Review into Alice Springs to be handed to the federal and territory government

The Prime Minister wants to see immediate action in Alice Springs ahead of crisis talks on Thursday.

Anthony Albanese has declared there are no “easy, off-the-shelf solutions” to the situation in Alice Springs ahead of crisis talks on Thursday.

Northern Territory chief minister Natasha Fyles will meet with the Prime Minister in Canberra to discuss a joint response to a snap review into alcohol bans in the region.

The review, ordered by the pair during an emergency visit to the outback town last week, will advise on whether the bans should be temporarily reinstated to curb a spike in crime and alcohol-fuelled violence.

Both leaders had yet to receive the report by Central Australian regional controller Dorelle Anderson at the time of their individual press conferences.

Anthony Albanese and Natasha Fyles made the emergency visit to Alice Springs last week. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sabine Haider

Mr Albanese said he wanted to act on the recommendations “as soon as possible” but conceded it might not be possible to make immediate change.

“I want not to delay, but I also understand that some of these issues are intergenerational,” he told reporters in Perth.

“They are not easy, off-the-shelf solutions. It is not just about alcohol. It is about employment, about service delivery, about getting staff on the ground.

“If there are recommendations which suggest immediate action, then I'm certainly up for it.”

Ms Fyles warned against making “knee jerk” announcements in response to the review.

“We want to make sure that as we step forward, that these are thought-out and based on evidence,” she said.

Both leaders indicated the report would eventually be made public, but neither gave a firm time frame on its release.

Mr Albanese said he wanted to act as soon as possible. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sabine Haider

Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson said he wanted to see solutions that go beyond just alcohol restrictions.

“Alcohol’s only one of the problems that we face over here. There’s this whole anti-social behaviour issue and why we have got children on the street,” Mr Paterson said.

Mr Albanese and Ms Fyles visited Alice Springs last week in the wake of the mounting pressure for the federal and territory government to act.

The pair announced a three-month ban on the sale of takeaway alcohol in the region on Monday and Tuesdays, and reduced trading hours on other days.

A limit of one purchase per person per day was also introduced.

An additional $48.8m over two years, including $14.2m for “high visibility policing” including targeting grog running and liquor license compliance, was promised by the Prime Minister during the visit.

Appearing before a parliamentary inquiry into community safety, support services and job opportunities in the Northern Territory, Coles head of public affairs, Adam Fitzgibbons noted the difficulties in stopping grog runners.

“I think it's not as straightforward as just identifying some of the what what others would view as some may view as high volume sales,” he said.

“Given the the nature of the location, particularly where you have tourists coming through, particularly some of the grey nomads who may be stopped stopping in to stock up.

“So it’s not that every transaction that that may appear to be of a high volume is one that would automatically you know, send a flag up as one thing around secondary supply.”

Originally published as Review into Alice Springs to be handed to the federal and territory government