Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I indicate that we will not be supporting the Greens amendments. Effectively they significantly reduce the penalties for alcohol offences. That is not a position the government support, nor do we think it sends the right messages. We think that alcohol misuse is a very serious problem in remote communities. It is a major cause of violence, and communities have asked for assistance to try to address the really serious problems that result from the abuse of alcohol in those communities. We think strong penalties for those who do not respect the restrictions are one part of the help that those communities need.

I do accept that there has been some lack of clarity around a number of measures, and the next set of amendments from the government will seek to deal with some of those. We think those amendments will provide a better balance between offences for small amounts of liquor and more serious liquor offences. They will also seek to make clear that infringement notices can be issued for minor offences. We seek to address some of the issues the senator raised, but we will not be supporting the Greens amendments. But we hope, if we can get support for our subsequent amendments, there will be greater clarity about what the government intended and seeks to reinforce, which is, as I say, a better balance between offences for small amounts of liquor and more serious offences, and the capability for use of infringement notices for minor offences. But we will not be supporting the Greens amendments, which significantly reduce the penalties for alcohol offences.