Shire of Broome president Harold Tracey shows Papalia the reality of town’s alcohol problem in booze law push

Shire of Broome president Harold Tracey had 30 minutes alone with Paul Papalia when he jetted to Broome for a lightning visit last month, and he was not going to waste it. With alcohol-fuelled violence and antisocial behaviour still wreaking havoc on the town, the civic leader has spoken of how he used a meeting with Racing and Gaming Minister Mr Papalia, left, to showcase the reality of the social issues in the otherwise stunning tourist mecca. One day before Mr Papalia announced he intended to roll out a 12-month banned drinkers’ register and voluntary takeaway liquor trial in the region, he saw first-hand why the north had been crying out for tougher booze laws for years. Mr Tracey asked the minister to jump in his four-wheel-drive and took him to see two of Broome’s biggest problem areas — Male Oval and Kennedy Hill. Here, Mr Papalia sat and watched as groups of itinerant people from nearby communities sat and drank alcohol in temporary camps in the two littered spots. It was a snippet of what businesses and residents have reported seeing in the two areas in the past six months, with drug consumption, death threats, violent behaviour, sexual acts, urination and excretion among the worst. The Broome Advertiser also reported last week that a fence was about to be built around the Broome Visitor Centre on the adjoining Male Oval to protect workers and the public at the complex from the gut-wrenching acts. Mr Tracey said the issue was getting worse in town and tougher liquor laws were a key part to solving the issue. “I really wanted to grab the minister for 30 minutes and take him for a drive around the hotspots,” he said. “More or less, I wanted him to get a look at what is happening on the ground, have a chat about the challenges and just how bad these challenges really are. “We know it is complex, but we are hearing a very loud and clear voice from our Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members that this is beyond unacceptable now.” Mr Tracey said he did not think the issue would have shocked Mr Papalia, who was across the Kimberley’s problems. “I don’t think it offered anything new from a shock perspective,” he said. “It was a chance for me to say we have tried everything over the past months and years to alleviate this problem and it is just not working. “One of the biggest factors contributing to it though is alcohol and that is the message I wanted to give a kick-along.” Mr Papalia would not comment on his on-the-road meeting with Mr Tracey, but said work would soon be under way to address the issues. “Alcohol-related harm continues to cause significant issues throughout the Kimberley, with the takeaway alcohol management system and BDR initiatives to provide communities with another means of reducing this kind of destructive behaviour,” he said.