‘Go home ScoMo’: PM faces angry protesters on NT leg of campaign

Protesters have met Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the start of the Northern Territory leg of his election campaign, shouting at him: “Shame.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison had a rocky start to the Northern Territory leg of his campaign trail, with a group of furious protesters meeting him at his first event in Alice Springs.

A group of protesters had to be physically stopped from entering the Alice Springs Town Council event in the division of Lingiari where Mr Morrison was set to appear, with officials pushing them out of the gate as they tried to enter.

Undeterred, the protesters gathered at the side gate, screaming at the PM to “go home” as he spoke to locals.

At one point, the demonstrators began chanting “Don’t frack the NT”, “Go home ScoMo” and “shame”.

This persisted throughout the entirety of the PM’s visit, with one woman interrupting his press conference by repeatedly screaming at Mr Morrison to “f**k off” through a megaphone.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison was heckled by angry protesters in Alice Springs. Picture: Jason Edwards

Police had to stop the demonstrators from entering the venue. Picture: Jason Edwards

“F**k off ScoMo, we don’t want you here,” the woman said.

“Shame on you. We don’t want you here. Go back to Sydney where you think you can get away with everything.”

The woman was also heard chanting, “always was, always will be Aboriginal land” and “stop fracking”.

Police sirens were later heard outside of the venue, though intermittent outbursts from the group were still discernible.

When asked about the protesters, Mr Morrison said it wasn’t a “large number” of people but everyone was “entitled to their view”.

“I understand the issue they’re raising particularly goes to the resources industry here in the Northern Territory and relates to the gas announcement that was made by the Northern Territory government,” he said.

Mr Morrison later said the protesters were ‘entitled to their view’. Picture: Jason Edwards

“We are investing heavily in ensuring that the Northern Territory has a strong industrial future.

“There are some loud voices out there today, but there are many, many quiet voices all around the country that want to ensure that we have a strong economy on the basis of sensible economic policy.”

NT Liberal Senate candidate Jacinta Price also commented on the protesters, saying they had to be asked to “show some respect”.

She claimed many of the protesters came from interstate and didn’t have practical solutions to the problems facing children and communities in the NT.

“The majority of them have come from interstate and they have no right to carry on like this,” Ms Price said.

“This is not traditional culture. This is not how we behave with the level of disrespect.”

Ms Price added: “Our traditional owners had to go out there and tell them to pull their heads in.”

‘Our traditional owners had to go out there and tell them to pull their heads in,’ Jacinta Price said of the protesters during the press conference. Picture: Jason Edwards

On Sunday, Mr Morrison announced a $14 million package to address increasing rates of crime, with funding for improving CCTV, support for local diversionary activities, more community patrols and the development of more safe and secure places for young people.

The funding is aimed at reducing youth crime and anti-social behaviour in Alice Springs.

The Prime Minister also announced a $300 million package to deliver a “jobs boom” to the Northern Territory.

The package will fund a new hydrogen hub in Darwin and multiple carbon capture storage (CCS) sites within the Middle Arm priority region.

Mr Morrison said the project would create more than 3800 jobs.

“Our economic plan for the Territory will deliver a jobs boom, creating a stronger economy for a stronger future,” he said.

“We want to harness the Territory’s position as a world leader in energy and turbocharge it, unlocking investment and generating jobs.”

Originally published as ‘Go home ScoMo’: PM faces angry protesters on NT leg of campaign