‘Cherry picked’: Alice Springs mayor demands apology over ABC’s ‘factually incorrect’ reporting

The furious mayor of Alice Springs has taken a fresh swipe at the ABC’s coverage, telling Karl Stefanovic the network “cherry picked” information.

The mayor of Alice Springs has lashed out at the ABC once again, claiming the national broadcaster’s coverage of the town’s crisis was “categorically incorrect”.

The Save Alice Springs meeting was held on Monday evening, with more than 3000 locals attending to show their support for a push for change.

The meeting was organised by local business owner Garth Thompson and ended after around 20 minutes.

ABC footage from inside the meeting showed Mr Thompson being sworn at and heckled after calling for residents to call the police for a welfare check if they saw “a group of kids, whoever they are, during school time”.

“We need to bring welfare to these kids, they deserve it,” he said in response to the abuse.

However, the ABC’s Indigenous Affairs correspondent Carly Williams then interviewed several attendees outside the meeting, with one woman describing it as a “total white supremacist fest” with a “scary” vibe.

Another man also threatened violence against Indigenous people in a sickening spray, using racist language while speaking with the ABC.

Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson has lashed the ABC in an interview with Karl Stefanovic on Today. Picture: Channel 9

“The little b**** f***ers are gonna start to get belted, if something doesn’t come out of it,” the man said.

“They’re gonna start getting flogged. And they won’t come back [because] we’ll take ‘em out to the scrub and leave ‘em there.”

However, Mr Thompson has vehemently denied there was any racist element to the meeting itself, insisting it was a positive gathering focused on change which was actually supported by many Indigenous elders.

That claim was echoed by mayor Matt Paterson, who told Karl Stefanovic on Today this morning he wanted an apology from ABC head Ita Buttrose over the “white supremacy” claims.

“At the end of the day we had 3000 people come together who were demanding change, who were clearly fed up with what’s happening in Alice Springs and want to see change,” Mr Paterson told the program.

“What’s happened is the ABC cherry picked a few people within the crowd to get their view on it. It certainly wasn’t the way the meeting was run. It was categorically incorrect.

“The organiser of the event ran it very well, he was very sensitive, gave every person the opportunity to come up on stage and share their story, and so the article that’s been put forward by the ABC is factually incorrect.”

More than 3000 people attended the meeting.

Mr Paterson pointed out that the local ABC reporters on the ground in Alice Springs were “very sensitive” to the issues facing the town and did a “terrific job”, claiming the problem was caused by non-local journalists who were in the area only to cover the latest crisis.

“Nonetheless, the language of the reporting in this story is so important,” Mr Paterson added, and said the ABC’s coverage added more stress to an already fraught situation.

“The level of anxiety in the community is extremely hard to describe already, Karl, because of what’s happening,” he said.

“This is just a kick in the teeth to the community … to people who want to see change and it is certainly not the way that this community is.

“This isn’t about colour or creed. This is about everyone coming together and effectively seeing change and looking after the kids ultimately.”

Mr Paterson said the town was facing an “alcohol problem” and an anti-social behaviour problem” and that he would “love to see more boots on the ground to address some of the challenges”.

Despite the growing furore, an ABC spokesperson told news.com.au in a statement on Wednesday that the national broadcaster was sticking by its reporting.

“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,” the statement reads.

“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.”