The Banned Drinkers Register (BDR) is set to be made permanent in Western Australia after a long trial across multiple WA communities.
Legislation introduced to State Parliament this week will enshrine the scheme, which bans people on the register from buying takeaway alcohol, in the state’s Liquor Control Act.
The move fixes the BDR in place in the Kimberley, Pilbara and Goldfields regions, as well as the towns of Carnarvon and Gascoyne Junction.
Measures to streamline restrictions on trading hours and purchase limits are also included, along with increased penalties for sly-grogging.
What is the banned drinkers register?
The original scheme, established in 2020, allowed courts to add a person to the register as a penalty or bail condition, and people to add themselves voluntarily.
It requires bottle shop staff to scan the ID of anyone buying alcohol in affected communities to screen for those on the register.
The policy was considered a compromise solution after previous hardline restrictions pushed by police and health advocates outside the impacted regions drew community opposition.
Following further criticism about the small number of voluntary participants, lawmakers gave police officers, health practitioners and social workers the power to put people on the register in 2023.
It fuelled fears among some Kimberley health workers that the register would reduce trust from their patients.
The most recent government statistics revealed 1,017 people were on the register in the Pilbara, Kimberley, Goldfields and Carnarvon and Gascoyne Junction.
The vast majority were listed by police.
Across all regions, except the Kimberley, there were no orders made by social workers or health practitioners.
Caitlin Collins, parliamentary secretary to Racing, Gaming and Liquor Minister Paul Papalia, told State Parliament the restrictions had a positive impact.
“It is still relatively early days in terms of the banned drinkers register,” she said.
“But, based on preliminary information, it appears the impact of the register and other alcohol restrictions has been positive and almost immediate.”
Lack of transparency ‘disheartening’
While supportive of the register, Carnarvon retailer Nathan Condo said the overall lack of transparency from the government was “very disheartening”.
Consultancy firm Deloitte was handed a $160,000 contract last year to investigate the effectiveness of the BRD and other liquor restrictions as tools for managing alcohol-related harm.
A Liquor Licensing spokesperson said the department received the report in April, one of two independent evaluations of the scheme, but was still working through its findings.
Mr Condo questioned why the government would proceed with amended legislation before processing its own review.
“[The reports have] been sitting on the director’s desk and no-one’s seen them,” he said.
Calls for support
In Broome, the chair of the town’s only rehabilitation centre said she was also in the dark about the changes.
“How can the government force this upon us with no consultation and no workshops or not even letting us know — it’s not right,” Milliya Rumurra chair Kathy Watson said.
“No-one has spoken to us about this.”
Ms Watson acknowledged the damage alcohol had done to the community, but stressed there was a “desperate need” for expanded support services through WA’s north.