The Indigenous Affairs Minister, Mal Brough, has announced an exemption to the alcohol bans in 70 remote indigenous communities in the NT that were announced as a core component of the government’s Indigenous Emergency Plan to combat the sexual abuse of indigenous minors. The exemption applies to rivers being used for recreational fishing on or adjacent to Aboriginal land.
Why is such a core measure being undermined?
The professor of indigenous studies at the University of Melbourne, Marcia Langton, said yesterday that relaxing the bans would open the floodgates for alcohol to be smuggled into the 70 communities where it was banned.
“It will allow illegal grog runners to sell grog into the communities,” she said.
“It’s the kind of loophole that can bring the whole system undone, by giving the big tick-off to the grog runners. It’s not going to work.”
What could be more important than protecting the children who are the whole justification for the sweeping authoritarian emergency plan in the first place?
At the time, Mr Brough agreed with the authors of a report, Little Children are Sacred, that the first action needed to stabilise the situation was to stop the flow of “the rivers of grog”. But in the territory, where fishing and drinking go hand in hand, the fishing lobby complained after a Federal Court decision gave inland waterways up to the high tide mark the same status as the Aboriginal land through which they flowed.
Under pressure, Ms Martin asked Mr Brough to make the exemption for those who fished there..
Of course.
Sanctimonious luvvie pens some fire and brimestone before popping out to St,Kilda for a bottle of chardonnay. Who does this hypocritical luvvie thinks she is? And WHY is Fairfax giving her oxygen? Folks in those communities should tell her where to go.
Wacko1 Dundee Wally and Donk don’t need to find a new living after all.
Should be Wacko!
And rightly so. The reason fishing and angling go hand in hand is that fishing with a line is so fucking boring and pointless. Now, drinking and spearfishing, on the other hand…
(JG: oxygen and chardonnay go together surprisingly well, especially if it’s a vintage oaky one.)
Check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcia_Langton
“Who does this hypocritical luvvie thinks she is?”
Marcia Langton would eat you alive, John.
She is a smart and informed cookie.
I gather the reason is to not cost the local member Tollner votes since there is a strong drinking and fishing culture up here. Many people take a six pack home every night after work and love their beer. I know, I see it.
Now if they banned coffee I would be up in arms, but since it is beer, who cares :]
Marcia Langton is quite correct though. The many fishing trips into these rivers is the perfect cover for smuggling large quantities of alcohol and you can be guaranteed there will be a number who seek to make a quid doing it.
Canceling the Permits System, if they do it, will also make it easier for the drug, grog and pedophile smugglers – this policy is counter intuitive and you have to ask yourself what is behind it.
This is the bit where some of the bolder aspects of the intervention are repealed and the ‘tough-guy’ part of the plan leaks out of it, leaving another mired set of initiatives in its place. While this miring might offset the authoritarianism of the initial plan, unfortunately it’s not going to help preserve land rights, the temporary dissolution of which may be the only legacy of this initiative. The political image of talking tough about blacks has already been established and everybody begins to turn their backs again, one by one.
I am sure Mr Greenfield knows exactly who Marcia Langton is. I think his remarks were his point and reflects his deep and understandable loathing of anyone who has the temerity to question anything brave and true warriors do for them, because as every right and proper thinking person knows, they do it out of love for the little children. Just ask them.
“Marcia Langton would eat you alive, John.”
Yes, and too your face and in a public forum too, as I’ve seen her do. An awe-inspiring performance, at that.
I’d pay to see that.
Adam Gall
While your red-herring of Ms. Langton’s dietary habits is fascinating, you would do well to address her authoritarianism. After all, I am merely following the example set by LPers over these issues over the past 12 months. Indeed this thread’s author has filed it under “Authoritarianism.” So presumably it would be the LP luvvies who Ms. Langton would be facing-off against in any public forum, no?
Marcia would take on a roomful of JG’s and Mal Brough’s (sorry JG to lump you in with Mal) and beat them all with reason, wit and intelligence rather than the pathetic bleating and rhetoric Brough, among many others, rely on – I’ve seen her do it and been in the humbling position of presenting a weak argument to her and being despatched in double quick time…I’d not only pay to see it but pay others to go!
The point about all of this that people are missing is that it is only white fishermen who are being considered here – are they really saying that it will be okay for rich, white fishos with 4wds and big boats to sit offshore, can in hand and avoid prosecution but that if a blackfella tries the same thing he/she will be pinged?
Maybe they’ll apply for an exemption under the Racial Discimination Act?
Bob Gosford
I imagine your irony-failure would see you in even deeper trouble with La langton.
Bob, given that the favourite tactic of non-indigenous sexual abusers is getting underage indigenous girls drunk so that they can “party”, this exemption makes it directly more likely that more indigenous children will be sexually abused, not fewer.
So nice to see that Brough has his priorities so firmly in order. Martin as well.
That quote remiknded me of this 60’s song which had the chorus of:
“Come On Down To My Boat Baby, Come on Down where we can play”.
Don’t worry, with the flight from remote communities that Mal (and don’t forget Joe Hockey’s part in this as DEWR Minister responsible for the abolition of CDEP) I predict we’ll soon see Aboriginal people begging on NT street corners – something I thought I’d never see.
It won’t be petrol/drugs/alcohol-for-sex (a beat-up if ever I’ve seen one – there is plenty of that sort of thing in the ‘real world’) we’ll see but food-for-sex…
I knew the NT was a mendicant polity but never thought that I’d see the NT and Federal government in lock-step towards the bleak future that will see a large part of the 30% of the population (really about 45-50% if you take the churn in non-indigenous people into account) cast aside on the scrapheap.
After these latest efforts I can’t wait to see what these geniuses come up with next.
Nice try, JG.
Marcia Langton is a living national treasure and all power to her energy, creative anger, leadership, practicality, idealism, commitment and natural talent for kick-arsery.
And don’t for a moment think she is alone. In my workplace there are at least 50 brilliant Aboriginal women like Marcia, the youngest 25. These are mesmerising women. They have husbands, parents, children, community, work and friendship commitments that they manage with grace, humour and expertise. They work long hours, often unpaid, they study, travel, play, love, flirt, write and agitate.
And they are supported, encouraged and mentored by many other indigenous and non-indigenous people, from family, community, work.
Of course, not that many people know about all this.
Gee! I dont know! I thought the Northern Territorian Police made a statement that is similar to Marcias!? But lay off John Greenfield on this,because after all,if you have a grog problem whatever it is as grog, it is a grog problem.There maybe a problem for Marcia in her behaviour she already admits to. And many fine and intelligent people have ended up defeated by alcohol, Brough hasnt quite noticed how intelligent it maybe for Aboriginal communities to control the flow. And it also possible that there is no problem between white and Aboriginal fisher folk ,if everyone is being responsible..and I would of thought that is why Brough is up there mouthing.It is probable that Marcia and John would kindle an easy relationship!
Oh really, Bob? Well, then how come the NT is second only to WA in terms of per capita earned export income figures?
I have no idea who John Greenfield is, but I’m sure he’s never met Marcia Langton. I have, and I concur with those above who suggest implicitly above that Greenfield is a total arse and that Marcia is a legend.
I’m also familiar with fishermen of the type who will be pandered to by this exemption. I can see it now: booze in, yandi out, much ‘partying’ on the way.
I predict more exemptions. After all, who can imagine cops and soldiers without beer or social workers sans chardonnay?
One of the more interesting communities where an exemption from the new Prohibition might apply is the Daly River/Nauiyu Nambiyu community where Nauiyu Nambiyu Inc. runs the community store and the Daly River Roadside Inn and Ritytil Pty Ltd. which is owned by Nauiyu Nambiyu Inc., Ritytil P/L operates the hotel. The community is on a leasehold from/to the Catholic Church – unsure about the pub.
This is the political base of Miriam Rose-Baumann, the only NT Aboriginal member of the PM’s National Indigenous Council and the Northern Territory Emergency Response Taskforce.
It will be interesting if Brough can be persuaded by Rose-Baumann to do any deals with Nauiyu Nambiyu to protect its income from the pub and the good work that the council, which by all accounts is well run, does in her community, or if it will be trashed like the rest of the NT.
Just further on the cops and chalkies and their beer – I raised this a couple of weeks ago elsewhere but it is still less than clear whether the, in some cases numerous and poorly regulated, permits to carry and consume alcohol on what are nominally ‘dry’ communities in the NT will be withdrawn. I asked FACSIA this and a number of other questions 2 weeks ago without response.
Usually, but not always, these permits are held by European staff in communities, including cops, chalkies, administrators etc. I’m aware of a few Aboriginal people who have or do hold such permits.
If Brough is really serious about getting all of the grog out of these communities (and I think he doesn’t even know that most dry communities aren’t usually really dry) he will ask that the NT Govt (they are issued by the Licencing Commission after recommendation by local Councils and cops) withdraw them – all – now.
But of course he won’t. As recent events discussed here show – grog is a powerful political issue, whatever colour you are.
Me, I’m waiting another week or so till I can drive down the road and have a few quiet ones.
“Living National Treasure”? Oh my god!
This is an insult to the Japanese, who actually DO have living national treasures.
D’you mean folks like Takeshi Kitano and Hiyao Miyazaki, SATP? Or Gohira and Mothra?
The “no grog” policy has ben mired in confusion from the start because it was a ‘feel good’ statement by moral crusaders with little knowledge of reality.
I’m eagerly awaiting the legislation next week.
Will it be,
a) Much ado about nothing – a few tweaks, but otherwise in line with current alcohol strategies?
or
b) Clueless – blanket bans that can’t be enforced and a range of other prohibitions that will achieve little, except to exercise the ingenuity of hard-core drinkers.
I’m going for a).
Adding this to the mix makes it interesting. The 2 NT members of the Coalition (one a minister) on a boat taking alcohol into alcohol-restricted Aboriginal lands. Some work to do there.
I’d like to agree with Michael that the Feds will water down their approach to the proposed grog bans in the NT – but I wouldn’t be laying any money on it – apart from the ‘drinking rights for rich white fishos’ and the ‘drinking rights for chalkies and cops’ on supposedly dry communities issues the blanket bans will be applied to all Aboriginal land.
These heartless and mean-spirited creeps are deadly serious about this. I doubt if I’ve ever seen a more humourless and hypocritical bunch as this current crop of Feds – and the NT Govt will line up right behind them.
Michael might want to be a bit more careful with his words in the last par of his quote concerning the CLP booze-cruise to the Tiwi Islands 2 weekends ago – there is a lot more in this to come (I’ve written further on this for Crikey but they haven’t run it…yet).
There are allegations that two members of the Coalition and one shadow Minister-for-everything from the NT took alcohol onto Bathurst Island (one of the two Tiwi Islands) but they are nothing more than allegations at present.
Not that I think that any politician could successfully sue for defamation since Theophanous’s case – though it has been a practice that NT pollies have pursued with substantial vigour and results in the past.
The NT Police investigation is ongoing and may yield some very interesting results, including some difficulties for serving NT Police officers, the pollies, the owners of the boat, bus and plane and all of those on the booze cruise.
I’m going for b as it seems more in keeping with the current state of Federal Government thinking. I also expect that seeing Howard and Brough are ruling for all of us that as a symbolic gesture they will extend the bans to the bars at parliament house in Canberra to prevent anybody being temptre to make a speech while drunk.
Yes, it’s an interesting case isn’t it Bob.
My understanding at this point is the the pollies defence will be, that they personally did not take any alcohol, it just hapened to be on the boat, and that they never set foot on dry land with any.
In the winegate scandal in Queensland that cost a Minister her job, the wine never left the plane either, Wine being present in a dry community was enough to do her job. Liddy Clarke then lost her seat at the next election.
The liquor restriction laws in Queensland are far more restrictive than those of the Northern Territory.
In the NT Liddy Clarke could have landed & taken off all day with grog aboard, and nobody would have cared.
SATP, you’re quite wrong.
The restrictions in the NT are very tight. If you don’t have a permit, it’s illegal. Hence the police interest in Minister Scullions little trip.
Michael, I am quite right.
In Qld it is prohibited for alcohol to be inside the areas of the Alcohol Management Plans.
In the NT aircraft take off and land all the time with liquor overtly on board. In Qld this is not allowed, and is what got Liddy Clarke into trouble.
The Scullion affair notwithstanding, the NT does have a permit system, which generally obtained by some of the permenant residents inside dry areas (usually police, teachers, health workers, art centre employees and so on) Qld has no such permit system, indeed teachers have been busted in Qld for having a stubby in their fridge, and have had their house searched on the suspicion that there may be a can of beer somewhere inside.
SATP,
Alcohol is indeed allowed on board an aircrarft (or boat)…..in the personal posession of a permit holder.
That is the issue. The boat cruise participants would have needed to have a permit allowing them to possess alcohol in the restricted area.
Scullion et al have done a ‘Liddy’, which is why the police are involved.
I’m sure Minister Scullion will be very supportive of the ‘boats’ exemption contained within the upcoming legislation.
And they take your car/bus/plane/boat!
Wouldn’t it be interesting if the police decide to confiscate a very expensive boat!
They certainly have no qualms about confiscating Troop Carriers and Land Cruisers, so does the principle apply to a more expensive form of transport?
The legislation says any ‘thing’ used to transport liquor can be siezed…the booze cruise participants wouldn’t have needed a permit to drink on the boat – the NT system only applies to land in a restricted area but the effect of a recent land claim appears to have extended it in areas adjacent to Aboriginal land…let me look at this a bit and I’ll report back…
They certainly would each have needed a permit to drink on the jetty, as they crossed Aboriginal land by bus to get to the plane and at the airport – if that is in fact what they did.
Another question is whether alcohol was sold on the boat – in which case they’d need a ’special’ licence to do so. So it may not just be the permits issues of concern to at least the boat owner. Haven’t heard any allegations about drinking on the plane to and from the Island.
The thread asks for jokes.
How does a lesbian hold her liquor? By the ears!! ROFLMAO.