AM - Opal sparks crime wave in Ngukurr

ELIZABETH JACKSON: In the early 90’s a remote community in Arnhem Land experimented with a new type of fuel – Avgas – in an effort to stamp out petrol sniffing.

Now Ngukurr, 600 kilometres southeast of Darwin, is one of a growing number of communities experimenting with another fuel – Opal – that has no effect on sniffers.

But while Opal has seen a drop in the number of sniffers, at Ngukurr it's caused a big spike in local crime as desperate sniffers try anything to get their hands on the last unleaded fuel in the community.

Anne Barker has visited Ngukurr, and filed this report.

(sound of driving in a car)

ANNE BARKER: It's late at night and Victor Huddleston is on the lookout for petrol sniffers.

He runs Ngukurr's night patrol, and tonight he's out 'til the early hours driving the streets.

ANNE BARKER: What do you do when you find them?

VICTOR HUDDLESTON: Yeah, sometimes we sometimes talk to them. I just tell them to go back home.

ANNE BARKER: Night and day petrol sniffers wander aimlessly, their noses stuck in a bottle, inhaling the fumes from unleaded fuel.

Eddie Chisolm says it's a tragedy that's touched the entire community.

EDDIE CHISOLM: You know, some days it's pretty bad, it's out in the open, you know, in broad daylight. Every one of us here have got family members that petrol sniff.

ANNE BARKER: Locals estimate there are 47 teenagers and young adults who waste their days sniffing petrol.

Ngukurr's elders have tried everything to get sniffers off fuel, but nothing seems to work.

So three months ago the community council switched the only bowser at Ngukurr to opal fuel, which can't be sniffed.

Council member Bobbie Nunggumajbarr says the number of sniffers has fallen.

BOBBIE NUNGGUMAJBARR: It just makes them really funny inside, you know, and makes them headaches, sleeps all day, that's what it's doing to them.

ANNE BARKER: But although a few youngsters have stopped sniffing, the introduction of Opal has created a whole new problem at Ngukurr. Local crime has soared as sniffers go to desperate lengths to get their hands on any remaining unleaded fuel.

SIGGY RAUPAUCHE: Okay, I'm home, and this here has been pulled open and somebody got in there.

ANNE BARKER: Siggy Raupauche at the local car yard has lost count of the number of times his premises have been burgled as sniffers search his wrecks for petrol.

SIGGY RAUPAUCHE: Soon as some comes back from (inaudible) they bring fuel back in the tanks, and they know it's unleaded and it goes right into them.

ANNE BARKER: One time sniffers stole screwdrivers from a warehouse to remove the entire walls at another business, where they found unleaded fuel.

Ngukurr's police chief, Peter Lindfield, says even the police station has been burgled.

PETER LINDFIELD: They're brazen enough to come into the police station. We've obviously had some entries to our compound at the rear here. They obviously need the petrol so that they can sniff.

ANNE BARKER: A few weeks ago local elders paraded a group of sniffers in front of the entire community in a public shaming session. But now they're running out of options.

Many believe the only lasting solution is for the entire region to switch to Opal fuel, to stop any unleaded petrol getting in.

Others like Eddie Chisolm despair of ever ridding Ngukurr of sniffers.

EDDIE CHISOLM: I think the community here is really making a big effort to try and solve a few problems that they haven't been able to solve for a number of years. It's very hard, like trying to solve the problem.

ELIZABETH JACKSON: Eddie Chisholm at Ngukurr speaking to our reporter, Anne Barker.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Sat, 06 August 2005
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australia Web)
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Copyright: 2005 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Website: http://www.abc.net.au/
Reporter: Anne Barker