The Melbourne Cup has made international news and it's been called ‘decadent and depraved’.

Australia’s notorious binge drinking problem has finally made global news, with online publications in the US and the UK labelling Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup as “decadent and depraved.”

The claim was made after the release of photos showing fascinator-clad women falling over and suited-up men urinating in bins went viral around the world.

“The Melbourne Cup is known as ‘the race that stops the nation’,” The International Business Times wrote, continuing, “Perhaps this is because revellers are so hung-over the next day that they can’t move.”

US site Deadspin, however, was even more scathing in its assessment, writing, “There is a lot of booze. There is a lot of littering. There is a lot of smiling. There is, for whatever reason, a whole lot of falling/lying on the ground.”

Alongside images of people lying in rubbish, riding bins and just generally being giant messes they continued, explaining, "The Melbourne Cup is similar to the United States’ Kentucky Derby, in that it is Australia’s most prestigious horse race."

"Also like the Kentucky Derby—both of which follow the proud British tradition of getting equal parts dolled and f***ed up at horse races—it is a perfect event for young and old alike to don their finest of outfits and guzzle copious amounts of alcohol."

"The entire state of Victoria even gets the day off from work, since Melbourne Cup day has been decreed an official local holiday."

But before we scoff at other nations pointing fingers, maybe it's time to stop and think about whether this negative attention and legitimate shock coming from other booze-loving nations should serve as a wake-up call for change.

After all, yesterday included nine arrests, five hospitalisations and 78 racegoers being kicked out from the annual November event.

And, when compared with figures from previous years, that's relatively subdued. Which is definitely saying something.

Listen: Is it time to stop looking at drunk people like animals in a zoo?