One-punch outrage is spreading like wildfire and only a wilfully ignorant or inherently stupid government will ignore the palpable fury in the community.
Prominent Melbourne DJ and businessman, John Course, has weighed into the debate (actually it's just the Queensland ALP versus everyone else) reignited by the savage killing of Cole Miller in Brisbane last weekend.
Mr Course has lined up the Queensland government and joined the growing number of people adamant that some people are thugs, and thugs hit people regardless of whether they're fuelled by alcohol.
He said:
"It's about time the government got serious about these issues instead of using the old "alcohol" scapegoat yet again. Qld Attorney General Miss D'Ath said yesterday she is supporting shorter hours and tougher restrictions on licensed clubs, pubs and venues.
She said quote "Mr. Miller's death was a tragic reminder of the consequences of alcohol-fuelled violence". The guy who punched Cole Millar was a thug. His publicly shared Facebook posts show he was a thug. He didn't punch somebody because he suddenly had a drink and went from nice citizen to thug! Hundreds of thousands of people go out to late venues and drink alcohol every week without punching anyone."
She said quote "Mr. Miller's death was a tragic reminder of the consequences of alcohol-fuelled violence". The guy who punched Cole Millar was a thug. His publicly shared Facebook posts show he was a thug. He didn't punch somebody because he suddenly had a drink and went from nice citizen to thug! Hundreds of thousands of people go out to late venues and drink alcohol every week without punching anyone."
Course went on to echo our own sentiments from Monday which caused us to name weak and clueless magistrates who let thugs free.
The Queensland ALP government continues to affirm its intention to reduce licensed trading hours on the notion that people less affected by alcohol are less likely to start fights. Within that concept of reduced trading hours there are yet-to-be resolved discussions of pre-loading (drinking at home before heading out), as well as the necessary reduction in hospitality jobs and trading viability.
Less than 24 hours earlier, the government's political opponents took to social media lambasting the ALP for trying to politicize Mr Cole's death.
This is a shameless attempt to push Labor's agenda. We still do not know the full details of the incident and Labor is...
Posted by Teresa Gambaro on Monday, 4 January 2016
John Course's full statement reads:
This is a big one, but I feel it's worth saying...
The recent death of another person on a night out is incredibly tragic and my heart goes out to Cole Millar's family and friends. It's about time the government got serious about these issues instead of using the old "alcohol" scapegoat yet again.
Qld Attorney General miss D'Ath said yesterday she is supporting shorter hours and tougher restrictions on licensed clubs, pubs and venues. She said quote " Mr. Miller's death was a tragic reminder of the consequences of alcohol-fuelled violence". The guy who punched Cole Millar was a thug. His publicly shared Facebook posts show he was a thug. He didn't punch somebody because he suddenly had a drink and went from nice citizen to thug!
Hundreds of thousands of people go out to late venues and drink alcohol every week without punching anyone. People like this do such things because they are thugs and they are fundamentally VIOLENT. Likely, the multiple times people like this previously started a fight, or tried to start a fight, or king hit somebody for nothing, they got away with it. Not because the first punch would have had any less violent intention, but because ironically, it didn't actually cause ENOUGH harm to have the police or a court take it seriously.
Thugs like this get away with thug like behavior EVERY WEEKEND not because they had a drink like hundreds of thousands of other people, but because they are violent and they have felt zero ramifications previously for such violence because of a lightweight system that fails to punish them in any considerable way. I know of multiple cases where people have been put in hospital and the assailants get out on bail, or don't even get to court. How about a re-think of violence by the authorities???
How about, "anybody who throws the first punch in a fight, regardless of the level of injury, there’s a minimum $2000 fine". Then get harsher from there! Educate people against violence through their wallet, no matter how minor, and then engage with them as part of the punishment with education about the potential consequences (like drink driving does). Make people accountable for their OWN actions and stop blaming venues, or alcohol. Stop saying stuff at a press conference that will ultimately make zero difference and actually address the violent part of the behavior. Turn it around and understand that 99% of violent people are still violent when they drink, but very few alcohol drinkers and nightclub goers are violent full stop, much less because they are in a licensed venue after a certain time!
Let's get harsher early on in the would be thugs experience and see how not only the thugs themselves, but their friends around them, will think twice at $2000, $3000 or more a pop for every fight they start. If you agree with my sentiments, let Ms. D'Ath know too!!!This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The recent death of another person on a night out is incredibly tragic and my heart goes out to Cole Millar's family and friends. It's about time the government got serious about these issues instead of using the old "alcohol" scapegoat yet again.
Qld Attorney General miss D'Ath said yesterday she is supporting shorter hours and tougher restrictions on licensed clubs, pubs and venues. She said quote " Mr. Miller's death was a tragic reminder of the consequences of alcohol-fuelled violence". The guy who punched Cole Millar was a thug. His publicly shared Facebook posts show he was a thug. He didn't punch somebody because he suddenly had a drink and went from nice citizen to thug!
Hundreds of thousands of people go out to late venues and drink alcohol every week without punching anyone. People like this do such things because they are thugs and they are fundamentally VIOLENT. Likely, the multiple times people like this previously started a fight, or tried to start a fight, or king hit somebody for nothing, they got away with it. Not because the first punch would have had any less violent intention, but because ironically, it didn't actually cause ENOUGH harm to have the police or a court take it seriously.
Thugs like this get away with thug like behavior EVERY WEEKEND not because they had a drink like hundreds of thousands of other people, but because they are violent and they have felt zero ramifications previously for such violence because of a lightweight system that fails to punish them in any considerable way. I know of multiple cases where people have been put in hospital and the assailants get out on bail, or don't even get to court. How about a re-think of violence by the authorities???
How about, "anybody who throws the first punch in a fight, regardless of the level of injury, there’s a minimum $2000 fine". Then get harsher from there! Educate people against violence through their wallet, no matter how minor, and then engage with them as part of the punishment with education about the potential consequences (like drink driving does). Make people accountable for their OWN actions and stop blaming venues, or alcohol. Stop saying stuff at a press conference that will ultimately make zero difference and actually address the violent part of the behavior. Turn it around and understand that 99% of violent people are still violent when they drink, but very few alcohol drinkers and nightclub goers are violent full stop, much less because they are in a licensed venue after a certain time!
Let's get harsher early on in the would be thugs experience and see how not only the thugs themselves, but their friends around them, will think twice at $2000, $3000 or more a pop for every fight they start. If you agree with my sentiments, let Ms. D'Ath know too!!!
