Senator Malarndirri McCarthy says NT booze ban a 'circuit breaker'

Alcohol bans will be reinstated in Northern Territory communities amid the ongoing furore about crime in Alice Springs.

The new legislation means dry zones will be in place for town camps and communities, unless an alcohol management plan is developed.

NT Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said she welcomed the decision.

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"In terms of alcohol itself, we know it is just a symptom of deeper issues around central Australia and more broadly across the country," she told Today.

"It is important that we step in to look at the foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and to work with families and the children."

McCarthy said there should be a "longer term conversation" about what the affected communities would like to see in the future.

"But right now we need a circuit breaker, and this is the most important circuit breaker that Alice Springs and central Australia can have," she said.

But, she said, the federal government was not seeking to mimic the 2007 Intervention.

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