NT violence video by Spanian slammed by Eva Lawler

A viral video which explored Palmerston’s ‘hood’ culture has been bemoaned by the Chief Minister and Opposition Leader alike. Read what they said.

Eva Lawler and Lia Finocchiaro have given their verdict on the viral video which brought Palmerston’s “hood” culture to the nation’s attention.

On Tuesday, Sydney-based influencer Anthony Lees uploaded a video focused on Palmerston’s “violent assault rate”.

The Chief Minister and Opposition Leader represent the electorates of Drysdale and Spillett respectively – with both located in Palmerston.

Ms Lawler said the area had been “unfairly portrayed” by the video.

“Palmerston and the residents of Palmerston have been unfairly portrayed in this video,” she said.

“The vast majority of people who live in Palmerston are wonderful families, young people, business owners and community members who contribute to building a welcoming and thriving city.”

Influencer Spanian toured Palmerston NT to learn more of the Top End area's "hood" scene.

Ms Lawler maintained Palmerston had “outstanding” programs available for young people in the area.

“The Territory Labor government, City of Palmerston and non-government organisations have worked very hard to create a positive network of programs aimed at educating and supporting young people, including the new co-responder model which helps at risk-youths get the care and support they need,” she said.

“Palmerston has outstanding programs in place to support the young people in our community, such as the Youth Drop In Centre, Aunties Place, PARBA Youth Drop In Sports, Level Up Gaming.

“As well there are quality educational options for disengaged students such as the Palmerston Flexible Learning Centre and the Palmerston Skill Centre.”

Ms Finocchiaro said the viral video was evidence of the Territory making headlines for “the wrong reason”.

“Tourism (slumped) in the middle of this year and now we’ve got more information being spread right around the country about the Territory being an unsafe place to live, work and invest (in),” she said.

“This doesn’t bode well for certainty, it doesn’t help us grow our economy, it doesn’t help us have a strong tourism industry and, ultimately, this is reputational damage that costs our economy and our society millions of dollar each year.”

The viral video was viewed 275,000 times within 36 hours of its release.