Rudd may tackle Australia's alcohol abuse epidemic

Back before the election I had a good bitch about the failure by the then Howard government and Kevin Rudd's then opposition to make any move toward countering the extremely high rates of alcohol abuse in Australia.

Seems like Kevin Rudd kept that particular policy well under wraps until now- probably because he knew it would bring down the full force of the Hotels Association and the alcoholic beverages industry down upon him and they would throw their weight behind Howard. Not to mention that they have media flunkies towing their line too.

Family First senator Steve Fielding, homophobic, censorious creep though he is, has an extremely good record in this area, and has been pushing for health warnings to appear on alcoholic beverage labels for some time.

Finally, it looks like we might have a PM who can see the sense in tackling what is not only a massive health issue but also a huge crime issue:

The estimated cost of the alcohol toll had doubled in the past eight years to $15 billion. Demands on police services had also soared with alcohol-generated problems now thought to account for as much as 80 per cent of police work, Mr Smeaton said.

Rudd says he wants to work with the state governments to find strategies to counter the high rates of binge drinking. My guess is that the states, being as bloated and corrupt as the Howard government was from an excessive amount of time spent in power, will fight Rudd every step of the way, backed by the hotels association and the liquor industry. But at least his intentions seem good.