Central Australian supermarket boss says NT government’s focus on alcohol supply is failing Alice Springs

A Central Australia supermarket boss has called on the NT government to change how it plans to reduce the booze pandemic after being forced to close its doors early because of anti-social behaviour.

The manager of Central Australia’s leading local supermarket chain says the NT government’s focus on restricting alcohol supply instead of demand is contributing to the current crime surge in Alice Springs.

Lhere Artepe Supermarkets chief executive Temba Ncube said the current policy focus on cutting alcohol supply was not working.

Mr Ncube said supply measures, such as floor-prices, tinkering with opening hours and bottle-shop closures, were ineffective in stopping problem drinkers accessing alcohol.

Lhere Artepe Supermarkets chief executive Temba Ncube was a government re-think on problem drinking in the Territory.

Instead, he said measures targeting alcohol demand should be beefed-up, including boosting security at liquor outlets and broadening the banned drinker register.

Mr Ncube’s comments come after IGA’s Flynn Drive bottle-shop was forced to close early on Friday evening because of fighting and anti-social behaviour in front of the store.

IGA store supervisor Kiran Sandhu said it was common for employees to feel unsafe at work and for the bottle-shop to close early when there was anti-social behaviour or violence nearby.

“We need security here because there’s no cops,” she said.

“We’re really scared sometimes and that’s why the manager says just shut the bottle-shop.

“If it’s hectic out the front we shut the shop or if there’s anti-social behaviour we shut down.”

Mr Ncube said the government should widen its focus from restricting the supply of alcohol to trying to curb alcohol demand.

He said shortcomings with the banned drinker register should be addressed including tracking alcohol purchases and broadening the definition of “authorised person“ for banned drinker register referrals.

Eastside IGA in Alice Springs.

“If I present a license at Flynn Drive IGA and buy alcohol, then I can go to Eastside and purchase alcohol and that doesn’t show on the BDR,” Mr Ncube said.

“My staff should be able to say you’ve already bought alcohol tonight so we can’t serve you.

“Problem drinkers will always find somebody who’s not on the register to buy them alcohol.

“We’ve put in security guards but they’re just for our staff, the police are there to protect the people outside our premises.

“The environment we’re operating in is far different to the environment we were operating in this time last year.

“There has been an increase in demand for alcohol and as a responsible business we have to gauge what is happening and develop techniques for managing that.

“The government too knows the demand has increased and we’ve waited for them to come up with solutions for that.”

Police recently revealed they cut the number of additional officers in the town as part of Operation Drina from 45 to 30.

Mr Ncube said the government failed to properly prepare the community for the additional demand for alcohol that came with the end of Stronger Futures in July.

This ended intervention-era alcohol restrictions in many remote communities.

“There was a huge increase in demand in July but all the focus is on supply,” Mr Ncube said.

“In 2013 government bought-back two takeaway licenses and it didn’t change a thing.

“You can reduce supply but unless you concentrate on demand I don’t see any solution.

“We always work with police, who have been fantastic, and the government should treat us not as the cause of the problem buy as partners who can work with them for a solution.

“We’re not selling an illegal product and people that want to enjoy the product reasonably and without causing problems should be able to do that. We want to work with government to make sure those causing problems don’t get access to the alcohol.”

The government has been contacted for comment.

‘WHERE HAVE THOSE POLICE GONE?’: MLA’S ANGER OVER ALICE SPRINGS POLICE CUTS

A Central Australian politician has called for the Territory government to find the 40 additional police it sent to Alice Springs last month.

Namatjira MLA Bill Yan said the government should tell Alice Springs residents where the additional police have gone after the initial success of the deployment, codenamed Operation Drina, in late November.

Commissioner Jamie Chalker announced an additional 40 police officers would be sent to Alice Springs in late November after the town’s CBD had been locked down when hoons stole a vehicle and drove recklessly through the town.

It was the second time in as many weeks police were forced to lock down the CBD as thieves in a stolen vehicle ran amok, and the third erratic driving incident over the same period involving a stolen vehicle.

Police on the scene of an alleged aggravated assault on Gap Road in Alice Springs in October of 2022. Picture: Jason Walls

“The reality of it is police across most parts of northern Australia are dealing with this spate of unlawful vehicle use,” Commissioner Chalker said at the time.

“It’s become a bit of a game, it has become a dangerous game, and one we can’t tolerate as a community.”

Mr Yan said while the surge initially made an impact on crime in the town, a recent spike in criminal activity indicated the flood of police had slowed to a trickle.

Addressing his comments to the NT government, he said its commitment to countering crime in Alice Springs had waned.

“Where are the 40 additional police you promised to Alice Springs last year?” Mr Yan said. “We’ve seen a surge of police into our community and it had an immediate effect on the crime issues our community is facing.

NT Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker in Darwin. Picture: Glenn Campbell

“The visibility of police in the community certainly had an impact as well, but now, where are they? Where have those 40 additional police gone?

“We’re seeing levels of crime that we’ve not seen before, we’re seeing home invasions and people not feeling safe going about their day-to-day business.”

Mr Yan said the presence of additional police on the streets had an immediate impact on crime in the town last November.

“We were seeing police in our streets, we were seeing police in our supermarkets and we were seeing police actively engaging with people in the community and it has a major effect,” he said.

“Queensland, after incidents at the end of last year are doing the same thing, pushing towards more active policing in the community and it’s something that Central Australia needs to see and the Territory needs to see overall.”

His comments follow two unlawful entries in the town on Wednesday.

The first occurred which a resident at a property in Gillen returned home to find three males inside who threatened him with a knife before fleeing with the occupant’s 2008 Subaru Forester.

In the second incident, a resident of a home on Lovegrove Drive woke to find three males in the premises who threatened him with a number of weapons before stealing his Toyota HiLux.

In Alice Springs, the Mparntwe-Alice Springs social order response implementation council issued a statement saying the surge in crime started on December 15, during which time 13 businesses had been broken into, including five licensed premises.

Police Minister Kate Worden distanced herself from the missing officers, saying resource deployment is for the Police Commissioner.

“We know high visibility policing is effective in deterring anti-social behaviour and crime, that’s why we continue to recruit more officers than ever before - something the CLP failed to do when they were in government,” she said.

Member for Namatjira Bill Yan. Picture: Lee Robinson

The government continues to invest in tackling the “root causes” of crime including improved housing, services and local jobs in remote regions.

“We know these are complex issues that we can’t just arrest our way out of,” she said.

NT Police Commander Matt Hollamby acknowledged Operation Drina’s success at curbing town crime and said more than 30 officers are still currently involved with Drina.

“Operation Drina saw an initial surge of 45 members down in Alice Springs to combat crime and anti-social behaviour in November 2022,” Commander Hollamby said.

“Operation Drina has been extended since then and resourcing levels have remained fluid through staffing rotations and providing days off to Drina members.

“As of right now, over 30 members make up Drina and their expertise has greatly assisted in Alice Springs police operations during a period where we traditionally see a spike in property crime.”