A respected Aboriginal elder who escaped a conviction for bringing alcohol into a dry community has called on others to learn from his mistake.
Tiwi Land Council chairman Gibson Farmer Illortaminni plead guilty to bringing liquor into an alcohol-protected area in Darwin Local Court this morning.
But he said it was his 29-year-old daughter who had him bring beer and spirits into the dry community of Oenpelli, more than 300 kilometres from Darwin.
"I'd been forced by my eldest daughter, which is wrong — I shouldn't have listened to her," he said.
"But she was drunk and I was sober and I couldn't reason with her.
"We can't reason with drunken people, they're different people when they're drunk."
Mr Farmer said before transporting the alcohol he had told his daughter that it was the wrong thing to do, but put the decision down to "family pressures".
He said he would learn from the mistake.
"I'd like to send a message to all the countrymen, especially on the mainland, because I got caught taking alcohol into dry area … I got to send a message that we shouldn't be doing that," he said.
"It's not right for me as a leader, so I take that on the chin.
"But next time, I will not do it again because I'm a respected man on the Tiwi Islands."
While Judge Tanya Fong Lim called him a "important man to his community", she also criticised him for having an unrestrained child in the car, a second charge which he pleaded guilty to.
Mr Illortaminni was fined $500 for his crimes.
'Family members need to leave us alone'
As well as being elected as the chairman of the Tiwi Island Land Council back in 2012, Mr Illortaminni is a strong advocate for education and employment on the islands for Tiwi people.
He said the community deserved better from him and expectations on family need to change.
"I've got a sick wife who's on dialysis and I've got to be with her," Mr Illortaminni said.
"So family members need to leave us alone so I can concentrate on my work."
