Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe SIDNEY, Australia, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Drinking alcohol in all public places has been banned by authorities in the central Australian town of Alice Springs to combat violence. Town authorities announced the ban of alcohol, known locally as grog, as a pre-emptive measure in advance of an expected federal ban on alcohol in Aboriginal communities, where it is blamed for scores of reports of child abuse, a BBC correspondent in Sidney reported. Advertisement The town was concerned if parliament passes the Aboriginal ban on public consumption of alcohol later this month, it would be inundated with people seeking booze, the report said. Liquor permits will still be available for community festivals, sporting events and weddings on public lands in the desert town, but heavy fines would be imposed for illegal alcohol possession or use, officials said. Located in the country's Northern Territory, Alice Springs is known locally as the beginning of the territory's "river of grog," the BBC said.
