Darren Clark’s Action for Alice Facebook page to ‘take a break’

Darren Clark says he ‘can no longer lead the charge’ on Action for Alice, a Facebook page that has drawn national attention for its uncensored coverage on Alice Springs crises.

The founder of a Facebook page that has drawn national attention for its uncensored coverage of the Alice Springs crises has revealed he is stepping away from the platform.

Darren Clark, the figure behind Action for Alice 2020, said on Sunday he would “take a break” from all social media platforms to focus on his health and wellbeing.

The statement marks the second post made after Mr Clark on Tuesday published an apology to Police Minister Kate Worden, retracting statement he had attributed to the politician in April.

Ms Worden retained legal counsel regarding a post she said held “untrue claims”, which has since been deleted.

Darren Clark was regularly interviewed by national media outlets amid the peak of Alice Spring’s crime crisis in earlier this year. Picture: Sky News

The page has more than 70,000 followers while national news outlets regularly broadcast Mr Clark’s outcries during the height of the town’s crime crisis earlier this year.

Action for Alice was also hit with a 28-day Facebook ban for bullying and harassment in February.

At the time Mr Clark accused the government of being behind reports to Meta in a bid “to stop the truth”.

In the post made on Sunday afternoon Mr Clark, who also owns NT Bakery, said he could “no longer lead the charge full time”.

“I find myself with health and personal issues,” he said.

“Working 70 hours plus a week and then spending almost every other waking minute on the page was my choice but it is unsustainable.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s press conference in April with Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was held at Mr Clark’s business NT Bakery. Picture: Liam Mendes / The Australian

“I need to have my life back and find my balance for my own wellbeing.”

Mr Clark thanked those who shared their concerns as he said the government initially “denied that there was an issue” in the Central Australian town.

“The fact that we had five to eight-year-old children on the streets at 2am seeking the safety of the night on the streets as opposed to a family home highlighted issues that needed to be exposed and acted upon,” he said.

“I really wanted to help and save the kids – this was not the town we had all come to love.

“The fact that Alice Springs and the issues we all faced became a national issue forced a degree of action and future commitment and planning to try and turn the tide.

“I thank all of you for your help and support in getting us to that point.”

Mr Clark said tips sent to the page would be recorded through the indefinite break.