Alcohol plans, justice reforms and economic opportunity will be vital in reducing violence and lifting remote Indigenous communities out of poverty, a parliamentary inquiry has found.
The joint standing committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs was critical of preparations for the lapsing of the Stronger Futures Act last year.
It said the legislation – which had been in place for 10 years – was inadequately phased out and ultimately culminated in a spike in alcohol-harm and associated violence.
“Consultation missed certain groups, especially women, and did not enable community
understanding of the impacts of the proposed transition,” the committee’s final report released on Wednesday found.
The committee also heard that the culmination of the Stronger Futures and the Howard-era intervention laws that predated it did little to support First Nations people, and contributed to intergenerational trauma.
The committee has made nine recommendations to the federal and Northern Territory to prevent similar issues and to improve the affected communities.
A parliamentary inquiry has made recommendations to both the Commonwealth and NT governments. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage
The NT last month was forced to reintroduce alcohol bans in indigenous town camps after weeks of media reports of increased alcohol-fuelled violence in Alice Springs following change in July.
When the legislation lapsed last year, the NT government replaced the bans with opt-in measures, meaning town camps and remote communities were able to choose whether they would remain dry.
The committee routinely heard that the sunsetting of the Stronger Futures Act and the lack of a federal or territory government scheme in its wake caused an increase in alcohol related harm.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a flying visit to Alice Springs in January which culminated in a snap review by Dorelle Anderson, who was appointed to the new role of Central Australia regional controller.
As a result of her findings, the NT government last month passed urgent legislation to strengthen alcohol restrictions so that town camps and communities would revert to opt-out dry zones, with at least 60 per cent community agreement required before restrictions could be lifted.
The standing committee has now recommended the National Indigenous Australians Agency and the NT government conduct reviews into the “inadequate preparations” for the sunsetting of the act by the end of this year.
The report also calls for the NT government to ensure Indigenous communities are properly resourced to develop alcohol plans.
The committee heard the Stronger Futures Act did little to support First Nations people in the Northern Territory. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui
The committee also heard the Stronger Futures Act did little to support Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory, finding that the legislation focused “only on reducing supply and did not sufficiently support people at risk of alcohol abuse or of experiencing or causing”.
The opt-in approach was “ineffective at minimising harm”, the committee found. While this had been done with the intent of addressing the racist legacy of the Howard-era Intervention, the committee found there was not adequate meaningful consultation.
On the anti-social behaviour problems, the committee found it stemmed from the trauma associated with the disempowerment of Intervention laws and the subsequent Stronger Futures Act.
“Neither legislative framework was effective in achieving their objectives of improving the wellbeing of Aboriginal communities,” the report said.
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe, in comments attached to the release of the report, said the inquiry made clear that the transition process away from Stronger Futures was as much a disempowering process as the legislation itself was.
“It has become evident that consultation around what measures should be put in place to support communities in the transition after Stronger Futures was insufficient and inadequate, and any support measures themselves,” she said.
She stressed that First Nations self-determination should be a priority, through treaty or treaties; and that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of indigenous Peoples be enacted.
Senator Lidia Thorpe said treaties were the best way to empower First Nations people. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage
Elsewhere, the report recommends the federal government investigate how it can economically stimulate remote communities.
It recommends that by June 30, 2024, the Commonwealth government develops and implements a policy to ensure large businesses operating in remote regions employ and engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander locals and businesses.
The committee also recommended governments across the country should implement community-led justice reinvestment initiatives, and as soon as possible in Alice Springs and Katherine.