Local residents are also now required to show photo identification to purchase restricted items and extensive details of these transactions must be documented in either an electronic or handwritten record.
However, the purchase limits do not apply to managers and supervisors of “station properties” or “companies operating mining ventures and other licensees”.
The commission said on Tuesday said “a number of key stakeholders” were consulted on the restrictions including SA Police, “impacted licensees” and local member Dan Van Holst Pellekaan.
But Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council SA director Scott Wilson – whose corporation runs a residential rehabilitation clinic and a drug and alcohol day centre in Port Augusta – said he was blindsided by the policy and has doubts about its efficacy.
“The whole issue could have been avoided,” Wilson told .
“Not once has any government agency contacted, not just us, but … they haven’t contacted any alcohol and drug [service] provider within any of those regions and asked them for their opinion.
“Until you rang me, I had no idea this was even happening, and we’re the largest provider of drug and alcohol [services] in the North West region of the state.”
Unless governments actually start investing in social services in those regions, whether it’s Port Augusta or it’s Ceduna, then this is going to happen on and off, on and off, all the time.
Wilson, who has been director of the ADAC since 1995 and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Sydney Medical School, expressed concern about exemptions in the restrictions granted to companies operating mining ventures and “other licensees”.
“By having the upper echelons of society being excluded, it’s a ‘them and us’ sort of situation,” Wilson said.
“Mining companies, other licensees – it’s just interesting.”
He also said he does not expect the restrictions to solve systemic issues in the region and rejected suggestions from the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner that the presence of non-residents in Port Augusta was the source of the problem.
“They’ll do this for two weeks, they’re hoping if the road opens up all of these Pitjantjatjara people will quickly vanish to go home and everything will go back to normal,” he said.
“Well it won’t.
“Port Augusta has got its own localised homeless situation where people will still be sleeping rough and still be drinking.
“And unless governments actually start investing in social services in those regions, whether it’s Port Augusta or it’s Ceduna, then this is going to happen on and off, on and off, all the time.”
asked Liquor and Gambling Commissioner Dini Soulio whether he had consulted with the ADAC or any local drug and alcohol services before making the decision.
Soulio said he would have consulted the services if the alcohol ban was to become permanent.
“The consultation I undertook was targeted at licensees given the urgency of the matter, and the temporary nature of the restrictions,” he said in a statement.
“Where restrictions are to be imposed on a more permanent basis, such as has occurred in Coober Pedy and Ceduna, more extensive consultation would be undertaken with licensees, Council, SAPOL, Aboriginal leaders and help services.”
Soulio also defended the exemptions granted to mining maxjmtzywnagers and station properties.
“This reflects the fact that station properties and mining ventures are in more remote parts of the state and often have a large fly-in fly-out workforce,” he said.
“Managers and supervisors often purchase liquor in bulk to cater to staff working on site for an extended period of time, and not isolated events.
“Similar exemptions apply to restrictions on takeaway sales in Coober Pedy and Ceduna.”
The Liquor and Gambling Commissioner said he will be “closely monitoring” the impact of the Port Augusta restrictions over the next two weeks along with SA Police.
Scott Wilson’s call for greater resourcing and more long-term thinking on the alcohol issues in Port Augusta was echoed by Michael White, executive officer of the South Australian Network of Drug and Alcohol Services.
He also said the new Port Augusta restrictions could have unforeseen consequences.
“There is a risk that a person highly dependent could go into withdrawal if there is long period between access,” he said.
“This could be fatal.
“[It] would be better to implement longer-term strategies such as controlled or managed drinking programs.
“There is a dearth of programs state-wide and this needs to be addressed by whoever wins government at state and federal level.”
Port Augusta City Council also took aim at the State Government’s “horrifying” lack of consultation on the policy, with local Mayor Brett Benbow using his opening remarks at last night’s council meeting to describe the process as a “kick in the butt”.
“I want to apologise to my community and my elected body because I did not know this,” he told councillors over Zoom.
“If I did, I would always share it as soon as I get on top it.
“I encourage anybody, if you’re prime minister, you’re premier, you’re the minister – I don’t care – just make sure you share it with your mayor of your local city … it will help everything run smoothly.”
