Our organisation has an E-Issues network, outlining current issues which you can help to address.
To download the latest E-Issues, click on the links below. You may scroll down this page as well to see some of the issues that you can help to address.
If you would like to receive E-issues notifications by email, please register by filling out the attached form.
- Submission to Victorian Whole of Government Drug and Alcohol Committee
- factorie Hip Flasks
ACTION NEEDED:
Click on this link to request that factorie stop selling hip flasks as design accessories for young women as it promotes the use of spirits to underage women.
- Canberra Declaration News Release
ACTION NEEDED:
Click on this link to read about the issues regarding Christian Marriage and take action to maintain the standards for Christian Marriage.
- Vote on two polls
ACTION NEEDED:
Click on the links below to make a difference
Gay Marriage Poll
R18+ Rated Computer Games
After giving your anme and address choose option 4 - “I do not support the proposed R18+ category for computer games and I do not support the draft guidelines.”
You can then type a couple of sentences in a box, explaining in your own words that violent or explicit games are more harmful than similar films because the player acts out the assaults again and again, rather than passively watching them. Guidelines for games need to be tougher than guidelines for films.
- Dalgarno's Response to Alcohol Health Warnings
- Join Isabella's list
Go to Dalgarno Institute site to register for Isabella's list.
- Protest re Coles and Woolworth's Discounting Mixed Drinks
"Coles and Woolworths price wars have reached a new low when they are
using alcopops as the tool." (See news) It has been proven that the increased cost due
to the tax has lowered the quantity bought by young people (even allowing a
slight increase in the sale of spirits to mix your own). These alcopops were
the chosen drink of the under 20's and we know that means binge drinking
and damaged brains.
Please write to Coles' and Woolworths' CEO's protesting at their methods of
putting profits over people.
ACTION NEEDED:
Write to Coles or fill out their feedback form online
Coles
800 Toorak Road
Glen Iris
Victoria 3146
Write to Woolworths or fill out their contact us form online
Woolworths
1 Woolworths Way,
Bella Vista
NSW 2153
- Sign the Petition to Save School Chaplains
ACTION NEEDED:
Read the issues newsletter on the petition and sign the petition.
- Sign the Petition on Pokies
ACTION NEEDED:
Read the issues newsletter above on the petition and sign the petition.
ACTION NEEDED:
Print off the letter, add your details and send it to Family Voice Australia or send an email to Family Voice (office@fava.org.au) with your details and attach the letter to your email.
A recommendation has come through regarding the labelling of alcoholic beverages. See below.
ACTION NEEDED:
Have you been concerned about
- the number of road accidents involving drink driving? (Note the Swedish road toll reduce by 10% when the BAC was cut from .05 to .02)
- accidents due to drug taking?
- accidents because of mobile phone use?
- better roads, safer cars and lifelong driver education?
The Australian Transport Council has tabled a report which calls for a "major shift in thinking by governments and the community" plus "a strong statement that drinking and driving should be separated."
Check out www.infrastructure.gov.au and make comments before February 11, 2011.
- END IT NOW - Elimination of violence against women. Add your name to the petition.
- Complete the online drug survey - Dalgarno Institute which is a partner organisation with WCTU. They have an online Alcohol and Other Drugs Survey at present. Click on the link above and complete the survey on the page. it takes only about 5 minutes of your time (literally)!
- Last Drinks Campaigns - NSW - Thank you for assisting in signing the petition for stronger restrictions on late-night alcohol trading - Over 10,500 people supported this petition. The Last Drinks campaign is being supported by the Police Association of NSW, the Australia Medical Association (NSW), the Health Services Union and the NSW Nurses' Association. Enough is enough. It's time to clamp down on the destructive culture of booze and violence in NSW.
CURRENT ACTION:
Go to the Last Drinks website and follow the TAKE ACTION links.
- Continued pressure on the government to address the issues of Binge drinking and the Drinking Culture of Australia
ACTION:
Send an email to the Health Minister, Nicola Roxon thanking her for efforts that the government has implemented to assist in addressing the issue of binge drinking. You could also point out that there is much more that needs to be done.
The following are resolutions regarding alcohol policy that were passed at the recent National WCTU Convention. They are an indication of other action we would like the government to take. You could mention one or two of them.
ALCOHOL:
1. That alcohol taxation be levied according to the alcohol percentage content.
2. That all alcohol advertising and sponsorships of sports, be phased out as soon as possible.
3. That the legal age for alcohol consumption be raised to 21 years.
4. That strong opposition be made to limit liquor outlets from increasing their opening hours.
5. That stricter controls be implemented regarding the issue of new liquor licenses.
6. That the BAC for all drivers be zero. [Asking for a reduction of the .05 BAC for drivers to .02 is probably a more realistic request.] Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner, Stephen Fontana, was recently reported as calling for .02 BAC. He is one of several pushing for this change.
7. That labelling on alcoholic beverages include warning messages such as:
a. Alcohol may cause birth defects
b. Don’t drink and drive.
Continue to pressure the Government to implement action to tackle the problems associated with binge drinking. See Card No 2 - Advance Australia Where?. This card is to be sent to the Prime Minister. These cards only require your name, address and a stamp. Contact our National Office for supplies.
- Health Warnings Labels on Alcoholic Beverages -
FASD is a lifelong sentence and is preventable. We encourage you to share FASD information and resources and check out the links to other organisations that are working to assist those affected.
Approved on the 28 January, 2011:
"Recommendation 25: That a suitably worded warning message about the risks of consuming alcohol while pregnant be mandated on individual containers of alcoholic beverages and at the point of sale for unpackaged alcoholic beverages, as support for ongoing broader community education."
See - www.foodlabellingreview.gov.au
Recent studies are showing a link between cancer and drinking. (View article on this)
- Supporting School Chaplaincy
ACTION:
You can add your support of chaplaincy programs continuing across Australia by writing an email as guided by the website link.
- Supporting the Victorian campaign to lower the BAC to 0.02
ACTION:
If you live in Victoria, please send a brief email to the Victorian Transport Minister, The Hon. Tim Pallas, and to your local Member of the Victorian Parliament (Follow the links to find your member's contact details)
In your email you could:
• congratulate the Government on the reduction to the road toll that has occurred in recent years
• congratulate the Government on extending the zero BAC for young drivers for an additional year as part of its new Graduated Licensing Scheme effective from July 2008.
• urge them to seriously consider lowering the BAC for drivers to 0.02 as soon as possible.
Include one or two pieces of the following information and/or your own ideas.:
According to the World Health Organization's Traffic Accident Commission
- alcohol starts to impair driving at 0.02
- drivers between 0.02 and 0.05 are less likely to see moving lights correctly, finding it harder to judge distances and risk-taking increases.
- Norway, Sweden and Poland already have a drink-driving limit of 0.02.
- New figures reveal 39 Victorians have been killed in accidents involving drivers with blood alcohol levels under 0.05 in the past five years.
If you do not live in Victoria you could email your local State MP and urge them to raise this issue in their parliament.
- Supporting Fair Trade Products
If you use the commodities produced by Fair Trade then support this initiative by buying Fair Trade products so that people can receive a fair price for the commodities that they produce. See more details on our E-Issues bulletin in June of 2009 and follow the links on it to take action.