NT government extends town camp alcohol bans

The Northern Territory government is moving to extend alcohol bans in remote town camps, a measure it states is crucial to prevent "rivers of grog" from flooding communities and to reduce alcohol-related violence and crime.

“

We are making sure that the rivers of grog don't flow again into town camps to reduce alcohol-related violence and crime and to improve community safety and wellbeing.

The territory, home to 43 town camps primarily serving Aboriginal communities, has seen fluctuating alcohol restrictions. Long-term federal bans lapsed in 2022 but were reinstated by the previous NT Labor government due to a rise in alcohol-fueled crime. The current bans are scheduled to end in January 2027.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Steve Edgington emphasized the government's commitment to maintaining these restrictions, stating, "We are making sure that the rivers of grog don't flow again into town camps to reduce alcohol-related violence and crime and to improve community safety and wellbeing." He added that extending the bans is a "practical measure that helps reduce harm and supports safer, stronger communities."

“

Extending these bans is a practical measure that helps reduce harm and supports safer, stronger communities.

The proposed legislation aims to continue these bans, with the government working to introduce it to parliament before the end of 2026. The move has received broad support from the NT's Aboriginal-controlled health sector. AMSANT chief executive Donna Ah Chee welcomed the extension, highlighting its role in providing "important protections against alcohol-related harm" and noting that "the evidence is clear that effective alcohol supply regulation reduces alcohol-related violence, trauma and harm."

“

We have seen what happens when effective protections are removed, and we have also seen the positive impact they can have when they are in place.

This announcement follows a recent tragedy: the alleged murder of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby, who was taken from a town camp in Alice Springs. Reports indicate a party involving alcohol was held at the camp on the night of her alleged abduction, with evidence of multiple bottles of alcohol found at the scene. The government asserts that the safety of women and children must be the overriding concern.

“

The evidence is clear that effective alcohol supply regulation reduces alcohol-related violence, trauma and harm.