This week in Parliament the Territory Labor Government will introduce new laws giving Police more powers to deal with public drinking contributing to anti-social behaviour.
The Alcohol Harm Reduction Amendment Bill 2023 will amend current provisions in the Alcohol Harm Reduction Act 2017 in order to improve pathways onto the Banned Drinker Register (BDR).
The changes will see an increase in people on the BDR, with the Bill amending the Act so that police have more powers, and must issue a Banned Drinker Order (BDO) when a person meets those conditions.
The amendments also introduce a new seven day police BDO for certain alcohol related behaviours including drinking in a prohibited public place or being disorderly in the declared high risk areas.
Police will now have the power to request the ID of any public drinkers being disorderly. This creates a new pathway for the implementation of the seven day BDO, during which treatment options will be made available.
The Northern Territory has a world-leading alcohol harm reduction framework aimed at reducing the demand for alcohol, reducing the supply of alcohol, and reducing the harm caused to Territorians from the misuse of alcohol.
The BDR is one part of a suite of comprehensive measures to tackle alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour. It is an effective supply tool for preventing problem drinkers from purchasing takeaway alcohol, and improves community health and safety by reducing alcohol-related harm.
The recent Liquor Act 2019 review supports the position that maximising the number of persons on the BDR will lead to reduced alcohol-related harm in the community.
The Bill introduces two new triggers for the issue of a police BDO as an immediate consequence for the unlawful behaviour.
Issued with a banning notice under section 212 of the Liquor Act – where a person is issued with a banning notice in a declared high risk area. Banning offences are specified in the Liquor Act and include offences against the person such as assault and weapon offences; and can only be be issued in high risks areas, such as the Darwin Central Business District or Alice Springs CBD. This is a new trigger and means that when police issue a banning notice, they must also issue a BDO, therefore increasing the number of people on the BDR.Contravention of section 171 of the Liquor Act – where a person is found to be consuming alcohol in a prohibited public place. Prohibited public places include within 2km of licensed premises and any public space that is not authorised for the consumption of alcohol. This provision is not an offence as such and does not criminalise public drinking.
Police will also issue a seven day BDO for the existing triggers as an immediate consequence:
Issue of an alcohol-related infringement notice;Taken into alcohol-related protective custody; These circumstances currently trigger a BDO if they occur 3 times in the previous 2 years. The 2 year limit will be removed.
If the individual breaches any of the above four circumstances a second time, an additional seven day police BDO will be issued. On a third occurrence, a three month ban will come into force.
More serious alcohol-related offences, including domestic violence orders and alcohol related offences, will automatically be issued with a mandatory three month BDO.
One other measure the Police have asked for is takeaway liquor outlets trading hours are modified in Darwin so that they do not open until 12 noon on weekdays, this change will come into effect on 11 December 2023. Trading hours in all other regions are location specific and will be unchanged as they currently operate at or after 12pm. There will be no change to weekend or public holiday trading hours.
Quotes attributed to Chief Minister Natasha Fyles:
“People have the right to have a drink in safe and legal ways, but they don’t have the right to cause problems for other Territorians because of their problem drinking.
“We’re giving Police more powers to deal with public drinking. Problem drinkers who are fighting and causing disruptions in public will be hit with bans on buying grog.
“We want to reduce alcohol-related harm in the community. If that means increasing the number of people on the BDR, then that’s what we’ll do.
“Strengthening police powers to tackling problem drinking helps to break the cycle of alcohol misuse, crime and disadvantage, and provides better protection for domestic and family violence victims, particularly women and children.”
Quotes attributed to the Minister for Police, Brent Potter:
“Territorians have had a gutful of public problem drinkers. These amendments will help Police deal with them.
“Police will now have to provide a Banned Drinker Order to those that are not following the rules. You will now have to show your ID to Police so we can see who has the potential of being violent and causing harm.
“Police have told us these changes will make their jobs easier and that’s why we are introducing these changes on urgency.”
Northern Territory Government
