Youth are part of the solution

The Law Commission’s report Alcohol in Our Lives: Curbing the Harm makes 153 recommendations spanning a broad range of areas. However, none has featured in the news more prominently than the recommendation to raise the drinking age. Sarah Helm explains why discussion and debate about youth drinking is a good thing.

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At ALAC’s Working Together Conference in May, Sir Geoffrey Palmer said the law couldn’t fix everything, but it could help nudge New Zealand towards a more moderate drinking culture. The rest is up to us.

We shouldn’t be surprised that the age at which young people can purchase alcohol is one aspect of our drinking culture that has dominated media discussion.

Firstly, some high-profile tragedies involving young people and alcohol have shaken the nation and forced us all – adults and youth – to take stock. After the tragic King’s College incident, we were left collectively reeling. Many of us who work in the sector have been inundated with calls from concerned parents and teachers wanting to prevent something similar happening to their teenagers.

Another reason why the drinking age dominates discussion about law change is that, as adults, it gives us an out – i.e. it’s all a youth problem. Yet whenever something impacts on children and young people, adults should probably take a look in the mirror first. Young people and children live in the environment we have collectively developed for them and over which they have very little say. Was this the dream we had when we passed our current alcohol laws? If we believe that alcohol is doing so much damage to ourselves and the lives of our children, then as a nation, as communities or as families, we are responsible for making change.

There is some truth behind the common assumption that the drinking problem is a youth problem. Young people suffer disproportionately high levels of harm from alcohol, particularly in the group aged 18–24 years. This harm is significant and causes scars that last for young people: violence, sexual violence, suicides, road crashes, injuries, and the list goes on. This generation, like none before it, has experienced the most deregulated alcohol environment and exposure to high levels of advertising and alcohol access. If the far-reaching proposals suggested by the Law Commission were adopted, there would be a safer environment that supports a more moderate drinking culture – not just for young people, but for all of us.

Youth are also a vital part of the equation in transforming our society. At ALAC, we believe young people are positive agents of change who can help reduce the harms of alcohol for themselves and their communities. Young people want and need a healthy family and neighbourhood to grow up in. Their whole lives depend on it so they have an investment in helping to be a part of the solution.

Young people are also great at asking questions and are less afraid of doing things differently, which is exactly what we need right now. It was young people’s candid statements to the Law Commission that helped convince Sir Geoffrey that it was time to change the law.

From 22–30 May, there were over 200 events held nationally for Youth Week. More than 50 events and activities addressed alcohol harm. Young people led or helped lead most of these projects (see a profile of these projects in our feature ‘Youth leadership on alcohol’, page 19). This leadership has helped grow ALAC’s faith that the youth of today can help us become a healthier nation.

• Sarah Helm is ALAC’s Youth Action Plan National Manager.