Alice Springs council: Kim Hopper moves motion to clarify position on federal administration
A special meeting called to clarify Alice Springs council’s position on federal intervention in the wake of rioting has revealed faultlines between members, after a motion was withdrawn despite the mayor’s protests.
Alice Springs
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Updated, April 3: Significant fractures have emerged at Alice Springs Town Council after a special meeting called to consider a motion that the council categorically reject federal intervention was abandoned just minutes into the meeting.
On Wednesday morning, the council revealed a special meeting had been called to consider a motion from Councillor Kim Hopper.
The motion urged the council to “produce a public statement reassuring the community of our dedication and commitment to the safety and prosperity of our town, including a rejection of the call for federal takeover of the Northern Territory”.
It followed on from Mayor Matt Paterson, speaking the morning after rioting propelled the town’s woes back into the national spotlight, initially appearing to back a federal takeover before walking the statement back, advocating instead for Australian Federal Police resources to be deployed.
Shortly after the meeting was opened, Ms Hopper moved her motion be withdrawn, telling members it had “proven the wrong time to have the conversation”.
She said she “should have considered” her motion more thoroughly.
Mr Patterson then revealed he was voting against the motion.
“This is my opportunity to defend myself and that opportunity has been taken away,” he told the meeting.
“Comments have been made by elected members about me online in the last hour or so.”
It was not immediately clear what comments had been made, or by whom, although the NT News understands it related to a statement that the mayor had been freelancing in his media statements about the crisis, and not consulting his fellow councillors on a unified position.
The motion to withdraw was passed and the meeting concluded just minutes after it was opened.
After the meeting fizzed, Ms Hopper said that if she had her time again, “I would word it differently so it was clear what the intention was – not an attack on the mayor but a clarification for the community”.
The NT News has contacted Mr Paterson for additional comment.
Councillor Mark Coffey, who seconded Ms Hopper’s motion to withdraw, declined to comment.
Another councillor, who was in support of the motion being debated, described the meeting as “awkward and confusing”.
“I was keen to say I don’t think it’s a good idea to throw baby out with the bathwater in terms of [dissolving the] NT government,” they said.
“Rather, we need to get the federal government to support the NT government.”
‘Disquiet’ over Alice council’s riot response leads to urgent meeting
Earlier, April 3: Alice Springs Town Council has called a special meeting to consider a motion from a councillor seeking to clarify the municipality’s stance on federal intervention in the Northern Territory in the wake of social unrest in the Red Centre capital.
The meeting, called for 4pm Wednesday, has been instigated by a motion from Councillor Kim Hopper, seconded by Councillor Eli Melky.
The motion urged the council to “produce a public statement reassuring the community of our dedication and commitment to the safety and prosperity of our town, including a rejection of the call for federal takeover of the Northern Territory”.
Prominent voices including Action for Alice founder Darren Clarke called for the NT Government to dissolve itself in the wake of riotous scenes last Tuesday, when up to 70 people ran amok through the township, laying siege to the Todd Tavern, followed by an armed melee at Hidden Valley involving up to 150 people, dozens of whom were armed.
The morning after the showdown between two warring families propelled Alice Springs back into the national spotlight, Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson appeared to back federal administration of the Territory for a defined period of time, but subsequently walked that back.
He said he acknowledged the “battle scars” of the 2007 intervention and instead advocated for the Australian Federal Police, or police from other state jurisdictions, to be deployed to the township.
Speaking to the NT News on Wednesday, shortly after the special general meeting was called, Ms Hopper said there was “quite a lot of disquiet both among elected members and community since media statements last week”.
“I think we have a responsibility to communicate about some of the calls that have been made,” she said.
Council unifying around a clear position was “definitely not about sanctioning the mayor”.
“It [Mr Paterson’s call for federal administration] was walked back but not in a very public way,” Ms Hopper said.
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