A year on from the reinstatement of alcohol bans in the Northern Territory the effectiveness of them is being questioned.
Alcohol bans were reintroduced around this time last year following concerns of a rise in alcohol fueled violence in Alice Springs.
During the Intervention era, laws restricted the possession of alcohol in most of the NT’s Indigenous communities for the 15 year lifetime of the policy.
The new restrictions which came into effect around a year ago cut the trading hours for liquor stores and restricted alcohol from entering remote communities.
The NT Liquor Commission has said that the current restrictions have seen a reduction in crime but it has not stopped the flow of alcohol across the territory.
The Commission says black market sales is still a challenge that needs to be overcome.
Meanwhile, Emergency Department presentations have decreased, but it’s still higher than 2019 figures.
In terms of crime, there has been a 13 per cent drop in alcohol-related assaults, however there has been an increase in other crimes including house break-ins, sexual assaults and domestic violence.
In contrast to the Intervention alcohol restrictions, the new laws have left the door open for communities to develop their own alcohol plans.
The community of Itchy Koo Park, 20 minutes out of Alice Springs, is waiting for their plan to be approved.
They are the first and so far, the only community, to have submitted a plan.
Resident Aaron Campbell has told the ABC, anyone who spends 10 minutes in Alice Springs, can see the restrictions don’t work.
He says “I’m fairly certain they would have more success if they took all that effort and all that money and helped the people who have issues and left the rest of us to our own devices,”
