Communities in central Australia could participate in a formal vote on establishing alcohol bans as federal and territory governments work to combat the Alice Springs crime crisis.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles suggested the Australian Electoral Commission could hold the vote on whether communities want to opt-in or out of alcohol bans.
Her comments followed a meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and community leaders to discuss ways to curb anti-social behaviour.
Ms Fyles said community consultation needed to be a key part of alcohol management plans, particularly in discussions about sale bans.
“We can’t look at Alice Springs in isolation … this is something where communities have had the option to opt-in to being a dry community,” she said.
“Do we go out to a ballot? Do we get the electoral commission to go out to these communities?
“Then the matter can be settled confidently knowing that all views have been heard.”
Mr Albanese and Ms Fyles announced a three-month ban on the sale of takeaway alcohol in the region on Mondays and Tuesdays and reduced trading hours on other days as well as introducing a limit of one purchase per person daily.
Charles Darwin University law professor Elizabeth Spencer said alcohol and crime in the territory had become highly politicised.
“The territory has the opportunity to be a leader in Australia and the world when it comes to alcohol management … (but) the focus on politically favourable decisions draws attention away from evidence-based measures,” she told AAP.
“This is a whole of community issue, not an individual one.
“Solutions need to include businesses, the tourism sector and industries that benefit from alcohol being in the community also taking responsibility.”
Meanwhile, Ms Burney promised restrictions on takeaway alcohol sales were just the beginning of measures to combat surging youth crime in Alice Springs.
“I find it very difficult to see a future where there are not further restrictions on alcohol,” she said.
The minister also believed a successful referendum to establish an Indigenous voice to parliament would help communities, particularly in the Northern Territory, in the long-term.
She said if the voice had already been established, governments would have been getting practical advice from community representatives on ways to address this type of social issue.
Mr Albanese said alcohol was not the sole cause of the crime crisis and governments must tackle unemployment, housing and education challenges.
“We’ve seen a failure to invest in central Australia … making a difference so that you can try to start to overcome that intergenerational disadvantage,” he said.
The prime minister agreed that enshrining a voice to parliament would help combat disadvantage.
“The voice is the vehicle – by listening to people – to get better practical outcomes to close the gap, which is in health, in education, in housing, in life expectancy,” he said.
“We know that the programs that are most effective are ones that have involved Indigenous Australians.”
The government also announced a long-term central Australian alcohol management plan would be developed to deal with “complex issues” in the region, which included alcohol-fuelled violence, unemployment and youth on the streets.
A regional controller, Dorelle Anderson, was appointed to ensure all levels of government were working together to deliver community services.
She will provide an interim report with further recommendations next week.
Mr Albanese promised to spend millions of extra dollars to bolster security, including providing better street lighting, emergency accommodation for domestic violence victims and community services.
© AAP 2023
