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Adele Horin, in The Sydney Morning Herald, blames the Liberals, past and present, for our drunken ladette culture
ONLY imbeciles could dispute the dramatic impact of sweet pre-mixed drinks on girls’ alcohol consumption. The marketers knew exactly what they were doing in pitching their potent but bland-tasting products to young women who are now seen all too often vomiting in parks and tumbling inebriated out of pubs.
In light of the disturbing facts about teenage girls’ alcohol consumption, Brendan Nelson’s opposition to the Government’s proposed alcopops tax is a disgrace and the sign of a desperate man. Of all the issues on which he could take a stand, defending cheap grog for girls ranks as one of the worst.
It reveals why the former government did so little to curb binge drinking, allowing a serious health and social problem to grow under its watch (with considerable help from some state governments).
It steadfastly refused to use the tax system to control alcohol consumption, despite the entreaties of the public health lobby and the mountain of evidence showing the market works like a charm in this area, as in most others. If you increase the price of an item, demand for it falls.
Labor has not gone as far as public health experts would like. They have long lobbied for the introduction of a tax on all alcoholic products based on the volume of alcohol. Labor has singled out what it deems to be the biggest culprit: spirit-based drinks.
It is a significant start, and sends a message the alcohol industry should not ignore.
But Rod Liddle, in London’s The Sunday Times, says the feminists are to blame:
WHAT shall we do with our young women, do you suppose? Two surveys out last week suggest they are increasingly prone to acts of criminal violence and, worse, have become among the fattest girls in Europe.

theaustralian.news.com.au