Substance Abuse Amongst Indigenous Australians

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There are a number of limitations that may withhold the success of my recommendation stated before. One of which includes passing legislation. In order for a bill to become a law, it must be agreed upon by a majority vote in Parliament[11]. The liberal party however, is against the Banned Drinkers Register as they were the ones who scrapped it in the first place. This means it may be difficult to win the majority vote and be made a law. Although, If it is made a law, then it could potentially take months to pass through parliament which can be very inconvenient and annoying. Another limitation is money. The government will have to fork out a large sum of money in order to reintroduce the BDR. They will need money to train the staff, install the data base, manage the data base and advertise this initiative, which can be seen as a deterrent for some.

I believe that the Northern Territory is somewhat taking enough initiative with regards to alcohol abuse within Indigenous communities. They have implemented a number of incentives to try and combat this issue, even though many have proven to be unsuccessful. I think that it should not be solely up to the Government to reduce the amount of Indigenous Australians suffering from alcohol abuse as Indigenous people themselves need to also help and not rely on the government. They need to recognise that it is a serious issue within their community and they need to help each other and come up with ways in which to reduce the number of sufferers. Overall, I strongly believe that the Northern Territory Government should continue trying to create ways to combat alcohol abuse, and Indigenous people need to take on what the Government is trying to do to protect them as the gap is still quite significant and isn’t anywhere near being closed.

Bibliography

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Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2011). Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Available: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/lookup/4704.0Chapter756Oct+2010 Last accessed 20th, Feb 2017.

Australian Government. (2014). Risky alcohol consumption. Available: https://www.dpmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/indigenous/Health-Performance-Framework-2014/tier-2-determinants-health/216-risky-alcohol-consumption.html Last accessed 6th, Mar 2017

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2006). Family violence among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Available: http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=6442458606 Last accessed 20th, Feb 2017.

Creative Spirits. (2017). Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) - “The Intervention”. Available: https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/politics/northern-territory-emergency-response-intervention Last accessed 20th, Feb 2017.

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James Massola. (2016). Malcolm Turnbull flags national roll-out of cashless welfare card, met by protests . Available: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/malcolm-turnbull-alan-tudge-flag-national-rollout-of-cashless-welfare-card-met-by-protests-at-cashless-debit-card-trial-20161030-gsdytb.html Last accessed 20th, Feb 2017.

Parliamentary Education Office. Making a Law. Available: http://www.peo.gov.au/learning/fact-sheets/making-a-law.html Last accessed 20th, Feb 2017.

The Guardian. (2016). Northern Territory alcohol plan could revive banned drinkers' register . Available: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/mar/23/northern-territory-alcohol-plan-could-revive-banned-drinkers-register Last accessed 20th, Feb 2017.

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