Fume-free petrol to tackle Aborigine sniffing epidemic

An epidemic of petrol-sniffing among Aborigines in Australia’s central desert has been cured by the introduction of a special “fume free” fuel.

The petrol has been so successful that it should be made mandatory at all filling stations in the region, a government committee urged today.

Opal, a government-subsidised petrol modified by BP Australia to remove most of the chemicals that create the euphoria that sniffers seek, has been used since 2006 into a growing number of Outback Aboriginal communities as a safer alternative to unleaded petrol.

The central desert is mostly populated by Aborigines who face joblessness and live in violent and crime-ridden townships.

The fuel’s success has come to the attention of other countries where petrol-sniffing also causes deaths and brain damage among indigenous communities.

A Senate committee examining the Opal strategy found that the once-rampant problem of petrol sniffing in central Australia had become “sporadic.” Estimates vary of how many remain regular sniffers, the report said.

“The supply of Opal fuel has been a resounding success in helping to reduce sniffing,” the report said.

Tristan Ray, a social worker for the Central Australian Youth Link-Up Service who contributed to the report, estimated that the number of regular sniffers in the central desert had declined from 500 to 20.

The report recommends that the petrol stations within the targeted area be forced by law to stock Opal if they do not do so voluntarily within six months.

But Rod McLean, manager of the Ti Tree Roadhouse petrol station in the tiny central Australian desert town of Ti Tree, said that his customers did not want to use Opal, partly because it was less efficient than standard unleaded fuel and he claimed it ruined small engines.

A BP Australia spokesman said independent testing proved that Opal did not damage engines and was no less economic than standard fuel.

He said Canadian delegations had approached the company last year to inquire about the suitability of using Opal among indigenous communities in that country.