Inquiry into public drunkenness in Central Australia, November 1995
Finch, Fred; Northern Territory. Legislative Assembly. Sessional Committee on Use and Abuse of Alcohol by the Community
Parliamentary reports; ParliamentNT; Report Number 7
1996-05-01
Alice Springs
English
Alcoholism -- Australia -- Alice Springs Region (N.T.); Drinking of alcoholic beverages -- Australia -- Alice Springs Region (N.T.)
Northern Territory Government
Darwin
Report Number 7
iv, 46 pages ; 30 cm.
application/pdf
Attribution International 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/265387
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/460170
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/460168
There are many additional, diverse, social and personal reasons which we~e put to the Committee over the course of its investigation. The des1re to reta1n ex1stmg restncted areas (declared under the Northern Territory Liquor Act) is still strongly supported and consideration of any form of relaxation will be vigorously opposed by indiVidual commun1ty groups. The same issue of the relaxation of restricted area parameters is also raised later in this report when the introduction of licensed social clubs on isolated communities is discussed. The Alice Springs Social Issue Working Group (ASSIWG) consists of the following departments and organisations : Tangentyere Council ; Arrente Council of Central Australia; Central Land Council ; Alice Springs Town Council ; Northern Territory Police; Pitjantjatjara Council; and Office of Aboriginal Development. ASSIWG also directly supported the findings of the SBP research , but Mr Ken Lechleitner, the group's Aboriginal Liaison Officer, took the issue of problems associated with visitors from isolated communities further when he advised that: The broad issue of social behavioural rules for Aboriginal bush visitors to Alice Springs is not a new phenomenon. Rules were set down by the Four Corners Council of town camp elders some years ago. Some 16 rules were made by the Council at the time which basically addressed, in their own terms, the following broad categories: People who should not come to Alice Springs. What people should do when they come to Alice Springs. When people should go home to their communities from Alice Springs. In essence, the rules set down by the town camp elders addressed many of the issues currently being examined by the ASSIWG, and set down visiting protocols, both prior to departure, whilst visiting Alice Springs and for the return to home communities. Whilst it can be said that the reasons and rules compiled by the town camp elders were clear in their mind when they set them down, and were also probably clear to the permanent residents, there is a body of opinion that holds that, consultations and implementation of the rules did not go far enough at the time, in carrying the message out to the bush communities, and explaining and agreeing on the protocols. If this was the case at the time, then it would have been both difficult to expect visiting persons to know or understand what the visiting protocols were, and doubly difficult to enforce or police. (Written Submission 158, Alice Springs Social Issues Working Group) 10