Whether celebrating out on the town, at home, visiting family or friends or at a works’ Christmas party, there is a very strong community message to party smarter especially during the festive season.

All of us have a role to play in preventing and reducing the adverse impact of alcohol and other drugs on the health and wellbeing of Queenslanders.

From a local perspective, concerned community stakeholders and business operators are sending out a very strong message to the Douglas community.

Sergeant Damien Meadows from Port Douglas Police can’t stress enough to consider the Party Safe Program when choosing to host a party.

“Make sure you give them a call on 131444 or go online and register your party and discuss with them what you’re planning.  They will notify the local Police and that way we can keep an eye out in case uninvited guests show up,” advised Sergeant Meadows.

Another message from Police is for parents to ensure they make it their business to know where their children are at all times.

“It’s the last day of school today [Friday] so there are more children around, so be alert also on the roads,” he advised.

The message to drivers is to be mindful of the Fatal Five while on the road. Speeding, drink and drug driving, wearing no seat belts, fatigue and driving while distracted.

“We want to ensure drivers get to and from wherever they are travelling in one piece.  Fatigue is prominent. Make sure you have a break every two hours for half an hour and have a coffee and walk around,” said Sergeant Meadows.

With the end of year party season well upon us it is most likely you will be celebrating in one way or another at a work Christmas party and, in most cases, alcohol will be part of that celebration.

Interestingly, that will not be the case for the staff of Quicksilver, advised managing director Tony Baker.

“No, there will be no Christmas party, we will be acknowledging our staff in a different way and we don’t encourage drinking at any staff functions.

“Our policies are heavily monitored and adhered to in Port Douglas and staff must have their RSA.  Any alcohol consumption is monitored closely to ensure there is minimal and controlled drinking and passengers and staff are safe, it is a high priority to us.

“We have random drug and alcohol testing operations in place as part of our policies and procedures to ensure the safety of both passengers and staff,” advised Mr Baker.

There is concern for young people who will be celebrating around adults who may be drinking alcohol, which can send out a negative message to young ones. 

Mossman State High School Principal Deborah Kachel can’t stress enough that young ones need adequate supervision and she is concerned that parent parties with alcohol will be attended by younger people.  There’s also a concern if they are hosting their own parties with their friends.

“There needs to be close monitoring of what young people are doing and if they are having parties the adults need to register them with police.

“Harm minimisation and supervision by adults is needed, as they do not have the capacity to make wise choices and it is paramount in that younger age group.

“Younger people have access to things that don’t mix well with younger developing minds it’s extremely dangerous so we need to protect young people from that harm,” said a concerned Ms Kachel.

As our community and the wider community  goes about celebrating Christmas and end of year festivities, these strong messages need to be taken into consideration when making choices about how we choose to celebrate.

The capacity to assist in prevention by being aware of the choices being made not only by ourselves but those around us, could go a long way in harm minimisation.

With the recent release of the Queensland Alcohol and Other Drugs Action Plan 2015-17, binge drinking and drug use are being targeted in the new action plan by the Queensland Mental Health Commission.

The plan outlines 54 actions across multiple agencies to prevent and reduce the adverse impact of alcohol and other drugs on Queenslanders’ health and wellbeing.

Not all Queenslanders who use alcohol and other drugs will become dependent or experience drug related harm.  However , when harms do occur they have wide ranging impacts. These harms have led to community concerns about how to reduce the use of drugs and harm, particularly relating to alcohol-fuelled violence and the use of crystal methamphetamine (also known as ice).

According to the action plan, research has consistently indicated that there is a need to focus on prevention, addressing social factors and better integration and coordination. These areas are seen as central to preventing and reducing the adverse impact of alcohol and other drugs on Queenslanders.

Demand reduction strategies include actions to prevent the uptake and delay onset of drug use, reduce the use of drugs, and support those who are dependent to recover and reconnect with their communities.

Supply reduction strategies prevent, stop, disrupt or otherwise reduce the production and supply of illegal drugs, and control, manage and/or regulate the availability of legal drugs. They aim to restrict availability and access to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in order to prevent or reduce their inappropriate and harmful use.

Harm reduction strategies aim to reduce the negative outcomes from drug use when it is occurring. They address adverse health, social and economic consequences of the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs on individuals, families and communities. The strategies encourage safer behaviours, reduce preventable risk factors and can contribute to a reduction in health and social inequalities among specific population groups.

To support continuous reform and improvement, the Commission will review the Action Plan after 12 months to align with the national approaches including the new National Drug Strategy and the National Ice Action Strategy.

Newsport also contacted Port Douglas Catering the organisers of the NYE White Party for comment, that had not been received at the time of publishing.

Newsport also contacted Mayor Julia Leu for comment, she was overseas at the time.