Drinkers flout AMP boundary
EMPTY beer cans, rum bottles and wine casks lay scattered around the “Family Tree” on the outskirts of Doomadgee, metres from the Alcohol Management Plan boundary.
Flouting the AMP has become common in Doomadgee, evident by the empties littering the ground.
Little more than 100km from the Aboriginal community sits Burketown, which has become a hub for buying booze.
Anyone can buy two 30packs of beer, a bottle of spirits and two bottles of wine at Burketown, although if you want to head back to Doomadgee you can only take in the 30-packs of beer.
To get around this, people are buying the grog in Burketown and heading back to the “Family Tree” where they drink to excess before going into town.
Doomadgee police officer in charge Senior Sergeant Aaron Baxter said almost all offences in the community were alcohol-related.
“Eighty-two per cent of crime last financial year was directly related to alcohol ... we get people who will bring, what we call hot grog, or restricted liquor, right up to that boundary and they will consume it, before coming into the community intoxicated,” Sen-Sgt Baxter said. “It’s not only that they are bringing it into the community under the cover of darkness and take that risk (of being caught breaching the AMP), but the edge of the AMP is close enough that people can still walk into town after getting intoxicated.”
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Minister Curtis Pitt said the AMPs were being reviewed.
“I expect unique community issues like this will be specifically addressed in each community’s submission,” he said. “I have stressed to mayors that the safety of all people – especially children, women and the elderly – must be able to be guaranteed through the Alcohol Management Plan review process.”