Last week on Brisbane radio I briefly canvassed a proposal that all our state & federal parliamentary buildings should be alcohol-free zones.

At first glance, this might seem to be either outlandishly radical or an example of wowserism.

But it’s important to note that in 2024 many workplaces involved in critical decision-making processes are now required to be alcohol-free zones.

For example, health professionals throughout Australia are required to be alcohol and drug free at work.

Indeed a senior nurse at a major hospital informs me that under the Health Department’s code of conduct, if she was caught drinking alcohol at work she would be immediately sent for drug and alcohol counselling, and could even be dismissed.

These days, most large companies, and certainly all public service offices, no longer have a liquor cabinet in the boardroom or in the executive office.

Some organisations even have a rule that, if employees consume alcohol while out at lunch, they are not allowed to return to the office for the rest of the........

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