Cover girls just wanted change

Two Kimberley women famous for calling time on binge drinking in their remote community are about to become urban legends.

Fitzroy Crossing residents June Oscar and Emily Carter have been selected to appear on the covers of the 2013/14 Great Northern White and Yellow Pages. They were chosen under the theme Keeping Our Communities Healthy, which recognised Australians who go above and beyond to improve the quality of life for people in their area.

Concerned by the high number of alcohol-related deaths and illnesses in their community, they successfully lobbied for local restrictions on the sale of full-strength takeaway alcohol in 2007.

The ban has caught the attention of social welfare leaders nationally and internationally and led to improvements in the health and wellbeing of families living in the town, 2,550km north east of Perth.

Two years later, the women turned their attention to the effect of alcohol on unborn children, creating Australia’s first research project in the prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

The project is helping more than 150 local families, providing affected children with education and health plans.

The women have expanded the FASD project to also educate local families about the risks of consuming alcohol during pregnancy.

Ms Oscar said the community was once a challenging environment. “Emily and I realised we had to take responsibility and make some big decisions around the wellbeing and quality of life of our whole community,” she said. “Sometimes just making a decision to change things is the best way to start.”

Ms Carter said both ladies felt humbled to be gracing the front pages of the directories. “We have our community to thank, as without their willingness to embrace our projects, we would still be at square one,” she said.

The books will be distributed over the next six weeks.