Boat drivers to be hit with .05 limit as Territory Government reforms alcohol policy

THE Territory Government intends to introduce a floor price on alcohol and alcohol blood limits for boat drivers

Jay Anderson enjoys a beer on his boat near Dinah Beach in Darwin. The Territory Government intends to introduce a floor price on alcohol and alcohol blood limits for boat drivers. Picture: Helen Orr

THE Territory Government intends to introduce a floor price on alcohol and alcohol blood limits for boat drivers.

Health Minister and Attorney-General Natasha Fyles will announce the changes in floor pricing today which will push the price of cheaper bottled wine up by as much as $5 a bottle.

Minister Fyles said people in control of boats will have the same blood alcohol level restrictions as motorists and anyone caught in control of a boat on the water with a blood-alcohol level of more than .05 will be penalised.

She said the floor price will be $1.30 per unit. There is around seven units for standard bottle of wine.

“We have taken into account the recommendations of the Reilly review,” Minister Fyles said.

“It is my understanding the floor pricing will not affect the price of beer.

“It will put an end to the cheap four or five dollar bottles of wine and push them up to around ten dollars a bottle.”

The review by former chief justice Trevor Riley is ushering in the biggest changes ever to the Northern Territory’s alcohol policies.

The Gunner Government has accepted all but one of the 220 recommendations from the review, including a floor price or volumetric tax on alcohol products and a policy shift away from floor-size restrictions.

“We have accepted 219 of the Reilly review recommendations,” she said.

She said 22 of the recommendations have been implemented and a further 74 are in progress.