Darwin council rejects calls from NT Police to reduce drinking hours at East Point
DARWIN council has unanimously rejected calls from NT Police to reduce drinking hours at East Point, saying it would not reduce or change anti-social behaviour
Northern Territory
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DARWIN council has unanimously rejected calls from the NT Police Commander to reduce drinking hours at East Point, suggesting it would not reduce or change any anti-social behaviour.
Elected members were concerned that by reducing the hours they wouldn’t solve any anti-social behaviour issues and would only upset those doing the right thing, who wanted to enjoy the scenic vistas at East Point.
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Alderman George Lambrinidis said given the calls from police were made based on anti-social behaviour being moved from the city, reducing the hours would only relocate the problem.
“I think for me there’s concerns if we do change the drinking times, the people drinking will find another place to drink,” he said.
“The threat then is they’ll move somewhere else … so we need to look at what the problem is in the long term and deal with that solution.”
A lack of fiscal data from police had also concerned elected members.
Alderman Emma Young also noted there were few places locals and visitors could enjoy a sunset drink and council needed to maximise the opportunity for people to enjoy the outdoors, particularly post the coronavirus pandemic.
“I acknowledge there’s extra work being done in this kind of behaviour at East Point but I don’t support the request (to reduce hours),” she said.
“We only have three places which are exempt and they are all beautiful places people want to go to, locals and tourists alike.
“We’ve already got a government which already introduced a floor price which punished the majority for the actions of the minority.”
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The original letter from NT Police Commander Matt Hollamby said there was no need for alcohol consumption beyond 7pm with anecdotal evidence it only created problems.
“The current time period is lengthy and extends well beyond the daylight hours where a person might be permitted to enjoy the sunset with an alcoholic beverage,” he said.
Originally published as Darwin council rejects calls from NT Police to reduce drinking hours at East Point