Alice Springs council will seek the help of other local governments in exploring legal action against Gunner govt

ALICE Springs town council will gauge the interest of other councils in launching legal action against the Gunner Government for its perceived failure to adequately deal with youth crime

ALICE Springs town council will seek the support of other local councils around the Territory in exploring legal action against the Gunner Government for its perceived failure to adequately deal with youth crime.

The motion was unanimously agreed to at Tuesday night’s council meeting, following a heated debate about whether or not suing the Northern Territory was a desirable option.

Councillor Eli Melky. Photo: EMMA MURRAY

Councillor Eli Melky, a likely mayoral candidate at the upcoming August election, kickstarted the conversation by suggesting Alice Springs town council could go it alone in seeking legal advice on possible action against the Gunner Government.

“I feel that we need to take a very important and large step and that is for us to actually go to the next level, and seek legal advice as to our ability, as a council, to ensure the Northern Territory government exercise its power and its due diligence and obligation to our community and make sure it is cutting crime, supporting our police and putting victims first,” Mr Melky said.

He was, at first, rebuffed by Councillor Jimmy Cocking and Councillor Jamie de Brenni.

Mr de Brenni and Mr Cocking were concerned about starting council down a path that could ultimately lead to a lawsuit that could be both costly and destructive to council’s working relationship with the government.

“I feel like I’ve stepped into the United States, right now,” Mr Cocking said.

“Let’s slap a lawsuit on higher levels of government and get the lawyers involved, that’s pretty much the American way. The reality is that that system doesn’t necessarily produce better results.”

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Council CEO Robert Jennings was also sceptical.

“The motion is quite out there — it’s hard to know where to start,” Mr Jennings said.

“As officers, we’re able to achieve great things through collaboration ... I can’t see a lot of success coming out of this, potentially.”

However, Councillor Marli Banks spoke in favour of Mr Melky’s proposal on the basis that she thought it might be council’s last and only resort.

Councillor Marli Banks spoke in favour of the proposal

“I don’t think there is any goodwill left between the Northern Territory Government and this council,” Ms Banks explained.

But Chief Minister Michael Gunner has said his government is keen to collaborate.

“The community want politicians at all levels to do more and fight less – and this is true in Alice more than most places right now,” Mr Gunner said.

“I recognise that there are people who don’t feel safe – and everyone deserves to feel safe, and we must always do more to keep people safe.

“We have constructive and collaborative relationships with many NT councils and are happy and willing to work with all of them.”

On Tuesday, Mr Gunner unveiled a raft of legislative changes, including bail reform, to combat crime across the Territory.

During the debate, Deputy Mayor Jacinta Price suggested that elected members of council should physically go to Darwin and force a meeting with cabinet.

This idea struck a chord with Mr de Brenni who offered to arrange a bus up to Darwin for councillors, with the option of picking up the Tennant Creek and Katherine mayors along the way.

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After some more to and fro, Mr Melky’s original proposal was amended.

Ultimately, elected members unanimously agreed that they would send a delegate to the 2021 general meeting of the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory to discuss with other councillors whether they would be interested in collaboratively exploring legal action against the Gunner government.

LGANT will meet on April 22.