Indigenous organisations are welcoming much-needed federal funding for youth, employment and health investments in Central Australia, announced alongside the reintroduction of alcohol bans in the Northern Territory.
The measures announced Monday mean that Aboriginal people living in remote communities and town camps in the NT will not be able to buy takeaway alcohol, with the communities reverting to becoming dry areas.
Under the plan, communities will need to develop Community Alcohol Plans, with areas wanting to opt-out of a dry-zone needing the support of at least 60% of the community.
The alcohol bans, described by chief minister Natasha Fyles as a “circuit breaker”, followed a snap review calling for tighter restrictions to address an increase in crime and antisocial behaviour in Alice Springs.
The measures will be introduced along with a federal funding boost of $250m, which the NT government said will go towards programs and diversion initiatives for young people and children in the region, support for families and elders, on-Country learning, school attendance and preventive health measures.
The funding is on top of the nearly $50m for health, safety and anti-crime measures – slated during the initial restrictions announced last month - aimed at addressing the underlying issues contributing to a surge in unrest.
Last month, fresh alcohol restrictions were imposed on Alice Springs, banning residents from buying takeaway alcohol on Monday and Tuesday and restricting sales on other days, prompting some to raise concerns of a return to intervention-era policies.
Federal NT senator Malarndirri McCarthy told Nine’s Today Show that the measures were a “circuit breaker” the territory government needed to enact to give communities a reprieve.
But she said the issues were complex and urged longer-term solutions.
“There does need to be a longer-term conversation around alcohol and what those communities would like to see in the future, and I know that’s part of the plan.”
Catherine Liddle, chief executive of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), agreed, saying she welcomed the funding boost for organisations and services in Central Australia.
“That circuit breaker is desperately needed and it does appear there is attention being paid to the underlying drivers.”
The Arrernte/Luritja woman from Central Australia said the issues contributing to the crisis range from poverty to a lack of services in remote towns and communities, meaning people need to come into Alice Springs for basic needs.
“Many children and families on the streets are severely impacted by poverty. There is no home to go to. There is no food to eat. There is no job to be employed – and if you’re a child, there is no place for you to even bounce a basketball,” Liddle said.
She said underlying the current crisis in the town is a lack of understanding about what works for people and families.
“Police can’t solve this, alcohol laws can’t solve this, our communities have the answers,” Liddle said.
“What we’re looking at in the Northern Territory is decades of policy failure across all governments … underlying all of this is marginalisation and poverty. If we’re not looking at what causes marginalisation – how poverty is impacting the behaviours of our mob – then we can’t solve this problem.”
The Central Australian Aboriginal Congress also welcomed the restrictions and additional funding. CEO Donna Ah Chee said it will address a dire need after decades of underfunding in remote communities and town camps.
“We have been clear that alcohol bans are not enough by themselves,” Ah Chee said in a statement.
“We need sustained action on the drivers of destructive drinking: intergenerational trauma, poverty, poor education and discrimination.”
