The chief executive of Redfern Legal Centre, Joanna Shulman, said it would object to the proposed new zones, which she said did little to solve problems with alcohol and simply hid them from public view.
''Some of these areas are residential areas where Aboriginal people live,'' she said.
''Police have a history of inappropriately targeting the vulnerable, homeless people and people with mental illness, and the result is these groups are pushed into less conspicuous places and away from support services including temporary food and shelter.''
She feared the new zones would push drinkers ''into stairwells, into public toilets and areas where Mission Beat and other charities can't access them'' and would ''make the vulnerable more hidden''.
Instead of more alcohol-free zones, she called on the City of Sydney and the state government to establish ''wet centres'' such as those found in Britain, where drinkers are provided with a covered area out of public view to drink without fear of harassment and have access to community services that help with accommodation, food and health needs.
Read the full article here (SMH, 19 July 2010)
