Adults who knowingly supply alcohol to underage drinkers should be heavily penalised if those underage drinkers cause serious harm while drunk, according to a leading road safety campaigner.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide, was commenting after the government announced that it is considering making it unlawful for adults to give alcohol to young people at private functions without their parents' consent.
Matthew-Wilson says:
“This proposed legislation, however well-intentioned, is doomed to failure. A child could forge a letter of consent from his parents, just as children regularly forge notes to their teachers.”
“Also, this proposed law change assumes that parents are responsible and organized. At the bottom of the social scale there are many parents who think it’s normal to be blotto as often as possible and these parents think it’s perfectly reasonable to share their alcohol with children.”
“While I was in a South Auckland house, I saw a mother feed wine to a two-year old child until the child got drunk and threw up. The mother thought this was amusing. If we were talking about heroin or methamphetamine, that mother would be behind bars tonight, yet where a drug like alcohol is concerned, the government rarely acts."
"Supplying alcohol to underage drinkers in a manner that is likely to lead to tragedy is no different to supplying methamphetamine in a manner that is likely to lead to tragedy. The same penalties should apply.”
“I’m not talking about penalising a parent who gives a child a glass of wine at a restaurant. I’m talking about penalising any adult who knowingly gives a child alcohol in circumstances that are clearly likely to lead to self-harm or criminal behaviour by that child.”
“It’s ridiculously easy for young teenagers to get drunk, and the consequences are often disastrous. The alcohol these teenagers are drinking comes directly or indirectly from adults; that’s a fact. If you can slow down this supply, you can lower the numbers of dead and
injured teenagers.”
Alcohol is directly implicated in around one quarter of road deaths and 35% of all types of injury. A study of 12 -17-year-olds by the Alcoholic Liquor Advisory Council showed that one quarter of 14-17-year-olds drink heavily and regularly.
Matthew-Wilson added:
“Young teenagers, especially in large groups, are frequently incapable of making informed decisions about booze. However, the adults who supply these teenagers with alcohol are perfectly capable of making informed decisions and should pay the price if the teenagers offend as a result of drinking.”
A 2005 survey of 64 youths by health promoter Sandy Keen, who works for the public health unit in Napier, indicated most had obtained alcohol through their parents or other adults they knew.
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