'Alcohol bans aren't a solution.' Why everyone is talking about Alice Springs.

You may have heard about the recent 'crime wave' being experienced by the residents of Alice Springs.

Some people, including the Mayor of Alice Springs, say the end of the alcohol ban is to blame for the recent rise in violent crime, while others suggest it's far more complex than that.

Now, some residents are calling for a return to previous legislation that bans alcohol sales in some communities - but does removing alcohol remove the crime? And what are First Nations community leaders saying about it all?

Watch: Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney talks about this situation. Post continues below.

First and foremost, what is going on with crime in Alice Springs?

Alice Springs is a town with a population of about 26,000.

At the start of this year, Northern Territory Police released some data showing that crime has steadily been on the rise in the regional town since 2021. 

In 2022, property damage offences in Alice Springs were up by almost 59 per cent on the previous year, commercial break-ins by 55 per cent, alcohol-related assault by 55 per cent, domestic violence assault by 53 per cent, and assault by 43 per cent.

What have alcohol bans got to do with it?

This rise in crime data is now being directly correlated to a law decision made in July last year - when the federal laws banning alcohol in remote Aboriginal communities across the NT lapsed. 

The bans were a Howard-era policy introduced in 2007 as part of the controversial NT Emergency Response. It was an intervention designed to "protect" Aboriginal children from abuse and violence, and part of that was enacting alcohol restrictions. 

Many First Nations people and advocates however felt as though Indigenous lives were being heavily regulated by the government, without much consideration for underlying social issues.

It also failed to address the systemic disadvantages that First Nations people have faced - high unemployment levels, inadequate housing, poor health outcomes, and the higher representation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system.

Some, however, felt the alcohol restrictions were necessary. And now with new NT Police data suggesting there has been a rise in violence and crime in the wake of the alcohol ban being lifted, Alice Springs residents are desperate for a solution.

What have Alice Springs residents been saying?

"The level of crime and severity has escalated. It's everywhere in Alice Springs. The CBD is effectively just a mall full of roller shutters down and boarded-up windows. It's also affecting the suburbs," Matt Paterson, the Mayor of Alice Springs, said on Mamamia's The Quicky podcast.

"[We're seeing] edged weapons such as machetes or knives and we're seeing that quite frequently, and it's hard to deal with. The best descriptive word I could give you about Alice Springs at the moment is 'scary'."

Listen to this conversation on The Quicky. Post continues after audio. 

"People are locking themselves away, scared to go to sleep because some have woken up with intruders in their bedroom. Alice Springs is an isolated community. It's having an effect on everyone, and the level of anxiety is really hard to describe. It's not sustainable for Alice Springs to keep experiencing this crime or antisocial behaviour."

In the space of just two days recently, multiple crimes were reported by NT Police.

On January 28, a 28-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly smashed a window while resisting arrest. He is accused of stealing clothing from a shop in the CBD. 

On January 30, a male aged 17 allegedly threatened a 75-year-old woman with a blunt weapon before stealing her car keys. That same night, another boy also aged 17 was arrested after allegedly breaking in to another elderly victim's home. The 74-year-old woman was assaulted, leaving her with a broken wrist.

A Northern Territory nurse has exposed how the violent crime wave is affecting Alice Springs, as the PM's handling of the crisis comes under fire | @vanOnselenP #auspol pic.twitter.com/XhavjCts0I

— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) January 31, 2023

On both of these days, there were also a number of domestic and family-related violence incidents recorded.

As Mayor Paterson said: "The rate of domestic violence has dramatically increased since the relapsing of these bans from July."

Only a week prior, a Woolworths in Alice Springs was forced into lockdown when a 13-year-old boy reportedly attempted to enter the store waving a machete.

The lifting of the alcohol bans was a concern for the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress - the peak health organisation for Indigenous people in Australia. 

"Many Northern Territory communities, town camps and Community Living Areas will lose their legal protection from alcohol abuse," a spokesperson said. "The 'rivers of grog' will once again flow through our communities - the effects on the broader community through increased crime, antisocial behaviour and violence will be of great concern."

As Mayor Paterson said on The Quicky: "We lifted [the alcohol bans] overnight and as a community we weren't ready for that. There needs to be processes in place. The experts begged the government to not let that happen. They didn't listen."

What has the government done since?

Last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese flew into Central Australia to announce a string of new measures alongside the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Natasha Fyles.

The territory government has now brought in a three-month trial of new alcohol restrictions, which include reduced hours for bottle shops and daily purchase limits for customers.

The Prime Minister also appointed Indigenous woman Dorrelle Anderson as the Central Australian Regional Controller, to review the opt-in alcohol restrictions being considered. Anderson is the head of a support organisation for victims of domestic and family violence in the Northern Territory.

Albanese told reporters: "If there are recommendations which suggest immediate action, then I'm certainly up for it."

All Australians deserve to live in safe and healthy communities. I’m here in Alice Springs to meet with community groups, council, the NT Government and frontline services, to hear about the urgent challenges they're facing. pic.twitter.com/ed2aa9IOs4

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) January 24, 2023

"I want to act as soon as possible... but I also understand that some of these issues are intergenerational. They are not easy, off-the-shelf solutions. It is not just about alcohol. It is about employment, about service delivery, about getting staff on the ground. You can fund programs, but if you don't have people to do the services, then that can create an issue as well."

What have First Nations leaders and Indigenous-led organisations been saying?

In terms of Indigenous politicians, their perspectives have been varied.

Indigenous Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said the situation in Alice Springs could be "described as a war zone".

As for Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney, she said that while alcohol was a key issue in the remote communities, further discussion was required around how to help change the systemic nature of the issue.

Arrernte traditional owners have since urged the government to talk with elders on the ground to gauge their perspective on how best to address it. 

In the headlines, we've seen reports of Aboriginal youth being 'out of control'. Some have even gone as far as to suggest Indigenous children should be removed from their families - yet we've already seen how that ends. 

But the questions First Nations advocates have told us to ask instead is why are these youth on the streets in the first place? And why have they turned to violence?

"We have seen a lack of government services for close to a decade, and we're feeling the effects of that here in Alice Springs presently."

NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles on the task ahead to curb the crime surge currently gripping Alice Springs. pic.twitter.com/CknM9FodSk

— News Breakfast (@BreakfastNews) January 24, 2023

Kirra Voller is a youth advocate based in Alice Springs. She told The Quicky that the reasoning behind the crime and the answer to the situation is "really complex". She also warned that the issue shouldn't become a "political ballgame". 

"I've seen firsthand from the intervention that when people have addictions to things like alcohol, when it's banned or forcefully controlled, people with addictions find other ways to get it," Kirra explained.

"Bans aren't a solution. Education is the key. For the government to just take the intervention out with no follow up is pretty silly on their part. And to now label it as a 'youth crime' issue is silly."

What happens now?

In the meantime, the NT Chief Minister is also calling for the federal government to step up with needs-based funding, because of the high cost of delivering rural and regional services. A long-term central Australian alcohol management plan will be developed to deal with "complex issues" including domestic violence, unemployment, and youth on the streets.

Rolf Gerritsen is a Professorial Fellow at the Alice Springs Campus of Charles Darwin University.

He told The Quicky that removing alcohol won't completely fix the situation.

"In the Aboriginal community, the majority don't drink. The 30 per cent who do tend to binge drink. Drinkers are very determined to drink booze, so shutting the bottle shops for two days won't fix it. This is a policy that is designed to kick the can down the road. I would argue there's been a misappropriation of funds that should have been spent on Aboriginal people - and all of our bush services are under-funded. They shouldn't be, because all that money is being used to prop up Darwin."

So what can actually be done?

Kirra Voller said it comes down to listening and understanding to the Alice Springs community.

"If we want to be able to find a way to move forward is to listen. I've listened to these young people, I've listened to their parents, their families. The right voices aren't being listened to for solutions."

– With AAP.

Feature Image: Getty.