Grog, Violence and Opinions Galore

Alice Springs infamy on Today Tonight
Alice Springs is back in the news, once again described as the crime and violence capital of Australia (Today Tonight, ‘A town like Alice’, 30 Apr 2007). It was a typically soapy current affairs story full of graphic descriptions of assaults and stereotypical portrayals of ‘them’ and ‘us’. Today Tonight had been invited to Alice by a group who call themselves “Advance Alice” a small group of very vocal locals with a rather redneck agenda (although they simply say they are protecting local businesses and families). To their credit, Today Tonight did at least attempt to get an Aboriginal viewpoint through the voice of Geoffrey Shaw. Mr. Shaw was born in the riverbed and has lived in the Town Camps his whole life. He is currently President of the Tangentyere Council (the representative body and service centre for Town Campers), and has been recognised for his massive efforts in Aboriginal rights and reconciliation.

Grog Wars
Alcohol abuse is widely recognised to be the major underlying and perpetuating factor of many of Alice Springs social ills. This is particularly the case when it comes to the violence that has so saturated the local and national media. Over the past few weeks I have interviewed the Alice Springs Mayor, Tangentyere Council CEO, and a diverse range of locals regarding alcohol abuse and violence. I have found the reaction to this issue varies greatly between different quarters of the community and sheds great light on their respective values and prejudices.

Town Council
Alice Springs Mayor, Fran Kilgariff (pic), sees Alice Springs as primarily a ‘tourist town’. For her, alcohol abuse is one of the key drivers behind the antisocial behaviour that turns tourists away. Her response to the Today Tonight special was to describe the situation in Alice Springs as ‘black violence against other blacks’ saying that it shouldn’t deter tourists. The Council solution is to propose a ‘Dry-Town Centre’ policy. [Don’t confuse this with ‘dry town’ policies that work very well in many Aboriginal communities throughout the NT]. This policy would prohibit alcohol consumption in public areas within the town centre, apart from special permits (e.g. footy game ‘wet areas’ etc.). This is explicitly targeted at Aboriginal drinkers who currently sit in parks and along the river with their grog. It would have no impact on the supply of alcohol or the private licensees.

Tangentyere Council
Tangentyere Council CEO, William Tilmouth (pic), and President, Geoffrey Shaw, both see alcohol as the major factor behind the appalling rates of violence among Aboriginal people. They accurately identify Aboriginal women in Town Camps as the most vulnerable members of the community, and point out that the leading cause of death for these women is violent assault. The proposed ‘Dry-Town Centre’ policy will do absolutely nothing for these women (a fact that Mayor Kilgariff reluctantly agrees with).

Indeed, it will likely make things worse as the current problem drinkers will be pushed out of town into the peripheral Town Camps. Neither the Police nor the Town Campers have been able to control the presence of such drinkers when they enter Town Camps in the past, and there is no reason that this will change. Mayor Kilgariff’s response to this is to flippantly say that it just means Town Camps will be forced to become dry. That is, they have a choice, either (a) allow alcohol and bear the added burden of the whole town’s alcohol and social problems, or (b) ban alcohol and disallow your residents the right to a quiet beer by the BBQ. In my humble opinion, this is colonial style blackmail and is absolutely shameful.

Tangentyere Council along with other Aboriginal community groups have long campaigned for stronger alcohol laws. Their propositions include one ‘dry day’ a week, quantitative limitations on the purchase of commonly abused alcohol, and a reduction in the current number of alcohol suppliers. One Town Camp pursued the option of declaring itself a dry zone, after the institution of another Council law had resulted in drunks using their camp to evade the 2km law (no alcohol consumption within 2km of a liquor outlet). It took 7 years for the Liquor Licensing Commission to grant permission, thanks to the undermining of their application by local authorities (including the Police!?!). And in the words of Mr. Tilmouth, ‘by the time Abbot’s Camp was granted dry-zone status the camp President had already given up and turned to alcohol himself’. The major Police objection at that time was that they would not be able to police it – how on earth could they no police all 21 camps for alcohol?

So if you are ever tempted to view the rampart alcohol abuse among Aboriginal central Australians as self-inflicted or believe that they are not doing their darndest to improve things – think again. History has handed them a massive handicap and contemporary ignorance (and racism) seems intent on quashing every attempt they make to get ahead.

VB Dreaming
One local painter joked to me recently about painting the ‘VB Dreaming’ story. Green VB cans ornament all the Camps, parks and public places in Alice Springs and it is probably the most popular poison of choice (though cheap port and Listerine are other options). This tells me two things (1) people here are not very discerning drinkers (2) grog corporations don’t give a damn about the effects of their sales. Perhaps this is one of the natural outcomes of consumerism as we buy the lie that “if people will pay, then it must be okay”. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to undermine the right of Aussie Joe to crack a cold one – but does it really have to come at this price?

I can visualise a Pilger-style documentary titled “VB Dreaming – the other Stolen Generation”. It would match the adverse social effects of domestic violence, suicide, poor health, lack of education, child neglect and abuse with the collaborating evils of institutional racism and corporate consumerism. It would parallel the lives of Aboriginal Town Campers, Alcoholic victims, local community groups, local grog suppliers and alcohol lobby, and the powerful corporate bosses. Do you think I am being overly dramatic? Well until this year I would probably have thought the same, so I’d welcome any of you up here to see with your own eyes.

Doctor Doctor…
Lest you think I have left my doctoring to pursue a career in advocacy, I can assure you that my medical career is still forging ahead. I have finished work at the Aboriginal health centre to return to the bustling medical wards of Alice Springs Hospital. For the medical minded among you, the case-load here is amazing. Infectious Disease is the biggest cause of admission, not only the standard chest and urinary infections but also multiple cases of Cryptococcal meningitis, pulmonary TB, Rheumatic fever and Endocarditis.

Aboriginal Centralians die 20-30 years younger than their non-Aboriginal counterparts, a statistic largely due to Sepsis mortality (though there are many other underlying factors). Despite prompt hospital attendance, and first-class medical treatment, Aboriginal mortality rates from sepsis are higher than most of the poorest African countries. The reason for this is unclear, but the local Infectious Diseases Physician theorises that it is at least partially due a quirky retrovirus called HTLV-1. It has a prevalence of at least 10-20%, is transmitted mainly through breast-milk, and has an immunocompromising effect similar to HIV (though not nearly as severe). An audit of hospital deaths last year (accounting for half of Centralian deaths) seems to support this hypothesis, though there are many other factors that will likely contribute to the septic mortality rate (e.g. ESRF, DM, childhood ID burden, malnutrition etc.).

No, this is not 'VB-Dreaming' - it is a Honey Ant Dreaming painting by Kathy Coulthard that now hangs on my wall. Tunnel full of juicy honey ants running through the centre. Concentric circles = digging pits. U-shapes = women/children with digging stick beside them.