Meekatharra, Mt Magnet, Cue leaders slam police letter calling for regional booze bans, blame lack of services

Mid West leaders say a call from WA Police’s top brass for harsh Carnarvon-style liquor restrictions to be rolled out across 25 regional communities will not solve the problem. In a leaked letter from WA Police Deputy Commissioner Allan Adams to WA Director of Liquor Licensing Lanie Chopping, Mr Allan says 25 regional towns listed deal with more alcohol-related crime than Carnarvon and, arguably, should be under similar booze bans to the Gascoyne town. Five Mid West towns were included in that list — Cue, Meekatharra, Mt Magnet, Morawa and Mullewa. According to crime data, compared to Carnarvon total alcohol-related offenses in Meekatharra were eight times higher, 1.2 times higher in Cue and 3.5 times higher in Mt Magnet. When it came to alcohol-related family assaults, the rates were eight times higher in Meekatharra, 1.8 times higher in Cue and 3.1 times higher in Mt Magnet than in Carnarvon. Cue Shire president Les Price said it was disappointing the small town was being singled out and compared to Carnarvon, adding more social issues going on behind the scenes needed to be addressed. “As far as Cue is concerned, we certainly don’t rate ourselves as having the same crime rate that has been experienced in Carnarvon,” he said. “We all realise there are times when restrictions are required and our liquor outlets here respond very quickly to the local police when the liquor restrictions are required, and they comply.” Mr Price said restricting alcohol in small towns would only encourage sly grogging and a blanket ban would prevent communities from travelling to purchase alcohol elsewhere. “There’s a lot of other things that happen from a black market point of view when you start restricting alcohol, so that needs to be looked at,” he said. Mt Magnet Shire president Jim McGorman said alcohol was only one factor contributing to domestic violence and other issues. He pointed to the lack of government statutory services in the region such as teachers, nurses, police, housing and the Department of Communities. “Alcohol is only one part of what’s going on here. I’ve been in Magnet for 30 years and as the community diminishes, all those services seem to be not actually be put back together again, they just disappear and not come back,” he said. “I’m pretty sure that (alcohol restrictions) will help people in the community to some respect but not overall realistically. It seems to be just targeting the complete community.” Meekatharra Shire president Harvey Nichols said communities with alcohol bans were still dealing with alcohol-fuelled crime and the whole community could suffer at the hands of a few. “Wiluna is (one of) the most dangerous places and they don’t have a liquor licence, that’s what the stats tell you,” he said. “This is just some bludger in the police force trying to make their job easier. Their job’s not easy because there’s no punishment for the morons that they keep seeing every day, it’s just rinse and repeat.” A Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries spokesperson said the independent Ms Chopping, who is considering restrictions in Broome and Derby, had not sought Mr Allan’s letter, nor would it affect her deliberations. A WA Police spokesperson said Commissioner Col Blanch had provided crime statistics from across the State to assist Ms Chopping in making any assessments or decisions. Police say crime has dropped by 40 per cent in Carnarvon since the strict bans were enforced in May, including no takeaway sales on Sundays and Mondays and sales limited to between midday and 7pm on other days. On those days, each customer is only allowed one carton or 11.25 litres of beer with an alcohol content up to 6 per cent, two bottles or a 1.5-litre cask of wine, or one litre of spirits.