Marion Scrymgour warns women could be pressured to vote for alcohol in Alice Springs

Federal Labor MP Marion Scrymgour has warned women could be pressured to vote on alcohol bans as the PM and NT chief minister stall enacting plans for Alice Springs.

Federal Labor MP Marion Scrymgour has warned non-drinkers could be pressured into voting to lift alcohol bans in Aboriginal town camps if the issue goes to a ballot.

Ms Scrymgour has urged Chief Minister Natasha Fyles and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to announce they will re-instate the bans on Monday after they delayed a decision until next week.

The Alice Springs-based Lingiari MP said she was not opposed to a vote if it came after the alcohol restrictions were put back in place.

But she warned people who don’t drink, particularly women, could be pressured to vote for the return of alcohol.

“I think it places a lot of the non-drinkers at risk and there needs to be some reassurance that the fear and the intimidation that can come from that, we have seen that, I’ve seen that out in the bush, what can happen and I think that we need to look at this in a sensible way,” she told ABC Alice Springs.

NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles and Marion Scrymgour, MP for Lingiari, arrived in Alice Springs together on January 24 as the town battles severe social issues. Picture: Liam Mendes / The Australian

“Forget about talking about (it being) race-based, we need to look at what is in the interest of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory.”

Mr Albanese on Wednesday said he planned to act “without delay” once the government had received a report from Central Australian Regional Controller Dorrelle Anderson.

The report – which recommends the Northern Territory government pass urgent legislation to return the alcohol bans – was delivered on Wednesday afternoon.

But a decision on further action has been delayed until the federal and Northern Territory cabinets meet next week.

The state and territory premiers and chief ministers arrived at Parliament House in Canberra, for a National Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“Legislation if it is to be implemented does take time to be got right and we are making sure that we act expeditiously on the recommendations,” Mr Albanese told Sky News.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has described the bans – first introduced during the NT Intervention in 2007 – as a race-based policy that discriminates against Aboriginal people.

“The intervention was a race-based policy, it suspended the Racial Discrimination Act, but for me that is why on this path forward finding a way that allows local leadership to come through on these issues (is) important because we have to listen to communities,” she told Nine News Darwin.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a press conference at Parliament House after national cabinet in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

But Ms Scrymgour dismissed the argument the policy was racially discriminatory.

“If you look at this through the lens of the interest of young people in this town, it is not race-based,” she said.

“We’ve got to do everything we can to look at what do we need to do to help those young people because we’ve got to get families back on track again.

“Get away from race-based because it’s not race-based, this is about looking after those young people.

“Everyone is talking about young people on the street, well a lot of them are on the street because their homes aren’t safe to be there.

“So if we look at it through the lens of protecting young people, it’s not race-based.”

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Originally published as Marion Scrymgour warns women could be pressured to vote for alcohol in Alice Springs