The Political Response to Alcohol and Drug Advice in Australia: Comparing the Response to Two Expert Reports

Abstract

The article examines the contents and policy response to two expert reports, one on drugs and one on alcohol, which were commissioned by the government of Victoria, Australia. The drug report was a wide-ranging response to what was seen as a crisis, but its main recommendations were not adopted. The recommendations were primarily in a highly contested policy area, but the lack of action may also have reflected a dramatic reduction in heroin overdose deaths shortly after the report appeared. The alcohol report was commissioned in a narrow frame of loosening liquor licensing restrictions to increase competition, defined as taking precedence over public health and order considerations. Its recommendations were quickly adopted, setting the stage for a political furor a decade later over alcohol-fueled violence. The lessons from the decade of experience after the reports are considered.