Sales of alcohol in Port Augusta have been restricted because of a wave of drink-related crime and antisocial behaviour in the South Australian regional city.
The Liquor and Gambling Commissioner has imposed hefty limits on some items, curbing purchases of spirits, cask wine, and fortified wine by restricting them to single sales.
The restrictions, which apply to all bottle shops in Port Augusta, are now in effect and will remain in place for the next fortnight.
Consumer and Business Services said COVID-19 lockdowns in remote communities and flooded roads meant many non-residents visiting Port Augusta were unable to return home in the far north and west.
Under the restrictions, bottle shops cannot open before 11am and photo identification is required when purchasing cask or fortified wine and spirits.
Customers will only be allowed to purchase one bottle of spirits, fortified wine or a single two litre volume of cask wine.
Details of their purchase will also be recorded and retained by the store.
"We're not cutting off alcohol altogether," Liquor and Gambling Commissioner Dini Soulio said.
"We have similar restrictions currently in Coober Pedy and Ceduna, and people do get used to those conditions."
Deputy Premier and Member for Stuart Dan van Holst Pellekaan said the Commissioner's decision to restrict the purchase of alcohol was "sensible".
Mr van Holst Pellekaan said the anti-social behaviour was not a new problem and was the reason why the Port Augusta Responsible Communities group was set up.
"Port Augusta must continue to be a welcoming community to all visitors from all backgrounds, but the local community has the right to go about their business without being subjected to antisocial behaviour," he said.
Unintended consequences
But the manager of an alcohol and other drugs (AOD) rehabilitation centre is concerned about people who will experience withdrawals and the pressure on already stretched community health services.
Footsteps Road to Recovery project manager Donna Meyers said the service was already working at full capacity and increases to care at their facility and within hospitals were not viable.
"We are the only AOD centre in the West Eyre District and were only funded for 12 beds," she said.
Ms Meyers also said the restriction would lead to more people sharing alcohol, which could increase transmission of COVID-19 in Aboriginal communities.
She also said many clients were unable to access detox programs that required medical supervision with doctors or in hospitals because of COVID-19 restrictions and many did not have a Medicare card.
Ms Meyers was not against the restrictions, but was disappointed her organisation had not been engaged.
She said that represented a shift in policy from a rights-based one that treated Indigenous Australians equally to one where governments were increasingly willing to restrict Indigenous people's access to alcohol.
Mr Soulio said the department would review the situation in two weeks.
"Generally, when we've done things like this in Coober Pedy and Ceduna, there was consultation for a long period of time," he said.
"So it might be we adjust or lift the [restrictions] and then spend more time consulting the community than we have on this occasion, to see if there is merit or benefit in longer-term restrictions."
