The Northern Territory Chief Minister has appeared to downplay the prospect of Intervention-era alcohol bans being reinstated in Alice Springs this week.
A snap review into the lapsing of the bans was announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during last week's whirlwind trip for meetings about crime and violence in Alice Springs.
That work is supposed to shape advice due to go to both governments on Wednesday on whether the bans —which expired in July last year — should be partially reinstated.
Last week the prime minister said the review would advise whether the current system that requires communities to opt-in to ongoing restrictions should instead become opt-out.
But during a press conference on Monday, NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles repeatedly refused to say if she expected that to happen.
Instead, she said "it's been proposed" that votes be held on so-called Alcohol Management Plans (AMP's) for individual communities once they have been developed by residents.
"What the conversation has been is around those all-important Alcohol Management Plans, which would ensure that communities decide how alcohol would be [managed]," she said.
"It's around the communities that have [already] said "we don't want to opt-in [to alcohol restrictions], we want to have alcohol just like every other Territorian can."
A town meeting is being held on Monday night in Alice Springs to gauge community support for legal action against the NT government, for what organisers have described as "the negligence of Alice Springs".
Federal Labor members Marion Scrymgour and Malarndirri McCarthy both used media interviews over the weekend to say the federal government could intervene if action taken by the NT government is not considered strong enough.
On Monday the head of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT), John Paterson, told ABC Alice Springs short-term action was needed, before ballots could be held.
When asked whether he would want to see the federal government reimpose alcohol restrictions, Mr Paterson said: "the answer is yes".
"I've seen some commentary from federal MPs saying they won't hesitate to undertake the appropriate measures if required, and at the end of the day that will be their call," he said.
"We also want to see governments step up and show the appropriate political leadership and to start addressing those underlying causes that we have continually banged on about for the last 30 odd years."
Along with all other major peak Aboriginal policies in the NT, AMSANT argued that more time and consultation was needed before the government allowed the bans to expire last year without an opt-out transition period.
They have joined other NT Aboriginal groups, Arrernte traditional owners and victims of crime in demanding the response to problems in Alice Springs extend beyond alcohol regulation to underlying factors.
Arrernte woman Leanne Liddle, director of the NT's Aboriginal Justice Unit, said the social issues on display in Alice Springs were a symptom of ongoing government neglect of remote communities.
"This hasn't happened overnight — this has been happening for years," she told ABC Radio Alice Springs.
"And the results we see on the streets of Alice, both day and night, are a symptom of the range of failings where there's been a drift of people into town because of overcrowding and community infrastructure and a need to access services."
All takeaway alcohol outlets in Alice Springs are closed on Monday and Tuesday as part of the emergency restrictions announced last week.
The stores can only open for limited hours on other days.
Federal Labor denying responsibility for the situation
The prime minister's office is yet to respond to Ms Fyles' comments.
Over the weekend the federal government continued efforts to distance itself from responsibility for the aftermath of the Intervention laws.
In response to questions from the ABC, neither government provided evidence of any dedicated support provided by the Commonwealth to help with the transition from the 15-year-old bans last July, such as rehabilitation programs or increased access to drug and alcohol counsellors.
By contrast, the Albanese government committed more than $65 million in "alcohol and other drugs treatment services and support" and "community-led" initiatives to get people off welfare when it scrapped the cashless debit card last year.
A spokesperson for Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney's later pointed to a $3 million allocation of funding for domestic violence services in Alice Springs announced in August.
The funding came as part of a $10 million top-up for domestic violence services the new government matched to a promise made by the Coalition before it lost office.
"The NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles made it clear on several occasions that the Northern Territory Government is best placed to regulate alcohol," the spokesperson said on Monday morning.
The NT government said there was now work underway to better fund the issue moving forward.
"The Northern Territory Government is working closely with the Commonwealth regarding potential funding [around the lapsed bans]," an NT government spokesperson said.
