❓ A WA parliamentary question regarding the alcohol ban in Wangkatjungka community and the Minister's positive update on its progress, citing improved health, wellbeing, and community initiatives.
AnsweredQoN 677Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WANGKATJUNGKA COMMUNITY — ALCOHOL BAN
The alcohol ban in the remote Kimberley community of Wangkatjungka is now well into its second year. Can the minister update the house on all current circumstances in Wangkatjungka? Mr T.K. WALDRON
The alcohol ban in the remote Kimberley community of Wangkatjungka is now well into its second year. Can the minister update the house on all current circumstances in Wangkatjungka? Mr T.K. WALDRON
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for his question. Members will recall that in April 2008 the Wangkatjungka community became the first community in Western Australia to request a section 175 order to address alcohol issues. It got off to a rocky start, but I am pleased to say that the community has done very well since that time and is well and truly on the path towards recovery. I continue to get reports from police, health, welfare and other agencies about the growing health and wellbeing of that community. Apart from official reports, I sometimes hear things that provide a very good indication of how things are going. I will read a very short excerpt from a story posted on the ABC Rural website on 8 August about what is happening in that community. It states — Local Olive Knight says the future of Wangkatjungka community is looking much brighter. “The peace that we now have. We haven’t seen a drunk since the ban,” she says. “It used to be a really bad place. People were frightened of coming out here. “The police were called out because of violence all the time. “But there haven’t been any police or ambulances or anything like that.” Elsewhere in the same report mention is made of a vegetable growing program at the community school. It was such a success that the entire community has taken it up and everyone is growing vegetables. These are small things, but they are certainly good indications. This is a fantastic thing for the community, and I am sure that all members will appreciate that. I recently informed the house about similar bans in Noonkanbah and Bow River. There are currently five such communities and I am considering some others. I believe that these voluntary police-enforceable alcohol bans are an effective short-term way to provide these communities with a circuit breaker that will enable them to get them back into gear and move forward. Since I have been involved in this initiative, there is no doubt in my mind that the key to success is consultation. I need to satisfy myself through proper consultation that communities are committed; I feel strongly that if a community is not committed, the initiative will not work. All the communities to which I have been able to apply section 175 have been committed, and the initiative seems to be working. An encouraging thing when visiting these communities is that there are strong women and some of the older men who are driving the initiative. However, the most encouraging thing to me over the past 12 months has been seeing younger men aged 16 to 25 years showing an inclination to make this happen. They have seen what has gone before. I think this is an opportunity for the state to make a difference in those communities. It reminds me of that song From Little Things Big Things Grow . These are only little things at the moment, but I am confident that, from them, we can grow and improve the situation in some of the communities up there.
Mr T.K. WALDRON replied: I thank the member for his question. Members will recall that in April 2008 the Wangkatjungka community became the first community in Western Australia to request a section 175 order to address alcohol issues. It got off to a rocky start, but I am pleased to say that the community has done very well since that time and is well and truly on the path towards recovery. I continue to get reports from police, health, welfare and other agencies about the growing health and wellbeing of that community. Apart from official reports, I sometimes hear things that provide a very good indication of how things are going. I will read a very short excerpt from a story posted on the ABC Rural website on 8 August about what is happening in that community. It states — Local Olive Knight says the future of Wangkatjungka community is looking much brighter. “The peace that we now have. We haven’t seen a drunk since the ban,” she says. “It used to be a really bad place. People were frightened of coming out here. “The police were called out because of violence all the time. “But there haven’t been any police or ambulances or anything like that.” Elsewhere in the same report mention is made of a vegetable growing program at the community school. It was such a success that the entire community has taken it up and everyone is growing vegetables. These are small things, but they are certainly good indications. This is a fantastic thing for the community, and I am sure that all members will appreciate that. I recently informed the house about similar bans in Noonkanbah and Bow River. There are currently five such communities and I am considering some others. I believe that these voluntary police-enforceable alcohol bans are an effective short-term way to provide these communities with a circuit breaker that will enable them to get them back into gear and move forward. Since I have been involved in this initiative, there is no doubt in my mind that the key to success is consultation. I need to satisfy myself through proper consultation that communities are committed; I feel strongly that if a community is not committed, the initiative will not work. All the communities to which I have been able to apply section 175 have been committed, and the initiative seems to be working. An encouraging thing when visiting these communities is that there are strong women and some of the older men who are driving the initiative. However, the most encouraging thing to me over the past 12 months has been seeing younger men aged 16 to 25 years showing an inclination to make this happen. They have seen what has gone before. I think this is an opportunity for the state to make a difference in those communities. It reminds me of that song From Little Things Big Things Grow . These are only little things at the moment, but I am confident that, from them, we can grow and improve the situation in some of the communities up there.
I thank the member for his question. Members will recall that in April 2008 the Wangkatjungka community became the first community in Western Australia to request a section 175 order to address alcohol issues. It got off to a rocky start, but I am pleased to say that the community has done very well since that time and is well and truly on the path towards recovery. I continue to get reports from police, health, welfare and other agencies about the growing health and wellbeing of that community. Apart from official reports, I sometimes hear things that provide a very good indication of how things are going. I will read a very short excerpt from a story posted on the ABC Rural website on 8 August about what is happening in that community. It states — Local Olive Knight says the future of Wangkatjungka community is looking much brighter. “The peace that we now have. We haven’t seen a drunk since the ban,” she says. “It used to be a really bad place. People were frightened of coming out here. “The police were called out because of violence all the time. “But there haven’t been any police or ambulances or anything like that.” Elsewhere in the same report mention is made of a vegetable growing program at the community school. It was such a success that the entire community has taken it up and everyone is growing vegetables. These are small things, but they are certainly good indications. This is a fantastic thing for the community, and I am sure that all members will appreciate that. I recently informed the house about similar bans in Noonkanbah and Bow River. There are currently five such communities and I am considering some others. I believe that these voluntary police-enforceable alcohol bans are an effective short-term way to provide these communities with a circuit breaker that will enable them to get them back into gear and move forward. Since I have been involved in this initiative, there is no doubt in my mind that the key to success is consultation. I need to satisfy myself through proper consultation that communities are committed; I feel strongly that if a community is not committed, the initiative will not work. All the communities to which I have been able to apply section 175 have been committed, and the initiative seems to be working. An encouraging thing when visiting these communities is that there are strong women and some of the older men who are driving the initiative. However, the most encouraging thing to me over the past 12 months has been seeing younger men aged 16 to 25 years showing an inclination to make this happen. They have seen what has gone before. I think this is an opportunity for the state to make a difference in those communities. It reminds me of that song From Little Things Big Things Grow . These are only little things at the moment, but I am confident that, from them, we can grow and improve the situation in some of the communities up there.
“The peace that we now have. We haven’t seen a drunk since the ban,” she says. “It used to be a really bad place. People were frightened of coming out here. “The police were called out because of violence all the time. “But there haven’t been any police or ambulances or anything like that.”
“It used to be a really bad place. People were frightened of coming out here. “The police were called out because of violence all the time. “But there haven’t been any police or ambulances or anything like that.”
“The police were called out because of violence all the time. “But there haven’t been any police or ambulances or anything like that.”
“But there haven’t been any police or ambulances or anything like that.”
Since I have been involved in this initiative, there is no doubt in my mind that the key to success is consultation. I need to satisfy myself through proper consultation that communities are committed; I feel strongly that if a community is not committed, the initiative will not work. All the communities to which I have been able to apply section 175 have been committed, and the initiative seems to be working. An encouraging thing when visiting these communities is that there are strong women and some of the older men who are driving the initiative. However, the most encouraging thing to me over the past 12 months has been seeing younger men aged 16 to 25 years showing an inclination to make this happen. They have seen what has gone before. I think this is an opportunity for the state to make a difference in those communities. It reminds me of that song From Little Things Big Things Grow . These are only little things at the moment, but I am confident that, from them, we can grow and improve the situation in some of the communities up there.
Mr T.K. WALDRON replied: I thank the member for his question. Members will recall that in April 2008 the Wangkatjungka community became the first community in Western Australia to request a section 175 order to address alcohol issues. It got off to a rocky start, but I am pleased to say that the community has done very well since that time and is well and truly on the path towards recovery. I continue to get reports from police, health, welfare and other agencies about the growing health and wellbeing of that community. Apart from official reports, I sometimes hear things that provide a very good indication of how things are going. I will read a very short excerpt from a story posted on the ABC Rural website on 8 August about what is happening in that community. It states — Local Olive Knight says the future of Wangkatjungka community is looking much brighter. “The peace that we now have. We haven’t seen a drunk since the ban,” she says. “It used to be a really bad place. People were frightened of coming out here. “The police were called out because of violence all the time. “But there haven’t been any police or ambulances or anything like that.” Elsewhere in the same report mention is made of a vegetable growing program at the community school. It was such a success that the entire community has taken it up and everyone is growing vegetables. These are small things, but they are certainly good indications. This is a fantastic thing for the community, and I am sure that all members will appreciate that. I recently informed the house about similar bans in Noonkanbah and Bow River. There are currently five such communities and I am considering some others. I believe that these voluntary police-enforceable alcohol bans are an effective short-term way to provide these communities with a circuit breaker that will enable them to get them back into gear and move forward. Since I have been involved in this initiative, there is no doubt in my mind that the key to success is consultation. I need to satisfy myself through proper consultation that communities are committed; I feel strongly that if a community is not committed, the initiative will not work. All the communities to which I have been able to apply section 175 have been committed, and the initiative seems to be working. An encouraging thing when visiting these communities is that there are strong women and some of the older men who are driving the initiative. However, the most encouraging thing to me over the past 12 months has been seeing younger men aged 16 to 25 years showing an inclination to make this happen. They have seen what has gone before. I think this is an opportunity for the state to make a difference in those communities. It reminds me of that song From Little Things Big Things Grow . These are only little things at the moment, but I am confident that, from them, we can grow and improve the situation in some of the communities up there.
I thank the member for his question. Members will recall that in April 2008 the Wangkatjungka community became the first community in Western Australia to request a section 175 order to address alcohol issues. It got off to a rocky start, but I am pleased to say that the community has done very well since that time and is well and truly on the path towards recovery. I continue to get reports from police, health, welfare and other agencies about the growing health and wellbeing of that community. Apart from official reports, I sometimes hear things that provide a very good indication of how things are going. I will read a very short excerpt from a story posted on the ABC Rural website on 8 August about what is happening in that community. It states — Local Olive Knight says the future of Wangkatjungka community is looking much brighter. “The peace that we now have. We haven’t seen a drunk since the ban,” she says. “It used to be a really bad place. People were frightened of coming out here. “The police were called out because of violence all the time. “But there haven’t been any police or ambulances or anything like that.” Elsewhere in the same report mention is made of a vegetable growing program at the community school. It was such a success that the entire community has taken it up and everyone is growing vegetables. These are small things, but they are certainly good indications. This is a fantastic thing for the community, and I am sure that all members will appreciate that. I recently informed the house about similar bans in Noonkanbah and Bow River. There are currently five such communities and I am considering some others. I believe that these voluntary police-enforceable alcohol bans are an effective short-term way to provide these communities with a circuit breaker that will enable them to get them back into gear and move forward. Since I have been involved in this initiative, there is no doubt in my mind that the key to success is consultation. I need to satisfy myself through proper consultation that communities are committed; I feel strongly that if a community is not committed, the initiative will not work. All the communities to which I have been able to apply section 175 have been committed, and the initiative seems to be working. An encouraging thing when visiting these communities is that there are strong women and some of the older men who are driving the initiative. However, the most encouraging thing to me over the past 12 months has been seeing younger men aged 16 to 25 years showing an inclination to make this happen. They have seen what has gone before. I think this is an opportunity for the state to make a difference in those communities. It reminds me of that song From Little Things Big Things Grow . These are only little things at the moment, but I am confident that, from them, we can grow and improve the situation in some of the communities up there.
“The peace that we now have. We haven’t seen a drunk since the ban,” she says. “It used to be a really bad place. People were frightened of coming out here. “The police were called out because of violence all the time. “But there haven’t been any police or ambulances or anything like that.”
“It used to be a really bad place. People were frightened of coming out here. “The police were called out because of violence all the time. “But there haven’t been any police or ambulances or anything like that.”
“The police were called out because of violence all the time. “But there haven’t been any police or ambulances or anything like that.”
“But there haven’t been any police or ambulances or anything like that.”
Since I have been involved in this initiative, there is no doubt in my mind that the key to success is consultation. I need to satisfy myself through proper consultation that communities are committed; I feel strongly that if a community is not committed, the initiative will not work. All the communities to which I have been able to apply section 175 have been committed, and the initiative seems to be working. An encouraging thing when visiting these communities is that there are strong women and some of the older men who are driving the initiative. However, the most encouraging thing to me over the past 12 months has been seeing younger men aged 16 to 25 years showing an inclination to make this happen. They have seen what has gone before. I think this is an opportunity for the state to make a difference in those communities. It reminds me of that song From Little Things Big Things Grow . These are only little things at the moment, but I am confident that, from them, we can grow and improve the situation in some of the communities up there.
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