Aboriginal alcoholism worsening: inquiry

ALCOHOLISM in Aboriginal communities is bad and getting worse, says the chairwoman of a federal inquiry into the issue.

After hearings in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs is in Darwin conducting its inquiry into the harmful use of alcohol by indigenous communities.

Chairwoman Sharman Stone says the feedback from communities is that the situation is dire.

"An overarching message is things are getting far worse than they've been before ... People now are desperate about finding a solution to these problems," Dr Stone told AAP.

"As a woman said to us in Tennant Creek yesterday, 'our young people are getting angrier and too many people are dying'.

"And that's just an appalling situation in a developed country like Australia - one of the richer countries in the world - to have this circumstance for its indigenous population."

Homelessness and housing pressures are a key factor in explaining why indigenous people drink to excess, the inquiry heard on Wednesday.

Indigenous people are highly mobile but often have trouble finding somewhere to stay when they come to cities such as Darwin to attend events, to see family or to seek work, and end up putting stress on relatives and overcrowding properties.

Those who end up in the long grass, or sleeping rough, are usually the problem drinkers, said Toni Vine Bromley, CEO of NT Shelter.

She said accessing the NT rental market was difficult enough before taking into account the obstacles Aboriginal people from remote areas might face when moving to towns.

The NT has 15 times the national average of homeless people, 30 to 40 per cent of which are children aged under 18.

Young disadvantaged women who drink during pregnancy are having babies with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome, and the inquiry is looking at its prevalence and whether it should be declared a disability.

Dr Stone called it a form of "cultural genocide".

"(Brain-damaged children) who will never be able to learn like others, who will probably end up incarcerated as soon as they reach adult status, who will be more likely to suicide, more likely to be victims of violence and to perpetrate violence - that is a tragedy for any community," she said.

Dr Stone also said she was disappointed the NT government would not permit its employees, such as the police and doctors, to give evidence to the inquiry, but rather would submit a "whole of government report".

"It's an inquiry loaded with politics and emotional stress for a lot of people, because the Australian population as a whole has a major problem with alcohol consumption," she said.

Hearings will continue in Darwin on Thursday.

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