Nick Dametto risks fine over beer breach in Indigenous community with alcohol restrictions
Nick Dametto, the state member for Hinchinbrook, uploaded photos of himself enjoying Good Friday with friends on Curacoa Island, near Palm Island.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Queensland MP comes unstuck by his own social media post over a cold beer.
In one picture, the Katter Party politician is seen holding a can of full-strength beer with an alcohol percentage of 4.2 per cent, while other people in the photos appear to be holding pre-mixed drinks.
The controversial laws are enforced in remote and discrete Indigenous communities across Queensland, restricting or banning alcohol entirely.
In the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire, people can only carry alcohol with a concentration of less than 4 per cent and are restricted to 11.25 litres per person on foot, or per vehicle, boat or aircraft, regardless of the number of people in it.
When contacted by 7NEWS, Dametto said he had made an 'honest mistake' and did not realise outskirt islands around Palm Island were included in the Alcohol Management Plan.
'I think this is a really good opportunity to turn this into an educational piece,' he said.
'I can understand why some people have become angry about this but, at the same time, there should be more signage on the islands.'
The Hinchinbrook MP believed the restriction on full-strength alcohol was 'not well-known' and said the group had 'no more than about three drinks per person'.
'We were planning actually to be on Orpheus Island up until about lunchtime (and) unfortunately the weather was blowing a south-westerly, which made it very dangerous to anchor up there,' he told 7NEWS.
'We were only out there with a small amount of alcohol and enough food to keep us going for a couple of hours.'
Andrea Kyle-Sailor, a former councillor who helps Palm Island residents facing court, including for breaking alcohol restrictions, believes Dametto's explanation does not pass the pub test.
'The excuse of honest mistake is not normally, well never, accepted by the magistrate for our people,' she said.
'I would have thought that the Member for Hinchinbrook would be aware of the alcohol restrictions.'
$60,000 fine
Kyle-Sailor said visitors to the shire should be aware of the rules, which were easily accessible on council and state government websites.
'It's all there at your fingertips - get on your phone, have a look, see what the restrictions are... take the time to have a look,' she said.
She said people charged with possessing illegal alcohol in the restricted area were often fined a few hundred dollars for their first offence.
The maximum penalty is currently $60,487.
Dametto said he would 'take his poison' if he was fined but maintained his mistake should be turned into an education piece 'rather than trying to crucify someone at Easter'.
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