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Speaker 1: Well, it's about the new rule that we've told you

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Speaker 1: about on the show yesterday. It's been brought in by

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory Liquor Commission and liquor licensing changes announced

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Speaker 1: this week basically mean that anyone who orders a full

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Speaker 1: strength venue or drink I should say at twenty different

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Speaker 1: venues across the town during lunch hours on Wednesdays to Fridays.

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Speaker 1: This is in Alice Springs, must also order a meal.

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Speaker 1: Now we know that Alice has long grappled with violence

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Speaker 1: and alcohol issues, but some are scratching their heads wondering

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Speaker 1: how this is going to make a difference. Now, Doctor

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Speaker 1: John Boffer joins me on the line right now. Good

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Speaker 1: morning to.

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Speaker 2: You, John, Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Lovely to have you on the show.

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Speaker 2: John.

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Speaker 1: How are these alcohol related issues going in Alice Springs

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Speaker 1: at the moment, Just stepping aside from this new change,

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Speaker 1: are things any better at this point or are they worse?

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Speaker 2: Look, things are howled a lot better since reintroduced the

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Speaker 2: two takeaway three days and the Wastricksons on training hours.

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Speaker 2: And to give you two stats, so in the stepven

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Speaker 2: months when stronger futures were withdrawn, the average domestic violence

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Speaker 2: assaults per month was one hundred and fifteen. It's now sixty.

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Speaker 2: Alcohol related domestic violence assaults it was one hundred and fifteen,

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Speaker 2: it's now sixty. And the average per month emergency department

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Speaker 2: alcohol related presentations was around five hundred and fifty a month.

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Speaker 2: It's now three hundred and fifty two hundred less a month.

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Speaker 2: That's fifty less a week. So we've seen a reduction

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Speaker 2: into personal violence. We've had an impact on reducing DV.

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Speaker 2: I'm not saying domestic advance are still a major issue,

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Speaker 2: but things are a lot better. And then combined with

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Speaker 2: policing practices, we've seen an overall very large reductions in

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Speaker 2: a whole range of offenses and the community is a

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Speaker 2: lot safer. Doctor pouts, So that's how it's going so far.

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Speaker 1: Is there serge, like, is there specific you know, changes,

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Speaker 1: legislative changes or you know, or changes within the way

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Speaker 1: in which people can purchase alcohol that you would point

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Speaker 1: to as being the most successful in recent months.

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Speaker 2: Oh, look, it's no doubt that the massive reduction in

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Speaker 2: total takeaway trading hours is the most successful measure. So

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Speaker 2: we've got two days a week where there's no takeaway

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Speaker 2: whole for the whole town. And then on we have

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Speaker 2: on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, takeaway is only available from three

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Speaker 2: pm to seven pm, four hours a day. So when

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Speaker 2: you add that up and combine the reduction in takeaway

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Speaker 2: hours that we had prior to that been put in place,

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Speaker 2: that's what's made the difference. And we've known that international

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Speaker 2: which has been incredibly clear for a very long time.

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Speaker 2: The total takeaway training hours matters, and if you reduce

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Speaker 2: total takeaway training hours you'll have the very impact we've

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Speaker 2: had in It's not rocket science. We know it works.

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Speaker 2: It's just the political will to do it. And unfortunately,

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Speaker 2: to create the political will to do it, we had

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Speaker 2: to go through a crisis and we had to see

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Speaker 2: extraordinary levels of violence in the personal violence harm in

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Speaker 2: community before we got to the point where this incredibly

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Speaker 2: effective manage of measures was basically implemented by the Prime

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Speaker 2: Minister and with then the support of the Northern Church

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Speaker 2: of Government, and it's been incredibly effective. It would be

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Speaker 2: equally effective in Tannon Creek and Catherine, It would work

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Speaker 2: in Darwin. It probably wouldn't get support, but it's something

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Speaker 2: that needs to be looked at across the churches. Because

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Speaker 2: we're all seeing the very significant reductions in crime in

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Speaker 2: ol Springs, which are not being married in the data

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Speaker 2: from Darwin. So doctor Bosford, do.

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Speaker 1: You reckon that there does need to be a look

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Speaker 1: for you know, other parts of the Northern Territory in

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Speaker 1: terms of you know, restricting those hours to some degree.

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Speaker 2: Totally. I think it works and there's no reason why

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Speaker 2: it shouldn't be applied across the Northern Churchy, including in Darwen.

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Speaker 2: I mean, people have learned to live within in ol Springs.

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Speaker 2: The world hasn't caved in with two days where you

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Speaker 2: can't buy a takeaway and the world won't cave in

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Speaker 2: now that during lunch hours or during those hours if

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Speaker 2: people go to pubs and they need to have a

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Speaker 2: full meal to buy full alcohol. Because the reason this started,

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Speaker 2: Katie is the Commission had complaints where we were seeing

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Speaker 2: a lot of drunk people in the town's coming out

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Speaker 2: of on licensed venues in the early hours of the

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Speaker 2: day and they were causing problems. So people were entering

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Speaker 2: licensed premises with the purposes of drinking to get drunk.

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Speaker 2: So now what we're saying is you can go into

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Speaker 2: licensed premises during the day and at lunchtime, but have

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Speaker 2: a meal if you're going to drink full strength alcohol.

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Speaker 2: Otherwise it's only light beer light alcohol.

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Speaker 1: Doctor Boffer, Is it correct that you have to have

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Speaker 1: a meal with knife and full that you're not even

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Speaker 1: You're not able to just get a bowl of chips.

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Speaker 1: So you're not able to have a burger or some

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Speaker 1: pizza unless you're sitting down and you're doing it properly.

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Speaker 2: Well, yeah, you've got to have a proper meal and

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Speaker 2: the commissions to find a meal so that otherwise you

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Speaker 2: could have this whole thing subverted where people just have

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Speaker 2: a packet of chips and drink. We've got to define

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Speaker 2: what we mean by a meal. And I think a

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Speaker 2: pizza can be on a plate and you can eat

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Speaker 2: that with a nine box. So it's not ruling out pizza,

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Speaker 2: but chips on their own wouldn't be enough.

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Speaker 1: Look, I know some people will sort of be scratching

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Speaker 1: their heads, going how will this make a difference? And

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Speaker 1: I know that some pub owners have spoken to the

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Speaker 1: media and say that they're being unfairly targeted. I mean,

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Speaker 1: what do you think of that claim?

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Speaker 2: Look, I think that when it comes to the requirement

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Speaker 2: for photo identification, I'd see this at the beginning and

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Speaker 2: on an end, and if it doesn't work, it won't

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Speaker 2: go any further. But I think there's a very good

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Speaker 2: chance that requiring photo ID on the four outlets that

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Speaker 2: that's going to be required for will demonstrate that they're

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Speaker 2: able to then not allow people on the bandjinker is

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Speaker 2: ready to come into their premises, and that is going

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Speaker 2: to have an impact on further reducing harm. I think

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Speaker 2: because we've been so successful in reducing access to take

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Speaker 2: away alcohol, we've had obviously an increase in people drinking

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Speaker 2: on license, which is what you'd expect. Now amongst that increase,

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Speaker 2: we've got people who are on banning orders of various

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Speaker 2: sorts who are freely going into licensed premises, and the

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Speaker 2: licensed premises are not able to know who's on a

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Speaker 2: band order and who's not. So this allows this to

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Speaker 2: be put in place in the CBD to start with,

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Speaker 2: and we'll see whether it's effective.

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Speaker 1: Well, doctor John Boffer, I always appreciate your time, really

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Speaker 1: appreciate you coming on the show this morning and having

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Speaker 1: a bit of a chat to us about this.

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Speaker 2: No worries, Thanks Kate, thank.

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Speaker 1: You, thanks so much. That is doctor John Boffer, there

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Speaker 1: from the People's Alcohol Action Coalition in Alice Springs,