Media release, 5 November 2009
The launch of a new resource by ICLEI Oceania aims to provide local governments with greater confidence and clarity when addressing alcohol-related harms in their municipality.
The Alcohol-related Harms Data Inventory Toolkit will be launched on Friday 6 November by Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP at a meeting of the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors.
“This toolkit is the first of its kind in Australia, focused directly on the contribution that local governments can make to reducing the negative impacts of alcohol on local communities,” said ICLEI Oceania CEO, Steve Gawler.
“Day in and day out we are seeing the impacts alcohol is having on the streets of our cities and towns across Australia. The human cost is tragic, the financial costs alarming and the clean-up costs are downright disgusting,” Mr Gawler said.
“Twenty-five local governments, representing a sizeable portion of Australia’s population, have come together through our Cities for Safe and Healthy Communities program to improve their ability to plan effective action, set controls on the number of liquor licences, and have a greater say in how outlets are managed.
“Creating safe, healthy and vibrant local areas with a strong night-time economy is an important plank in sustainable development for cities, regional centres and towns across Australia,” said Mr Gawler.
Mark Boyd, Director of the Cities for Safe and Healthy Communities program and author of the toolkit, says the resource will provide local governments with a stronger say when working to reduce the impacts of alcohol on local communities.
“In recent weeks, the recommendations of local governments in Victoria and NSW have been overlooked when they have tried to better manage the location, size and operating hours of alcohol outlets.
“This toolkit will provide our participating councils with greater confidence in using data from police, health and other sources to proactively manage antisocial behaviour and alcohol-related violence – both on the street and in the home,” said Mr Boyd.
The toolkit includes a core set of indicators that focus directly on the contribution that local governments can make, and includes a new way of measuring the diversity of businesses in the night-time economy. The introduction of this approach has been applauded by alcohol researchers nationally and by local government leaders.
The Cities for Safe and Healthy Communities initiative by ICLEI Oceania builds on groundbreaking programs being run with local governments in other critical areas of sustainability, including water management and climate change. The program was initiated with the support of the National Local Government Drug and Alcohol Advisory Committee and the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors.
The toolkit will be launched on Friday 6 November at the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors meeting in Sydney by the Council’s Chair, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP.
For further information, please contact Mark Boyd, Director – Cities for Safe and Healthy Communities, ICLEI Oceania, on 0403 204 394 or Milly Bartlett, Communications and Web Coordinator, ICLEI Oceania, on 03 9660 2246.
