Aurukun Shire Council says there is “no such motion in place at this time” regarding media reports the community was preparing to review its Alcohol Management Plan and re-open a tavern. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
A furious Aurukun Shire Council has slammed media speculation it is in the process of requesting changes to its Alcohol Management Plan (AMP) that would lead to the re-opening of a licenced premises in the remote community.
On 2 July, Cairns Post ran a front page story suggesting “alcohol could return to the dry community of Aurukun following a push from the local council”.
The article added the council “has had alcohol restrictions in place for 22 years but is preparing to make an application to the State Government for a licence to re-open a limited hours tavern”.
AMPs operate in 15 remote and discrete communities across Queensland, and were introduced in a bid to reduce alcohol-related violence.
The council’s acting chief executive officer, Juanita Warner, refuted the claims made in the Cairns Post article and said the organisation was not preparing to make an application for a licence to re-open a limited hours tavern.
“The council would need to consider a motion to review the community’s Alcohol Management Plan before applying for a permit,” she said.
“There is no such motion in place at this time as any review of the Alcohol Management Plan needs to be driven by the community.
One Wik Traditional Owner Cape York Weekly spoke to on the condition of anonymity said they supported a dialogue being started around the community’s management of alcohol.
“We’ve had that plan (the AMP) for a long time now, but how much good’s it doing for our people?” they asked.
“There’s still a lot of sly grog around Aurukun, and people are wasting all their money, sometimes like $800 for a bottle of rum, to have a drink.
“Our mob need to have a proper talk about what we want and how to make things better; maybe having a tavern again one day might help.”
Ms Warner said any future amendments to the Aurukun AMP would not be driven by unilateral council actions.
“A review of the Alcohol Management Plan would involve extensive community consultation involving the justice group, council, police and other government agencies in Aurukun,” she said.
“It would include gauging support for or against having a limited hours tavern in the community, and the outcome of this would be reflected in the recommendation whether or not to make an application to the State Government for a licence to re-open a limited hours tavern.”
