Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / AMSANT says it hasn't been consulted about changes to alcohol restrictions in remote NT communities

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AMSANT says it hasn't been consulted about changes to alcohol restrictions in remote NT communities · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: We know that the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory, as well as the Northern Australia Aboriginal Justice
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  Speaker 1: Agency NAJA and the Aboriginal Housing NT are calling on
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory government to immediately shelf this legislation that
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  Speaker 1: could allow takeaway alcohol into more than four hundred and
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  Speaker 1: thirty community living areas, town camps and other small communities
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  Speaker 1: from mid July. Now, these communities, as you may or
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  Speaker 1: may not be aware, they became alcohol protected areas under
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  Speaker 1: the two thousand and seven Federal Intervention and this obviously
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  Speaker 1: continued under Federal Labour's Stronger Futures legislation. The alcohol related
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  Speaker 1: Stronger Futures Provision is set to expire now on the
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  Speaker 1: sixteenth of July. So Territory communities that were already dry
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  Speaker 1: general restricted areas for many years through their own choice,
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  Speaker 1: they'll keep that status. But the APA communities will have
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  Speaker 1: to apply to stay alcohol free or the conditional laps,
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  Speaker 1: and they'll have no restrictions at all. So I think
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  Speaker 1: from the outset, you know, some people may be thinking
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  Speaker 1: to themselves, Okay, well this isn't a bad thing, but
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  Speaker 1: others will be seriously concerned. Now, as you've just heard
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  Speaker 1: from the Northern Territory Police Association, they have said that
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  Speaker 1: they've got concerns with the fact that there's been no
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  Speaker 1: consultation on this legislation. Now joining me on the line
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  Speaker 1: right now is the CEO of A John Patterson. Good
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  Speaker 1: morning to you, John, and.
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  Speaker 2: A very good morning to you, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time John this legislation.
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  Speaker 1: I know that, like I was just saying, the Police
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  Speaker 1: Association have said that they don't feel as though they've
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  Speaker 1: been consulted. We know that there are concerns that for
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  Speaker 1: some of these communities it may mean that they're going
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  Speaker 1: to you know, they've been alcohol free and then it's
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  Speaker 1: going to lapse and they'll have no restrictions whatsoever. John,
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  Speaker 1: why do you think these communities, you know, why do
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  Speaker 1: you think that we should not allow alcohol into some
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  Speaker 1: of these communities.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Katie, I just remind everybody to reflect back on
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  Speaker 2: the and I forget the extull name of the report,
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  Speaker 2: but the Little Children of Sacred Report that was done
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  Speaker 2: by Pat Anderson and Rex Wild I think were the
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  Speaker 2: turses of that huge report that we had consulted on
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  Speaker 2: a number of issues, you know, that were impacting on communities.
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  Speaker 2: And I think there was a reference in there that
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  Speaker 2: they used was this rivers or gron that was impacting
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  Speaker 2: enormously and having detrimental impact, particularly on women, on children,
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  Speaker 2: on you know, broughder families in community. Kids weren't you know,
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  Speaker 2: being cared for. They were having restless nights, couldn't get
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  Speaker 2: up to go to school next morning because all the humbug,
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  Speaker 2: that's the drama that goes on all the nighttime, violence,
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  Speaker 2: violence against women and possibly men. Who know, we won't
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  Speaker 2: to single out violence just on women, but you know,
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  Speaker 2: right across the community, we will see other concerns. The
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  Speaker 2: increase in the emergency department, I understand that they're you know,
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  Speaker 2: also concerns within the health sector. And Katie, this is
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  Speaker 2: just going to bring unnecessary stress and pressure onto an
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  Speaker 2: already stretched system or service providers, including police, including the
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  Speaker 2: health sector, and territory families, you know, when it comes
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  Speaker 2: to kids that might be at risks, all of those
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  Speaker 2: critical service providers that will be impacted by this legislation.
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  Speaker 2: Nobody just needs to be genuine discussions and consultations, negotiations
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  Speaker 2: with relevant stakeholders.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, look, I think people will probably be surprised that
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  Speaker 1: there hasn't been consultation, given the fact that this legislation
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  Speaker 1: is due in Parliament next.
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  Speaker 2: Month exactly, Katie. Look, we found out viral meeting that
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  Speaker 2: we had with the Comilton Tertory governments that this was
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  Speaker 2: coming to an end, and you know, Tertory government was
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  Speaker 2: starting to form their position on an opt in I
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  Speaker 2: think it was I think that's the current study YEA
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  Speaker 2: to deal with this.
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  Speaker 1: And so John, are you saying that there's been no
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  Speaker 1: consultation really with the likes of amstand that you know
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  Speaker 1: that is that is managing the health of a lot
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  Speaker 1: of indigenous territories and helping you know, with the health
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  Speaker 1: facilitation in so many of these locations.
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  Speaker 2: Nothing, nothing, of a serious nature, Katie. We're not talking
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  Speaker 2: about serious. I mean official meetings with our hierarchy, with
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  Speaker 2: our leadership group, with the leadership of government, with politicians.
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  Speaker 2: We want to sit around the table with politicians, not
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  Speaker 2: saying about this is how serious it is, Katie. We
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  Speaker 2: want politicians to sit around the table and justify and
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  Speaker 2: inform us as to why they believe that they should
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  Speaker 2: open up alcohol back in the communities, those communities that
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  Speaker 2: may wish to have alcohol was you know, accessibility within
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  Speaker 2: their communities. This where flabbergasted. You just got no idea
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  Speaker 2: what the urgency is around this. They had ten years
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  Speaker 2: and somebody said to you, you know, workout a during
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  Speaker 2: the intervention perod right up until now when it's about
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  Speaker 2: to expire the second week of July whenever these this
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  Speaker 2: year time to get out there and have genuine consultation
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  Speaker 2: and negotiations with community, not these mediums. You know that's
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  Speaker 2: tacked onto other other forms and other agendas. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: I don't that's not meaningful, and that's not addressing the issues.
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  Speaker 2: That's not enabling and for the leadership of all the
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  Speaker 2: different sectors and groups to be put in their issues
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  Speaker 2: and concern and couldn't bad. Yeah, there are some communities
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  Speaker 2: that have web communities or canteens in their communities and
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  Speaker 2: they've got good, strong regulations and that's you know, something
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  Speaker 2: that we want to talk about.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and that was what I was going to ask, What.
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  Speaker 2: Is the framework? Yeah, what sort of alcohol light, heavy,
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  Speaker 2: leading whatever?
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  Speaker 1: And so none of that discussion has happened. Yeah, Well,
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  Speaker 1: and I think that's fair enough because I was going
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  Speaker 1: to ask that John, you know, why shouldn't some of
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  Speaker 1: these communities have the same rights as those of us
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  Speaker 1: living in town centers if it's a choice that is
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  Speaker 1: given the okay by the women in those communities, and
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  Speaker 1: and you know, and it's community.
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  Speaker 2: Driven, that's right, Katie. Look, we're not saying Am Sander
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  Speaker 2: is not saying all those other people organizations are not
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  Speaker 2: saying that we're going to make decisions we want to
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  Speaker 2: make the decisions on behalf community. By no way, am
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  Speaker 2: I saying that. All we're talking about is process that's open, transparent,
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  Speaker 2: that's got all the key stakeholders, all the evidence, data,
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  Speaker 2: statistics put to those meetings so that everybody, everybody, women
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  Speaker 2: use meeting leaders can actually see what alcohol, the potential
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  Speaker 2: alcohol and communities can have on families and the community itself. Well.
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  Speaker 1: And I think that that is a fair enough request.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, you're talking about changing legislation which has been
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  Speaker 1: in place since the intervention. I know it's more it's
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  Speaker 1: you know, changed forms throughout those years. But you're talking
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  Speaker 1: about a massive change for some of these communities. And
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  Speaker 1: and I think you're spot on. There needs to be
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  Speaker 1: consultation and uh, and you've got to have everybody at
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  Speaker 1: the table for that rather than you know, waiting until
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  Speaker 1: after the fact.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, And I just worry about the stress that we're
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  Speaker 2: going to put on the all those service providies that
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  Speaker 2: are you know, struggling right at this fairy moment, you know,
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  Speaker 2: team the in pandemic. Uh, you know, you and I've
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  Speaker 2: talked about, yeah, pressure, the stress that's put on the
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  Speaker 2: health sector just that. I mean, you know, and COVID
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  Speaker 2: is not going along. We're not out of the woods yet,
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  Speaker 2: you know, so here is another added pressure you know
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  Speaker 2: that's going to be born onto our clinicians and communities
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  Speaker 2: which we've got to deal with. You know, the shortage
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  Speaker 2: of police. You know, yeah, there are police in every
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  Speaker 2: every community. Who's going to you know, there's no police here?
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  Speaker 2: Is that going to be all? You know, the police
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  Speaker 2: are or of alcohol and there's still any violence and
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  Speaker 2: those sorts of things that happen most to me, how
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  Speaker 2: are we going to respond quickly to those?
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  Speaker 1: Well, that's right, These are all the questions I think
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  Speaker 1: that they need to be prepared to have discussions with
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  Speaker 1: the likes of you guys about John. One of the
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  Speaker 1: other issues that we're seeing very much around Darwin and
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  Speaker 1: Palmerston at the moment, and I'm sure that you've seen
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  Speaker 1: it as well, is a real alcohol issues and people
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  Speaker 1: engaging in poor behavior, sometimes criminal and domestic violence on
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  Speaker 1: the streets. What is your take in this space at
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  Speaker 1: the moment.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, well absolutely, but Katie, let me say, we
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  Speaker 2: do not tolerate that sort of nonsense. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: just I think who's responsible to go and you know,
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  Speaker 2: talk to deal with these sorts of situations. I know, please,
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  Speaker 2: I might control and are the aboriginal and non aboriginal
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  Speaker 2: organizations that are funded to do this sort of work,
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  Speaker 2: but we need to have a sit down and talk
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  Speaker 2: about those sorts of issues as well. I mean, you know,
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  Speaker 2: there's I'm pretty sure there's alcohol legislation and laws and
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  Speaker 2: place that governments could potentially use and implement a bit
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  Speaker 2: stronger resource, you know, where there's gaps to deal with
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  Speaker 2: these issues. But this is getting out of hand and
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  Speaker 2: it's not tolerated and we need to jump on it
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  Speaker 2: and stamp on it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I reckon this spot.
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  Speaker 2: You just can't, you know, where's the leadership? Yeah, the
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  Speaker 2: leadership and John, you know.
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  Speaker 1: The thing I've found so bloody sad is you know,
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  Speaker 1: speaking to people around the Northern Territory at the moment,
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  Speaker 1: and you know, being told that there's situations of domestic
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  Speaker 1: violence where you're seeing, you know, where women are being
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  Speaker 1: seriously injured on the street, you know, after alcohol issues,
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  Speaker 1: and I just think there is a duty of care.
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  Speaker 1: There has to be some kind of duty of care
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  Speaker 1: from the government to go this is not okay.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Well, John Patterson, we always appreciate your time. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: very much for speaking with me today. Katie, thank you,
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  Speaker 1: thank you you too.