Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the Northern Territory Safe Measures Bill 2023 being introduced into the Senate by Senator Price;

(2) recognises the need for immediate action to address underlying issues across parts of the Northern Territory following months of escalating crime incidents; and

(3) condemns the lack of urgent action taken by the Commonwealth Government in addressing community concerns in relation to alcohol-related harm across vulnerable communities in the Northern Territory.

I wish to highlight the importance of the Northern Territory Safe Measures Bill 2023 introduced in the senate by Senator Price with the aim to keep all people in the Northern Territory safe in relation to the consumption of alcohol and exposure to alcohol-related harm and violence. The bill was drafted in response to calls from vulnerable community members following neglect and inaction from the Northern Territory and Albanese governments. Indeed, Senator Price drafted the bill in response to a letter from nine separate Aboriginal organisations seeking urgent support from the federal Minister for Indigenous Australians after failed attempts at communicating these concerns with the Northern Territory government. Creating policy on the run without listening to the concerns of remote and vulnerable communities serves no-one.

I would like to highlight the domestic and family violence statistics for First Nations women, as part of the introduction of this bill. Research cited by the Australian Human Rights Commission shows First Nations women are 32 times more likely to be hospitalised and 11 times more likely to die from assault than non-Indigenous women in Australia. That is an appalling statistic. Family violence is a significant contributor to higher rates of First Nations women in incarceration and a leading cause of the removal of First Nations children into the out-of-home care system. So it goes without saying that policy frameworks enabling and promoting a healthy and strong community are incredibly important.

The bill addressed elements specific to reducing alcohol consumption and related harm applied in the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Act 2012, which ceased in 2022. The bill highlights the need for alcohol restrictions that will include declaration of alcohol protected areas and the development of alcohol management plans which will provide that the supply of alcohol is regulated, mitigating illegal alcohol supply and providing a legal framework for prosecution.

Senator Nampijinpa Price backed in calls from the community she represents, who have been crying out about a problem since the cessation of the measures and the lifting of alcohol restrictions in the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Act. The bill makes provision for equitable consultation to take place in relation to alcohol protection measures to ensure that men, women, consumers of alcohol, nonconsumers of alcohol, addiction experts and the relevant Northern Territory agencies are all involved. The introduction of a requirement for an expert committee to support the development of each alcohol management plan will provide that measures designed to reduce alcohol related harm and improve quality of life are realised, such as monitoring school attendance and rates of alcohol related assaults. The need for the introduction of the bill has been demonstrated through the increased rates of crime, alcohol related domestic violence and alcohol related assaults.

I recognise that the recent Australia and Northern Territory government package for Central Australia came after significant public pressure on the Commonwealth to provide support. I believe that it is absolutely essential to ensure strong federal legislation and support in partnership with the Northern Territory government. Indeed, this was done under the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Act, which Labor allowed to lapse last year. Evidently, this was done without the relevant safety nets for communities in place.

The Northern Territory government has since announced it will introduce urgent amendments to its Liquor Act to strengthen alcohol restrictions. This is clearly highlighting the need for this type of policy to exist for certain people within the communities that need it. The Australian government has a responsibility to ensure that the Northern Territory has consistency in law and order and also policy and that punitive policies are not taken by the Northern Territory that do not address the broader context of addiction and alcohol related harm. I call on the members of this place to share the sensible view that reducing alcohol consumption and related harm should be a priority of any government and to support this motion.

Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For the honourable member that just spoke before me, it is as if they had not been in government for 10 years. It was as idiotic as the member for Fadden railing about our stewardship of this economy that we are obviously picking up after 10 years of decline under those opposite. So let's just be real here.

The bill by the Northern Territory CLP senator and federal legislation are just not necessary. It's public knowledge that the Minister for Indigenous Australians has been talking with and working with the Northern Territory government for months, as has the member for Lingiari, who has been a strong voice in Alice Springs on these issues not just now; they've been a strong voice for the Territory since well in the past.

It was a decision of the former coalition government, those opposite, around the stronger futures legislation that it expire on 17 July. Let's get a bit real. It happened before this parliament even met under the Albanese government. The former coalition government had years and years to plan for what to do when the legislation lapsed and, with it, the alcohol management restrictions in the NT. But they didn't plan for a transition, they didn't come up with a plan in partnership with the NT government and they didn't work to support families and communities in the NT. So that was the situation that those on this side, in the Albanese government, inherited on taking office.

Crime and antisocial behaviour has been an issue in Alice Springs for decades, like it has been in many other places in our nation, for all sorts of complex and layered reasons to do with the process of colonisation, disempowerment and intergenerational trauma. But those opposite want to politicise this at every opportunity. The claim that these problems have only existed for the past six months is idiotic, disingenuous and wrong. Like other states and territories across Australia, the Northern Territory government has responsibility for alcohol policy and regulation, and they are bringing forward legislation in the legislative assembly this week to revert town camps and remote communities to dry zones.

This new legislation will follow a local decision-making process where communities will develop their own community action plans. Communities that want to opt out of a dry zone will need 60 per cent of the population to vote in support of the community alcohol plan. Local areas will be able to choose to remain dry or select tailored restrictions which work for them. This community-led approach is crucial—and, frankly, what should have happened in the first place.

The last thing the Territory needs is another federally imposed intervention, because we all know how the last one went. I wasn't someone working from afar; I was up close with that intervention, and I can tell you that the lack of consultation by the Howard government at that time led to a reduction in capacity in our communities. The blanket labelling of Australian men in the Territory as alcoholics and abusers did so much damage. It stripped communities and the Northern Territory government's capacity, and now we're looking at the children of the intervention. Again, it's this notion of intergenerational trauma that I think escapes those opposite. These kids have grown up in communities that are now powerless and traumatised, and they've never been given a proper chance to take responsibility, to have a say over their own lives.

The Northern Territory government has demonstrated that they are now taking responsibility and have the power to act. On 25 January, the Chief Minister outlined a number of measures to address antisocial behaviour and crime, including one sale of alcohol per day, per person, following industry guidance. Alcohol-free days are Mondays and Tuesdays for take aways; and there are limited hours for the sale of alcohol, between 3 and 7 pm, except on Saturdays.

What we know is that in the Territory alcohol restrictions are only part of the solution. There is so much that we need to do and that our government will do in cooperation with the NT government—and that is social and economic drivers of community development.

Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in favour of the Northern Territory Safe Measures Bill 2023 to be introduced in the Senate by Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. When the Albanese government let the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Act 2012 lapse, alcohol supply and consumption became an opt-in model. The Northern Territory government has allowed communities to be opt in for alcohol provisions rather than the previous opt-out model. Committees were not required to have any alcohol management plans in place to support this change.

This opt-in model has devastated the lives of those living in the Territory. It is left children, families and the broader community vulnerable to alcohol related violence. Since the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Act lifted, there has been a devastating increase in both consumption of alcohol and alcohol related crime. Northern Territory police statistics have shown that in Alice Springs alone property offences, assaults and stolen vehicles have jumped by 60 per cent, in the past 12 months, while domestic violence assaults have increased by 48 per cent.

The poorly managed transition out of the stronger futures NT legislation has not just affected the larger towns like Alice Springs but also the small, remote communities and their households, schools and workplaces. It is heartbreaking to see children wandering the streets in the early hours of the morning because it's safer than being at home. Every single child must be protected from the horrors of the abuse, neglect and sexual violence that have become out of control.

The people living in these communities are terrified of leaving their homes after dark, afraid of the violence that awaits them that is fuelled by alcohol. If the horrific crimes that we are witnessing were occurring in one of our capital cities, it would be consistent front-page news. Immediate action would be taken. What the Northern Territory communities received was a fly-in fly-out meeting from the Prime Minister that lasted four hours before he held a press conference. In fact, the tennis games that the Prime Minister indulged himself in for three days following his visit lasted longer than the time he spent in Alice Springs. Four hours is nowhere near long enough to address the severity and scale of the situation occurring in the Northern Territory. The people of Alice Springs deserve better than four hours and a photo opportunity.

Senator Price had warned the government of the impact in letting the Stronger Futures Northern Territory act lapse, and now the people of the Northern Territory are paying for the lack of action by this government. Labor's accusation that—

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Capricornia has the call and will be heard in silence.

Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

the lapse of alcohol bans was caused by the coalition is simply outrageous.

The fact of the matter is that the Stronger Futures Northern Territory legislation lapsed under the watch of the Albanese government, in July last year. Overnight, these communities began to spiral into the abyss of alcohol-fuelled violence and crime. The Labor government has let the people of Northern Territory communities down for far too long. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has had his head buried in the sand while alcohol has decimated the towns of the Northern Territory.

The lives of the most vulnerable people in our society are a responsibility for all of us, which is why both the Australian and Northern Territory governments need to act now and need to act fast. A more robust and all-encompassing approach must be put into place to ensure the lives of the most at-risk people are kept safe.

The Northern Territory Safe Measures Bill will reintroduce elements of the Stronger Futures Northern Territory act, while also ensuring that there is a legal framework to address alcohol abuse. It will also establish requirements for the Northern Territory Labor government to work with all communities to develop an alcohol management plan for a reinstated opt-out model. The Northern Territory government must take responsibility to support the development of alcohol management plans, while also working constructively with the Australian government.

This bill will also ensure that the supply of alcohol is regulated and will mitigate the legal framework for the prosecution of illegal alcohol supply. Safe measures will also be established for those who do consume alcohol, their children, families and the broader community, while also ensuring that human rights are upheld for the most vulnerable citizens of Australia. There will be provision for equitable consultation of men and women in these vulnerable communities, not just to meet a quota, as well as a provision for a 12-month Senate committee to review and make an assessment of the effectiveness of the act in addressing the reduction of alcohol related crime and the development and implementation of alcohol management plans.

Now is the time for action and change. The Prime Minister stated in last year's election that he was going to become Prime Minister and that he would not go missing when the going got tough or pose for photos and disappear when there was a job to be done. Prime Minister, there is a job to be done. You demonstrated last year you can recall parliament to pass legislation in a single day. The Northern Territory Safe Measures Bill 2023 needs to be legislated now.

Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This bill and federal legislation are absolutely not necessary. This legislation is about federal intervention. It is about the federal parliament overriding the Territory's ability to legislate for itself. And there is absolutely no doubt that the people in Alice Springs and in the Territory right across Central Australia are doing it tough. Federal legislation, however, is only going to disempower local people.

The bill makes the minister responsible for approving alcohol management plans that communities develop. This approach would mean that ultimate decision-making for alcohol management plans for communities in the Northern Territory are made in Canberra.

We want the Commonwealth and state and territory governments to work in partnership. We want them to work together. We want the community to be driving solutions, because we need solutions. We need solutions for harm minimisation and we need solutions for alcohol—in particular, for the health problems relating to alcohol. I can talk about alcohol-associated organ damage—particularly to do with the heart: arrhythmias; cardiomyopathy, where the heart grows and it's unable to pump properly and pump blood to vital organs; high blood pressure. If we talk about the brain, we're talking about stroke and about something called Wernicke's encephalopathy, where the brain is in a constant state of delirium. We can talk about cirrhosis and hepatitis of the liver, and pancreatitis. The health problems associated with alcohol are absolutely catastrophic, and that's why the community needs to be driving these solutions.

Now, Senator Price's approach is in contrast to the approach announced by the Northern Territory. They are proposing that the community alcohol plans be approved by the independent Northern Territory Director of Liquor Licensing and then be voted on by the community themselves. Communities wishing to opt out of alcohol restrictions will require a 60 per cent approval vote for the community alcohol plan to be accepted and for the restrictions to cease. Under the Northern Territory model, decision-making is within the community. As I said before, federal legislation will only disempower local people. This is a much better option, as it addresses the immediate problem while empowering communities to make their own decisions. That has not been the case in times gone by. The approach of this government has always been and continues to be focused on outcomes, not playing politics with the issue, as we can see from those opposite and as we can see from those in the other place.

The Commonwealth has announced additional funding support for the Northern Territory to work on these longer-term social and economic issues, and in particular to address the decline in service and investment that happened over the last decade under the watch of those opposite. The Australian government will invest $250 million in a plan for a better, safer future for Central Australia. This plan is going to focus on improved community safety and cohesion through more youth engagement and diversion programs. It's going to focus on employment and job creation, particularly in those communities that surround Alice Springs, including urgent changes as part of replacing the failed Community Development Program.

It's going to focus on better services by improving health services to address a lot of those alcohol related issues with alcohol associated organ damage and fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetal alcohol syndrome, as some members may not be aware, can lead to poor concentration, behavioural issues, learning difficulties and speech and language changes. Then there are also abnormal facial features and physical deformities that occur—small palpebral fissures affecting the eyes; a smooth philtrum, which is the bit above the upper lip; micrognathia, or a small jaw, causing problems with speech and eating; and microcephaly, which is unusually small development of the head. We are preventing issues such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder by investing in the health system.

We're investing in families, including by better supporting elders, better supporting parents, boosting domestic violence services and, in particular, on-country learning, improving school attendance and completion through caring for culture and caring for country. This package is in addition to the $48 million investment in community safety announced by the Australian government, the Albanese Labor government, on 24 January this year.

I just want to take the time to say that those opposite have left the Northern Territory in a state of disrepair, and it's now time that we get to work and fix it.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'Suffer the little children,' somebody far wiser and greater than me said. Certainly in the Northern Territory at the moment we have a crisis. Some of the most vulnerable members of that community are suffering: children.

I know that a cashless debit card wasn't the panacea or the cure-all for all the ills in the Northern Territory or elsewhere in this great nation, but it was certainly having a positive effect. It was certainly helping some of those children who were going hungry, who were going to school without a proper uniform, without breakfast, without the proper resourcing for a good education—we know that education is the great enabler. Those children were being helped by the cashless debit card to the point where their families were finally getting the money to spend on who they should be spending it on: the kids.

I'm pleased that Senator Dodson is in the chamber. I know he is here for another reason, the anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations. I appreciate that the two Northern Territory lower house members are here. I acknowledge their work to help their communities—I truly do—but we have to do much more. It can't be just partisan politics. It can't be just politicking as usual.

I had great dismay about the Minister for Social Services almost gloating, crowing, about the fact that the cashless debit card would be no more. I am not sure how many of those communities she personally visited. I am not saying she didn't make those trips to those communities, but I know I did. I have been to Katherine. I have been to Tennant Creek. I have been to Alice Springs. I have been to other communities in the Northern Territory and elsewhere and I saw that it was working. I heard that it was operating successfully.

I'm glad that the shadow minister for home affairs, child protection and prevention of family violence has introduced this bill into this House, following on from Senator Price's private members' bill in the other place, an important bill. It is an important discussion to have because we need to have it. We need to address community concerns. We need to recognise the need for immediate action to address underlying issues across parts of the Northern Territory following months of escalating crime incidents. How terrible is it to turn on our television sets to watch the six o'clock news and see scenes that would otherwise belong to probably a war zone elsewhere in the world, maybe Ukraine, maybe elsewhere, but happening in the centre of Australia, happening in Alice? It's not good enough. It's not good enough for those hardworking families in those Aboriginal communities and others besides who are doing their level best to help the most vulnerable members of their community, and those are the kids. Those are the children.

I went to Kenya late last year to look at the impending famine situation there, and you might ask: What has that got to do with this bill? I will tell you what it has to do with it. They were introducing, and it was working successfully in the early period, a cashless debit card for the 300,000 or so refugees who had gone across the border from war-torn Somalia and elsewhere into Kenya and were living in a huge camp. They found that the only way to help those people was through a system not unlike the cashless debit card. In fact, when I asked them what it was, they said that is exactly what it was; it was a cashless debit card. Go figure. We've got a cashless debit card that's working, that's operating successfully, and what do we do? Because of partisan politics, because of supposed discrimination or whatever else, we withdraw it. But we don't listen to the people on the ground. We don't listen to the mums, who are tired of the domestic violence situation in their homes and in their communities. And we don't look at those kids who were being helped, who were being helped when they went to school, who were being helped when they were playing in their communities, who were just being helped by the provisions of that cashless debit card. So I commend Senator Price and I commend shadow minister Andrews for this bill. I think it is important and I hope it succeeds.

Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To the extent that this bill and the motion that has been put before this parliament would restore alcohol-protected areas in town camps in Darwin, Katherine, Tennant and Alice Springs, it would achieve no more than carrying out what the Northern Territory government has now committed to doing urgently. In this regard, if I thought that this motion was genuine, I can tell you what Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory would say to me, that they are sick of being the political football in this House. We are sick of being the political football and of the mere words that are talked about in this House. It is merely political point scoring. It is a divisive and conflict-seeking piece of legislation not unlike the negative role played by the bill's proponent in the passage of legislation which restored to the Northern Territory the right to pass its own laws in relation to assisted dying. It is nothing but a ploy to get some more east coast followers on Senator Price's Facebook page.

The member for McPherson, who I have listened to in this chamber and who I have some respect for, has walked right in and played into Senator Price's hands. But much more importantly, to the extent that this bill seeks the restoration of the APA's regime to the huge number of communities out bush would have reverted to general restricted area status, it does. It is insane and it is vandalism. To explain what I am talking about, we need to take a flashback detour to mid-2007, to a time we can now call the Intervention. That was the sudden shock-and-awe initiative launched by the then Prime Minister John Howard and then Indigenous affairs minister Mal Brough, which, in one fell swoop, imposed a series of measures with the purported aim of reducing child sexual abuse in the bush. I want to remind members that in the 510 pages of the Northern Territory emergency response legislation, children were not mentioned once. That is the disgrace of what occurred from those members opposite when they intervened in the Northern Territory. They stand up here and they purport to pass legislation in the interests of Aboriginal children and women in the Northern Territory yet they have a track record of using Aboriginal women and children in the Northern Territory for political weapons. It is for their own political gain—

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, it is not a shame. I am looking at the shadow minister for Indigenous affairs. It is a shame. It is a disgrace that time and time again this House plays politics with such an important issue. This issue needs both sides of the House to work together to try and resolve the issues that we are seeing and have been faced with in the Northern Territory for a long time.

I spent all last weekend with the federal Minister for Indigenous Australians and met with many groups across Alice Springs and the town camps. Where was Senator Price? She was missing in action, which is what has happened over the last three months in Alice Springs. When that community called for leadership, all she wanted was to play mere politics. This is beyond the political games that get played. This is about people's lives. It is about Aboriginal women and children. There are many men who are non-drinkers but we forget about that because of the cheap politics that is constantly played in this House. We must stop the political games. This motion is nothing more than political point scoring and, quite frankly, Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory are sick of it.

Debate adjourned.