Combined effort needed to fight alcohol abuse

 A COMBINED effort is needed to combat alcohol abuse, violence and related social problems, Attorney-General Kerenga Kua says.

He urged national and provincial leaders to enact laws and implement policies to rectify the alarming situation in PNG.

Kua said alcohol-related problems were seriously affecting the people, especially women and children and all necessary measures must be taken to halt such abuse.

“Leaders must set good examples. When we do not, we are sending a different picture to our children to follow and that is why young people are not seeing the necessity behind abstaining from alcohol,” Kua said.

“It is the responsibilities of the provincial governments and their police, governors, authority officers to monitor and penalise when laws are breached. 

“Traders and consumers when not complying with the laws must be penalised. We all must be conscious of the growing impacts of alcohol.” 

The minister said he would seek Parliament’s support for legislation on corporal punishment as to deal with alcohol abuse and related problems. 

“In due course I will do that and you members, if you are serious about this problem in your province and the country, I encourage you to support it,” he said.