Nick Dametto risks fine over beer breach in Indigenous community with alcohol restrictions
A North Queensland politician could find himself in hot water over a cold beer in an Indigenous community with alcohol restrictions.
Nick Dametto, the state member for Hinchinbrook, uploaded photos of himself enjoying Good Friday with friends on Curacoa Island, near Palm Island.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Queensland MP comes unstuck by his own social media post over a cold beer.
In one picture, the Katter Party politician is seen holding a can of full-strength beer with an alcohol percentage of 4.2 per cent, while other people in the photos appear to be holding pre-mixed drinks.
The controversial laws are enforced in remote and discrete Indigenous communities across Queensland, restricting or banning alcohol entirely.
In the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire, people can only carry alcohol with a concentration of less than 4 per cent and are restricted to 11.25 litres per person on foot, or per vehicle, boat or aircraft, regardless of the number of people in it.
When contacted by 7NEWS, Dametto said he had made an 'honest mistake' and did not realise outskirt islands around Palm Island were included in the Alcohol Management Plan.
'I think this is a really good opportunity to turn this into an educational piece,' he said.
'I can understand why some people have become angry about this but, at the same time, there should be more signage on the islands.'
The Hinchinbrook MP believed the restriction on full-strength alcohol was 'not well-known' and said the group had 'no more than about three drinks per person'.
'We were planning actually to be on Orpheus Island up until about lunchtime (and) unfortunately the weather was blowing a south-westerly, which made it very dangerous to anchor up there,' he told 7NEWS.
'We were only out there with a small amount of alcohol and enough food to keep us going for a couple of hours.'
Andrea Kyle-Sailor, a former councillor who helps Palm Island residents facing court, including for breaking alcohol restrictions, believes Dametto's explanation does not pass the pub test.
'The excuse of honest mistake is not normally, well never, accepted by the magistrate for our people,' she said.
'I would have thought that the Member for Hinchinbrook would be aware of the alcohol restrictions.'
$60,000 fine
Kyle-Sailor said visitors to the shire should be aware of the rules, which were easily accessible on council and state government websites.
'It's all there at your fingertips - get on your phone, have a look, see what the restrictions are... take the time to have a look,' she said.
She said people charged with possessing illegal alcohol in the restricted area were often fined a few hundred dollars for their first offence.
The maximum penalty is currently $60,487.
Dametto said he would 'take his poison' if he was fined but maintained his mistake should be turned into an education piece 'rather than trying to crucify someone at Easter'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
19 hours ago
- 7NEWS
ABC tipped to axe Q+A talk show after 18 years
The ABC has axed its political panel show in a shock move by newly appointed managing director, Hugh Marks, according to The Australian. The axing of Q+A, which has aired for 18 years, is the first major move by Marks, who replaced David Anderson in March. The media report quoted an anonymous ABC staff member, who claimed employees were told the news on Friday, with an official announcement expected on Wednesday. The staff member added they had expected to be given until December to prove their timeslot. Key staff members are expected to be redeployed in the ABC. The report said there are were no plans to replace the show. 7NEWS reached out to the ABC for comment. Q+A had been the network's flagship political affairs show, when it was hosted by Tony Jones from 2008 to 2019. The show struggled to find its footing with a new host, with short tenures with Hamish Macdonald, David Speers, Virginia Trioli, and Stan Grant. Currently, it is hosted by Patricia Karvelas, who has been at the helm since 2023. The last redundancy round at the ABC came in June 2023, which resulted in 100 job cuts.
Sky News AU
21 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Rogue senator Dorinda Cox accuses Greens of ‘deep racism' in scathing resignation letter
Senator Dorinda Cox has accused the Greens of being 'deeply racist' in a blistering resignation letter, years after she left Labor for patronising women of colour. Ms Cox previously said she chose to quit the minor party to join the Albanese government after some 'deep reflection' about her personal values. In a blistering resignation letter, revealed by the ABC on Wednesday, Ms Cox said the Greens had tolerated racism and failed to protect First Nations women. "In my experience, the Greens tolerate a culture that permits violence against First Nations women within its structures,' she said in the formal letter. 'In this respect, the party is deeply racist.' The letter followed Ms Cox's 2020 claims that she quit the Labor Party to join the Greens because Labor had a 'patronising attitude towards women and people of colour'. Ms Cox's dramatic defection to the Labor Party last week came after her unsuccessful bid to become the Greens' deputy leader. She was the party's only Indigenous senator at the time of her resignation, after independent senator Lidia Thorpe also quit the Greens in 2023. Ms Cox's accusations include claims that the Greens ignored her reports of serious incidents. This included an altercation at Perth Airport in 2023 involving former ACT Greens candidate and Blak Greens leader Tjanara Goreng Goreng. Ms Cox also claimed that there were further incidents involving staff who were 'isolated by the state and other MP's offices'. — Australian Greens (@Greens) October 17, 2021 A Labor MP told Sky News that Ms Cox's resignation exposed a deeper hypocrisy within the Greens' approach to Indigenous representation. The MP said that the Greens 'pretended' to represent Indigenous voices but in truth had done nothing to help Aboriginal communities. They also pointed to the defection of Aboriginal woman Lidia Thorpe from the party, who quit over disagreements surrounding the Voice to Parliament referendum. Ms Thorpe agreed with Ms Cox that there was racism within the Greens when asked about the resignation letter on Wednesday. 'I think there's racism everywhere in this country. And there's a lot of work that the Greens and answer other organisations need to do to stamp that out,' she told the ABC. Sky News has contacted the Greens for comment. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young blasted her former colleague last Thursday, calling on her to quit the Senate. 'I always think that it's not fair to the voters and indeed any of the parties involved that if somebody is elected to one party and then jumps ship later on,' she told reporters. 'I do think the honourable thing is to resign from the parliament, but that's not the rules, and so we're left where we are.' The comments follow a spate of criticism surrounding Ms Cox's abrupt resignation. Ms Cox only announced she would leave the party after she lost a deputy leadership ballot 9–3 to Senator Mehreen Faruqi. She then claimed 'deep reflection' had led her to realise her values were more closely aligned with Labor's. Greens leader Larissa Waters condemned her former colleague's decision and said she had only been informed of the move an hour before it was announced. 'The Greens are disappointed in Senator Cox's decision to leave the Greens and join the Labor party as a backbencher,' Ms Waters said at the time. Ms Cox's sudden transformation has met skepticism and accusations of political opportunism, particularly given her scathing past criticisms of the Labor Party. In 2020, Ms Cox said she left Labor because it was 'patronising to women and people of colour' and accused the party of caring more about donors than members. More recently, she accused Labor of having 'spectacularly failed' the public through its support for the North West Shelf gas project. Also resurfacing was her support for the controversial slogan 'from the river to the sea' - a phrase Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has publicly condemned. Adding to the controversy was another leaked 2023 text message in which Ms Cox referred to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson as a 'f---ing retard'. Labor's apparent willingness to accept Ms Cox, despite these incidents, has drawn comparisons to Mr Albanese's prior treatment of former Labor Senator Fatima Payman. Ms Payman was hounded by Mr Albanese after she quit the Labor Party last year to form her own party, Australia's Voice. 'There is a bit of hypocrisy, of course, about how Labor has responded to this,' Ms Hanson-Young said. 'It wasn't okay to jump ship for Fatima Payman, but apparently when it's people coming to them, it's all okay.' Ms Payman herself chimed in, saying she was surprised Ms Cox had not suffered the "smear campaign' which she endured after her exit from Labor. Meanwhile, internal alleged complaints of staff bullying continue to hang over Ms Cox's legacy in the Greens. More than 20 staff reportedly quit her office, the SMH revealed, prompting an internal investigation—but the probe was abandoned following her defection. 'There has been a process, and an internal process is hard to run if somebody's gone to another party,' Ms Hanson-Young said. Former Labor minister Stephen Conroy added to criticism, calling for Ms Cox to 'resign from the Senate' and seek Labor preselection through the proper channels. 'She shouldn't steal something from the Greens; she should resign and ensure that it's passed back to the Greens,' Mr Conroy told Sky News.
Sky News AU
21 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Rogue Senator Dorinda Cox accuses Greens of 'deep racism' in scathing resignation letter
Senator Dorinda Cox has accused her ex-party of tolerating racism after she quit the Greens to join the Labor Party. Ms Cox previously said she chose to quit the minor party to join the Albanese government after some 'deep reflection' about her personal values. In a blistering resignation letter, revealed by the ABC on Wednesday, Ms Cox said the Greens had tolerated racism and failed to protect First Nations women. "In my experience, the Greens tolerate a culture that permits violence against First Nations women within its structures,' she said in the formal letter. 'In this respect, the party is deeply racist.' The letter followed Ms Cox's 2020 claims that she quit the Labor Party to join the Greens because Labor had a 'patronising attitude towards women and people of colour'. Senator Dorinda Cox has accused her ex-party of tolerating racism after she quit the Greens to join the Labor Party. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage Ms Cox's dramatic defection to the Labor Party last week came after her unsuccessful bid to become the Greens' deputy leader. She was the party's only Indigenous senator at the time of her resignation, after independent senator Lidia Thorpe also quit the Greens in 2023. Ms Cox's accusations include claims that the Greens ignored her reports of serious incidents. This included an altercation at Perth Airport in 2023 involving former ACT Greens candidate and Blak Greens leader Tjanara Goreng Goreng. Ms Cox also claimed that there were further incidents involving staff who were 'isolated by the state and other MP's offices'. A Labor MP told Sky News that Ms Cox's resignation exposed a deeper hypocrisy within the Greens' approach to Indigenous representation. The MP said that the Greens 'pretended' to represent Indigenous voices but in truth had done nothing to help Aboriginal communities. They also pointed to the defection of Aboriginal woman Lidia Thorpe from the party, who quit over disagreements surrounding the Voice to Parliament referendum. Ms Thorpe agreed with Ms Cox that there was racism within the Greens when asked about the resignation letter on Wednesday. 'I think there's racism everywhere in this country. And there's a lot of work that the Greens and answer other organisations need to do to stamp that out,' she told the ABC. Sky News has contacted the Greens for comment. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young blasted her former colleague last Thursday, calling on her to quit the Senate. 'I always think that it's not fair to the voters and indeed any of the parties involved that if somebody is elected to one party and then jumps ship later on,' she told reporters. 'I do think the honourable thing is to resign from the parliament, but that's not the rules, and so we're left where we are.' The comments follow a spate of criticism surrounding Ms Cox's abrupt resignation. Ms Cox only announced she would leave the party after she lost a deputy leadership ballot 9–3 to Senator Mehreen Faruqi. She then claimed 'deep reflection' had led her to realise her values were more closely aligned with Labor's. Greens leader Larissa Waters condemned her former colleague's decision and said she had only been informed of the move an hour before it was announced. 'The Greens are disappointed in Senator Cox's decision to leave the Greens and join the Labor party as a backbencher,' Ms Waters said at the time. Ms Cox's sudden transformation has met skepticism and accusations of political opportunism, particularly given her scathing past criticisms of the Labor Party. In 2020, Ms Cox said she left Labor because it was 'patronising to women and people of colour' and accused the party of caring more about donors than members. More recently, she accused Labor of having 'spectacularly failed' the public through its support for the North West Shelf gas project. Also resurfacing was her support for the controversial slogan 'from the river to the sea' - a phrase Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has publicly condemned. Adding to the controversy was another leaked 2023 text message in which Ms Cox referred to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson as a 'f---ing retard'. Labor's apparent willingness to accept Ms Cox, despite these incidents, has drawn comparisons to Mr Albanese's prior treatment of former Labor Senator Fatima Payman. Ms Payman was hounded by Mr Albanese after she quit the Labor Party last year to form her own party, Australia's Voice. 'There is a bit of hypocrisy, of course, about how Labor has responded to this,' Ms Hanson-Young said. 'It wasn't okay to jump ship for Fatima Payman, but apparently when it's people coming to them, it's all okay.' Ms Payman herself chimed in, saying she was surprised Ms Cox had not suffered the "smear campaign' which she endured after her exit from Labor. Meanwhile, internal alleged complaints of staff bullying continue to hang over Ms Cox's legacy in the Greens. More than 20 staff reportedly quit her office, the SMH revealed, prompting an internal investigation—but the probe was abandoned following her defection. 'There has been a process, and an internal process is hard to run if somebody's gone to another party,' Ms Hanson-Young said. Former Labor minister Stephen Conroy added to criticism, calling for Ms Cox to 'resign from the Senate' and seek Labor preselection through the proper channels. 'She shouldn't steal something from the Greens; she should resign and ensure that it's passed back to the Greens,' Mr Conroy told Sky News.
