The ACT Government has a careful balancing act ahead of it in controlling unruly behaviour. The problem is not confined to New Year’s Eve, though that event seems to bring out the worst in some people. This New Year’s Eve the trouble seemed to migrate from Civic to Manuka _ and there are some lessons in that.
Some of the unruly conduct and violence in Civic has been contained by a co-operative and multi-point approach: more police, more responsible conduct by licensees, better late-night public transport, no-alcohol zones, bans on drinking with 20 metres of a shop and police power to pour away drinks of offenders without arresting them.
The difficulty faced by the Government is that it might not have the resources to engage in this approach throughout Canberra if troublesome people move from place to place. It may be tempted to deal with the problem by turning off the alcohol tap late at night in the suburbs, leaving 24-hour trading in Civic where it has the resources to police it better.The Attorney-General, Terry Connolly, suggested this was an option yesterday.
In looking at that possibility, however, the Government must be careful not to allow the excesses of the few infringe the peaceful enjoyment of the many. In an increasingly cosmopolitan and growing city the case for restrictions on the buying and selling of alcohol among unintoxicated adults is hard to make out. Outdoor and late wining and dining adds to the tourist potential of the city and adds to the general enjoyment of the city by its residents. Shift workers, too, should be able to have an after-work drink at odd hours.
There are, of course, no easy solutions. Turning off the tap may not work. As recent Wine and Food Frolics show, large groups of young people can easily bring their own _ often in supermarket trolleys or big bins. Sponsors have pulled out and organisers of that event will require considerable imagination to return it to its original intent: sampling the wares of many Canberra restaurant, not swilling bring-your-own beer.
They have wrecked the Summernats in past years, though the event appears to have been rescued by shutting the event within Exhibition Park and gazetting alcohol-free zones on the streets nearby for the duration.
It seems that responses have to be tailored for events and that relying on a single response is doomed to failure.
To that extent Mr Connolly is right to refer the Manuka situation to the Community Safety Committee which has proven itself capable of looking at a whole range of matters before coming to a workable solution.
It should be possible for Canberrans to enjoy themselves at large outdoor functions without resorting to huge police presences or wowserish alcohol laws. The community should not have tourist events or events of local enjoyment threatened by a few. We will have to get smarter, not necessarily tougher