Foundation Director Dr. Tim Hawkes' views on alcohol-fuelled violence

King's School Headmaster and Foundation Director, Dr Tim Hawkes, says reforms to alcohol-fuelled violence is not going to happen unless it targets the main problem, which is excessive drinking.  In article published in the Sydney Morning Herald, Dr. Hawkes writes:

"About 10 per cent of our heaviest drinkers consume about 50 per cent of our alcohol. The alcohol industry relies heavily on big drinkers for their profit.  Society needs to target those times and those places that lend themselves to heavy drinking.

The  initiatives used to cut down on alcohol-related violence in Newcastle need to be introduced state-wide. No double shots after a certain hour, bars closed at 3am, plastic glasses after Cinderella loses her shoe.  Yes, it will hit the heavy drinkers who want to make a night and then a day of it - but they need to harden up. The price society is paying for their freedom is too high. Go home. What are the hours after 3am going to bring other than a headache, some vomit and a fight for a cab?  

Of course, these measures bring no guarantees.  Thomas was killed just after 10pm. But the 37 per cent reduction in alcohol-related misbehaviour in Newcastle is not to be sniffed at."

Read more: The Sydney Morning Herald, 30 March, 2013