Maria Hatzakis reported this story on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 18:50:32

TIM PALMER: A north Queensland mayor has slammed the Federal Government's decision to ban the sale of regular unleaded petrol in his community.



The Commonwealth has used new powers for the first time to force Palm Island to switch to low aromatic or Opal fuel to curb petrol sniffing.



The local mayor says while he supports Opal fuel it's unfair that his residents are denied the choice of buying regular unleaded fuel.



Maria Hatzakis reports.



MARIA HATZAKIS: Low aromatic petrol or Opal fuel is already being sold at more than 150 regional and remote parts of Australia, to reduce petrol sniffing.



So far it's been up to communities themselves to decide whether to use it or not. But now the Federal Government has used its powers to force a community to use it by making regular unleaded fuel illegal on Palm Island in north Queensland.



Alf Lacey is the local mayor.



ALF LACEY: We talk about alcohol management plan. Now e're talking about fuel management plan. What else are we going to be talking about? Toilet paper management plans for this town.



MARIA HATZAKIS: The mayor says locals shouldn't be denied a choice.



ALF LACEY: You know the rest of the state and the rest of country has got a choice on what service station they go to, and what fuel their cars and when they purchase their new cars and things like that so it limits choices and it also limits opportunities in the future for our community.



MARIA HATZAKIS: Peter d'Abbs is a professor of substance misuse from the Menzies School of Health Research.



He's been commissioned by the Federal Government to examine how the roll out of low aromatic or Opal fuel has affected the rate of petrol sniffing.



PETER D'ABBS: There were 17 communities for which we've got data going back over a 10 year period and in those 17 communities back in 2005-2006, there were an estimated 647 people sniffing. By 2013-2014 that had dropped down to 78 people so that's a decline of about 88 per cent.



MARIA HATZAKIS: He says while Palm Island is the first area where the Federal Government has banned unleaded fuel, similar moves are underway elsewhere.



PETER D'ABBS: There are quite a lot of communities that have of their own bat banned the sale of regular unleaded petrol but this is the first instance where the Commonwealth Government has stepped in. But although it's the first, it's not the only place. There are a couple of other places at least where the Commonwealth Government has already been engaged in consultation with a view to probably making a similar decision.



MARIA HATZAKIS: But he says other action needs to be taken to reduce petrol sniffing too.



PETER D'ABBS: You also need to do things like attend to youth and recreation programs, early intervention programs, education etcetera.



MARIA HATZAKIS: Palm Island health workers say community intervention is already being used successfully there.



Narelle Gleeson-Henaway is from the Palm Island Community Company.



NARELLE GLEESON-HENAWAY: Petrol sniffing certainly isn't a big issue like it was a couple of years ago. There was a number of incidents of sniffing, there was quite a large group of young people that were sniffing but the community certainly got together to provide some local responses to that and that had a huge impact.



MARIA HATZAKIS: She says while the petrol sniffing rate has dropped, health workers want to make sure it stays down.



NARELLE GLEESON-HENAWAY: The community, you know, weighing everything up was prepared to have low aromatic fuel on the island because that may mean that that lessens the potential for young people to be sniffing petrol.



MARIA HATZAKIS: The Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion was not available to be interviewed.



TIM PALMER: Maria Hatzakis reporting.