In an open letter sent to the members of National Cabinet ahead of their meeting on Friday (6 September), community leaders call for governments to implement the alcohol-related recommendations outlined in the rapid review panel final report, Unlocking the prevention potential: Accelerating action to end domestic, family and sexual violence.
The recommendations include:
• 11a. equipping and resourcing General Practitioners (GPs), perinatal, and mental health and alcohol and other drug (AOD) services to identify and support DFSV victim-survivors and people who use violence (Commonwealth and states and territories).
• 11d. Increasing cross-sector collaboration between the AOD and DFSV sector and provide specialised services for women that are family friendly and support caring for children (states and territories).
• 14c. establishing a strategy for capability uplift across other intersecting workforces, and prioritising legal, justice, child protection and health (including AOD and mental health) sectors.
• 17a. adopting clear primary objectives in state and territory liquor regulatory regimes to prevent gender-based violence, alongside existing objectives around alcohol harm reduction (states and territories).
• 17b. restrictions on alcohol sales, delivery timeframes (states and territories) and advertising (Commonwealth and states and territories).
The open letter also calls on National Cabinet to re-establish a national governance framework for the alcohol and other drugs sector to coordinate action across state and territory governments.
Signatories to the open letter include: Dr Matthew Hope, Chair, Trauma Committee, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons; Patricia Turner AM, Chief Executive Officer, National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation; Kym Valentine, Survivor Advocate; Annabelle Daniel OAM, Chief Executive Officer Women’s Community Shelters; Donna Ah Chee, Chief Executive Officer, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress; Shanna Whan, Chief Executive Officer, Sober In the Country; and Mr Brian Howe AO, Hon Professor, University of Melbourne, Former Deputy Prime Minister; and Caterina Giorgi, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education.