Alcohol-related harm, ambulance call outs and car crashes have all dramatically declined in the Northern Territory since the introduction of a minimum price on the cost of alcohol.
The Northern Territory in Australia was the first jurisdiction to implement the minimum unit price (MUP) policy in the country. MUP has been in effect since October 2018. More than a year later, preliminary evaluation results are proving MUP to be effective in reducing alcohol harm in the territory.
MUP was introduced in NT along with other alcohol policy reforms to reduce the staggering alcohol harm in the territory. Health data had found:
- 44% Territorians engaged in heavy alcohol use comparative to the 26% national average,
- Alcohol was related to high rates of injury due to interpersonal violence, road traffic crashes and family violence, and
- The cost of alcohol-related harm to the NT economy and society was estimated at $1.3 billion each year.
The Territorian government introduced the floor price legislation to cut alcohol-related crime, anti-social behaviour and harm.
The MUP policy targets cheap alcohol widely bought by heavy alcohol users and those in lower socio-economic standing. In NT, the MUP was set at $1.30 per standard unit of alcohol. One of the cheapest available alcohol before MUP was cask wine. The policy increased the price of cask wine by 86%.
The price increase has resulted in a reported drop in wholesale supply of cask wine.
The Northern Territory government conducted an independent review of their MUP policy recently and found the policy linked to decreases in alcohol harm including reductions in alcohol-related,
- assault offences,
- protective custody episodes,
- ambulance attendances,
- emergency department presentations,
- road traffic crashes, and
- number of child protection notifications, protection orders, and out-of-home care cases
Among the findings are,
- a 23% reduction in alcohol related assaults across the Territory in 2018/19 compared to the same period in 2017/18;
- a 17.3% reduction in emergency department presentations in the NT in 2018/19 compared to the same period in 2017/18.
The number of child protection notifications, protection orders, and out-of-home care cases decreased too.
We’re certainly seeing some positive outcomes for a very targeted measure,” said the researchers who conducted the review, as per ABC News.
Researchers also say even more comprehensive results will be found after the 3 year review due in 2021.
Deakin University’s Professor Peter Miller, who led the research, said although the outcomes were promising and provided a baseline, longer-term evaluations were needed.
Changes in social trends require more time to be certain,” he said according to Canberra Times.
The methods used in this report have allowed for an assessment of changes across a range of outcomes. And the staggered implementation of different policy elements in different locations allows for some teasing out of differential impacts.”