Alice Springs Town Council approves youth programs to reduce anti-social behaviour

SEVERAL council initiatives have been approvd to engage youths over the summer break and reduce anti-social behaviour

Alice Springs Town Council has approved several initiatives that will try to reduce anti-social behaviour from the town’s youngsters

THE Alice Springs Town Council (ASTC) has approved several initiatives that will try to reduce anti-social behaviour from the town’s youngsters, but voted down a move to inject $500,000 into a home security initiative for residential properties.

THE Alice Springs Town Council (ASTC) has approved several initiatives that will try to reduce anti-social behaviour from the town’s youngsters, but voted down a move to inject $500,000 into a home security initiative for residential properties.

ASTC considered recommendations from Director of Community Development Kim Sutton and Manager of Community and Cultural Development Jeanette Shepherd to expand financial and infrastructure resources for youth programs over the summer holidays.

Among the recommendations was that council approve $125,000 to scope and design a new youth space, which will be used by council and other providers to deliver programs, and expand “youth programs and materials” into 2021.

There was broad support for the initiatives, though Councillors Eli Melky, Jamie de Brenni and Jimmy Cocking raised concerns about how far into the future council should commit to funding them without review.

Councillors Marli Banks and Catherine Satour moved to support the initiatives subject to them being reviewed in February after the summer holidays.

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The Alice Springs Town Council also considered a recommendation that $500,000 be reallocated from a COVID-19 reserve to fund the Protect Alice program, a home security initiative.

Director of Corporate Services Sabine Taylor tabled a preliminary report on the initiative that recommended reallocating the funds, and also that the officers scoping the initiative be approved to continue their investigation into how ASTC can partner with various organisations, including Neighbourhood Watch NT and Victims of Crime NT, to improve home security.

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The latter recommendation was approved by council while the funding reallocation was shot down on the basis an exact dollar amount shouldn’t be approved until the officers return a detailed report.