The real cost of a night out.

A recent report found that the cost of alcohol abuse to our communities is around $34 billion a year!
This is twice as much as was previously thought.

Rev. Tim Costello (the CEO of World Vision Australia) has said 'If ever our leaders needed the courage to tackle the vested interests that resist effective alcohol policy reform in Australia, this report provides ample evidence that the ongoing tragedy of alcohol related harm in the Australian community cannot continue unabated.'
Basically he's saying that this is clear evidence that 'we' as Australians need to get in and do something about alcohol harm coz the problem is only going to get bigger if left alone!

What could you do with $34 billion?
Here's some examples of some other things Australia could use the money for (in one year);
* Buy a National Broadband Network so we can access the internet even in regional Australia!

* Get millions of African children out of poverty. According to UNICEF 300 million children go to bed hungry every night. But only 8% of these are victims of famine or other emergencies so it means the other 92% are just living in extreme poverty for no other reason than they were just born into it! (Have you ever heard of the $1 a day challenge? It's where you live on just $1 a day for a week or a month and the money you save you donate to those who have no other choice but to live on $1 a day, or less. Check it out here.)

* Pay the cost of the physical and economic damage from the Australian floods that occurred recently in both Victoria and Queensland. Were you affected?

What would you spend $34 billion on each year in Australia?

Think about it. Pray about it. ***