Countering alcohol-fuelled violence is a major public policy challenge in Australia, especially in the tropical north.
In 1998, the Queensland Government established an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women's Task Force on Violence. It reported on the adverse effects of gross alcohol consumption especially on Queensland's remote Aboriginal communities, located mainly in Cape York.
In 2001, the respected retired judge and anti-corruption fighter Tony Fitzgerald QC conducted the Cape York Justice Study for the Queensland Government. He set down five preconditions for workable and ethical laws and policies aimed at limiting the damage from excess grog consumption:
First, both Government and the community must accept responsibility. Second, the availability of alcohol and drugs must be controlled. Third, an intolerance of cultural and social abuse must be developed. Fourth, treatment and rehabilitation services must be strengthened. And fifth, the susceptibility of the Aboriginal population to alcohol and drug use must be addressed.
Most politicians who have wrestled with the issue have conceded that any measures adopted should be respectful of basic human rights and should not be racially discriminatory. But they have been stretched in seeking workable proposals. Aboriginal advocate Noel Pearson has been quoted with approval by Queensland Supreme Court justices saying, 'Surely the fact that the per capita consumption of alcohol in Cape York is the highest in the world says something about our dysfunction.'
Shortly the High Court of Australia is expected to rule on the validity of Queensland laws which restrict the possession or consumption of alcohol in public places on remote Aboriginal communities.
The Queensland Government has been backed by the Commonwealth arguing that the Queensland laws are not racially discriminatory as they apply to all persons in public places on these communities even though most of those persons happen to be Aboriginal. In theory, the laws could be applied to non-Aboriginal communities if they were suffering the same level of alcohol abuse and dysfunction.
The Queensland and Commonwealth Governments have also submitted to the High Court that the judges should not just focus on the citizen's right to have a drink but also on the right of other citizens to peace and security. They have said that this balancing act is 'quintessentially a matter for the legislative branch'. The Queensland legislative scheme will most probably be upheld by the High Court.
Meanwhile, the new Country Liberals Government in the Northern Territory led by Aboriginal Chief Minister Adam Giles has abolished the Banned Drinkers Register introduced