NT Gov’t won’t make petrol sniffing illegal
The Northern Territory Government has announced it’s intention to introduce legislation to curb petrol sniffing later this year – but Chief Minister Clare Martin has ruled out going so far as to make petrol sniffing illegal. The comments from Clare Martin were a response to Opposition legislation, seeking powers for police to charge people engaged in solvent abuse – and to make bail conditional on undertaking some form of rehabilitation. Her stance has been backed by Central Zone ATSIC Commissioner Allison Anderson and Federal Labor’s Indigenous Affairs spokesman Kerry O’Brien. But the NT Opposition’s spokesman for Aboriginal Affairs and Police, John Elferink, has slammed the Chief Minister’s response – saying that petrol sniffing is far too serious a problem to play politics with.