❓ The Minister for Racing and Gaming provides an update on the Banned Drinkers Register (BDR) trial in the Kimberley, Pilbara, and Goldfields, including planned legislative changes to strengthen the program and extend the trial for two years.
AnsweredQoN 639Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BANNED DRINKERS REGISTER — REGIONS
639. Ms A.E. KENT to the Minister for Racing and Gaming:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to reducing the harmful impacts of alcohol,
particularly in regional communities.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on the trial of the banned drinkers register in the
Kimberley, Pilbara and goldfields areas, and the recent announcement to extend
the trial?
(2) Can the
minister outline to the house what this will mean for communities in regional Western
Australia?
639. Ms A.E. KENT to the Minister for Racing and Gaming:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to reducing the harmful impacts of alcohol,
particularly in regional communities.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on the trial of the banned drinkers register in the
Kimberley, Pilbara and goldfields areas, and the recent announcement to extend
the trial?
(2) Can the
minister outline to the house what this will mean for communities in regional Western
Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Kalgoorlie
for her question and continued advocacy in the community on safety issues,
trying to make sure that her community is a better place to live.
(1)–(2) The member mentioned the banned drinkers register,
introduced by the McGowan government in 2020 by the now Minister for
Police. It was aimed to target and address problem drinkers—those who
are impacted by excessive alcohol
consumption—by trying to restrict their access to takeaway alcohol.
That is the whole premise of the BDR. We targeted it to those who have
harm-related issues from excessive consumption of alcohol. That is the beauty
of the BDR. Rather than trying to have a more general prohibition, we try to target the problem where it is most acute, and
that is with people who have an issue with excessive alcohol consumption. The member mentioned that there have been trials in the Kimberley,
Pilbara and Kalgoorlie regions. It started
off in the Pilbara region. The trials have been well supported by the local
communities— local government, the courts, the liquor industry,
individual licensees, the local police and other providers of alcohol-related
support services. I should acknowledge my predecessor in this role, the current
Minister for Environment, as well.
With any trial, we look to see where
and how we can improve. It was always set up as a trial. We engaged an independent evaluation from the University of Western
Australia, and it identified a number of possible improvements in the BDR. Those findings have led
us to reconsider ways that we can improve the BDR in consultation with
various stakeholders. Last month, with the member for Pilbara in Karratha, I announced
a range of measures that we are looking to introduce to strengthen the BDR.
These include a legislative framework for the BDR and making it compulsory for
all outlets selling packaged liquor in the regions in which the BDR is in
place. At the moment, it is a voluntary situation. We are also looking at
creating additional pathways for people to be placed on the BDR.
The report highlights, which we knew
from our consultation, that there are not enough people on the BDR. There
should be more people. One way is to make it compulsory for all takeaway
alcohol outlets, but also other pathways in which people could be put on to the
BDR. They include court order pathways, such as bail or parole conditions, and
giving police greater powers to place someone on the BDR in cases of
drink-driving or alcohol-fuelled violence. We also announced that we will
extend the trials in the three regions for
two years once legislation is passed by Parliament next year. They will come
together and have a two-year phase in the Kimberley, Pilbara and
Kalgoorlie regions once the legislation is passed.
We are seeking feedback from the
community on our proposed measures, and submissions close this Thursday, 27 October.
I should say that there is no easy fix to this. The BDR is only one measure,
but it is a very important measure as we, as a responsible government, try to
address harm caused by excessive alcohol consumption.
for her question and continued advocacy in the community on safety issues,
trying to make sure that her community is a better place to live.
(1)–(2) The member mentioned the banned drinkers register,
introduced by the McGowan government in 2020 by the now Minister for
Police. It was aimed to target and address problem drinkers—those who
are impacted by excessive alcohol
consumption—by trying to restrict their access to takeaway alcohol.
That is the whole premise of the BDR. We targeted it to those who have
harm-related issues from excessive consumption of alcohol. That is the beauty
of the BDR. Rather than trying to have a more general prohibition, we try to target the problem where it is most acute, and
that is with people who have an issue with excessive alcohol consumption. The member mentioned that there have been trials in the Kimberley,
Pilbara and Kalgoorlie regions. It started
off in the Pilbara region. The trials have been well supported by the local
communities— local government, the courts, the liquor industry,
individual licensees, the local police and other providers of alcohol-related
support services. I should acknowledge my predecessor in this role, the current
Minister for Environment, as well.
With any trial, we look to see where
and how we can improve. It was always set up as a trial. We engaged an independent evaluation from the University of Western
Australia, and it identified a number of possible improvements in the BDR. Those findings have led
us to reconsider ways that we can improve the BDR in consultation with
various stakeholders. Last month, with the member for Pilbara in Karratha, I announced
a range of measures that we are looking to introduce to strengthen the BDR.
These include a legislative framework for the BDR and making it compulsory for
all outlets selling packaged liquor in the regions in which the BDR is in
place. At the moment, it is a voluntary situation. We are also looking at
creating additional pathways for people to be placed on the BDR.
The report highlights, which we knew
from our consultation, that there are not enough people on the BDR. There
should be more people. One way is to make it compulsory for all takeaway
alcohol outlets, but also other pathways in which people could be put on to the
BDR. They include court order pathways, such as bail or parole conditions, and
giving police greater powers to place someone on the BDR in cases of
drink-driving or alcohol-fuelled violence. We also announced that we will
extend the trials in the three regions for
two years once legislation is passed by Parliament next year. They will come
together and have a two-year phase in the Kimberley, Pilbara and
Kalgoorlie regions once the legislation is passed.
We are seeking feedback from the
community on our proposed measures, and submissions close this Thursday, 27 October.
I should say that there is no easy fix to this. The BDR is only one measure,
but it is a very important measure as we, as a responsible government, try to
address harm caused by excessive alcohol consumption.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.