Robyn Lambley calls for PM’s return to Alice Springs as town grapples with ‘lawlessness’

Robyn Lambley said her home town had ‘descended into a state of lawlessness that we can’t quite get on top of’ ahead of a wild brawl at the Todd Tavern on Tuesday.

Robyn Lambley says Alice Springs ‘just can’t cope’ with crime rates without federal intervention. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Independent Member for Araluen Robyn Lambley has called on Anthony Albanese to return to Alice Springs as the town continues its “descent into a state of lawlessness”.

Speaking prior to a wild riot at the Todd Tavern on Tuesday, March 26, Ms Lambley said “essentially it feels like nothing’s changed” since the Prime Minister’s visit last year.

“I think if you asked most people in Alice Springs they would say it feels like nothing has changed and nothing has improved,” she said.

“I think most of us have changed our behaviour quite dramatically over the last five years, so am I afraid? No, because I have changed my behaviour.

“I rarely go out at night, if I come into town after 2 o’clock in the afternoon, I am very conscious of where I park my car, where I walk, who’s around me, I have become very guarded, very sensible and very conservative in my behaviour and I think most people would say the same.”

Ms Lambley said Mr Albanese should come back and “assess it for himself” as residents “just can’t cope” without federal intervention.

“He could come back now and just be shown around, have a look at what’s improved, he needs to assess what’s happened,” she said.

“We need their support because we are different, we’re not like any other jurisdiction, we’ve got such a vast geographical area, a minuscule population with massive social problems, we can’t manage on our own.

Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson. Picture: Jason Walls

“We’ve always had problems in Alice Springs, we’ve always had a crime problem but it just feels like over the last five years we’ve just descended into a state of lawlessness that we can’t quite get on top of.”

Also speaking before Tuesday’s incident, Mayor Matt Paterson said while alcohol restrictions put in place after Mr Albanese’s visit had made a difference, “nothing has dramatically shifted” in regard to youth crime in particular.

“I don’t usually feel unsafe but a lot of people have underlying concerns about what’s happened to them previously,” he said.

“You can measure the cost of a broken car window or a broken window at your house but you can’t measure what’s happening between people’s ears and a lot of people have, I would say, PTSD about what’s happened to them.

“They’ve woken up with people in their house, in their children’s bedroom or they’ve had their car stolen, all of these sort of things.

“So what happens is when something small happens it just triggers a chain of events for people and that’s the difficulty in Alice Springs at the moment where it doesn’t feel like there’s any light at the end of the tunnel.”

Mr Albanese at the time declined to respond personally but a federal government spokeswoman said it was committed to the effective delivery of its plan for a better, safer future for Central Australian.

She said the commonwealth also recognised “the vital role the NT Government plays in community safety”.

“We are making a record investment of $250 million in Central Australia to help improve community safety, tackle alcohol-related harm and provide more opportunities for young people,” she said.

“The ongoing enforcement of alcohol restrictions by the NT Government is vital to this work.”