Funding is not seen as an important issue at this stage as the aim has been to finance only one initiative at a time. There needs to be a social development process which survives despite the constant changes of personnel which seems to be a feature of rural Australia. Local Government support provides some constancy. Flexibility has been important within the overall harm-minimisation strategy. This has permitted new ideas to flourish even though they may not have appeared in the initial Strategy document which should really be regarded as a vehicle for prioritizing areas for review.
Alcohol consumption is an integral part of the Australian social scene.
Harm minimisation can be encouraged by the development of a long-term community alcohol strategy like the programme in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.