Alice Springs: It’s a dry town, unless you’re white
Alice Spring’s was declared a dry town on August 1st, as part of the larger intervention into child abuse within indigenous communities in the Top End. Yet already Alice Spring’s council has granted two licenses for the sale of liquor in public. The latest of which occurred just this weekend for the annual Henley-on-the-Todd regatta. Every year in the spring, people race bottomless boats and bathtubs down the dry Todd river. Large numbers of locals and tourists attend, and food and drink are sold at stalls – this year being no exception. The inclusion of alcohol company sponsorship and the permitting of alcohol consumption and sales has drawn criticism by those who believe the ‘clean and safe’ laws are unfairly targeting indigenous residents.