Peak, Kent and MacAdam, Elliot --- "Book Review - The Grog Book: Strengthening Indigenous Community Action on Alcohol" [1999] IndigLawB 28; (1999) 4(19) Indigenous Law Bulletin 22

• Book Review The Grog Book: Strengthening Indigenous Community Action On Alcohol

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Book Review

The Grog Book:
Strengthening Indigenous Community Action on Alcohol

by Maggie Brady

Paperback

Department of Health and Family Services, Canberra, 1998 rrp $29.95

Reviewed by Kent Peak and Elliot MacAdam

The Grog Book is a resource and reference manual, probably the first of its kind, which presents successful examples of strategies that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities can use to develop practical actions to deal with alcohol abuse problems in their community. The book contains a comprehensive range of information on most of the issues we can think of that community groups may need to consider when they decide to take action, including license restrictions, owning or managing licensed premises, creating dry areas, night patrols, health education and dealing with anti-social behaviour. The strategies are set in the legal, social and historical context of the uses and abuses of alcohol.

Our own experience tells us that in any successful strategy, it is essential to compel governments and government service providers to act. The debilitating effects of alcohol abuse on health, education, employment and community dynamics in general are well known. Alcohol restricts development in every sense -Borroloola in the Northern Territory is an example of a community in permanent crisis due to governments' indifference. In addition, the tourism industry, business, and above all, the grog industry itself must become part of the process and be prepared to accept their responsibilities as part of the community. In the end, the success of the Tennant Creek grog strategy has been largely due to the participation in the programme by local industry and the whole community. The limitations of strategies purely directed at grog also need to be recognised. Alcohol education, for example, is limited in its- effectiveness. Creative approaches for long term community outcomes are essential for any successful program. In Tennant Creek, Julalikari Council is using CDEP as the key element in training and employment in the mainstream private sector as well as in community organisations. It is our view that the dollars from the wine cask levy and other alcohol taxes in the Northern Territory may well be better spent on employment creation than just on substance abuse programs.

Overall, the book is an excellent resource document, but in the light of our comments above, perhaps a little narrow in focus. Some design quibbles; for a manual to be frequently referenced, spiro bindings are perhaps not appropriate, and our copy is already a bit ragged. The cute graphics belie the seriousness of the subject matter. Finally, a reference manual like this deserves a much more comprehensive index.

Elliot MacAdam is General Manager and Kent Peak is Deputy General Manger of Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation in Tennant Creek. The Council has been instrumental in achieving restrictions on the sale of alcohol to the whole Tennant Creek community which have been in force since 1995. These restrictions include a complete ban on the sale of wine casks over two litres and a total ban on takea ways on Thursdays (payday).