The Liquor Files: Level of harm, violence in the Kimberley is reaching crisis point says Elder Ian Trust

When police officers from the Liquor Enforcement Unit travelled to Kununurra in 2019 to interview Aborginal Elder Ian Trust about social harm caused by alcohol he told them, “the Kimberley is in crisis.” In his police statement, obtained by The West Australian, the chief executive officer at Wunan Foundation told how youths aged 14 or 15 were exchanging sex for money to buy alcohol or drugs. He said children as young as eight were on the streets because of family neglect. “Mr Trust states the Kimberley is in crisis and largely due to the abuse of alcohol,” his statement reads. “Domestic violence, the abuse of children has become an accepted way of life; you become conditioned to it; it’s how the Kimberley is and the status quo of the Aboriginal people.” “Mr Trust calls for restrictions Kimberley-wide that permit mid-strength liquor sales only.” Since making that statement three-and-a-half years ago the social harm caused by alcohol in Kununurrra has become far worse. According to data from the WA Police Incident Management System, alcohol-related violence and other crimes has doubled in the town. In 2019 alcohol-related offences in Kununurra were already out of control at 16.2 times the state average — today they are 30 times higher. However, Mr Trust has since changed his mind. He no longer supports a complete ban on takeaway full-strength alcohol because he thinks new police powers to add people to the Banned Drinkers Register could work. Under the regulations, which came into effect in December, police can now prohibit people who commit alcohol-related offences from purchasing takeaway alcohol. All licensees in the Kimberley, Pilbara, Goldfields, Carnarvon and the Gascoyne Junction regions to take part must scan each customer’s licence to make sure they are not on the banned list. “I was supporting the ban on full-strength alcohol sales back then because Kununurra at the time did not have a working Banned Drinkers Register scheme in place,” Mr Trust told The West. “My position now is that if the BDR has been implemented and is rigorously enforced I would not support a compete full-strength alcohol ban if this initiative is working.” In Broome, Andrew Amor CEO of Milliya Rumurra Rehabilitation Centre also gave harrowing police statements in 2017 and 2019. He described how in some cases former child clients who had stayed with their parents at the rehabilitation centre were now seeking help with their own addictions as adults. “The level of harm throughout the region is getting worse. Family domestic violence and violence in general is reaching a crisis point,” he said. Mr Amor believed the current patchwork of alcohol restrictions where Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek banned takeaway full-strength alcohol but it was allowed in other major towns didn’t work. “For any restrictions to work effectively the restriction has to be consistent across the whole region — not just in one or two towns.” A patchwork response has, in the past, been blamed for sly grogging. A problem that has seen police seize huge hauls of booze, like in early 2020 when Fitzroy Crossing Police seized dozens of cartons of beer in one afternoon with the help of Derby and Looma Community Police. But Mr Amor said focusing on “acute interventions,” and “crisis management,” won’t heal the long-term social harm caused by alcohol in the Kimberley. “The level of alcohol-related harm is an issue that has been in the making over many generations and there is no quick fix to it,” he said.