Blanket alcohol bans and tougher spending restrictions are on the cards for at-risk communities in the Northern Territory.
Blanket alcohol bans and tougher spending restrictions are on the cards for at-risk communities in the Northern Territory as the federal government fast forwards its response to soaring alcohol-fuelled crime linked to longstanding social problems in Alice Springs.
The restrictions received a mixed reception, as the town’s mayor argued they didn’t go far enough, while shop owners and residents were concerned dry days could lead to more break-ins and fuel the black market.A spokesperson for supermarket chain Coles said its bottle shops had gone one step further by banning litre bottles of spirits and restricting sales to two cartons of full-strength beer, one 750ml bottle of spirits and six bottles of wine.
“Royal commissions help feather the nest of the legal profession and when the reports are handed down, they’re cherry-picked,” he said. Asked whether the Stronger Futures legislation had been effective, Wyatt responded: “The legislation had a purpose, but where it should’ve been effective is through a relationship with the community,” adding that this failed.
After saying on Tuesday the government would also consider the reintroduction of alcohol bans in communities under an “opt-out situation” rather than the current rules, which allow communities to opt in to restrictions, Albanese said he was open to total alcohol bans for communities at risk. After being warned by the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress about violence and alcohol on June 9, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney told ABC radio on Wednesday she’d been in talks with the Northern Territory government for months, at least as far back as the Garma Festival in July.
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