Bill to fuel row over booze ban oversight

A bill to give the commonwealth the final say on alcohol restrictions across the Northern Territory will be put to parliament on Wednesday.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

A bill to give the commonwealth the final say on alcohol restrictions across the Northern Territory will be put to parliament on Wednesday, despite the NT government announcing it would legislate grog bans to curb the spiralling crime rate gripping Central Australia.

NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said on Monday the new alcohol restrictions did not represent a return to Stronger Futures laws and would be determined at a local level and overseen only by the NT parliament.

The restrictions will apply indefinitely to all town camps and communities across the territory, unless they present alcohol management plans with the support of 60 per cent of their residents.

It followed the lapsing of federal Stronger Futures legislation in July, which included blanket alcohol bans across camps and communities. Despite the NT’s commitment to put “dry zones” back in place, Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Price confirmed on Tuesday she would still put her private senator’s bill to parliament that would effectively reintroduce Stronger Futures, in order for there to be federal oversight of the alcohol bans.

“I don’t want to lose any families to alcohol-fuelled violence in town camps, that is why I’m doing this,” she said. “I doubt that Chief Minister Natasha Fyles will follow any commonsense way forward. So far she’s ignored the most vulnerable voices and tried to frame this as a race issue, which is highly disappointing and misses the point altogether about what the needs are for our most vulnerable.”

The Coalition has committed to supporting Senator Price’s legislation in parliament on Wednesday, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also stressing the Albanese government needed to “do more” beyond providing $250m for the NT to improve youth engagement, health services and infrastructure.

“We need to do more in relation to the protection of children, probably the first priority by any measure,” he told ABC. “The Prime Minister’s made no comment in relation to what I think is the most important issue.

“We would be happy to work with the Prime Minister to try and get that better outcome.”

Mr Dutton has since last year been calling for a royal commission into sexual abuse of Indigenous children in the NT, which he argues should be of higher priority than an Indigenous voice to parliament.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney confirmed she would visit Alice Springs with NT MPs Marion Scrymgour and Malarndirri McCarthy at the end of the week to “consult” on how to spend the $250m.