Tension in NT parliament over last minute push for alcohol legislation change

ABC NEWS (Australia)

In its continued effort to stamp out anti-social behaviour the Northern Territory government wants to extend the amount of time a person is listed on the banned drinking register. But the government has come under fire for not giving the Opposition and cross-bench enough time to scrutinize the proposal.

Transcript

00:00With just two parliamentary sitting days left this year, the government wants to introduce

00:06and pass new alcohol laws before the end of tomorrow.

00:10What we will do is make sure that banned drinker orders lift from 7 days to 28 days, meaning

00:16longer periods for people who are banned from drinking alcohol.

00:20The health minister says that extra time can be used to reform offenders.

00:24That will give health an opportunity to intervene and refer people to therapeutic programs where

00:31we can make a difference across the board.

00:33The legislation has been cited as the latest crime-fighting measure, necessary to curb high

00:37rates of alcohol-related assault.

00:39Police data released today indicates the success of their efforts so far, with alcohol-related

00:44assaults declining in Darwin and Alice Springs over the year to September.

00:48However, alcohol-fuelled violence increased in Palmerston, and the figures are likely to

00:52arise in Catherine and Tennant Creek as more data becomes available.

00:56While the opposition has yet to outline its stance on the bill, it has expressed clear

01:00frustration about the government waiting until the end of the year to pass the legislation

01:04on urgency.

01:05What was disappointing from the CLP government were they weren't able to actually provide

01:10me with the piece of legislation itself to look through all the different clauses within

01:15the legislation, so that makes it really difficult to come to a position on this.

01:20On a week when the government has faced mounting pressure over transparency, opposition and

01:24crossbench members will have just over a day to study the bill before tomorrow's debate.

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