According to a recent study sponsored by Vic Health, Australia Day has one of the highest occurrences of youth drunkenness, cases of assault and ambulance attendances for intoxication than any day of the year.
That Australia's long held affinity with alcohol reaches a high, or rather low, point on the 26 January will come as a shock to very few.
However, there does seem to be a change in the zeitgeist given the range of initiatives opposing the cultural norm of excessive drinking.
Among the many tackling change to this cultural embarrassment is Chris Raine, founder of Hello Sunday Morning (HSM), a movement working towards a healthier drinking culture.
Late last year UnitingCare Moreland Hall's annual general meeting played host to Mr Raine, a young man working to – as he puts it –'re-imagine' drinking culture in Australia.
"In this country from the age of 18 to 28, we spend on average 20 hours a week drinking – that's 10,000 hours in that time," Mr Raine said.
"I love drinking, I always have, but I think you get to a point where if you're really ambitious and want to do great things and have some amazing experiences you need to change."
Given UnitingCare Moreland Hall specialises in drug treatment programs, it was fitting that Mr Raine outlined a vision for the future of Australia's drinking culture.
"Most people have some common sense about them and know that it is a little bit ridiculous drinking in the way that we do," he said.
Mr Raine organised the HSM campaign to act as a vehicle for change on Australia's drinking landscape.
"In 2009 I decided to take a break from drinking. I used a blog to share my story as well as to ensure commitment," he said. "It's now grown to 2,500 people getting involved around the world.
"The challenge that Hello Sunday Morning puts out there is that you can have everything you want and not hide behind anything as a crutch and be a more inspiring person."
Commenting on alcohol support programs, Mr Raine notes the significance of early intervention.
"There are a large proportion of people out there who don't seek help because it's stigmatised," he said.
"Often support programs aren't accessed until someone is at a crisis point.
"Moreland Hall's treatment programs and services look after people in an important way from that sort of treatment perspective."
HSM presents a challenge to Australia's drinking culture, rather than preaching abstinence.
"At the core of what we're trying to do is help people make a better choice and until you can say no to something it really has a control over your life.
"Most of the people who get involved with HSM go back to drinking but they drink in a very different way."
Involvement in HSM helps people reflect on their personal drinking habits, as well as the larger drinking culture in Australia.
"Australia's drinking culture been around since colonisation," Mr Raine said.
"The core drivers were escapism – because it was really hard times back then – and the economy.
"Since colonisation, alcohol has been a fundamental part of our economic system, it was actually even currency for a time. And it remains very much a part of our society today.
"The way we drink is our biggest social problem in this country and it's a choice.
"We can collectively choose to keep it that way or we can collectively change it."
Moreland Hall and other agencies are increasingly encouraging early intervention programs –particularly social innovation programs like HSM – to mitigate the massive costs of alcohol misuse in this country.
"Next year our goal is to get 10,000 people to commit to the campaign and share their stories online.
"In 10 years' time after starting this momentum I'd like to see a drinking culture similar to France, Italy or South America where they still use alcohol just not in the way of getting plastered or to hide behind.
"Culture is something that is fluid and able to be changed. Look the way we now smoke, use seat belts or divide our rubbish, they're all cultural changes that we have manipulated over time to create better times for ourselves," Mr Raine said.
"So there's no reason drinking can't be the same."
