Palm Island mayor admits sly-grogging

A far north Queensland indigenous mayor has admitted trying to take alcohol onto Palm Island where alcohol restrictions are in place.

NSW denies grog lobby influence in rules

By 15 and 16 years of age more than a third of the sample was being supplied alcohol by their parents. (AAP)

The mayor of Palm Island, who has spoken out against alcohol restrictions in indigenous communities, has pleaded guilty to sly-grogging.

Alf Lacey was part of a group stopped by police as they sailed toward the island, off Townsville, with liquor on board in January last year.

The island is subject to strict alcohol limits under the Liquor Act.

Last week Mr Lacey pleaded guilty to one charge of attempting to take alcohol into a restricted area, a spokesperson at the Ingham Magistrates Court told AAP.

He was fined $100.

Last month the High Court ruled alcohol management plans in 19 indigenous Queensland communities do not breach national and international racial discrimination laws.

The court said the plans - which restrict the sale and possession of alcohol - are not racially discriminatory because they are "special measures" to protect vulnerable people.

At the time of the ruling, Mr Lacey said it equated to the same excuse used to justify the stolen generations.

"I thought those days were over ... (but) that's always going to be the case with a lot our issues - the 'white is right' mentality," he told AAP in June.

"It's disappointing to say that. It kills self-determination and economic prosperity in Aboriginal people."

He said the issue went beyond alcohol and was about indigenous people determining their own futures.

The case was referred to the High Court after Palm Island woman Joan Monica Maloney was convicted in October 2010 of possessing more than the prescribed amount of liquor.

She was fined $150, but decided to fight the charge and conviction on the grounds that it directly discriminated against Aboriginal people.


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Source: AAP


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