The release of a snap report on Central Australia’s alcohol restrictions by Central Australia’s Regional Administrator, Dorell Anderson, has been postponed until next week.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the delay on Thursday afternoon via a Twitter social media thread in which he met with Northern Territory Prime Minister Natasha Files after receiving the report, and the ministers said He explained that it would be announced after it could be considered.
“I met @NatashaFyles MLA After receiving a report from the Central Australia Regional Controller’s office this afternoon. The report will be reviewed by the respective ministers next week,” Albanese said.
“Our government will listen and respond with the actions that communities want us to take.”
This report will be released by the NT Government after Cabinet consideration and the next steps will be identified.
Our government listens and responds to what our communities want us to do.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) February 2, 2023
The announcement comes after the Northern Territory and Commonwealth Government appointed Anderson as Regional Controller for Central Australia last week. Anderson is responsible for developing an alcohol control plan after a surge in youth crime and antisocial behavior in He Springs made national headlines.
Businesses and community members, including town camps, were set to participate in the plan and learn how they wanted to manage alcohol in their communities.
The Northern Territory government also wanted to look to Anderson for the creation of additional measures regarding liquor licensing, including a possible opt-out system.
Impact of current restrictions Unknown
The report comes after the NT government put off regulating liquor. Presentation Many new restrictions on alcohol sales in Alice Springs as a temporary measure to help police deal with the wave of youth crime in the area.
There is currently a ban on the sale of takeaway alcohol on Mondays and Tuesdays, with reduced alcohol serving hours from 3pm to 7pm the rest of the week. You are allowed one take-out purchase per day via your prohibited drinker registration.
An alcohol ban in central Australia was introduced in 2007 by the federal government’s Northern Territory Emergency Response (NT Intervention) to address rising lawlessness and crime in Indigenous towns and communities that were (also known as The restrictions continued in 2012 under Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s Stronger Futures Act (pdf), which expired in July 2022.
Before the deadline, the NT government decided in May 2022 to amend the Liquor Act 2019 and the Associations Act 2003 to allow the sale of alcohol in indigenous areas.
Northern Territory Senator Jacinda Price criticized the Northern Territory and the federal government’s decision to lift restrictions, saying both governments were accused by indigenous community groups of causing more problems in those communities. said he had been warned.
shared price letter From nine Indigenous advocacy groups, including the Central Australian Indigenous Council, the North Australian Indigenous Justice Authority, Yilli Housing, Danila Dilba Health Service, Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjarra Yankunytjatjarra Womens Council, and the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization to the Commonwealth Minister on Facebook, June 2022 Australia’s Indigenous Linda Burney outlined the concerns of Indigenous communities that the NT government’s legislative changes were wrong and called on the Commonwealth to extend Strong Futures for another two years.
“We are now in a situation where the NTG[Northern Territory Government]has suddenly abandoned its generally admirable record of dealing with very high rates of alcohol consumption and the serious harm associated with it,” the letter said. ing.
“I believe the whole process is the reversal of what should have happened.”
The group also said it did not consider alcohol restrictions to be racist or discriminatory, and that if restrictions were lifted, it would lead to a surge in alcohol-related injuries and crimes.
“Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Darwin in particular appear to be experiencing a constant stream of property-related crime at the moment, mostly by young people,” they said. “There is no doubt that many criminals come from families where adults have alcohol problems. Allowing more access to alcohol will definitely add fuel to the fire.” They said
Alcohol ban is important for Alice Springs, but education is key solution
Indigenous activist Noel Pearson said: Australian person On Wednesday, he said alcohol restrictions are to “stabilize families[and]stabilize communities”, but it is education that can help solve the problem.
“What’s happening there is a product of previous failures…schooling failures are at the heart of it,” he said.
Pearson also said he believed a successful Indigenous Voices referendum next year would clarify education providers’ “demands” to improve schools and address youth crime.
“Ultimately, voices will demand better outcomes from schooling,” he said. “At the moment, no demands have been heard. The government is rolling out a series of new policies … and three years later he says, ‘Oh, it didn’t work.’ It’s groundhog day. ”