In the NT and the new CLP government is facing criticism over one of its key election promises. Chief minister Lia Finocchiaro has outlined plans to scrap the $1.30 'floor price' for alcohol, with some in the community warning it’s a recipe for disaster.
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00:00For decades, alcohol ruled Sam's life.
00:03It got to a point where I was using up all my sick pay,
00:08all my long service leave, all my holiday pay.
00:12You name it, I was doing everything that I can
00:15to spend more and more time just drinking.
00:19When I did stop work,
00:21drinking became my full-time job, if you like.
00:25Sam was drinking up to three litres of vodka a day.
00:29In and out of hospital, and trying as hard as he could to stop.
00:33Even putting himself on the NT's banned drinkers register.
00:37I could overcome that by going to bottle shops,
00:41standing outside the bottle shops
00:43and asking people who were going in to buy it for me.
00:46Or, worst case scenario,
00:50methylated spirits will do the job.
00:53Sam's now turned his life around,
00:56dedicating his time to helping others fight addiction and stigma.
01:00But he's on the fence about the plan to make alcohol cheaper.
01:04If I only had enough money in my account to either buy alcohol
01:08or pay for my power,
01:11then I would happily go without power.
01:13The cravings were so intense
01:17that that had absolutely no impact on my decision to drink.
01:23The country Liberal Party has pledged to scrap Labor's 2018 floor price,
01:28which banned sales below $1.30 per standard drink.
01:32Alcohol Minister Steve Edgington is saying
01:35the floor price pushes people onto harder spirits.
01:38But advocates are quick to point out
01:40there may be serious consequences to any change.
01:43What we have in the Northern Territory
01:45is a domestic and family sexual violence crisis.
01:49When we know that there is evidence
01:51that alcohol increases the severity of violence
01:54that predominantly women experience,
01:56why would we consider lowering the price of alcohol
01:59in the Northern Territory?
02:01Sam too thinks the government might be getting it wrong.
02:05We're trying to reinvent the wheel, if you like,
02:08and instead of looking at what the real issues are
02:11behind why people are drinking in the first place.
02:16Having summoned all his inner strength to give up,
02:19Sam hopes others can do the same.