Alice Springs crime spike could be reduced by youth curfew, business leaders say

Surging crime in one Territory town has prompted calls for drastic measures - including a youth curfew. Vote in our poll.

The Territory’s hospitality sector has called for a youth curfew in Alice Springs to try and curb crime and anti-social behaviour in the town.

Hospitality NT chief executive Alex Bruce said a curfew, with the support of the Alice Springs community, should be trialled and rigorously assessed to determine its effectiveness.

However, Chief Minister Natasha Fyles defended the government’s approach to reducing crime and said there was no intention of implementing a curfew.

The proposal has the backing of high-profile Alice Springs independent MLA Robyn Lambley who has championed a youth curfew in Alice Springs for at least 15 years.

She believes it is one of the few strategies that would improve the lives of children in the town and reduce crime.

Mr Bruce’s curfew call is part of a suite of proposals from Hospitality NT to reform the Territory’s alcohol laws and reduce anti-social behaviour and crime.

Hospitality NT also wants reintroduction of Stronger Futures protections and a return of laws making public drinking an offence in the Northern Territory.

Repeal of the alcohol floor price - a minimum cap on the price of grog - is also part of the plan.

“Over the four years since the floor price was introduced, we have seen crime and anti-social behaviour get worse, not better,” Mr Bruce said.

Police on the scene of an alleged aggravated assault on Gap Road in Alice Springs, October 4, 2022. Picture: Jason Walls

“We have seen a drastic shift away from cask wine towards bottled white wine and spirits, particularly Bundy Rum.

“Some are drinking straight from the bottle getting drunker earlier and wreaking havoc through our public places and into private businesses and households.

“More broken glass and more visible, aggressive drunkenness while rules against drinking in publicly prohibited areas have been watered down and the government has walked away from the Stronger Futures protections in remote communities.”

He said soaring inflation will see the floor price continue to rise with zero impact on crime and anti-social behaviour.

“As a community we live through the constant tip toeing around targeting the offenders and troublemakers and instead face calls for yet further measures to be applied across the community as a whole,” Mr Bruce said.

“When it was first proposed, the NT’s floor price was to be a step towards an additional national tax – that’s never happened, leaving Territorians worse off compared to other Australians.

“And with rising CPI we are likely to see the floor price up around $1.50 next year unless the NT Government yields.

“This is a double whack for Territorians – the national excise tax regime already pushes up prices on all alcohol products every six months and with inflation being where it is customers who are going to see further price rises.”

Mr Bruce said the government should end the floor price “experiment” and focus on measures with a proven track-record of effectiveness.

“These include reintroducing Stronger Futures protections and making it an offence to consume alcohol in prohibited public places,” he said.

“There should be a youth curfew pilot in Alice Springs if supported by that community and its effectiveness rigorously assessed.”

Stronger Futures laws, which lapsed earlier this year, placed significant barriers on selling grog in remote communities.

Independent MLA Robyn Lambley. Picture: Che Chorley

Ms Lambley said previous Labor governments had rejected her proposals for a curfew.

“I have been calling for a trial of a curfew for children intermittently since I was an alderman on the Alice Springs Town Council in 2006,” she said.

“I was able to get a motion up on council to refer the idea to the then Clare Martin Labor Government for their consideration.

“Obviously they did not act on the idea of a night-time youth strategy for Alice Springs.

“Under another Labor Government we see crime spike again and a curfew is one of the only strategies I think that would make a difference.

“Getting children off the streets at night is a caring, responsible thing to do which could go a long way to alleviating crime in our town.”

In the latest crime statistics released last month by NT Police, crime in Alice Springs surged in seven out of eight categories including an 18.4 per cent increase in assaults, 22.2 per cent increase in domestic violence and a 19.4 per cent increase in alcohol related assaults.

Ms Fyles said the curfew was not supported as it was not “evidence-based”.

“We are investing in immediate short-term solutions along with long term measures to address the root causes of crime and antisocial behaviour across the Territory,” Ms Fyles said.

“We are putting Territorians first with world-leading alcohol reforms to cut alcohol related harm and antisocial behaviour to make our community safer.

“The minimum unit price is just one component of our reforms and a recent independent review recommended keeping it in place.

“You cannot drink in most public areas, including within 2km of any licensed premises.

“Police still have the powers to tip out and destroy alcohol consumed in these areas, and they still hold the powers to arrest and infringe when behaviour becomes disorderly.

“We do not support a youth curfew as it is not evidence-based.”

Alice Springs Town Council have been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Alice Springs crime spike could be reduced by youth curfew, business leaders say