Australia faces a "big challenge" with binge drinking said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in March, with one in five 16-year-olds reporting binge drinking at least once a week, while one in ten aged between 12 and 17 drinking at risky levels.
Mr Rudd announced a $53 million program to address the drinking problem saying the Australian government would partner with the community and families across three areas – the culture of alcohol misuse particularly in sporting clubs; early intervention and diversion programs; and "hard hitting" media campaigns on the costs and consequences of binge drinking.
Professionals working in the area have welcomed government attention saying alcohol is "entrenched" in Australian culture and many would have been unaware that there was a problem with alcohol abuse.
"The evidence we were seeing was that alcohol was becoming more and more problematic but there was less and less attention being paid to it," said Gino Vumbaca, Executive Director of the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD).
The ANCD released a report last month on the extent of binge drinking in Australia, calling for much more support for families coping with young people who are binge drinking.
Mr Vumbaca said that in excess of $100 million a year is spent on "an onslaught of promotion and marketing of alcohol" to young people, but that was only one aspect of the problem.
Alcohol consumption was increasing right across the Western world, he said, and there was evidence of it increasing in the Asia Pacific region too.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) alcohol consumption levels in Australia have also been increasing in every age group over the last two national surveys.
The increase in alcohol consumption generally, Mr Vucamaba said, was sending mixed messages to the young.
"It is easy to wag your finger at a young person, and say it is easy to take responsibility and not drink so much," he told The Epoch Times, "But, if every age group above them is doing that, then you can see the hypocrisy – 'do as I say not as I do'".
Dr Delyse Hutchinson, from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, said research shows that liberal families that were freer about alcohol consumption in the home, were often linked to early onset of alcohol abuse or problems with alcohol later in life.
"That isn't to say that every child, of course, who tries alcohol at a young age goes on to develop problems, but there is an increased risk, and it's one of the most clear risk factors we know of," she said on ABC Radio.
Dr Sally Frye, a clinical psychologist specialising in disadvantaged families, said alcohol had become so prevalent in our culture, it would be difficult to bring about a shift in attitude. Critical however were the problems facing families that were dealing with alcohol abuse amongst their young right now.
"I think parents don't know which way to go and one of the good things about this [the government's] campaign on anti-bingeing is that it is letting parents know that, yes, it is a problem and that it shouldn't be tolerated."
Dr Frye, one of the authors of the ANDC report, said that parents were often relieved their children were not using illicit drugs and were, in that event, more forgiving about alcohol. They were also under a lot pressure from their children to be allowed to drink at home. Parents often succumbed with the idea that they were, at the least, not drinking unsupervised, she said.
While the evidence stands that more liberal families may increase the likelihood of binge drinking, Dr Frye said non-drinking families were not immune and suffered additional shame and consequent secrecy.
Dr Frye said alcohol is known to have a negative impact on brain and body development, so more research and more support was vital to help families address alcohol abuse.
Meanwhile it was important for families to take a strong stand on the issue, she said.
"What research out there tells us is that parents need to delay the onset of alcohol for as long as possible," she said.
"We also know that adolescents are less likely to binge drink if their parents actively disapprove of that kind of behaviour."
"Once the adolescent has started experimenting with alcohol, as they most likely will, enhanced parental monitoring is the most effective way of minimising," she advised.
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