Why have the Australian Aborigines decided to restrict alcohol sales?
HALLS CREEK, Australia Since Halls Creek recently became the latest Aboriginal town in the Australian outback to restrict alcohol sales, its doctors and police officers have been getting more sleep thanks to a steep dropoff in nighttime brawls. Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/05/australian-aborigines-res_n_225896.
The Australian outback town of Halls Creek recently became the latest Aboriginal town to restrict alcohol sales, and as a result, there has been a steep decrease in nighttime brawls. The New York Times’ Norimitsu Onishi writes that the “scores of Aboriginal men and women who milled around the one liquor store in the afternoon and proceeded, at dusk, to the pub across town are now gone.” Some have migrated to the nearest towns with full access to alcohol, hundreds of miles away. Onishi explains that 40 years ago, a constitutional amendment guaranteed equal rights for Aborigines, including the right to drink; ever since, an increasing number of indigenous towns are curtailing the sale of alcohol. Many Aboriginal leaders say the restrictions are necessary to reverse the effects of a drinking culture that has led to widespread alcoholism, violence, and child abuse. The restrictions in Western Australia and other states reflect a tougher approach toward Aboriginal communities taken by the f
HALLS CREEK, Australia — Since Halls Creek recently became the latest Aboriginal town in the Australian outback to restrict alcohol sales, its doctors and police officers have been getting more sleep thanks to a steep dropoff in nighttime brawls. Four decades after a constitutional amendment guaranteed equal rights for Australia’s Aborigines, including the right to legally drink, an increasing number of indigenous towns and smaller communities deep in the outback are curtailing the sale of alcohol. Many Aboriginal leaders say the restrictions are necessary to reverse the effects of a drinking culture that has led to widespread alcoholism, violence and child abuse. Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/world/asia/05australia.html?
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