LIQUOR REFORM

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 55, 6 March 1942, Page 9

LIQUOR REFORM

WARTIME MEASURE

PROPOSAL IN AUSTRALIA

(CO SYDNEY, March 4. The Australian Federal. Government is conducting a carefully-planned campaign against intoxicating liquor, and restrictions on drinking are expected to be introduced in the near future. In Melbourne at the weekend, the Prime Minister, Mr. Curtin, and some of his Ministers professed to be "shocked" at the extent of hotel lounge drinking and drunkenness in the city. A police report was failed for. The Sydney "Daily Telegraph" 'said Mr, Curtin would go on being shocked if he was content to call for reports"There's a simple way out," said the article, "Cabinet has power to cut down drinking by staggering hotel hours, The vast majority of Australians would accept such an order uncomplainingly. The . Government doesn't seem to understand this. Ministers with an open mandate from the people to switch the whole country to a 100 per cent, war footing, are still nervous about popular reaction to necessary wartime measures. What's the reason?" * Other papers are playing up the campaign, painting luxid pAetyees of young service men on leave being decoyed into filthy, sly-grog dens in the underworld,. young girls being introduced to hectic "pinkie" parties, jrad rowdy night-club scenes,. Unnamed police officers are quoted demanding greater powers to kill the evil that has arisen. . : All this is paving the way to liquor reform, and proposals already ' made include reduction of alcoholic strength of beer, restriction, of tracing hours, restriction of manufactujpT to a percentage of a base producpon, and prohibition of "shouting:"