WHAT a difference five months make.
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In November, the Northern Territory government was scouring potential sites around Katherine on which to build a 20-bed treatment facility to house those in the region forced to undergo mandatory alcohol rehabilitation.
Now, the $6.1 million project has been abandoned because of the dramatic impact the temporary beat location trial is having locally on alcohol abuse.
The shelving of the facility - which the government was aiming to have operational “as soon as possible” only a month before the trial began - is an incredibly public, albeit indirect, admission that those on the fifth floor know the temporary beat locations must be incorporated on a permanent basis.
While the government will not confirm if police officers will remain stationed at local bottle shops after the trial ends, whispers from Darwin indicate the upcoming budget will include an allocation to make it a reality.
The Police, Fire and Emergency Services Minister, the Health Minister and the Member for Katherine are on the record as wanting the temporary beat locations to continue, so the government is fast running out of reasons why it cannot happen, especially given the trial’s overwhelming success.
With the community now relishing the positive effects of the trial, removing the police presence after six months and a day would be tantamount to political suicide for the minority Giles government.
The government had committed to spending more than $6m to tackle alcohol abuse in the Katherine region.
That investment has been rendered unviable due solely to the success of the temporary beat locations.
It does not take a political genius to see what that money now needs to be spent on.