Poll: Drinking age changing to 21

[IronDuke]

Didn't it used to be 21 in Australia? This has got to be some retarded relapse into the past.

 

[Dys]

They should finish discriminating against under 21s on the road and in the workplace before they start trying to alter the legal drinking age.

Also, shouldn't these 'conservatives' (surely conservative should mean keeping working systems in place) be more concerned with keeping adult content in videogames and the internet out of the hands of minors?

Sad thing is, I can't say this surprises me.

Actually the idea behind the 21 drinking age is that alcohol affects the brain(which we all know it does) however governments have scientific evidence that support the idea that people are not fully mentally developed until they reach the age of 20-23. So officials have decided it's just best to place the drinking age there in order to prevent brain damage due to alcohol consumption.

Now I live in the USofA. I've just turned 21. Alcohol really doesn't do anything else but loosen you up a bit, and in these times with jobs(over here at least) being sought after by every bum around with to few of them to be divided up, it's nice to have a couple of beers or shots of jager at night. However I could really go either way with having it or not, sure it makes me feel good, being about to relax a bit more, but I feel I was doing just fine without it.

And really folks, what's more fun, throwing up all over your $1200 computer and frying it, or staying sober enough to not have to blow a grand and a half cuz you felt like being sick?

Actually, I think you'll find it's alledged to be much closer to 26/27 (at least that's what the local newspapers tell me, that aren't exactly renowned for making realistic claims), and the source of a lot of this information is skewed by many other factors (such as quantity, various effects of both legal and illegal drugs, diet, fitness etc).

 

[Zenode]

Every Australian here remember that "Alcopops" Tax they tried to introduce, that didn't stop anyone instead of getting those light Vodkas people went out and bought a 2 litre coke and some Jim Beam for the same amount of money.

These goddamn conservative buggers in parliament are way to out of touch with the youth, gen Y say that they didn't drink like we do. YES YOU DID every time I see a video of a 1960's/ 70'/ 80's party you are pouring drinks down your gullet with funnels. The culture has stayed the same but for some reason the people in parliament see that it affecting Australian youth NOW.

The media also carries on about how there are lots of P-Platers drinking and driving and that young people driving are more of a danger than anyone else on the road. Now this is also not true 1/3rd of fatal crashes happened to people 25 and under. Another third happened to people 60 and over and the rest was in between 25 and 60 so why the hell aren't we getting pissed off at all the 60 year olds driving around killing everyone.

Binge drinking is also not that big of a deal it is only concerning a small amount of the population whenever i am around people that drink they do not drink until they are vomiting everywhere or passing out.

Also they think that youth being idiots are a new problem here is a quote from Plato

The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for
authority, they show disrespect to their elders.... They no longer
rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents,
chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their
legs, and are tyrants over their teachers.

Plato was alive over a thousand years ago and he though exactly the same thing that the goddamn politicians of today think.

/endrant

 

[AtticusSP]

It won't stop any of the kids from drinking anyway.
I couldn't care less since I don't drink myself.
Drinking age is 19 here, but I've seen 13 year olds drinking.
And since this is BC, everyone smokes pot.
Potheads never hurt anyone though. They're pretty cool.

 

[The Hairminator]

I really can't feel sorry for all the shit Australia takes right now. They choose that government.

But then again I suppose that it was mostly elected by old farts that the government still treats well and gives a minimum amount of shit, and had very little to do with the younger generation.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

In the UK its 18, But in some places its "Over 21 only".

Don't be silly. In England it's "Whenever you can fool the barman", which is usually 14.

 

[Radelaide]

I really can't feel sorry for all the shit Australia takes right now. They choose that government.

But then again I suppose that it was mostly elected by old farts that the government still treats well and gives a minimum amount of shit, and had very little to do with the younger generation.

Okay, A) I didn't chose this government, since I couldn't vote. And the government hasn't lived up to most of its promises, since K-Rudd is out of the country most of the time. The gaming side of things, isn't voted.

And B) I think once people realise that Johnny Howard was much better (Better the devil you know), we can get back to not being the butt of all jokes.

---
OT: One of the ideas for this push is to stop drink-driving accidents amongst young drivers (EG: Provisional Drivers) since drivers 17-25 are in more accidents than any other age group. Once you turn 18, the fun of drinking stops. Going out is expensive and most of the people who go out turn into assholes after they've gotten a couple of Cruisers into them. (I know this, I've seen it, I've been privvy to it occasionally.) You would do a lot better to understand why they're doing it instead of, "OMG THEY'RE GUNNA CUT OFF MY ALCOHOL!!" With the taxes on alcohol as it is, I'm surprised people can drink. And as most people have said, it's easy to get underage anyway.

 

[Archemetis]

They were considering doing the same thing here in the UK.

I just laughed it off because they seemingly waited until I was 21 to do it.

 

[RexoftheFord]

Now this I think is bulls***...

Push to lift drinking age to 21 in Australia

You can go to war and die at 18, you can smoke at 18, you can vote and pay taxes at 18 but you can't f***ing drink? What kind of logic is this? This is of course directed to the wonderfully conservative Australian government. I was wondering what every Australian or otherwise thinks of this move, whether it will be successful or if their aim of stopping teenage drinking will actually work >_>. Honestly i think the only way anything will change is if the parents influence THEIR children to behave sensibly and the government should give them the power to do so.

Well, either raise the age of soldiers, or lower the age of drinking. Neither one will solve the problem of war or drunkeness. The logic behind the raised drinking age is that they believe a person of 21 would be more responsible in their drinking than some kind fresh out of high school. (note this is referring to Americans) But considering United States soldiers aged 18 can go to a bar on their post and get a beer, the whole thing is just stupid to question. The law is in place for civilians and soldiers who're not on post.

 

[TheBarefootBandit]

In the UK its 18, But in some places its "Over 21 only".

Don't be silly. In England it's "Whenever you can fool the barman", which is usually 14.

Pretty much. As long as you don't wear a hoody, you probably get served.

 

[IckleMissMayhem]

In the UK its 18, But in some places its "Over 21 only".

The problem is people think raising the drinking age to 21 will stop underage drinking. Idiots.

Stupid thing is, they don't see that raising the drinking age will only make it worse. Higher age=higher number of people under that age.
On the other hand, it might make it easier for Licensees to recognise peole who are underage.
Pfft. Doesn't bother me either way, as 1, I'm 24, and 2, I'm in the UK.

 

[Daveman]

I think it is lame. Europe has an almost universal age limit for drinking at 18. As far as I know they have less issues with drinking and stupid behavior than America does.

I wish that were true but pretty much all our police and A&E is wasted on this. At least in the UK, we're MASSIVE drinkers.

That doesn't stop me contributing to the problem.

Coincidentally my friend got an £80 fine last night for being drunk and disorderly, i.e. he shouted "arrest THAT prick" while pissed so he spent a night in a cell. (to be fair, my friend is from liverpool so he probably deserved it, XP)

As for drinking age lowering, it is a bit silly as everybody will still drink, it'll just be illegal.

 

[GamerPhate]

It has been 21 where I live forever. I can't image a world where it was different. And how am I suppose to pickup 19 year olds if I can seduce them with booze?! Thank Gawd the age is 21

 

[Arkzism]

doesnt bother me in the least, mainly cause im from the us and its been 21 for a long while

 

[Socken]

That's the only reason I haven't completely lost faith in Germany yet, we can get wasted legally (on beer and whine anyway) at 16. Harder stuff is 18 but it's not like anyone gives a crap about it.
21 I think is a stupid age to make anything legal, I'm close to 21 now and I don't really think my sense of responsibility has improved in the last 3 years.

 

[Osloq]

What happened to this country? It used to be cool. I think we need some more criminals from England to get us back to our roots. Plus they can make some moonshine out of apples or something to give me something to drink if the government won't let me.

 

[Gruchul]

It's been suggested and bounced straight out of the house of commons (UK) because the majority of people don't want it. Doesn't your country have some manner of democracy too?

 

[Rayansaki]

Don't know why it has to be black or white, why can't they make the law the way it should be.

Beer/whine/sake/other drinks with low alcohol levels - 16
Heavy drinks - 18 or 21 or wtv they want

 

[Liberuno]

I think that pushing the age limit higher can actually hurt how we educate people to drink responsibly and promotes binge drinking. People will drink before they are 21 regardless... Better they do it out in the open rather than behind closed doors so they can learn the value of drinking responsibly compared to the dangers associated with binging.

 

[marurder]

It was bound to happen sooner or later, as Australia oft, copies America to its' detriment. Regardless, it will stop some people but most wont. Australia has a culture for social drinking and that is the issue, not the law.