Scrymgour backs curfew, Price demands focus on ‘underlying issues’

The mooted curfew, currently under consideration by NT authorities, comes after four off-duty police officers were allegedly assaulted and had several personal items stolen by a group of 20 male youths on Sunday.

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price remarked that curfews were “temporary measures.” Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

A second curfew proposed in Alice Springs has received the backing of Labor’s Marion Scrymgour, while Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has instead called for action on domestic and family violence in Indigenous communities.

The mooted curfew, currently under consideration by NT authorities, comes after four off-duty police officers were allegedly assaulted and had several personal items stolen by a group of 20 male youths on Sunday evening.

Speaking on Monday morning, Senator Price, the Opposition’s Indigenous affairs spokesman, remarked that curfews were “temporary measures” and that focus instead needed to be on “underlying” issues facing youth in the territory.

“While I’m sure the town will welcome another curfew, there are underlying issues taking place that we all know about,” Senator Price told the ABC. “The lives of these children need to be looked at much closer … Indigenous children in my community, throughout the Northern Territory, experience the highest rates of domestic and family violence, and child sexual abuse.

“It’s no wonder that we have circumstances where these children come from utter dysfunction, leading to another rise in violent crime in the community.”

Asked if tougher penalties for youth offenders should be considered, Senator Price said such a policy could only be implemented if a child’s circumstances were also considered.

“I think you can’t have one measure without also looking at what the circumstances are of these children and their lives, and that we need to do better as a country so that these vulnerable children don’t end up on the path to crime and incarceration,” she said.

“I would suggest that any state or territory considering applying such sentences should also very seriously consider the other end of the issue, ensuring that these children are protected in the first place, so they don’t end up in a life of crime.” Senator Price’s comments followed the release of the Queensland LNP’s new youth crime policy ahead of the October state election, which, if legislated, would treat children 10 and older as adults for a range of offences, including murder, manslaughter, grievous bodily harm, robbery, and car theft.

While Senator Price reserved her position on a curfew, Ms Scrymgour was more full-throated in her support for the measure.

Federal Senator Marion Scrymgour in Alice Springs. Picture: Liam Mendes / The Australian

Also speaking on Monday, the Lingiari MP said the move would receive her backing if it helped ensure “calm” in what had been described as a “horror 72 hours” in the Red Centre town by Police Minister Brent Potter.

“If the community, the leadership, and if these kids are doing the wrong thing … If this is going to keep calm in Alice Springs, then I support that,” Ms Scrymgour told the ABC.

The curfew is currently under consideration by the NT Police Commissioner, who has the power to declare 72-hour lockdowns in response to “public disorder” under legislation that passed the NT parliament in May. In a separate incident, Northern Territory Police also arrested a 26-year-old man after he allegedly ran over a police officer at a takeaway liquor outlet in Alice Springs following an incident the preceding Friday.