Page 1048 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 March 1991
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worsens his social maladjustment by further demoralising him and reducing any chance he may have had of putting his life on a better footing. The repeated experience of arrest, detention and appearance in court labels someone a "drunk" and minor criminal, and thereby encourages the individual to see himself in these roles.
I think it is very important for society to recognise that and it is very important for the legislature in this Territory to work towards a system of dealing with people who are intoxicated which results in better things for the people of the Territory.
It also has, one would hope, in the long term, some fringe benefits - if I can call them that - for the health and welfare system of the Territory. If appropriate services are provided at the places which this legislation prescribes as prescribed places, then we could look forward to a reduction of costs in the health and welfare areas, and money that is put to those purposes might be put to other better uses. But it is all about mitigating the effects of alcohol in the system and providing a progressive and modern approach to dealing with people who suffer from the effects of alcohol in a way which is unacceptable in public, at least, and in a way that might cause a hazard to themselves or to other members of the public. This also would pave the way for dealing with repeat offenders and would, at least, I would hope, lead to a situation where proper services are available to people suffering from what is really a serious problem.
I do not think that it is appropriate for the police to have this responsibility. That is not to say that the police do not deal with the situation in the Territory as best they can in the current circumstances; but it is not a police matter, in my view. It is a social matter and other means of dealing with the problem have to be developed. The police have an important role in society, to provide community policing, and I think the diversion of police time into dealing with intoxication in public places and so on is an expensive diversion which we as legislators would do well to avoid. By supporting this legislation the Government would relieve the police of the responsibility of incarcerating people affected by alcohol and would put such people in a place where the community might achieve better results in dealing with the problem of the effects of alcohol.
I want that point to be made very clear because I do not want anybody in this place to be saying that the Labor Party has an axe to grind with the police over the way they handle people who are intoxicated. That is not the case at all. This is about providing a better alternative to deal with people suffering the effects of that drug.
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