Business leaders want the NT Government to make drinking in public illegal

Territory business leaders are outraged over what they say is public drinking ‘inaction’ and its impact on anti-social behaviour. Take our exclusive poll on street booze.

The NT Government has been accused of trying to conceal a law change removing public drinking as an offence.

Industry groups and the Opposition Country Liberal Party say there is an alleged concealment, and lack of transparency, about public drinking legislation.

Since the 2019 removal of public drinking as an offence from the Territory’s statutes, there has been a surge in anti-social behaviour in the Territory’s main cities and towns.

In 2021, Larrakia Nation reported a 60 per cent spike in alcohol-related call-outs in Darwin and in June NT Police said a surge in break-ins was due to the number of itinerant people skyrocketing up to 4500 from an average of about 700.

In recent months, calls for the reintroduction of public drinking laws have grown stronger with the Darwin City Retailers, Hospitality NT and Property Council wanting tougher rules.

Hospitality NT chief executive Alex Bruce accused the NT Government of not taking ownership for its own legislation.

The NT News asked Chief Minister Natasha Fyles’s office to clarify if it was an offence to consume alcohol in public in the NT and, if so, where, but the questions were not specifically answered.

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has spoken about public drinking in the NT.

“You cannot drink in public in Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine, Palmerston, Tennant Creek, the Darwin Waterfront Precinct, and within 2km of any licensed premises,” a spokesperson said.

“Police still have the powers to tip out, destroy alcohol consumed in these areas, and they still hold the powers to arrest/infringe when behaviour becomes disorderly.”

Disorderly behaviour may include fighting and offensive language.

Drinking in public is no longer an offence in the NT.

A law banning drinking within 2km of a licensed premises was also scrapped in 2019.

Mr Bruce said the government’s public statements and those made behind closed doors around alcohol policy send out conflicting messages.

Isabelle Volpe Tweet

He said the Chief Minister told Territorians the government was taking a tough approach on alcohol policy but behind closed doors he said she was telling opponents of tough grog laws to publicly support Labor’s position.

He pointed to a recent tweet from a guest at an alcohol and other drugs conference in Darwin in which the Chief Minister appeared to be urging the AOD sector to speak up in defence of the Government’s alcohol policy.

“The Chief Minister plays down that the government decriminalised public drinking in 2019 so they won’t have to respond to community pressure and change the rules back,” he said. “Instead of solving the issues we have around public drinking, she’s trying to rally support for making alcohol laws weaker.

“Having drinking in public as an offence influences how the system responds to public drunkenness and community complaints.

“Police don’t rock up because they are prioritised to jobs where offences have been committed and when they do rock up, they are limited to tipping out the grog.

“Within hours we see the same anti-social behaviour in the same park by the same people.”

NT Property Council executive director Ruth Palmer said public drunkenness and unacceptable behaviour was “more prevalent than ever”.

Property Council NT executive director Ruth Palmer.

“At the moment people do not feel safe and we know this is not an isolated night time issue,” she said.

“Unfortunately, this behaviour occurs at all hours and across the entire Territory.

“Currently, the Northern Territory Government is promoting a global workforce attraction campaign to entice skilled and semi-skilled workers to live and work in the NT, but how can we promote the Territory’s liveability when people are constantly confronted by this inappropriate behaviour?

“Anti-social behaviour and public intoxication is increasingly visible to the public.

“To reflect the high levels of community concern, the Territory government must immediately prioritise policies that reduce incidences of crime, public intoxication, and property desecration.

“In addition, the NTG must re-examine 2019 policy changes made to the NT Liquor Act that previously addressed public intoxication.”

Josh Burgoyne is the CLP Member for Braitling.

Opposition spokesman Josh Burgoyne said a CLP Government will re-instate the 2km grog law.

“The (2019 law changes) were done under the cover of darkness and this is why the government don’t want people to see that they’re slowly making it easier and easier for people to get away with anti-social behaviour and public drunkenness,” Mr Burgoyne said.

“Due to Labor’s inaction on crime and failure to address anti-social behaviour, our courts are filled up and all they’re trying to do is make sure that a few more people that are doing the wrong thing don’t end up in front of a judge.”