Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to table an explanatory memorandum relating to the bill.

Leave granted.

I table an explanatory memorandum and seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

The Northern Territory Safe Measures Bill 2023, being introduced into the Senate, is a Bill that aims 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 will introduce elements specific to reducing alcohol consumption and related harm, applied in the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Act 2012 (the Northern Territory Stronger Futures Act) that ceased in 2022.

The Bill will put in place alcohol restrictions that will include declaration of alcohol protected areas, and the development of alcohol management plans, which will provide that supply of alcohol is regulated, mitigating illegal alcohol supply and providing a legal framework for prosecution.

When dealing with addiction, the first step to management and recovery is acknowledging there is a problem and those that are subject to the effects of addiction in the Northern Territory, the whole community, have been crying out that we have a problem since the cessation of the measure and lifting of alcohol restrictions in the Northern Territory Stronger Futures 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, non-consumers of alcohol, addiction experts and the Northern Territory Liquor Commission 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 to 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 increased rates of crime, alcohol-related domestic violence and alcohol related assaults.

Alcohol-related assaults in Alice Springs alone have risen from December 2021 to December 2022 by 54.6%, and property damage has increased by 59.6%.

The removal of income management measures of the Cashless Debit Card has increased availability of obtaining alcohol for those that are vulnerable to alcoholism and there has not been sufficient analysis of the impact of the removal of this important measure.

The Australian Government has a responsibility to ensure that the Northern Territory has consistency in law and order, and that punitive approaches are not taken by the Northern Territory Government that do not address the broader context of addiction and alcohol-related harm.

For a decade the Australian Government has intensely invested in the Northern Territory to address significant levels of need, specifically to improve the quality of life for Aboriginal Territorians. The management of alcohol consumption, reduction of alcohol-related harm was not realised within this period of time.

This Bill will set a framework of accountability for alcohol management plans to be developed, with alcohol restrictions in place to protect our vulnerable communities.

I have developed this Bill over several months in conjunction with community consultation with relevant stakeholders that include drug and alcohol services, Aboriginal health services, legal services, education institutions, business people, community members both remote and in major towns and town camp residents.

The Bill seeks to establish a federal and Territory government partnership in addressing alcohol-related harm. The Territory government, which is predominantly dependent on federal funding, will have a role in overseeing the process of developing alcohol management plans, while the federal government will be responsible for approving alcohol management plans, reviewing the measures through the Senate committee process and will have the power to revoke approvals of alcohol management plans should they demonstrate not to be ensuring the safety of Territorians.

It is not good enough that the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory requires the Prime Minister to step in for them to realise they got it wrong, at the cost of lives lost and the devastation that addiction has unleashed on our communities. We are hurting, and it is disingenuous to provide ad-hoc approaches and not take full responsibility for the sake of every Territorian.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.