Vodka casks out of the mix
The reason why the Northern Territory government is so keen to see these vodka mixes disappear is that it fears the drink could aggravate alcohol abuse especially among its Aborigines. The Northern Territory is home to only 220,000 people, while Australia has 22.5 million inhabitants. However, over 30 percent of the Northern Territory’s population is Aboriginal.
When Aborigines gained legal equality in 1967, they also gained access to alcohol and fortnightly welfare payments. As a result, health and education standards have continued to decline over the decades, observers say. Life expectancy for Aborigines is about 17 years shorter than for other Australians, it was reported.
In 2007, the then Prime Minister John Howard seized direct control over alcohol and welfare in the Northern Territory in an act that is usually referred to as “the intervention”. The strategy of restricting welfare benefits to food, rent, and utilities was intended to reduce the Aborigines’ purchase of alcohol.
Fortunately, the “intervention” has persuaded Aboriginal leaders they need to tackle alcohol abuse themselves. Since 2007 several Aboriginal towns and smaller communities in the state of Western Australia have lobbied state officials to restrict the sale of alcohol or ban it altogether.
Nevertheless, Mr Howard’s “intervention” has proven controversial. That’s why a politician like the Northern Territory’s Licensing Minister Lawrie must have been relieved to hear that self-regulation (by a distributor) can work too.
