AUS: Pacific community furious at kava ban
Updated
Australia's Pacific Island community is furious at a federal government decision to ban the commercial importation of kava. The changes were brought in two weeks ago as part of the Government intervention plan in remote indigenous communities.
Presenter: Grace Jones
Speakers: Reverend Sione Pinome, Free Tongan Wesleyan Church
JONES: Here at a kava house in western Sydney a group of Tongan Australians, all men, are sitting in a circle around a large bowl of kava and sharing the watery substance. They're passing around cups of the muddy coloured liquid, telling stories and speaking their native language. Kava is served in a communal setting, often in kava clubs like this one. It gives the drinker a feeling of well being and relaxes the muscles, and it's a fundamental part of the customs and cultural activities for several Pacific Island nations.
TALENT: It's very important, the kava's very important traditionally it's very important in everything in every way of life. But kava is virtually the only thing that can bring us together.
JONES: But supply is dwindling after the federal government's decision to ban the commercial importation of the drug, a move which is connected to the intervention in the Northern Territory's indigenous communities.
The Reverend Sione Pinome from the Free Tongan Wesleyan Church says the federal government's decision to restrict the importation of kava came with no warning or consultation.
PINOME: We thought Australia it's a free country, they allow us to bring our own aspects of cultural matters to Australia as a multicultual country, but to have taken away part of our, most of our important aspects of our culture like kava , it's really shocked the Tongan community in Australia.
JONES: But the Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott, who is responsible for banning the drug, says the new laws do take into account Pacific Island cultural and traditions. He says people are still allowed to bring in two kilograms of kava for personal use when entering Australia.
ABBOTT: People can still bring small quantities with them for personal use, but commercial quantities such that they were causing significant problems in indigenous townships in the Territory can no longer be imported.
JONES: But Pacific Island leaders living in Australia say that amount is laughable and the system is flawed.
WATERHOUSE: First of all it requires someone to be travelling, and also two kilos is actually because it's a root, it's not a concentrate and therefore it doesn't last very long, it maybe would be one person's supply for one week, maybe one kava club supply for one night. So unless people want to keep on travelling outside the country it's not going to be anywhere near adequate.
JONES: Louise Waterhouse is the honorary consul for the Kingdom of Tonga. She worried that alcohol will become the new drug of choice, a move community leaders say will result in huge problems.
WATERHOUSE: And I think that would be a great shame because you're suddenly taking a diluted very mild herbal drink that has a quietening effect with replacing with alcohol that can lead to intoxication. And Pacific Islanders aren't necessarily used to so much alcohol and it'll be a total different theme, and I think it'd be very disappointing.
JONES: The Federal Health Minister disagrees.
ABBOTT: I don't think that the people of Pacific Islander background living in Australia are anything other than law abiding and decent people and I'm sure that if they can't get sufficient access to kava they'll manage to cope. And I think these leaders are underestimating their own communities.
JONES: But the Reverend Pinome says it's the federal government who's underestimating the community.
PINOME: What can we do? I mean for me personally it's their decision but they don't, I guess they don't fully understand the impact or problems across our own community, because they need to come close to our community to understand how much kava is playing a major role in the harmony.
