The Australian government will launch a new alcohol safety campaign targeting young travellers as the families of Melbourne teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, who died after drinking alcohol tainted with methanol while on holiday in Laos, continue to push for answers.
The friends, both 19, died in November last year while on holiday in Laos, in a suspected mass methanol poisoning that resulted in the deaths of six foreign tourists.
From next month, a new Smartraveller campaign will seek to educate young Australians about alcohol-related risks, the signs of methanol poisoning, and ways to stay safe via social media, text messages and airport communications.
“The families of Holly and Bianca are foremost in my mind today, and also the many families of other Australians who have lost loved ones,” foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said as she made the announcement.
“We want our children to be curious and explore the world – but above all else, we want them to be safe,” she said.
As part of the initiative, an advertising campaign is scheduled to begin ahead of end of school year celebrations. A website with resources for schools, universities and parents is also expected to launch in June.
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In a statement, the government said it planned to work closely with airlines, educational institutions and non-government organisations such as Red Frogs and the Nicole Fitzsimmons Foundation to amplify the campaign’s messages.
The announcement comes amid an ongoing diplomatic push for a transparent and thorough investigation into the Laos deaths.
Reporting by the Guardian revealed the British ambassador to Laos raised the case, alongside the Denmark and Australian embassies, with Laos’ ministry of foreign affairs on 26 February.
All six foreign tourists who died had stayed at Nana backpackers hotel but Laos police have not confirmed if the suspected methanol poisoning occurred there or at one of the many bars in Vang Vieng.
Bianca’s father, Mark Jones, told the Guardian he believed the investigation had come to a “thumping halt” after the release of hostel staff detained by Lao police. Holly’s father, Shaun Bowles, said he had “zero confidence that anything is actually being done”.
The Jones and Bowles families have vowed to continue to push for answers and accountability, alongside the parents of the three other young women who died after the suspected mass methanol poisoning; Danish friends Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, and Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and UK lawyer, Simone White, 28.
According to Doctors Without Borders, thousands of people are poisoned by methanol every year, which kills 20% to 40% of victims.
The Smartraveller website already published tips for travellers on partying safely, including warnings about drink spiking, the signs of methanol poisoning and advice to stay in contact and take care of friends.
