New law targets petrol sniffers

A bill designed to combat petrol and solvent sniffing has passed through the Northern Territory Parliament.

The new law allows police and authorised people to tip out inhalants and search and apprehend sniffers for treatment.

Family and Community Services Minister Marion Scrymgour says people will undergo background checks, training, and get legal indemnity before they are designated as "authorised" to do the work.

"Authorised persons will be people appointed by myself under the act to be able to do the low-level intervention work that's currently happening so it provides that legal framework for those people," she said.

But Opposition spokeswoman Jodeen Carney says she is concerned about the use of "authorised" people.

"Some of them will be undertaking quite intimate acts such as searching another human being," she said.

"There is no consideration being given as to what criteria might be put in place for the selection of those people, it is simply a ministerial appointment there are no guidelines, there are no protocols."

Antoinette Carroll from Re-Connect Youth Service in Alice Springs says there are not any treatment services in the area to send young people to.

"We don't actually see anywhere as an actual treatment service," she said.

"We have out-stations which are respite and obviously detain young people from sniffing, however through the evidence that we've got, what our clients have said is that when they return to town or to community they re-engage back in sniffing."

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Wed, 04 May 2005
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australia Web)
Copyright: 2005 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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