Alice Springs mayor demands ABC retract ‘white supremacy’ claims

The Alice Springs mayor accused the ABC of misrepresenting a meeting of concerned residents as a “white supremacist” gathering – but the broadcaster stands by its report.

The mayor of Alice Springs has accused the ABC of “lighting the fuse to have a race war” in his community and demanded the broadcaster retract a report he said misrepresented a meeting of concerned Alice Springs residents as being a gathering of “white supremacists”.

On Tuesday, ABC News Radio broadcast a report about an Alice Springs town hall meeting featuring several voices claiming the event was “a disgusting show of white supremacy” and “scary”.

One person told the reporter that “the tension and violence and anger was palpable and was clearly all around white supremacy”.

However Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson said the report “couldn’t be further from the truth”.

“The ABC should definitely retract this story, it’s a kick in the teeth to residents who have put up with this for far too long,” he said.

Mr Paterson said that while local ABC journalists were sensitive to the concerns of the community, this report was put together by what he called a “fly-in reporter”.

“It’s adding unnecessary anxiety when we are all trying to come together to address the issue and here you’ve got the ABC lighting the fuse to have a race war.”

Mr Paterson, who attended the event in question, said the coverage was “completely not true” and it completely misrepresented the way the meeting was run.

While as many as 3,000 people attended the meeting, every single voice featured by the ABC was critical of the event, with many saying that it was driven by racism and white people concerned solely about their own safety and that of their property.

Since the ABC report went to air, multiple media reports have revealed that those who attempted to portray it as being about “white supremacy” were in a tiny minority.

When asked about the report on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the ABC said they stood by their story.

“The ABC’s long-running reporting on the issues facing Alice Springs has included a range of perspectives and will continue to canvass people’s views and experiences as coverage continues.”

“Many strong and conflicting views and opinions are expressed within the community, including some confronting views, and the news coverage reflects that and doesn’t shy away from it,” the spokesperson said.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said that “concerns about the ABC’s content should be reported through the ABC’s complaints process.”

The ABC has stood by a report on the crisis in Alice Springs which was slammed by the local mayor as igniting a “race war”. Picture: Danny Casey

Matt Paterson has accused the ABC of “lighting the fuse to have a race war”.

Locals have pleaded with the territory and federal governments to help save the town.

Pictures: Supplied

A police operation in the centre of Alice Springs. Picture: Liam Mendes