Mr HIGGINS - 2013-10-16
Could you please tell this House about new tools being given to police to tackle alcohol-fuelled crime?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly. He is a person who firmly wants to see a reduction in crime across the Northern Territory, not just in the seat of Daly. He is active in his electorate about these issues, particularly around discussing law and order matters.
Today I have unveiled a new system of alcohol protection orders which should give the people of Daly and the rest of the Territory peace of mind. The new orders are designed to help police in their fight against alcohol-related crime. Alcohol protection orders are the latest in a suite of measures the government is pursuing to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour associated with alcohol abuse in the Northern Territory. About 60% of offences against the person and about 70% of domestic violence order breaches are alcohol-related. The new police powers are aimed at reducing these worrying statistics.
An order can be issued to an adult who is charged with committing a serious offence under the influence of alcohol. It bans them from consuming or possessing alcohol, or going to any licensed premises. The orders can be issued to anyone charged with an offence while under the influence of alcohol, attracting a possible gaol term of at least six months. The orders can run for a period of three, six or 12 months depending on a person’s criminal history. The orders are issued by police when the person is charged.
Police are extremely positive about these new orders which could attract a possible gaol term of up to three months if they are breached. The orders will complement the government’s pioneering Alcohol Mandatory Treatment Program. Where mandatory alcohol treatment is targeted at antisocial behaviour, alcohol protection orders are aimed at tackling the dangerous cocktail of alcohol consumption and serious crime.
Unlike Labor’s failed Banned Drinker Register, which did not work and was a blanket annoyance for everybody at the bottle shop, these alcohol protection orders will directly target the problem drinker who commits the crime.
On our side of the Chamber we talk about the scourge of domestic violence in the Northern Territory and the relevance of alcohol as it is associated with domestic violence. We have to work to penetrate this. I have asked police if they can have a heavy focus on serious assaults and domestic violence. You will continue to see, in the next few months, a ramp up in the statistics in that regard.
One of the challenges in this frame is the role alcohol plays in domestic violence and serious assaults. This is just another tool to try to assist those people not to consume alcohol. If any woman escapes an incident of domestic violence, any measure is a good measure. We have to do more to protect women and men in the Northern Territory. We have to do what we can to assist those people to escape the scourge of domestic violence which is a blight on the Northern Territory.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly. He is a person who firmly wants to see a reduction in crime across the Northern Territory, not just in the seat of Daly. He is active in his electorate about these issues, particularly around discussing law and order matters.
Today I have unveiled a new system of alcohol protection orders which should give the people of Daly and the rest of the Territory peace of mind. The new orders are designed to help police in their fight against alcohol-related crime. Alcohol protection orders are the latest in a suite of measures the government is pursuing to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour associated with alcohol abuse in the Northern Territory. About 60% of offences against the person and about 70% of domestic violence order breaches are alcohol-related. The new police powers are aimed at reducing these worrying statistics.
An order can be issued to an adult who is charged with committing a serious offence under the influence of alcohol. It bans them from consuming or possessing alcohol, or going to any licensed premises. The orders can be issued to anyone charged with an offence while under the influence of alcohol, attracting a possible gaol term of at least six months. The orders can run for a period of three, six or 12 months depending on a person’s criminal history. The orders are issued by police when the person is charged.
Police are extremely positive about these new orders which could attract a possible gaol term of up to three months if they are breached. The orders will complement the government’s pioneering Alcohol Mandatory Treatment Program. Where mandatory alcohol treatment is targeted at antisocial behaviour, alcohol protection orders are aimed at tackling the dangerous cocktail of alcohol consumption and serious crime.
Unlike Labor’s failed Banned Drinker Register, which did not work and was a blanket annoyance for everybody at the bottle shop, these alcohol protection orders will directly target the problem drinker who commits the crime.
On our side of the Chamber we talk about the scourge of domestic violence in the Northern Territory and the relevance of alcohol as it is associated with domestic violence. We have to work to penetrate this. I have asked police if they can have a heavy focus on serious assaults and domestic violence. You will continue to see, in the next few months, a ramp up in the statistics in that regard.
One of the challenges in this frame is the role alcohol plays in domestic violence and serious assaults. This is just another tool to try to assist those people not to consume alcohol. If any woman escapes an incident of domestic violence, any measure is a good measure. We have to do more to protect women and men in the Northern Territory. We have to do what we can to assist those people to escape the scourge of domestic violence which is a blight on the Northern Territory.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016