Learning from 50 Years of Aboriginal Alcohol Programs

1 Explaining Aboriginal alcohol use: changing perspectives, hidden assumptions.- 2 Prevention and early intervention.- 3 Treatment and rehabilitation.- 4 Community-based restrictions on alcohol availability.- 5 Case study of community-led alcohol restrictions: the Fitzroy Valley.- 6 Community-controlled liquor outlets and permit systems.- 7. Meeting the challenge of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).- 8 Alcohol and community policing.- 9 Conclusion: outcomes and issues.

Peter d'Abbs is a sociologist with an extensive research background in alcohol and other drug policy issues and program evaluation. He holds Honorary positions with the Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, and the School of Public Health, University of Queensland. From 2001 to 2010 he was a Director of the Alcohol Education & Rehabilitation Foundation (AERF-subsequently renamed Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, or FARE), and in 2007 he was placed on the Honour Roll of the National Drug and Alcohol Awards for his research into substance misuse in remote and regional settings. Between 2016 and 2021 he was a committee member of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Alcohol Working Group appointed to update the NHMRC drinking guidelines.

 Nicole Hewlett is a proud Palawa woman with demonstrated knowledge translation experience in a range of areas including palliative care, suicide prevention, Close the Gap policy, cancer prevention, diabetes management and maternal use of alcohol, tobacco and other substances. Nicole currently holds positions with Queensland University of Technology, University of Queensland, and is a board member and Treasurer of the National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (NOFASD). At University of Queensland, Nicole is part of the First Nations Wellbeing team as well as the collaboration to revise the FASD assessment and diagnostic guidelines. From 2016 to 2021, Nicole was a committee member of the NHMRC Alcohol Working Group, appointed to update the NHMRC alcohol drinking guidelines.