The impact of a one-punch attack though is so shocking because of how quickly lives are changed for the worst.

Invariably, the blow is inflicted in the midst or aftermath of revelry, where strangers, acquaintances and friends have come together to have fun.

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When the outcome of an attack ends in court, the stark reality of the causal link between alcohol and casual violence becomes clear.

The criminal act alleged or admitted to is dissected at length but, as must be the case, within the rigorous boundaries of the legal process.

The aftermath of such an attack often is restricted, for example, by the rules of evidence that apply in a contested hearing.

The physical evidence, where surgeons or other medical experts outline the nature of an injury relevant to the assault, will be detailed.

But it's when the victim gets to tell their story that society's failures are most clearly laid out, to our shame.

For one-punch victim Luke Merriman, his words told yet another terrible story that our courts, as the cliche quite rightly goes, too often have to hear.

We know well enough, we probably always have, that alcohol is a drug and a disease whose harm for many so outweighs the "social lubricant" mantra used as an excuse.

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Have fun, down a few beers, chill-out, make friends, gain confidence.

'But for all those supposed good things, the reality is alcohol is a poison.

It is a toxic substance that will inflict harm. The more you drink, the more damaged you become.

In the early hours of September 25, Mr Merriman was knocked out, his head then smashing onto a concrete driveway in Wodonga.

Fortunately he survived, but as a magistrate has heard the physical and psychological pain lingers.

"No one should fear going out with the possibility of being attacked," Mr Merriman says.

"It needs to bloody stop."

Wanton violence, the relentless consumption of alcohol, the "reasons" trotted out every time - it all lays bare this cancer that riddles our community.

And yet somehow most of us are happy to pretend it does not exist, so the terrible toll continues to mount.

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