services

living with alcohol program

The Living With Alcohol (LWA) Program was a whole-of-Government program that was established in 1991 to combat the considerable harm experienced by the community as a result of alcohol. The impetus for the program was increasing concern by community members and Government leaders about the effects of alcohol on the quality of life in the Territory. A Sessional Committee Report into the Use and Abuse of Alcohol commissioned at that time established that: alcohol consumption was double the National average; apparent consumption of pure alcohol was 70% higher than the rest of Australia; and, that alcohol cost the NT community $150 million per year (or approximately $1000 per resident) in lost productivity, health and welfare services, road accidents, law enforcement and correctional services.

There are a number of features, which distinguish the unique character of alcohol use and misuse in the Northern Territory. These factors include:

• The historically entrenched role of alcohol and its widespread use as currency and for relaxation and socialising;
   
• The spread of the population across vast distances, giving rise to feelings of isolation and remoteness and heightening the bonding qualities of drinking;
   
• The high proportion of young, single people.
   
• The relatively high turnover of population which can lessen the cumulative effects of the program and make personal involvement difficult as people do not so readily identify with Territory issues;
   
• The nature of the workforce and the high proportion of industries known to be associated with higher levels of drinking, and other factors, such as the high influx of tourists, the mix of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cultures and the contrasting needs of urban, rural and remote settings.

how the program worked

The program ran a range of complementary and integrated strategies. They include:

the provision of community education and information sessions through mass media campaign and community based activities; delivering professional education and training for frontline workers; providing a range of care and treatment facilities for drinkers and others affected by drinkers; supporting a range of community development projects, especially in remote Aboriginal communities; developing and advising on policies, legislation and regulations aimed at controlling promotion, supply and consumption; and, maintaining a research, evaluation and monitoring capacity to ensure informed program development and accountability.

achievements

When the program was established, it was given four specific gaols to achieve by the year 2000.

• One was to reduce alcohol consumption by 40%. By 1998/99 the per capita consumption of pure alcohol had dropped by over 21%, from 18.7 litres per person in 1990/91 to 14.7 litres.
• A second goal was to halve alcohol-related road trauma. Between 1992 and 1998 the annual number of fatal road accidents related to alcohol dropped by 23% when compared to the previous decade and the proportion of road accidents involving alcohol dropped from 22.4% to 12.8%.
• The third goal of the program was to halve alcohol-related crime. Acknowledging that alcohol is often one factor in offending behaviour, between 1993 and 1998 the number of prison receptions for alcohol-related crimes dropped by 9.4%, the proportion of adult Community Service Orders for alcohol offences reduced from 57.1% to 48.8% and the proportion of Juvenile Community Service Orders related to alcohol dropped from 15.8% to 10.9%.
• The overall aim of the program was to reduce the cost of alcohol-related harm. An independent study by Curtin University and the Lewin–Fordham Group looked at the economic impact of the program over 1992/93 to 1995/96. Over those four years it was calculated that the program had expended $18M and that this resulted in health and safety savings of $124.3M. These savings were derived from a range of measures that included 129 fewer alcohol-related deaths and 2,000 fewer alcohol hospitalisations.

• Living With Alcohol in the Northern Territory

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