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Indigenous communities criticise 'grog bans' as racist

12 June 2004 - HAMISH ROBERTSON: Now to an alcohol-related issue affecting indigenous Australians.

Several remote Aboriginal communities on Cape York are banding together to challenge the Queensland government's alcohol management plan - claiming that the so called "grog bans" are racist.

At least nine communities say they plan to use international human rights laws - as well as the federal racial discrimination act - as part of their case.

Jeff Waters reports.

JEFF WATERS: The Mapoon community on Cape York was one of several to make submissions to the Queensland government with plans of their own to institute alcohol bans.

They themselves recognised it was alcoholism which was leading to domestic violence and many other social problems.

But Mapoon, and now, several other communities, say those self-generated plans were ignored and restrictions imposed from above instead.

Outspoken Aboriginal leader Marrando Yanner comes from the gulf community of Burketown and is highly critical of the methods of Premier Peter Beattie.

MARRANDO YANNER: He beat them into submission through the threat of withdrawing funding and having councils collapse or being voted out because they can't deliver anything without funding.

JEFF WATERS: Murrando Yanner is one of a growing number of people who say the grog bans are racist because white areas with alcohol problems and violence, like the Gold Coast, are ignored.

MARRANDO YANNER: Everyone's missing the eye of the eight ball that a heap of rights, legal, state, national, citizen's rights, human rights are being steamrolled here and pushed to the side and buried and that is the scariest thing. That could lead to a lot of nasty stuff if they can get away with this stuff.

JEFF WATERS: The ABC has learnt at least nine communities are now gathering funds to start a legal challenge under the Federal Racial Discrimination Act.

But they'll also use international human rights conventions in their case, and could conceivably end up at the UN in Geneva.

Andrew Byrnes is a professor of law at the Australian National University in Canberra.

ANDREW BYRNES: They could lodge a complaint in that forum, saying that the alcohol management plans to which they're opposed, in fact constitute a violation of the racial discrimination convention.

JEFF WATERS: Democrat Indigenous Affairs spokesman, Aden Ridgeway, warns against an expensive court challenge, and says the rights of Aboriginal women and children to live peacefully should not be forgotten.

But he says the Beattie Government has gone about it the wrong way.

ADEN RIDGEWAY: The Queensland government certainly needs to go back and look at the processes by which decisions are taken. Certainly if alcoholic management plans are going to be put in place it needs to be done as a result of consultation and consent by the communities concerned.

JEFF WATERS: And that's how it's been done in the Northern Territory for many years, where successful dry communities make their own, democratic, rules, with the assistance of the territory government.

HAMISH ROBERTSON: Jeff Waters reporting from Brisbane.

Source: ABC

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