‘Stop blaming us’: NTPA president says police are doing everything possible to curb alcohol issues

THE blame game must end here. Our men and women on the thin blue line are there to help.

Paul McCue, president of the NT Police Association. Photo: EMMA MURRAY

ALCOHOL-RELATED harm in the Northern Territory continues to outrank the rest of the country.

We continue to spend more than four times the national average to deal with the dangerous and, in some cases, deadly effects of alcohol in our community.

In fact, as outlined on page 1 of the final report for the Alcohol Policies and Legislation Review (the Review), the NT has the highest per capita consumption of alcohol in Australia, and among the highest in the world.

Sadly, the list goes on to include the highest death rates and hospitalisations relating to alcohol, which all contributes to the negative effects on the family unit – our children – and the community generally.

Recently some of those sad statistics were laid bare for all to see.

On the frontline, the hospitals, our nurses, doctors, and paramedics deal with the harm every day.

Our brave police also deal with the first-response trauma and ongoing effects of dealing with domestic and family violence, youth crime, assaults and, at times, a dysfunctional community, more often than not involving alcohol.

Policing in the NT is a unique and rewarding experience, but it is also dangerous and challenging.

The lack of regulation in the alcohol industry has only added to the workload of police, and that of other agencies trying to manage the fallout of irresponsible service of alcohol and secondary supply operators.

With the most recent damning statistics showing, on average, an assault is taking place on a Territory police officer more than five times every week, there can be no argument they put their lives on the line to keep us safe, as demand for their services seemingly continues to skyrocket.

Paul McCue says police at every bottle shop is a “band-aid solution”.

But why has it taken so long for the spotlight to be pointed on the industry itself?

I’m not talking just about the licensees and business owners, but the failed government regulation as well. Why, in all the debate until now, has the real issue not been addressed?

Statistics on alcohol-related harm such as those highlighted in the Review are not new after all, yet real and effective regulation of the NT alcohol industry has been flawed for years.

Turning to police at bottle shops is a prime example.

How is it we see a private profitable business in operation that, for all intents and purposes, is deemed so dangerous it requires an armed police officer to stand out the front to make the patrons and community feel safe? Where has the requirement been for the business owner to be responsible for creating a safe environment in and around the business?

As a community, we should be asking if a business makes you feel that unsafe, should it be operating at all? In the same towns where police are being asked to be quasi-security guards, other similar well-established businesses operate safely, without the need for police. The only difference is they don’t sell alcohol.

It is time to stop the flood of alcohol into our community. It is time to make the hard decisions for a generational change. The recently announced Alcohol Harm Minimisation Action Plan is a positive step in the right direction to achieving this, but it must come from across the board. Police already do their bit, and more.

Recent generalised statements, reported in the media, attempting in some way to apportion the blame for an increase in alcohol-related harm due to police not manning bottle shops is not addressing the problem at its source.

Taxpayer-funded police at bottle shops is a band aid solution. Attacking secondary supply and allowing police to tackle breaches of the Liquor Act head on must be a priority, but they can only do this with appropriate resourcing and funding.

Police are literally doing everything they can with the understrength resourcing they currently have, and support within our community for the work they do has never been stronger.

Blaming police will not wash with Territorians; the spotlight is back on the industry and other stakeholders, and what they have done, or are willing to do, to reduce harm.

The blame game must end here. Our men and women on the thin blue line are there to help. Blaming them will achieve nothing, and the community is awake to that.

The community knows how hard they work, and what they and their families sacrifice to keep us safe.

They save lives every day due to their courageous and selfless acts, and it’s time to support them in the work they do, to reduce harm in our community. Slowing the flow of alcohol by working together will reduce harm, and this must be done for our future generations so we don’t end up back in the same place we’ve been for the past 30 years, or more.

- Paul McCue is the president of the Northern Territory Police Association