laws is coming from and being created by the left, and we all know how they exagerate things).
Sedition is already a crime in Australia - it has been for decades. People are virtually never charged with it and that's unlikely to change. The new laws simply restate existing law in a new act.
Under Australian law, sedition is committed only when there is a deliberate intention to provoke violence as a means of achieving political or social change.
Criticism of the government, however excessive and violent in tone, does not amount to sedition.
Unless you deliberately and definitively advocate violence, it's not sedition.
The lefties are trying to claim that these laws criminalise a lot of things that they don't.
The laws to be concerned about are the 'anti-vilification' laws which Labor wants to add to the anti-terrorism laws. These would criminalise some forms of speech. They are, however, almost certainly unconstitutional, as are similar state laws that already exist in a couple of states - we're waiting for cases to get to the High Court for the constitutionality to be tested.
Well, then, sign up, and spread the word!
http://burningquestion.proboards54.com/
http://aussieseek.proboards25.com/
I feel as though I have been fighting for Aussie freedom, as though it were my own, but damned few Aussies give a diddly crap!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.