Stemming the tide of alcohol: liquor licensing and the public interest

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Alcohol is deeply enmeshed in Australian society, but it also causes much harm to individuals and communities.

Commercial interests and competition policies have come to dominate Australian liquor licensing laws and regulations, but how are public health and safety issues addressed by liquor legislation? With the recent and unprecedented growth in the availability of alcohol in Australia, what measures are being taken to preserve the public interest and the amenity of communities, and how can harms be minimised?

This book examines legislation on how alcohol is sold, promoted and consumed, and the implementation and enforcement of the regulations, from the perspective of reducing alcohol-related harm. It considers alcohol from a public interest perspective and brings together information applicable in every Australian state and territory.

The book also provides policy makers, public health advocates, researchers, and community groups and members with comprehensive information about the regulation of Australian alcohol markets, both historical and current trends, and the tools and interventions that have the potential to reduce alcohol-related harm.

About the Author
Dr Elizabeth Manton is a sociologist and qualitative public health researcher with interests in the social, cultural and historical influences on alcohol policy development, and on preventable lifestyle behaviours, such as drinking alcohol. She is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research at Turning Point and an Adjunct Research Fellow at Monash University.

Professor Robin Room, a sociologist who previously directed research groups in the United States, Canada and Sweden, is a Professor at The University of Melbourne and directs the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research at Turning Point. He studies alcohol, drugs and gambling behaviour and problems, social responses to the problems, and the effects of policy changes.

Michael Thorn is the Chief Executive of the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education. He has experience in strategic policy development in government and not-for-profit sectors. He has worked in public health, social policy, crime and justice, and Indigenous affairs. He was previously an Assistant Secretary at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.