The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) congratulates the Northern Territory Government and the opposition for their bipartisan efforts in securing the passage of the landmark minimum unit price legislation in the NT Parliament.
FARE Chief Executive Michael Thorn said that both the government and opposition should be congratulated on their joint efforts to legislate for evidence-based reforms that will prioritise the health and welfare of Territorians.
“The landmark legislation passed yesterday in the NT Parliament will have a profound positive impact on the people of the Northern Territory – which has the highest levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm in the country. The introduction of a minimum unit price on alcohol will go a long way in addressing the harm from alcohol which has ravaged the NT for generations,” Mr Thorn said.
The minimum unit price legislation sets the lowest price at which alcohol can be sold.
Mr Thorn says despite having little impact on light-to-moderate drinkers, the newly introduced MUP will have a positive bearing on the Territory’s heaviest drinkers, and is a win for the people of the NT.
“FARE has long advocated for the introduction of a minimum unit price in the NT. Its passage through the Parliament today is a win for all Territorians. Minimum unit pricing is an evidence-based solution that will have no real effect on moderate drinkers, but will lead to decreased alcohol consumption among the Top End’s heaviest drinkers. This will, in turn, mean fewer cases of alcohol-fuelled violence and crime, hospitalisations, and tragic and avoidable alcohol-related deaths in the Territory,” Mr Thorn said.
