An extension of community liquor bans in the Northern Territory is being sought ahead of a looming deadline and amid fears a lapse would have devastating consequences.
The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory is seeking clarity from the NT government that it will ensure vital alcohol protections remain in place when Interim Alcohol Protected Areas expire in February 2027.Â
The NT government on Thursday said it would act well before February and assured it would not allow "rivers of grog" to flow back into communities, boosting the crime rate.
The protected areas cover hundreds of remote communities and town camps across the territory.
The territory could not afford a repeat of the devastating consequences when previous alcohol protections lapsed in 2022, the medical service alliance's chief executive Donna Ah Chee said.
"We cannot afford to repeat those mistakes. Women and children cannot afford that risk."
The expiry of protected areas in nine months presented a significant threat to community safety if replacements were not put in place, Ms Ah Chee said in a statement.
Protected areas were introduced in 2023 after the lapse of Stronger Futures dry area provisions led to dramatic increases in alcohol-related harm across the NT, especially in central Australia.
Following the expiry of dry area provisions in July 2022, police crime statistics showed alcohol-related domestic violence assaults in Alice Springs increased by 93 per cent in subsequent months, Ms Ah Chee said.
There were also significant increases in assaults, property crime and alcohol-related emergency department presentations.
Following the reinstatement of dry areas, alcohol consumption in Alice Springs fell by 20 per cent and domestic violence presentations at the local hospital emergency department fell by 39 per cent in five months.
"The right of people to drink alcohol is less important than the right of communities to live safely," Ms Ah Chee said.
"The right of women and children to be safe must remain the overriding concern.
"The evidence is clear that effective alcohol supply regulation reduces alcohol-related violence, trauma and harm."
NT Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby told AAP a plan would be provided long before February 2027.
"What we won't do is repeat Labor's failed policies, which allowed rivers of grog to flow back into communities which ... led to significantly increased violence, domestic violence and alcohol-related harm," she said in a statement.
Territorians could expect strong leadership from the government as it continued to deliver on its crime reduction strategy, she said.
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