Report to government recommends total alcohol bans

A total alcohol ban is likely for Alice Springs, but the Territory’s chief minister says that alone won’t be enough to end the town’s escalating violence.

The Northern Territory is likely to reintroduce grog bans for Central Australia, with a snap review of alcohol use and crime in the region set to be released.

Anthony Albanese confirmed he had received Dorelle Anderson’s report after meeting with NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles on Thursday.

Ms Anderson was tasked with compiling the report last week after being appointed as the new central Australian regional controller.

It is understood she has urged the NT government to reintroduce indefinite alcohol bans across Central Australia to help deal with serious violent crime in Alice Springs.

Communities are likely to be able to work on developing individual alcohol management plans to opt out of the bans.

The Prime Minister said Ms Anderson’s report would be considered by the federal and NT governments at their respective cabinet meetings next week.

“The report will be released by the NT government after cabinet consideration, confirming next steps,“ Mr Albanese said on Twitter.

Ms Fyles refused to confirm what was in the report before her meeting with Mr Albanese, saying only it contained “multi recommendations” and that alcohol was only one part of it.

She said she wants urgent investment from the Commonwealth to target rises in anti-social behaviour.

The proposed total alcohol ban would go beyond the snap restrictions imposed last week that banned takeaway alcohol sales two days a week and restricted opening hours and quantities on other days.

It followed a surge in alcohol-fuelled violence and social disruption, which had escalated following the lapse of the Stronger Futures legislation last year.

Ms Fyles said she’d heard “loud and clear from not only the people in Central Australia, but across the NT, that we need to put in place measures that drive long-term change”.

“We absolutely need to have a collaborative approach to tackling these issues for the long term,” she said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles will meet again on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sabine Haider

As for what specifically she will ask Mr Albanese, Ms Fyles remained coy, however she did suggest enabling remote Territorians access to Centrelink.

“We’ll be asking for any action the report required so that we can deliver that collaborative response that will better the lives of not only Indigenous people, but all Territorians,” she said.

Ms Fyles said she did not want any measures introduced that disempowered Indigenous people and wants them at the centre of any decisions that would be made.

“The (Howard era) intervention in the Northern Territory disempowered Indigenous people, it didn’t drive the long term change,” she said.

“We saw a continuation of that with the Stronger Futures. Communities put in a lot of hard work, they did develop those alcohol management plans but unfortunately, they started here in Canberra.

“In terms of stepping forward … we have in place legislation that did provide that ability for dry communities to continue, and a number of communities reverted to being dry … Legislation we believe was not race-based.”

Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson said he wants more police on the ground. Picture Mark Brake

Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson said it was “obviously very welcome” that the NT and federal governments work to reintroduce the Stronger Futures laws, especially in town camps.

“They were in place for 15 years and they lapsed overnight. We clearly weren’t ready,” he told Sky News.

“I think it’s the right step.”

He said he wanted more police on the ground, something Ms Fyles said had already been introduced.

She said her government had increased the budget for policing, with over 200 extra constables on the beat since Labor came to power.

Attorney-General Chansey Paech said the Territory urgently needed Commonwealth investment in key areas to empower First Nations people.

“Government coming over the top and continuing to oppress people and telling them what is good for them does not work,” he said.

“We have seen that that has not worked.”

The restrictions implemented last week affected takeaway alcohol sales. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass

Pat Anderson, a key member of the Voice to parliament working group, said there was no “quick fix”.

“It’s a tragedy that (this) is happening, but this is a long time in the making and it just didn’t happen overnight,” she told ABC Radio.

“There has been hardly any investment in remote Indigenous communities for decades.

“There’s no quick fix, the alcohol restrictions they are doing now – well, they have to do something – it’s a tragedy but it’s a long time in the making, and successive governments of all political persuasions have known about it.”

Among the recommendations, it’s expected there will be an option for communities to opt out of the total ban, provided they have an alcohol management plan.

When asked if she believed the situation would have been different if there had been a constitutionally enshrined Voice, Ms Anderson said it would have given people the power “to be heard, not just listened to”.

“I think the local people … they can see what’s happening, so why didn’t the government of the day do something, because it’s not for a lack of us speaking and recognising and identifying our issues,” she said.

“But this is what the Voice is going to address … we’ve been speaking about it forever, but no one listens, that’s the point.”

Opposition leader Peter Dutton told 2GB it was time for Ms Fyles, Mr Albanese and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney to “start listening to the voices coming out of Alice Springs”.

“The government was well aware of this last year, of the problems that existed on the ground,” he said.

“They’ve done nothing for months and months.

“Tragically, somebody is going to be killed in Alice Springs … It’s inevitable.

“It’s not just about alcohol, it’s a cultural issue.”

The Prime Minister’s Office was contacted for comment.