The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) today welcomed the latest report from the Northern Territory (NT) Government that shows alcohol-fuelled harms are decreasing in the Territory.
An evaluation released today, Investigating the introduction of the alcohol minimum unit price in the Northern Territory, says the NT Minimum Unit Price (MUP) has contributed to the outcomes of the NT Government’s alcohol reforms, with substantial drops in the rate of harms that impact communities across the Territory.
The first-year evaluation of the MUP has found there has been a sharp decline in:
- alcohol-related assault offences (a 23% reduction in alcohol related assaults across the Territory in 2018/19 compared to the same period in 2017/18)
- alcohol-related emergency department (ED) presentations (17.3% reduction in ED presentations in the NT in 2018/19 compared to the same period in 2017/18).
FARE CEO Caterina Giorgi says these reductions in harm are really welcome news.
“The NT has the country’s highest rates of alcohol-fuelled hospitalisations and deaths, including road fatalities and trauma.
“The MUP, alongside the suite of alcohol harm-reduction measures, has made a substantial contribution to building safer and healthier communities, and the NT Government is to be congratulated for this.
“The harms resulting from alcoholic products has devastated generations of Territorians and these measures are working to reduce alcohol-fuelled harm and keep families and communities safe,” Ms Giorgi said. The MUP was introduced in 2018 as one of a suite of evidence-based measures to reduce alcohol-fuelled harm, introduced by the NT Government in response to the Riley Review.
