On‐ and off‐premise drinking choices among Indigenous Australians: The influence of socio‐spatial factors

The geographies of alcohol consumption have been examined by researchers from several different disciplines. Alcohol researchers have investigated spatial and environmental influences on drinking [1], the impact of outlet density [2] and the ‘bunching’ of particular types of venue [3,4]. Australian criminological research has examined for example, the location and type of venue associated with alcohol related assaults [5,6], the regional geography of offending [7] and the policy implications of this [8]. Human geographers have been slower to engage in nuanced empirical studies of the spatialities of drinking and Jayne, Valentine and Holloway suggest that geographical research has under theorised the role of space and place as key constituents of alcohol, drinking and drunkenness [9]. Anthropological studies in Australia and overseas have investigated the social and cultural patterns of the drinking act and their role in sociability and the creation and sustenance of relatedness among Indigenous people [10,11]. It is well known among anthropologists in Australia that in many regions Indigenous people use space and place as ways of differentiating one group from another [12]. This paper uses an anthropological approach to examine the ways in which Indigenous people utilise such differentiation in their drinking arrangements. Choice of place and companions is used to enhance sociability, but also to avoid trouble. However, these socio-spatial choices influence decisions that favour packaged (takeaway) liquor rather than consumption on regulated licensed premises. Attempts to reduce the well-documented harms associated with takeaway liquor and to encourage on-premise drinking have included the establishment of community-owned licensed social clubs and public hotels, with mixed results. Historical background