Sale of standard fuel to be banned to battle petrol sniffing problem in Barkly region

THE sale of standard fuel will soon be outlawed in the Barkly region, says Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion

The roadhouse petrol station at Urandangie that sells unleaded fuel , and does not stock Opel fuel which may increase the problem of availability of easy to sniff petrol in nearby Alpurrurulam , at Lake Nash ,in the NTon the border of QLD.

THE sale of standard fuel will soon be outlawed in the Barkly region, says Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion.

Senator Scullion said he would soon make a prohibition order banning the sale of sniffable fuel in Tennant Creek, with outlets required to sell low-aromatic Opal fuel instead.

Senator Scullion said people who opposed the ban were “bloody idiots”.

“This is a very serious matter. It’s like saying penicillin is not important,” he said.

Claims that the fuel was damaging to vehicles were “garbage”, he said.

“This is a time-proven product that has never hurt a car,” he said.

Central Australia Youth Link Up Service manager Blair McFarland said every petrol sniffing session was potentially fatal.

“Any time anyone sniffs, they can die, even if it’s the first time they’ve ever done it,” he said. “You’re melting a part of your brain that never recovers.”

He said the ban on conventional fuel around Alice Springs had reduced sniffing by 94 per cent, a result he expected would be replicated.

Barkly Regional Council president Barb Shaw said petrol sniffing caused “devastation” in some families.

“You can see the deterioration in physical health and mental health, and the tragic acts they take in trying to get access to fuel,” she said.