"I have listened to and spoke to the Yipirinya school in Alice Springs," she said.
"The commitment I made to them if I were to get into government was to build a facility for student and staff accommodation.
"That school looks after Aboriginal kids in the surrounding town camps, and they come from very difficult backgrounds. Some of them have to spend a three-hour round trip to go to school."
Senator Price also said she felt little was being done about alcohol issues in Indigenous communities, describing "rivers of grog" being allowed to flow at present.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-01/jacinta-price-garma-indigenous-voice-q-a/101290202
this is my key bone of contention.
alcohol, according to the WHO and many other drug law reform orgs, including alcohol and drug specialists, is among the most dangerous drugs.
the damage to various organs from the cardiovascular system and the gastrointestinal tract, which associated with high risk of cancer at any point along the gut, to liver and brain damage, as well as the severe cost to families by the increased probability of violence and the cost to health services, approx. 40% of weekend presentations to Emergency Departments are related to acute alcohol toxicity.
https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/alcohol/about-alcohol/what-are-the-effects-of-alcohol
these effects are enormously heightened among Aboriginal people. I won't go into the details in this post as I think most are fully aware of the increased problems, including as highlighted in Closing the Gap reports wrt children.
And now -
Long-term alcohol restrictions in dozens of Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory are set to end in July, unless there's a last-minute extension to the laws by the federal government.
The NT government says the lifting of the laws will mean 32 town camps, 12 remote communities and 215 homelands and outstations will soon be able to choose whether or not they want to have access to alcohol in their communities moving forward.
The bans came into force during the NT Emergency Response – known as the NT Intervention – in 2007, and have continued under Stronger Futures legislation since 2012.
While the laws will expire in two months' time, the Commonwealth has not publicly ruled out an extension, but did not say whether a decision would be made before the upcoming election.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-07/nt-aboriginal-communities-alcohol-restrictions-could-be-lifted/100967520
this means that more children will be at risk from violence and abuse, neglect and being picked up by police.
So should Albanese do as Price suggests above? or should NT legislate to retain alcohol restrictions?
have these restrictions worked? are children any safer after 10 years of the NT Intervention?
