BDR has done little to fix NT’s booze problems, data analysis shows

IT was sold as the number-one tool for addressing alcohol-related harm, but the jury remains out about the effectiveness of the Banned Drinker Register

Sophie Kirkham and Scott McDonald get their IDs checked at the Parap BWS following the BDR’s introduction. Picture: Justin Kennedy

IT was sold as the number-one tool for addressing alcohol-related harm, but the jury remains out about the effectiveness of the Banned Drinker Register.

Analysis of data provided by the NT Government shows the BDR has done little to reduce grog-fuelled assaults or hospital admissions when operating in isolation.

The Labor Government reintroduced the BDR in September 2017.

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In the 12 months that followed – the only period when the BDR operated in isolation – alcohol-related assaults across the Territory rose almost 11 per cent, while alcohol-related hospital admissions over the same period increased by 6.2 per cent.

Those numbers fell significantly across the Territory in the subsequent 12 months.

This followed the introduction of a minimum alcohol floor price and the return of a permanent police presence at bottle shops in Alice Springs, Katherine and Tennant Creek.

Attorney-General Natasha Fyles said the Government was committed to the BDR.

“It is just one measure that stops the supply of alcohol to those who cause harm,” she said.

The Government has received an Australian Research Council Grant that will conduct in-depth research into the effectiveness of its alcohol policies, including the BDR.