Another call for police to return to bottle shops

“Alcohol related crimes that are harming the communities in around Alice Springs have yet again risen to levels that are unacceptable and we know we can do a lot more to prevent the current chaos in our town,” said Michael Liddle, the chairperson of the Central Australian Alcohol Programs Unit.

“When it comes to drinking alcohol there are still too many of our people who are not in control of their drinking,” he continued.

“The flow on effect from this is getting out of control, children and families are abandoned, and the streets of Alice Springs then become the shelters of these people. These kids then commit property and other crimes as they seek food, shelter and attention where ever and how ever,” he said.

Katherine’s Mayor is seeking an urgent meeting with police on a rise in public drunkenness and violence in Katherine as well.

“There has been an obvious increase in violence and children on the streets since the police stopped covering all of the take-away outlets.

“The out of control levels of violence that is being committed whether it be sexual, domestic is largely affecting Aboriginal people with too many people admitted to hospital with serious injuries and some of our people dying.

“Many of the people with a drinking problem have sought help through CAAAPU and other services and have tried and will they will continue to try to get off the grog but they need more help.

“Getting on top of the alcohol problem is a shared responsibility at all levels.

“Of course those Aboriginal people that have a drinking problem must take responsibility and continue to attempt to stay off the grog. This is even more important for parents of young children.

“But these people need more support through the tap being turned down making it much harder to get take-away alcohol.

“This is why we need the police back on all of the outlets to control what is going out and all of the time.

“We need to get back to the relative calm that was created by this measure right now.

“There is just too much sorry business and some of it can be prevented by reduced alcohol supply,” he said.