NT mandatory rehab plan slammed

The Northern Territory government's plan to force problem drinkers into rehabilitation centres for up to three months has been harshly criticised.

(Transcript from World News Australia Radio)

Aboriginal health and legal organisations in the Northern Territory say it's a waste of money and will lead to higher incarceration rates of Aboriginal people.

And the state's opposition says it offers no help to more than 2,000 of the territory's problem drinkers.

Nearly a year after scrapping the previous Northern Territory government's banned drinkers register, the Country Liberals Party has introduced a new alcohol control measure that is yet to be tested.

Under proposed new laws yet to be introduced to parliament, problem drinkers will be forced into rehabilitation for up to three months, or even longer, if they are picked up by police three times within two months.

The Northern Territory has the highest per capita alcohol consumption in Australia, 1.5 times the national average.

Alcohol Rehabilitation Minister Robyn Lambley says the plan is necessary to stop the disruption caused by the high number of problem drinkers.

"It's really identifying who these drinkers are that are causing so much pain to themselves and as well as their families as well as their communities. And placing them into mandatory alcohol rehabilitation and therefore giving them an opportunity to change their lives. It's not a punitive , it's not a corrections initiative. It's a health initiative."

The $30 million-a-year plan will see problem drinkers locked in secure facilities in Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine and Nhulunbuy.

The government expects up to 800 drinkers a year will be using the rehabilitation centres, where they will be offered life skills and work readiness programs.

Opposition leader Delia Laurie has called the plan a disgrace, saying there's no reason why the banned drinkers register should have been removed in the first place.

"Well the CLP are in a fools' paradise if they think that locking people up is the answer to what is actually a chronic health problem. The reality is that when Labor were in power we restricted the supply of alcohol based on an individual's behaviour. At the time there were some 2,500 chronic drinkers across the Territory who were on alcohol supply restrictions: they could not purchase takeaway (alcohol) and they were being referred on to rehabilitation and treatment pathways. The CLP have come out with a plan for 140 to be locked up. What will happen to the other 2,360 chronic drunks across the Territory who are being ignored?"

Aboriginal community groups in the Northern Territory have criticised the plan as misguided.

Priscilla Collins, Chief Executive of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, says the plan discriminates against Aboriginal people and will lead to higher incarcerations rates of Aboriginal people.

"The prison rate in the Territory is absolutely ridiculous. You know from 2001 to 2011 there was already an increase of 45 per cent. Come December 2016 that's going to increase further to another 46 per cent. 85 per cent of the people already in jail are Aboriginal. So what's going to happen here is that you're going to be placing the power in the hands of the police. You know to me it looks like they'll be placed in contact with the criminal justice system and we'll be sending more people to prison."

She's also critical of aspects of the plan that authorise rehabilitation centre staff to use what's described as reasonable force to restrain patients, and give police the powers to round up escapees.

"You know the Department of Health suspended the rollout of ten alcohol and other drug workers for remote communities. Now that would have had positive outcomes. You would have people working with Aboriginal people, looking at the underlying issues, case managing them. But rather than focus on early intervention, what they're doing is putting them into mandatory rehab. And what we have to remember here is that these people will be forced into rehabilitation for up to a 12-week period. They have not committed an offence. And that's what people need to remember."

But Alcohol Rehabilitation Minister Robyn Lambley rejects those criticisms.

"This isn't about incarceration, it's not about punishing people, it's not a corrections mechanism: it's a health mechanism, so I refute that. In terms of who comes through the system, they're people who are taken into protective custody three times in two months. It doesn't discriminate against races. People can make these allegations but we're not interested in building a race-based service. It's about looking after our people."

John Paterson is the chief executive of the group which represents Aboriginal-controlled medical services in the Northern Territory.

He says an independent analysis of the government's policy, commissioned by his organisation, casts serious doubts on whether the plan will deliver long-lasting behavioural changes.

"We need to have a multi-pronged approach. We're calling on governments to start to invest and commit to that early childhood education and if we were able to get bigger numbers of graduates at year 12 and in university. Until such time we will continue to struggle with this serious social problem. I believe governments and community do all have a responsibility, and governments need to work with those providers that are at the coal-face."