I had to cringe when I heard claims that raising taxes on pre-mixed alcoholic drinks would turn young people towards harder drugs because the drinks would become too expensive. Spare me.

It seems whenever a reasonable and responsible decision is made by the government, there’s an army of PR spin doctors ready to pounce with ridiculous claims as to why the decision is wrong.

As I’ve been saying for a while in this space, Australia has a major youth binge-drinking problem, and it’s no different here, despite the ridiculous suggestions of our own top cop that we don’t have a significant problem here.

You don’t even have to go down to Mooloolaba, Noosa or Caloundra to see it.
Cruise through a few neighbourhoods on the weekend and you will hear and see plenty of evidence of young people – and older hangers-on, drinking too much and destroying the peace and quiet of neighbourhoods.

But increasing the tax on sugary drinks squarely aimed at young people, won’t stop the problem.

As Victorian police chief commissioner Christine Nixon says, there must be a much bigger strategy for stopping youth binge drinking.

Ms Nixon has asked why the manufacturers of the sweet alcoholic drinks, which target young people, aren’t doing more to help.

“Why aren’t they beating a path to my door to want to talk about how they might help us in terms of deterring this excess drinking among young people?’’ she asks.

The answer is quite simple really – it’s not in their financial interest to do so – they’re making good money from helping our young people getting smashed every weekend.

Why would they want anything to change?

But clearly police, as they have done locally with partnerships with nightclubs and the pub industry, must work with representatives from across the community if they are to win the war on binge drinking.

Perhaps the next positive step for the government is to put some of the new tax money it will raise from the increases into pro-active programs in schools to get the message across you don’t have to be plastered to have a good time on the weekend.

Indeed, it’s actually great each day to wake up with a clear head, knowing you have not made an idiot of yourself the night before.

But we can hardly blame young people when they see so few positive role models – not just on the TV – but also in their own community – when it comes to responsible alcohol consumption.

When they see mum and dad drinking to excess, we can hardly point the finger at them for underage drinking, can we?

We have much to protect
Recently I moved from suburbia to the countryside and I must say the change has been like a breath of fresh air.

Now half-way through the challenge of losing 20 kilos in 20 weeks – or pay $100 to charity for each kilo I don’t shed, Woombye’s hillsides have given me new opportunities to lose some of the flab.

Walking along each morning, you can’t not be impressed by the character of the place – the older Queenslanders, the murals on the sides of buildings – and the people enjoying a coffee and the paper in the sunlight on their verandah.

It again struck me how wonderfully diverse the Sunshine Coast is – and how we must all fight to ensure that the charm of our hinterland and older towns are not lost through re-development.

While locations close to the beach have seen bulldozers tearing down old buildings to make way for the new, I would hate to see that happen in places like Palmwoods, Montville, Maleny, Cooran, Pomona and so on.

One of the things that makes the Coast so appealing is that it provides a real mix of accommodation for all types of people.

That’s why it was so pleasing yesterday to see Premier Anna Bligh visit the Coast to personally announce that Caloundra’s Tripcony caravan park would be saved.

It’s important, not only as a tourist region, but as a community with soul and compassion, that we continue to make room for people with limited incomes, as well as the well-to-do.

Some of the real characters of the Coast are those without great financial means.

Their wealth is not measured by their bank balance but how they give to others in the community and how they work in voluntary roles to keep many essential services running in the region.

As we contemplate Bob Abbot’s vision to curb growth on the Coast and the real impact that may have, we should remember the most important thing to consider in planning is not population numbers, but people.