Published Sunday, 01 July, 2007 at 09:19 AM
JOINT STATEMENT
Premier and Minister for Trade
The Honourable Peter Beattie
Minister for Tourism, Fair Trading, Wine Industry Development and Women
The Honourable Margaret Keech
LIQUOR PILOT CAMPAIGN HITS THE MARK
Young Queenslanders are taking notice of a confronting new trial education campaign about the dangers of binge drinking, Premier Peter Beattie said today.
Mr Beattie said the Know Your Limits pilot education program, targeting young drinkers with strong messages about the consequences of binge drinking, was hitting the mark.
Posters and coasters, featuring confronting images of young men and women in potentially deadly situations after consuming too much alcohol, were placed in 28 venues around Brisbane and the Gold Coast for three months from January 1.
A recent evaluation of the trial campaign showed great results, achieving 90 per cent recall among patrons, Mr Beattie said.
“Around 50 per cent of these patrons said the posters made them think about their drinking behaviour, while 75 per cent said the posters made them think about their friends drinking behaviour," Mr Beattie said.
“This is just the reaction we were looking for.
“The messages in this campaign are confronting, and we make no apologies for that.
“We want people, particularly young people, to think seriously about the consequences of their actions and to learn the importance of drinking responsibly.
“Earlier this month the Liquor Licensing Division prosecuted a licensed venue on the Gold Coast for allowing an underage girl to consume alcohol on the premises. This young girl put herself in danger by drinking until she passed out.
“That incident, which happened before the trial campaign, could have been an exact replica of one of the situations depicted on the posters.”
Liquor Licensing Minister Margaret Keech said campaigns such as this were about changing the drinking culture in Queensland and making patrons take responsibility for their behaviour.
“This is a difficult and complex issue. We are talking about a culture of binge drinking that is entrenched in our society,” Mrs Keech said.
“It is certainly not something that can be addressed by Government alone.
“To change this culture we will need support from industry and the community.
“Even in this pilot campaign, the evaluation results indicated that 80 per cent of patrons and 95 per cent of venue staff believe that binge drinking is a problem in general. That tells me that people have had enough.
“Clearly the Beattie Government is on the right track with this campaign.
“The Liquor Licensing Division will look at further research and continue to work with our partners across government to develop this into a Statewide patron education campaign to promote safer drinking cultures.”
Media contacts: Premier’s office John Algate 0439 727 107
Minister’s Office: 0439 761 416
1 July 2007
Mr Beattie said the Know Your Limits pilot education program, targeting young drinkers with strong messages about the consequences of binge drinking, was hitting the mark.
Posters and coasters, featuring confronting images of young men and women in potentially deadly situations after consuming too much alcohol, were placed in 28 venues around Brisbane and the Gold Coast for three months from January 1.
A recent evaluation of the trial campaign showed great results, achieving 90 per cent recall among patrons, Mr Beattie said.
“Around 50 per cent of these patrons said the posters made them think about their drinking behaviour, while 75 per cent said the posters made them think about their friends drinking behaviour," Mr Beattie said.
“This is just the reaction we were looking for.
“The messages in this campaign are confronting, and we make no apologies for that.
“We want people, particularly young people, to think seriously about the consequences of their actions and to learn the importance of drinking responsibly.
“Earlier this month the Liquor Licensing Division prosecuted a licensed venue on the Gold Coast for allowing an underage girl to consume alcohol on the premises. This young girl put herself in danger by drinking until she passed out.
“That incident, which happened before the trial campaign, could have been an exact replica of one of the situations depicted on the posters.”
Liquor Licensing Minister Margaret Keech said campaigns such as this were about changing the drinking culture in Queensland and making patrons take responsibility for their behaviour.
“This is a difficult and complex issue. We are talking about a culture of binge drinking that is entrenched in our society,” Mrs Keech said.
“It is certainly not something that can be addressed by Government alone.
“To change this culture we will need support from industry and the community.
“Even in this pilot campaign, the evaluation results indicated that 80 per cent of patrons and 95 per cent of venue staff believe that binge drinking is a problem in general. That tells me that people have had enough.
“Clearly the Beattie Government is on the right track with this campaign.
“The Liquor Licensing Division will look at further research and continue to work with our partners across government to develop this into a Statewide patron education campaign to promote safer drinking cultures.”
Media contacts: Premier’s office John Algate 0439 727 107
Minister’s Office: 0439 761 416
1 July 2007