Ms ANDERSON - 2013-11-28
The government is in the process of introducing alcohol protection orders as a new tool for police to tackle alcohol-fuelled crime, including drink-driving. Chief Minister, could you tell the Assembly what the opposition has had to say about these new orders?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Namatjira for her question. She knows only too well the terrible problems alcohol causes in the lives of many Territorians, particularly in Central Australia and for Indigenous Territorians. We are looking at a range of measures and a suite of tools we can implement to reduce the situation around domestic violence and do our darndest to reduce those extreme levels.
The Minister for Alcohol Rehabilitation, Robyn Lambley, the member for Araluen, has done a great job in introducing alcohol mandatory treatment which is changing people’s lives. We fully support those and want to see more facilities provided across the Territory, including our remote regions, so we can have better services there.
One of the other tools we are looking at is alcohol protection orders. Alcohol protection orders, should legislation pass, will be a tool that will allow officers, through a review process, to place someone on an order not to consume, possess or seek to purchase alcohol. They will be put on that order when they have committed a crime where the opportunity for sentence has a period of six months or longer. As an example, we are talking about people who commit serious harm, someone who commits an assault on Mitchell Street or beats their wife while under the influence of alcohol. We are trying to provide this tool so we can help people not to consume alcohol.
We know that 70% of people who breach their domestic violence orders have consumed alcohol before they committed the breach. There have been a number of incidents where people have lost their lives as a result of breaching domestic violence orders while they have been consuming alcohol. There was one recently in Darwin where somebody lost their life as a result of a breach of a domestic violence order. That person is alleged to have been consuming significant amounts of alcohol.
This alcohol protection order regime is designed to stop those people from possessing, accessing or purchasing alcohol, or entering licensed premises to purchase and consume alcohol. We believe these tools will save people’s lives and reduce domestic violence in the Northern Territory, and we are firmly committed to them.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Namatjira for her question. She knows only too well the terrible problems alcohol causes in the lives of many Territorians, particularly in Central Australia and for Indigenous Territorians. We are looking at a range of measures and a suite of tools we can implement to reduce the situation around domestic violence and do our darndest to reduce those extreme levels.
The Minister for Alcohol Rehabilitation, Robyn Lambley, the member for Araluen, has done a great job in introducing alcohol mandatory treatment which is changing people’s lives. We fully support those and want to see more facilities provided across the Territory, including our remote regions, so we can have better services there.
One of the other tools we are looking at is alcohol protection orders. Alcohol protection orders, should legislation pass, will be a tool that will allow officers, through a review process, to place someone on an order not to consume, possess or seek to purchase alcohol. They will be put on that order when they have committed a crime where the opportunity for sentence has a period of six months or longer. As an example, we are talking about people who commit serious harm, someone who commits an assault on Mitchell Street or beats their wife while under the influence of alcohol. We are trying to provide this tool so we can help people not to consume alcohol.
We know that 70% of people who breach their domestic violence orders have consumed alcohol before they committed the breach. There have been a number of incidents where people have lost their lives as a result of breaching domestic violence orders while they have been consuming alcohol. There was one recently in Darwin where somebody lost their life as a result of a breach of a domestic violence order. That person is alleged to have been consuming significant amounts of alcohol.
This alcohol protection order regime is designed to stop those people from possessing, accessing or purchasing alcohol, or entering licensed premises to purchase and consume alcohol. We believe these tools will save people’s lives and reduce domestic violence in the Northern Territory, and we are firmly committed to them.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016