Alice Springs town camp residents consider impact of alcohol bans following PM’s crisis visit
With a decision looming on whether to reinstate the Northern Territory Intervention-era alcohol ban, residents who could be affected by the potential changes are considering their options.
Most important points:
- Advice on whether to reinstate alcohol bans in urban camps and remote communities will be given to the prime minister within a week
- Some city camp residents are in favor of restricting access to alcohol
- The organization serving the city camps continues to oppose “race-based laws”
Until last July, city camps and outlying communities were designated “dry zones” under the controversial Stronger Futures laws, which banned the bringing in of liquor and prevented residents from buying grog from bottle shops.
Now, following an emergency visit to Alice Springs by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and a series of immediate alcohol measures announced, a return to a total ban on alcohol is being considered.
The prime minister stopped reinstating the bans on urban camps and remote communities, but a senior bureaucrat has been given a week to advise whether they should be reintroduced.
Janelle Driver lives in the Hidden Valley urban camp, one of more than a dozen suburban communities previously subject to a lengthy grog ban.
She said imposing alcohol-free days, a measure introduced for a three-month trial period, was “a good idea” for the community.
“That way, some people can stop drinking for a while, instead of drinking every day,” she said.
“Alcohol can make the community look bad.”
The young mother said that more should be invested in children to bring about positive change.
“The focus should be on children,” she said.
“The young people do bad things and have no role model to look up to.
“We need more support, especially for the young guys who are doing the wrong things, and maybe then they will change.”
‘Children go wild’
Pressure on the government for urgent action has increased in recent weeks, given rising crime and alcohol-fueled violence in the outback town.
Last year, when the Northern Territory government introduced its own legislation to replace federal bans, it had maintained that the Stronger Futures laws were a “race-based policy that disempowered Aboriginal Territorians.”
On Tuesday, Northern Territory chief minister Natasha Fyles said it was “clear now” that some sort of change was needed.
For Esther Bruno, who visits the Hidden Valley town camp to care for a relative, the alcohol consumption she sees in Alice Springs is way too high.
“There’s been a lot of trouble here,” she said.
“Children go wild because parents don’t take care of their children.
“Some parents use their money to go to the pub, and people also come from the bush to get alcohol and they have no respect for Alice Springs and run amok.”
Mrs. Bruno’s hometown of Kintore, a community 300 miles west of Alice Springs, does not allow alcohol to be brought in and consumed.
Despite the reality that grog is sometimes illegally consumed in these areas, she advocated restricting access to the substance.
“You can drink a little bit…but sometimes it causes so many problems,” she said.
“We want to keep the community dry.
“It’s a good way to grow up in a community – you can learn from it, learn from the elders and you can do anything in the bush, like hunt.”
She called on more people living in communities to stand up and share their concerns about the realities of living around people who drink heavily.
“Sometimes we get scared when we walk around town because there are drunks everywhere — even the kids are drunk,” she said.
“I want some traditional owners from this country to stand up and talk about what’s happening here in Alice Springs. It’s really bad.”
‘Punitive race-based laws’
Across Alice Springs, residents and businesses have wondered whether the quick grog restrictions will provide a reprieve, or whether they are a knee-jerk reaction from a government that is under pressure and failing to address the underlying issues.
But the organization serving Alice Springs’ 18 city camps, Tangentyere Council, has continued to support the lifting of the bans and says it has not heard calls from city camp leaders to reinstate them.
In a statement, Walter Shaw, CEO of Tangentyere, said the council “supports the aspirations of its members and city campers for self-determination and the elimination of punitive race-based laws.”
“The Stronger Futures legislation that made city camps a no-go area has not reduced the overconsumption of alcohol in Alice Springs,” he said.
“What these laws did was criminalize Aboriginal people based on where they live.”
Mr Shaw said there was no support from Tangentyere town camp leaders to return to an opt-out system.
