Alice Springs: the town that can’t stay open past sunset

A host of major stores have refused to open after dark in Alice Springs, as a town councillor says the government “failed”.

A slew of major retailers in Alice Springs will no longer open after nightfall as they grapple with a crime wave in the troubled Northern Territory town.

Alice Springs Woolworths will on Monday shorten its opening hours and begin closing at 7pm to protect customer safety, a spokesperson confirmed to news.com.au.

“The safety and wellbeing of our team and customers is of the utmost importance to us, and we believe that this change in trading hours will help to reduce the likelihood of incidents occurring,” the spokesperson said.

The change will remain in place “until further notice”, they added.

Coles, too, had decided to cut its opening times, opening between 6am and 7pm only from Monday.

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A number of major retailers will no longer open past dark after a crime spike in the town. Picture: Liam Mendes / The Australian

“With the safety of our team members and customers front of mind, we will temporarily be reducing the trading hours of Coles Alice Springs by two hours each day,” a Coles spokesperson told news.com.au.

BWS, too, will join the night-time lockdown, reducing its trading hours to 2pm-7pm Monday to Saturday “in response to the current situation in Alice Springs”, a spokesperson said.

The liquor retailer has removed all spirits over 750ml from the shelves, and has limited customer purchases to one per day.

Customers are limited to buying no more than two cartons of full strength beer, one bottle of 750ml spirits and six bottles of wine, the spokesperson said.

Anthony Albanese announced new alcohol restrictions on Tuesday, but one local said the idea was majorly flawed. Picture: Liam Mendes / The Australian

‘Major problem’ with government grog ban

The government introduced its own alcohol restrictions on Tuesday amid heavy pressure, banning takeaway sales of alcohol on Monday and Tuesday, with further restrictions on other days between 3pm and 7pm.

The changes will last for at least three months, with shoppers only allowed one purchase per day.

Indigenous Alice Springs councillor Michael Liddle, however, said there was one major problem with the new restrictions – they aren’t known to those who need them most.

“The problem with these new restrictions is that the target group doesn’t even know about them,” Mr Liddle told news.com.au.

“They know nothing about it. These are people who are walking aimlessly around town, looking for a drink. When there’s a public holiday, they wonder why supermarkets are closed. Now, they’re just going to wonder why the bottle shops are closed.

“Their ability to pick up a newspaper or watch the news is at the very back of their mind. They only time they’ll be able to look and see the changes come is when they’re in a facility with help to get sober.”

Darren Clark (right) said an alcohol ban wouldn’t give Alice Springs kids a safe home. Picture: Sky.

‘An alcohol ban won’t give these kids a safe home’

Darren Clark, who runs the Action for Alice 2020 Facebook page, previously told news.com.au he doubted a new alcohol ban would help the community long-term.

“The roll back of the ban probably has added to the alcohol problems here, but we’ve had alcohol problems for a long time,” Mr Clark said.

“Taking the alcohol away is not going to give these kids a safe home. They’ll just find something else, start mixing hand sanitiser with orange juice or lemonade to get high.”

Mr Clark, who has called Alice Springs home for 25 years, said fear was mounting and giving way to anger.

“People are starting to get angry over the lack of action, the lack of protection for the community,” he said.

“These children from a young age are witness to the kind of violence we cannot comprehend. The violence they now partake in, to us, is extreme. To them, it’s all they know.”

The night-time lockdown comes after a Woolies locked down as a young boy reportedly tried to enter with a machete. Picture: Facebook

‘A town held hostage’

The night-time ban comes after a Woolworths in Alice Springs was forced into lockdown when a 13-year-old boy reportedly entered waving a machete.

An image of the incident, also shared to the Action for Alice Facebook page, shows Alice Springs Woolworths with its roller door entry shuttered as shoppers were directed towards a smaller side entry.

“A town held hostage. Woolworths fully operational but with doors closed. People shopping are exiting via the entry,” the image caption reads.

Inside the store, chemicals which can be used as makeshift drugs – including deodorant, mouthwash and hand sanitiser – are stored in locked boxes, out of the reach of young community members, Mr Clark said.

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