Northern Territory senators have shared their own emotional stories of the impact of alcohol abuse on their families, as debate continues on imposing alcohol bans in Indigenous communities.
Liberal senator Jacinta Price, who introduced a private bill calling for a blanket ban on alcohol in communities, spoke of her cousin, who died recently in an Alice Springs palliative care unit.
"My cousin lived her entire life in a town camp. And it is my firm belief that this life lived in a hellhole contributed to her bad health," she told parliament on Wednesday.
"But it was the last few months when alcohol was reintroduced in her town camp that her health took a steep decline ending in her early death.
"I could not be angry at her for wanting to leave us all behind. Life in her town camp had become absolutely unbearable again with alcohol flowing back in."
Senator Price also detailed the death of one of cousin's mother, who was killed after being run down by her father in an alcohol-fuelled domestic violence incident
The Liberal senator has been critical of the government for failing to tackle alcohol-related crime, including child sexual abuse in Alice Springs and other Indigenous communities.
Dry zones will be reinstated in communities, after the NT government will bring in legislation next week, with communities able to opt out with the support of 60 per cent of residents.
Senator Price said the response from the territory government was too little, too late, and wanted a broader response to tackle the issue head on.
"We are hurting and it is disingenuous to provide ad hoc approaches and not take full responsibility," she said.
Fellow NT senator Malarndirri McCarthy also shared her own stories of alcohol abuse within communities.
"When alcohol did begin to flow again, we got eaten alive. And there was no doubt the abuse that we experienced is one that I've never forgotten," the Labor assistant minister said.
"My aunty was smashed to smithereens by her partner with alcohol, we stood by her bed for the next six months as she lay unconscious, being told that she was never going to come to life again ... today she lives ... with no feet, they had to be amputated."
While Senator McCarthy said the NT government was slow to act on alcohol bans, work was under way to address issues.
"Those bans we want, they're going to be in place on Wednesday, right across every area of the Northern Territory that we're talking about," she said.
"This has been a traumatic time for the people of Alice Springs and the families of Alice Springs and the businesses. But let me tell you ... there is a better way here and we are doing the best that we can with that way."
NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has called Senator Price's bill an extension of the federal intervention, saying there has been no consultation on the proposal.
