Latest news with #dryzone
News.com.au
24-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Whyalla council votes for booze ban to slow anti-social behaviour
A major steel producing city has unanimously voted to extend a dry zone as it looks to curb alcohol-related problems and anti-social behaviour. Whyalla City Council voted for the expanded dry zone following a community vote that revealed overwhelming support for slowing down alcohol-related problems. In the lead up to the extension, Whyalla Mayor Phill Stone sought community input labelling the feedback as 'one of the most significant changes for the community.' 'The one thing within our control is to determine the area of the city that is covered by a dry zone, which is why we are taking action on a citywide dry zone, following community support for the initiative.' However, Mr Stone conceded the new dry zone would not be a 'silver bullet' for resolving alcohol-related anti-social behaviour. 'It will take a focused, multi-agency response to tackle the cause of the ongoing issues to achieve real improvements,' he said. 'This will need to include addressing housing issues, increased police resources, helping those who are at-risk to access support and a host of other measures.' In its council notes, Whyalla council confirmed they would now apply to the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner to have the citywide dry zone implemented. There will be a period of a few months between the application being lodged and the dry zone being implemented. In the lead up to the May 19 council decision, Mayor Stone received over 2500 community submissions. 'The decision was not made lightly, as we're aware this will be a significant change for the community,' Mr Stone said. 'The one thing within our control is to determine the area of the city that is covered by a dry zone, which is why we are taking action on a citywide dry zone, following community support for the initiative.' The city jumped into the national spotlight back in late February when the Whyalla Steelworks was forced into administration by the South Australian government. The steelworks, which employs over 1000 people and makes over 1.2 million tonnes of steel each year, was shedding about $1.5m every day before its collapse.
ABC News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Whyalla City Council looks to impose city-wide alcohol-free zone
Whyalla City Council has unanimously voted in favour of extending its existing dry zone to the whole city. It comes after an extensive public consultation with residents, frontline services and other stakeholders. It is an offence for someone to consume or have opened liquor containers in a dry area. With 2,500 responses, Mayor Phill Stone said the response was the biggest the council had received. "A lot of the comments were about safety, the feeling of people," he said. "Council is listening to the people … yes, we've always known it's not a silver bullet. "It's one of those issues where there are always going to be some people disappointed." Though she was supportive of the proposal, Kuring Gai woman and councillor, Tamy Pond, said more needed to be done to address the issue. She said a dry zone was one of the small elements that could be implemented to help police. "I see it as just one step in a huge picture ... we also need to have more services for our community as well," she said. Peter D'Abbs, from the University of Queensland School of Public Health, said governments too often focused on restricting the supply of alcohol or where alcohol was consumed. "We also need to consider how to reduce demand for alcohol," Professor D'Abbs said. "That consists of … making sure we have accessible treatment programs, accessible early intervention programs … and more preventative measures." Professor D'Abbs said there needed to be a high degree of community leadership and buy-in to be effective. "These kinds of measures are most effective when you have a community-based coalition," he said. The Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation was contacted for comment. An application for a city-wide dry zone will be submitted to the Attorney General for consideration.
