Couldn't we be a classy society and drink in public?

How much better would a Queensland afternoon be knowing you could uncork a bottle knowing the boys in blue won't come and throw you in prison?

WE'RE considered the laid-back and relaxed country of the world, but are we really?

In an era where taking offence seems more common and political correctness rules supreme, there's an argument that Australia has become a rule-ridden, nanny state.

Take for example our public drinking laws.

You can't drink in a public place in Queensland; that's the long and the short of it.

It's in contrast to Europe, where the shining sun signals to a community it's time to get outside and socialise with a beverage.

From Barcelona to Munich and Paris, having a beer in public is a welcome tradition of locals.

How much better would a Queensland afternoon be knowing you could uncork a bottle knowing the boys in blue won't come and throw you in prison?

Yet Queenslanders are told we can't have a drink in a park because someone might throw a punch.

Sure, there's a risk alcohol-related offences will increase if it's a free-for-all.

Couldn't we as a responsible society embrace classy public drinking?

Perhaps it's not the rules creating a nanny state, it's the morons who ruin it for the rest of us.

Follow @haydenjohnson94