Evan and James Katsaros at the World's End in Hindley St. Picture: Noelle Bobrige Source: adelaidenow
"PRELOADING" on alcohol should be targeted in a State Government eduction campaign, says the Adelaide West End Association.
The call comes as some Hindley St venues also express concerns that the proposed sale of wine in supermarkets would exacerbate the problem.
The association's president Andrew Wallace said there was a "desperate need" for education.
He said the problem of preloading where people binged on higher quantities of alcohol at home, in taxis and in public before hitting nightspots had intensified in recent years.
They made themselves vulnerable to becoming a victim or perpetrator of crime, he said.
"Young people need to be aware just how vulnerable they are in that space. (Preloading) is a practice that is well ingrained in the culture now," he said.
"You can walk around the side streets off Hindley St and it's full of empty bottles and bladders."
Hindley St venues told the City Messenger they were committed to the responsible service of alcohol and were sick of shouldering the blame for the drunken violence caused by "preloaders".
World's End director Evan Katsaros blamed the easy accessibility of cheap alcohol and said well-meaning parents made the mistake of allowing children to drink heavily at home before they came into the city with a designated driver.
"What they are doing is sending in a time bomb," he said.
"If they had no drink at home and came into the city and had a good night out, with the price of (bar) drinks as a controlling factor, there would be less problems."
Mr Katsaros objected to the proposed sale of bottled wine in supermarkets, which he said would make alcohol "ridiculously accessible". Dog and Duck owner Wally Hodgens said his staff were forced to take a " hard line" by refusing entry to people who arrived in Hindley St drunk.
But venues took "most of the blame" for the trouble they then caused in the street, he said.
He agreed with Mr Katsaros that wine in supermarkets would "make the problem worse". However, Mr Wallace said concern over supermarket wine sales was a "furphy" because the alcohol market was already oversaturated, while independent supermarkets were proposing only to sell wine from small SA producers that would not be the choice of binge drinkers.
Business Services Minister John Rau said the supermarket proposal applied to 750ml wine bottles only and he wanted to shift alcohol consumption "away from idiotic binge drinking towards a more European style that aligns with our state's identity".
"The Government is also finalising a Late Night Code of Practice to respond to the serious issue of alcohol fuelled violence," he said.
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