Call to action: Transforming the impact of alcohol related harm

The call to action to minimise the impact of alcohol in our communities is longstanding – especially for our Māori and Pasifika whānau, people living with disabilities or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), and people living in our most deprived communities in Aotearoa.

For many this is a generational problem with wide, deep and intertwining roots. Many of us have our own stories and stories of whānau whose lives, families and communities have been impacted in some way by alcohol related harm.

Fa’afetai tele lava to the Minister for Mental Health, Hon Matt Doocey, to the Alcohol Healthwatch Committee and partners for bringing together all strands of the community – kaumātua, lived experience whānau, researchers and workforce – to talanoa at the Alcohol and Mental Health Symposium held at Parliament in May.

It was uplifting to hear from future leaders who shared their wealth of experience especially from a lived experience perspective and to feel the breadth of support and advocacy for stricter policies around alcohol sales.

Learning about initiatives like Influence Engine in Australia – a publicly available conflict of interest online tool that sheds light on relationships between politicians and the alcohol industry – and hearing of local initiatives that are holistic, culturally grounded and prevention focused such as E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services in Tāmaki Makaurau – was invaluable.

The symposium’s theme was ‘Mā te wai, ka ora: Transforming our waters, transforming ourselves’. Transforming our waters requires community-wide self-reflection that starts with ourselves.

What messages do we support in our communities when it comes to alcohol? Do our individual/whānau/community actions consistently align with our desire for safe communities free from alcohol harm?

Asking ourselves these challenging questions will help us discover the path to true transformative change.