Opposition grows to inner city 'dry zone'

BY BRONWEN BEECHEY

ADELAIDE — The Adelaide City Council's proposal to ban the public consumption of alcohol within the city and North Adelaide came under fire at a meeting of around 100 people in the Adelaide Town Hall on November 20.

The proposal for a 12-month trial "dry zone" was prompted by sensationalist media reports about "violent crime" in the inner city, blamed on Aborigines who gather in Victoria Square, a traditional meeting place for the Kaurna people.

The only speaker at the meeting to support the dry zone proposal was the police representative, who claimed that the measure was necessary to ensure public safety. However, he admitted that the majority of alcohol-related crime in the city took place outside licenced venues. Drinking in licenced venues, including bars and cafes with outside seating, would be exempted from the ban.

Kym Davey, from the Youth Affairs Council of South Australia, said that the imposition of a ban on public drinking would have a disproportionate effect on young people, particularly homeless and Aboriginal youth.

Tauto Sansbury, from the Aboriginal Justice and Advocacy Committee, told the meeting that the ban was aimed at forcing Aboriginal people out of public places and would lead to more Aboriginal people being placed in custody for minor offences. He called for the establishment of drug and alcohol services and sobering-up centres in the inner city, and for Victoria Square to be recognised as a traditional meeting place for the Kaurna people.

Peter Burke from the Inner City Administrators Group, which represents service providers, pointed out that existing laws allow the police to act against alcohol-related crime, and called for a more responsible attitude to selling alcohol by licenced venues as well as the improvement of health services. He condemned the media's reporting of issue.

Those from the floor who spoke for the dry zone were mostly representatives of city businesses (including a pub) who claimed their customers were being harassed by drunks around Victoria Square. This claim was strongly rejected by a number of inner city residents and workers.

An Aboriginal speaker received applause when he pointed out that alcohol-related crime "came over here 200 years ago".

Lord Mayor Alfred Huang, a supporter of the dry zone proposal, attended the meeting but did not speak. He told the Advertiser on November 21 that the meeting was not necessarily a reflection of community feeling but "just a reflection of those people who were there".

The Adelaide City Council will be voting on the proposal at its meeting on December 18. Opponents of the proposal intend to rally outside the Town Hall from 4pm.

From GLW issue 430