The supply of alcohol in remote Aboriginal communities: potential policy directions from Cape York
Date
1998
Authors
Martin, D. F
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Canberra, ACT : Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), The Australian National University
Abstract
This Discussion Paper aims to outline some of the key issues surrounding alcohol availability and consumption in remote Aboriginal communities, focusing on those in Cape York. The legislative and policy background to the contemporary alcohol situation is outlined. Sales data from the Council-run alcohol outlets are presented for four sample Aboriginal communities, which indicate extraordinarily high alcohol consumption levels. The data suggest that virtually all drinkers in these communities, on average, are drinking at extremely hazardous or harmful levels. Such drinking levels underlie the very poor health and morbidity statistics for Cape York's Indigenous peoples.
The Paper examines various explanatory models in the literature for Aboriginal drinking, and suggests that the policies developed to deal with the issue tend to be dependent upon the theoretical model adopted. A syncretic model is proposed which has at its core the argument that Aboriginal drinking practices and understandings have to be seen as arising over time from the conjunction of factors located essentially in the dominant society, together with those whose origins lie basically within Aboriginal societies themselves. This suggests that actions at both levels are requiredÐthat of the institutions and structures of the wider society on the one hand, and that of the internal dynamics, values and practices of the particular Aboriginal group on the other. It is argued that this model provides a useful framework for the development of policies in the alcohol area, and four case studies are examined.
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Working/Technical Paper
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Open Access
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