NT violence fuelled by coronavirus pandemic welfare, says Michael Gunner

Alcohol-fuelled vio­lence has risen sharply in the Northern Territory during the pandemic.

NT Police Commander Matthew Hollamby. Picture: Che Chorley

Alcohol-fuelled and domestic vio­lence has risen sharply in the Northern Territory during the pandemic, with the numbers of recorded assaults up 30 to 50 per cent in the second half of last year.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the increases were linked to higher welfare pay­ments and looser mutual-obligation requirements, which he believed had ­facilitated travel and stoked problem drinking.

But movement restrictions and more generous allowances may have contributed to a plunge in property crime to 20-year lows.

A 46-year-old anti-domestic violence campaigner and founding member of the Tangentyere Women’s Family Safety Group was killed last week when a man she knew allegedly ran her down in a hospital car park. He has been charged with murder.

Mr Gunner said, without commenting on individual cases, the reasons perpetrators gave for physical violence were often “remarkably small” and inexcusable.

“If you assault someone, it’s not anyone else’s fault; it’s your fault, and you should face the consequences,” he said.

He said higher welfare payments and looser work-for-the-dole requirements had “made sure people have kept jobs, paid bills, stayed fed and had a roof over their head” in the pandemic, while also noting the side effects.

“This has led to more money and more mobility within the Territory. It has led to fewer ­people living in poverty and greater purchasing of fresh … better quality food. It has also seen a rise in itinerancy in our bigger cities and towns and the violence that sadly goes too often with unregulated drinking,” he said.

NT Police Commander Matthew Hollamby said alcohol was a key factor in many incidents. “There has been more money around during the COVID-19 ­period, and people have been at home more often,” he said.

“That has contributed to an increase in domestic ­violence and alcohol-related assaults.”

According to police crime figures, the NT recorded fewer property crimes in April, May, June, July and August than in any equivalent month in the preceding five years, but from June until November (the most recent month for which data was available) there were more assaults ­recorded than in any equivalent month since at least 2014.

Compared with historical ­averages, the number of recorded violent offences was up 20–30 per cent from July onwards Territory-wide and more than 50 per cent in some areas. In September, assaults were up more than 50 per cent and the numbers of alcohol and domestic violence-related ­assaults up about 30 per cent.

NT Urban Housing Minister Kate Worden told ABC local radio last week that there was “an awful lot of people in our major towns” and blamed overcrowding for an increase in violence.

“That’s what has happened with the JobSeeker money — people have had their income doubled, and they’ve moved in,” she said. “People are moving ­fluidly between remote and urban (communities).”

The federal government has operated a controversial welfare quarantine scheme known as the Basics Card in the NT since 2007, which now covers 22,000 people.

A spokesman for Social Ser­vices Minister Anne Ruston said: “Taxpayers are happy to support Australians who have fallen on tough times but expect welfare payments are spent on essential items.”