KATHERINE mayor Fay Miller has spoken out against Labor Party policy to leave Point of Sale Intervention (also known as Temporary Beat Locations, or TBLs) at the discretion of police.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cr Miller spoke out after the Katherine Times hosted an election forum on Thursday, when Labor candidate for Katherine Sandra Nelson said an ALP government would reintroduce the Banned Drinkers Register and leave TBL operations to the discernment of police.
Ms Nelson said alcohol abuse was not unique to Katherine and needed a Territory-wide approach to the solution.
When asked whether an ALP government would maintain TBLs, Ms Nelson said the alcohol management strategy would be maintained, but its day to day operations would be determined by police.
“We will maintain the TBLs until the Banned Drinkers Register is established and prepared to be rolled out Territory-wide,” Ms Nelson said.
She said once the BDR was in place across the Territory, an ALP government would then empower the police to “make the decisions in regard to the TBLs and how they will utilise their resources”.
“It is not for government to mandate to the police how they use their resources,” she said.
“They’re more appropriate and better resourced to make those decisions.”
However, Cr Miller said TBLs in Katherine were too successful to make drastic changes to the way they operated.
“We cannot go backwards after making such leaps and bounds forward,” she said.
“It’s not even been two years and the difference is remarkable.
“It’s noticeable by not just locals but it’s noticeable for visitors who have been away from Katherine for 12 months.”
Ms Miller said it was important police at least stayed at the main bottle shops in Katherine – those that had the most patronage.
“There are two main ones where people go and spend their money,” she said.
“Whether the people who own those hotels like it or not, it’s a fact – that’s where the most money is spent.”
On a visit to Katherine in July, Northern Territory Commissioner of Police Reece Kershaw told the Katherine Times that Point of Sale Intervention in Katherine had significantly reduced incidents of alcohol-fuelled crime in the town.
He said the intervention, which began in Katherine on December 18, 2014, had decreased incidents of domestic violence alone by 50 per cent in the first six months, with a further 20 per cent reduction since then.
“What it demonstrates for us is that if you reduce alcohol supply – takeaway – you reduce social harm,” he said at the time.
Mr Kershaw also said Point of Sale Intervention in Katherine had improved the town’s amenity.
Ms Nelson has since told the Katherine Times the roll out of the BDR would add another layer to Point of Sale Intervention that was not already there.
“We’ll have a Banned Drinkers Register in every single store, so the TBL will be supported by the BDR. If there is no police officer in front of bottle shop number one they will still have the machine there to scan drivers’ licenses,” she said.
