Coronavirus: Booze rules a hard slog for sly groggers

Modest bottleshop restrictions introduced across WA in the first weeks of the pandemic have turned out to be a frustration for the scourge of sly groggers in the Kimberley.

COVID-19 bottleshop restrictions were introduced by WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson across the state on March 25 in response to panic-buying of ­alcohol. Picture: Colin Murty

Modest bottleshop restrictions introduced across Western Australia in the first weeks of the pandemic have turned out to be a frustration for the scourge of sly groggers in the Kimberley, where a single slab of beer sells for up to $250 in dry communities.

A day after Cape York Institute founder Noel Pearson warned money from COVID-19 support measures such as the JobSeeker program and the ability to tap superannuation accounts was fuelling a surge in “grog chaos and gambling’’ across the north, Kimberley police told The Australian each payment had coincided with a spike in crime and anti-social behaviour among problem drinkers in coastal towns.

COVID-19 bottleshop restrictions were introduced by WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson across the state on March 25 in response to panic-buying of ­alcohol.

Mr Dawson used his special state-of-emergency powers to restrict the amount of alcohol that a person could buy in one day, regardless of where in the state they lived. The restrictions were generous — a person could buy one carton of beer and three bottles of wine, or one carton of beer and a bottle of spirits, or a bottle of spirits and three bottles of wine. They could not have all three.

And while the restrictions were lifted across WA on April 20, they were reinstated for the Kimberley only after lobbying from Indigenous leaders and local shires. They remain in place in the Kimberley.

The Australian has been told that sly groggers who once frequented communities in cars heaving with alcohol are finding they must travel further to ply their trade.

The last time Kimberley police confiscated sly grog, on August 10, they charged a 54-year-old man who had allegedly purchased dozens of cartons of Emu Export in the Gascoyne town of Carnarvon then driven 2075km to Halls Creek.

Indigenous leader Emily Carter told Premier Mark McGowan in a letter on April 22: “We are strongly of the view that the profits of alcohol franchise businesses should not be prioritised over the social and health-related costs to the community and governments over the long term.”

Chris Mitchell, chair of the Kimberley Zone representing the region’s four shires, said the region needed permanent and uniform alcohol restrictions firstly to protect children from alcohol-related harm but also to improve life in the region for everyone.

“We are trying to create a ­liveable community,” Mr Mitchell said.

“We want people to come and visit the north and feel safe not experience some of the awful things that happen here because of alcohol.”

A trial of a Banned Drinker Register is due to begin in the Kimberley in December on a voluntary basis.

Mr Mitchell said the Kimberley Zone also wanted an agreement on blanket restrictions. He said the level of restrictions should be negotiated but those negotiations should take place with special consideration for children, especially unborn children vulnerable to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.