As communities in northern WA search for solutions to alcohol-fuelled violence and harm, a proposal to severely restrict takeaway grog is subject of a hotly contested debate.
The state's director of liquor licensing, Lanie Chopping, has been investigating whether all takeaway alcohol except light beer should be banned in the Kimberley and Pilbara regions since mid-2020.
Crime rates, domestic violence and antisocial behaviour have led to the regions being compared to war zones.
The inquiry was launched after an application in 2019 by former police commissioner Chris Dawson in an effort to reduce alcohol abuse; his successor, Col Blanch, has given in-principle support.
While it's been met with widespread backlash from the tourism and hospitality sectors, which believe it would damage the area's reputation, what do leaders in health care and social services say?
Not all leaders opposed to ban
In Newman, about 1,200 kilometres north-east of Perth, John and Angela Wilmot run pastoral and community support programs to combat social challenges the town has faced for years.
These include crime and violence triggered by alcohol as well as groups of at-risk children who roam the streets at night.
Mr Wilmot said it was time for the region to consider the prospect of a blanket ban on most takeaway alcohol because current measures were failing.
"I think it's a reasonable thing for us to wrestle with as a community," he said.
"I think we're at a stage where we have to seriously consider how people access it, especially when they struggle to be responsible for themselves."
Mrs Wilmot said the rate of alcohol-related harms had reached crisis point and she was supportive of the proposed ban, even if it was unpopular in the general population.
"When we're talking about getting to that level of crisis and we're not regulating it ourselves as a community, other regulation does need to come into play," she said.
"I think the police commissioner will be really struggling to get it across the line, but do we just continue on with the devastation that alcohol is causing among us?"
Underlying causes need to be addressed
Part of the former police commissioner's motivation was concern about sly grogging — or the illegal alcohol trade — in the north-west's remote communities.
But Pilbara Aboriginal Health Alliance acting chief executive Winnie Henry said a far-reaching ban would not reduce harmful levels of drinking.
"I don't believe that blanket restrictions work to address the harms and misuse of alcohol," she said.
"I think if people want to consume alcohol to harmful levels, they'll find a way to do that."
Mrs Henry said authorities should be focused on addressing the underlying causes of alcohol abuse via culturally appropriate support services.
This would include further investment in screening and education campaigns directed at schools and families, she said.
"Why are people drinking to harmful levels and what can we do to address that?
"[We need] treatment services for people that are struggling with alcohol consumption, culturally appropriate treatment services that address the root cause."
She said the ongoing trial of a Banned Drinkers Register (BDR) served as an appropriate interim measure to stem some of the flow of alcohol into the community.
The BDR is the preferred alcohol policy of both the state government and hospitality industry, and the program's two-year trial in the Pilbara will end this year.
The trial has also been expanded to the Kimberley and Goldfields regions.
However, Mrs Wilmot said the register had done little to reduce the level of excessive drinking and associated harm in Newman.
"It's almost like it doesn't exist. As a stakeholder in the community, we see no evidence of the banned drinkers register actually being done properly.
"Most people don't seem to have any idea of how you get onto the banned drinkers register or what happens there, so that's a little bit concerning."
All eyes will be on the results of the trial, as well as Ms Chopping, who is expected to make a decision on the proposed ban next year.
