Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is drafting a private bill to reinstate long-term alcohol bans in remote Indigenous communities, after concerns about an "increase" in alcohol-related issues in some areas.
Earlier this year, Intervention-era liquor bans ended in the NT, meaning dozens of previously dry communities, homelands and town camps were permitted to bring alcohol home.
Since the bans lifted in July, Senator Price has been among a group of Northern Territory leaders – including Labor MP Marion Scrymgour – who have spoken out against the changes, due to a lack of consultation.
Anecdotal evidence has suggested the lifting of the bans has triggered a spike in alcohol-related issues in some communities, including Alice Springs. However, data is yet to be released from government on any changes.
Senator Price said she was currently in the process of preparing a bill, which she hoped would be introduced to parliament in October, with the aim of reinstating the bans.
"Basically, it's to keep our community safe again," she said.
"To reinstate the bans, until such time that the Territory Labor government does the right sort of work and consultation to make sure that communities have the abilities to even have alcohol in their communities.
"Something needs to be done, and in my position, I have to do whatever I can to try to help these people … there are lives that are at risk, lives being destroyed as we speak."
The senator said she was aiming for bipartisan support on the matter to try to get it over the line.
"I will be reaching out to [NT Labor senator] Malarndirri [McCarthy] and Marion [Scrymgour] about this to seek their support … I'd hope that they are going to work with me, to address some of these issues."
Lack of data on bans
While originally a federal government policy, the Northern Territory government agreed with the bans being discontinued, and have since been largely responsible for dealing with the impact.
John Boffa from the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress said there had been a visible upswing in alcohol-related issues in Alice Springs since the bans were lifted.
"Anyone living in Alice Springs who looks around the community will have noticed that there's been a very significant increase in public drunkenness, and people coming to town and getting on the grog," Dr Boffa said.
"It's not back to where we were 10 years ago, but we have taken quite a significant step backwards."
Dr Boffa said Aboriginal health groups did not yet have access to any government data which would back their anecdotal evidence, despite having requested it months ago.
"We're not getting data at the moment … but make no mistake, there's no doubt there's extra harm – it's just about to what extent that harm is there," he said.
The federal and Northern Territory governments have made a commitment to "set up a data monitoring group" and release regular data from police and hospitals to NT Aboriginal health and legal bodies, a promise Dr Boffa said he believed would eventually be fulfilled.
However, he said he would have liked to see the data come through earlier.
"Given how long the lead-in time was for this, you would've hoped that government was better prepared for what was going to happen," he said.
Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker today said that police had seen "limited impact" in "some isolated places" from the alcohol bans lifting.
"Across the board we haven't necessarily seen a huge spike, we've been trying to monitor it," he said.
"The time span since the lifting in July to where we are today hasn't given us a real great span of time to be able to identify a true trend."
'Opt-in process a mistake'
Communities that had alcohol bans lifted have a choice to "opt-in" to continue to ban liquor entering their areas.
Among those communities is Peppiminarti in the West Daly region, where a 36-year-old man was this week allegedly shot and killed by an arrow.
Police have charged an 18-year-old man with manslaughter and a 22-year-old man with recklessly endangering life over the incident.
On Wednesday, they said investigations were underway to see if alcohol was involved in the incident.
The ABC understands that although Peppiminarti has made moves to "opt-in" and keep alcohol out of the community, the process is not believed to be formalised yet.
Dr Boffa said Congress health service believed the "opt-in process was a mistake".
"It should've been an opt-out process," Dr Boffa said.
"And so, the default should've been that all communities remain in, unless they make an active decision to opt-out, through a proper process of consultation."
Alcohol availability has increased violence in Yuendumu, coroner hears
Giving evidence at the inquest into the death of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker this week, the officer in charge of the remote Yuendumu police station told coroner Elisabeth Armitage that the repeal of Stronger Futures legislation, leading to alcohol bans lifting, had resulted in more violence in the community.
While the community remained dry, Sergeant Anne Jolley said members of the predominantly Warlpiri community were using addresses at Warlpiri Camp in Alice Springs to buy alcohol, which they then brought into community.
The coroner heard the increased availability of alcohol had led to an increase "in the actual violence, DV [domestic violence] related, and fighting" Sergeant Jolley had seen in the community.
The police officer of 16 years said the issue was "concerning" for her and members of the Yuendumu community.
