Alcohol Causes Violence Conference

A seismic shift of national thinking is urgently needed on violent crime in New Zealand. To date the issue
has been dominated by punitive policies that largely do not work. Years of popularist "solutions" have
given us longer sentences, overflowing prisons but no reduction in violence. We have been looking in the
wrong place, while New Zealand becomes increasingly unsafe.

This historic meeting is hosted by the University of Otago, Wellington School of Medicine. It brings
together two main streams of people; those who are concerned about law and order, and those who are
concerned about public health. The bridge is the damage being caused by the excessive commercialisation
of alcohol. The lack of sufficient regulations controlling the supply and sale of alcohol maximizes heavy
drinking.

Participants will be those who care about the health, safety and well-being of New Zealanders and who
understand the impact that alcohol is having, not just on an "irresponsible" few, but on a large heavydrinking
sector of society. It will include the full range of health and social agency workers, including
those at the front line who pick up the pieces left by alcohol on a daily basis. But everyone interested in
solutions to the violence, personal harm and despair caused by the commercially-driven heavy drinking
culture is welcome. NB: Numbers limited to the first 200 registrants.