‘No car, no wine’, says Aussie retailer

An Australian retailer is tackling binge drinking by refusing to sell cask wine to customers, unless they have a car.

Glen Helen Gorge in Australia’s Northern Territory

Beer Wine and Spirits (BWS) is trialling the new policy in three of its stores in Parap, Palmerston and Darwin Airport in a bid to reduce “alcohol-related harm” in the area, as reported by ABC.

Signs were put up in stores at the weekend which read: “To assist the community in minimizing alcohol related harm we are introducing a ‘No Car No Service’ policy on cask wine”.

The initiative aims to reduce excessive drinking in the area, particularly among the indigenous community in the Northern Territory, with 60% of assaults in Darwin said to be alcohol-related.

The rate of Indigenous children in the area with foetal alcohol syndrome stands at 4.7 per 100,000 – seven times higher than the Territory’s general population.

There are currently more than 100 areas across the Northern Territory where it is illegal to possess or consumer alcohol without a permit.

However the initiative has been criticised by the People’s Alcohol Action Coalition as “flawed”.

Dr John Boffa from the People’s Alcohol Action Coalition said: “All it leads to is people getting in taxis and coming through to get their grog and getting out of taxis at the other end. In fact, when this was done in Alice Springs we had the absurd situation where taxis lined up, people would get in, get their grog, and get out on the other side,” he said.