Death of 12-year-old boy highlights ongoing deodorant sniffing problems in Alice Springs
Just after New Year's Day in Alice Springs, a 12-year-old boy sniffed two cans of deodorant with his friends at well-known sniffing hotspot Billy Goat Hill.
He then walked into town, where he collapsed in front of the local Coles.
After police unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead in hospital.
The boy, who cannot be named for cultural reasons, was a chronic sniffer known to local health workers who was waiting to enter rehab when he died.
His death has shone a spotlight on the growing problem of deodorant sniffing in Alice Springs.
Despite the recent spike in deodorant sniffing in Alice Springs, Mr McFarland said it did not come close to the "bad old days" before 2007, when petrol sniffing wrought havoc in Central Australia.
"Opportunity is one of the big factors in drug use," he said.
"If your drug of choice is in every car and all you need to supply your habit is a bit of hose a metre long, then it's really tempting."
The big change came when central Australia moved to non-sniffable fuel.
"We've seen a change from 500 people sniffing petrol going down to 100 people sniffing paint," Mr McFarland said.
"When paint changed and became unsniffable and when we [managed the inhaling of] glue better ... the numbers diminished away," he said.
But it is much more difficult to cut off the supply of deodorant.
Death 'could have been prevented'
Across the road from where the 12-year-old boy collapsed, there used to be a late-night drop-in centre run by the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress.
Its funding was cut in late 2012, just six months after the Country Liberal Party took office, because of a perceived duplication with the government-run Youth Street Outreach Service.
Just over one year later, that service was cut too, with funds being redirected into child protection.
Congress chief executive Donna Ah-Chee said if the Northern Territory Government had not cut funding the boy might still be alive.
Following increased scrutiny, the Northern Territory Government announced an additional $4.2 million to be spent on youth services, with $1.25 million to be spent in Alice Springs.
But Mr Elferink told triple j's Hack program he stood by his earlier decision to redirect funds out of youth programs.
"One of the sad manifestations of our passive welfare system is that we have child abuse aplenty in the Northern Territory," he said.
"The choice is: do I draw services away from kids who are being raped … or do I put services into those children and take those child protection workers away from what is a sundry service?"
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I followed that interview on JJJ's Hack progam a cpl of days ago on the way home. Mr Elferink made a very good point - that there was a key item not mentioned - Parenting.
People are getting baby bonuses, Childcare assistance, Disability pensions, Carer's pensions, all to make it easier to raise their children.
Why are they running around at night, stealing and sniffing aerosols?
