The Northern Territory has the highest homicide rate in Australia

IT HAS perfect sunsets, tropical weather and a laid-back lifestyle. But behind that idyllic veneer, too many people are dying.

DARWIN - GATEWAY TO ASIA .. 18 Aerial Darwin City. Photo Tourism Nt.

IT IS known for its unique landscape, laid-back larrikin lifestyle and being home to one of Australia’s most iconic landmarks, Uluru.

But the Northern Territory also has a less appealing distinction — being the homicide capital of Australia.

Statistics from the Australian Institute of Criminology show the Top End has had the highest homicide rate for the past decade - and here’s why.

Beneath the aesthetics are pockets of extreme poverty, homelessness, alcohol-fuelled violence and family violence — all of which, experts say, contribute to the territory’s high rate of murder and manslaughter.

According to the latest AIC figures, the homicide rate for the NT was 5.5 per 100,000 people. This is five times the national rate and almost four times the second highest state, Western Australia, which had a homicide rate of 1.4 per 100,000.

News.com.au examined 10 years of data from the institute’s National Homicide Monitoring Program and found the NT consistently had a higher rate for murder and manslaughter than anywhere else in Australia. In 2001-02, the NT’s rate was almost six times higher than the national average, 11.5 compared to 1.9. By 2011-12 it had improved significantly to 5.5, but was still higher than the rest of the country.

One Mile Dam is walking distance from the Darwin CBD, but living conditions are appalling. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Even though alcohol is banned within One Mile Dam, violence is still common. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

According to Matthew Willis, research officer from the AIC, the number of actual murders and manslaughters in the Northern Territory is far lower than bigger states such as NSW or Victoria, which both have larger populations. But when those numbers are calculated per (100,000) head of population, the statistics are staggering. Even when compared to smaller states such as Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia, the NT is high. All those states sit around the 1 to 1.4 rate.

So why does the Top End have a higher rate?

“It’s a combination of factors,” Mr Willis said. “Where you have a relatively small number of homicides within the context of a small population, it will give you a very high rate.

“Those rates are genuine as much as they do represent that proportion of population.

“But there are also higher levels of violence and, in particular, the higher rate of alcohol-related violence particularly in indigenous communities in the NT.

“The Northern Territory also has higher rates of imprisonment, especially among the indigenous population. And the rates of family violence among indigenous people is much higher than non-indigenous.

“I think it all stems from overall issues of disadvantage, and living in such difficult circumstances.

“It’s really hard for the Territory to provide community-based services — and it’s one of the issues for people living out in remote communities. There’s not a lot in the way of services particularly to address offending behaviours and to help for people trying to escape from family violence.”

Mr Willis said in recent years there appeared to be higher concentration of homicides in the Alice Springs area.

He attributed this to the region being a central point for outer-lying communities.

“When you end up with people from different communities coming together … you get those sort of tensions and issues that come with people being crowded together, especially when they are in situations where they are drinking,” he added.

Many people from Mutitjulu, an indigenous community next to Uluru have moved to Alice Springs.

NT Criminal Lawyers Association president Russell Goldflam put the Top End’s longstanding high homicide rate down to several factors, but mainly alcohol.

“Alcohol is a common factor but it’s not the only driver of violence,” said the criminal defence lawyer, who is also a passionate advocate for alcohol reform. “Other things that contribute to this are gross levels of poverty, poor housing and poor education and unemployment — all the underlying social issues.

“There is also a very high incidence of domestic violence homicides in the NT. Nationally, there are about the same number of homicides committed against close family members as there are against others. In the NT, there are more than twice as many such homicides.”

Susan Crane, executive officer from Dawn House, a domestic violence counselling service in the NT, said almost two thirds (61 per cent) of assaults recorded in the NT at the end of August last year were related to domestic violence. Of those, more than half (58 per cent) involved alcohol.

She said she thought there was a direct correlation between alcohol consumption, assaults and family violence in the NT.

“In the Northern Territory, there is an average of 83 domestic-violence-related assaults recorded by police each week,” she added.

According to the most recent data from the AIC, 39 per cent of all homicides in Australia were domestic violence-related.

And more than two-thirds of all homicides in the Northern Territory (67 per cent) were classified as domestic.

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