Territory Labor to introduce stand-alone curfew laws after Alice Springs snap youth curfew

Off the back of a snap youth curfew in Alice Springs after a fiery clash in the CBD, stand-alone curfew laws will be introduced in the Northern Territory to allow lockdowns more flexibly. Find out more.

Stand-alone curfew laws will be introduced in the Northern Territory to allow lockdowns more flexibly, at the discretion of the Police Commissioner.

Police Minister Brent Potter will present the proposed legislation in parliament on Thursday, billing it as a common sense plan to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.

He said the “success” of the snap Alice Springs curfew in March prompted the move, which could be enacted when there was a “threat to public safety”.

“It’s pretty broad, but we can look to the kind of thing that happened in Alice Springs as a benchmark,” Mr Potter said.

“The feedback from police on the ground during the Alice Springs curfew was that having a youth curfew in place helped to reduce offending, and we want to be able to replicate that success in other areas of the Territory.”

Police patrols during the Alice Springs youth curfew, on March 30, 2024. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Mr Potter denied the move to stand-alone laws was a response to concerns expressed by the police union’s that the March curfew could have been illegal.

He said the police would help streamline the process of implementing a curfew, allowing one to be called without meeting the specific set of circumstances required under current laws.

“The fact it’s the Police Commissioner making the call is a separation of powers, so it removes the political element of implementing a curfew,” he said.

The Northern Territory Police Force will administer the new curfew legislation, and any use of a curfew in the Territory will depend on operational assessments made by police.

Formally declaring curfews will require steps to be taken by the Commissioner, and any extensions to a curfew will require the Police Minister’s sign off.

Chief Minister Eva Lawler and Police Minister Brent Potter said stand-alone laws to institute curfew would improve community safety. Picture: Fia Walsh.

Chief Minister Eva Lawler said she did not expect curfews would be used frequently, but said they were an important option for community safety.

“I appreciate these new curfew laws are breaking new ground, so (I) have ensured that there is a special review process to enable the powers to be appropriately scrutinised,” she said.

The laws are expected to pass, with the CLP indicated it will support the Bill.

“The CLP will be supporting the curfew legislation, because it is better than Labor doing nothing,” Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said.

“The CLP maintains that the curfew must come with consequences including referral to boot camps and mandatory community service for those who continually breach it.”

Deputy Chief Minister Chansey Paech, head of Territory Labor’s left wing faction, has previously spoken out strongly against curfews, calling them “madness” and “punitive”.

Mr Potter and Ms Lawler, both in the right faction, denied there was any rift in the cabinet over the party’s recent law and order measures.

“Chansey Paech would be the first person to say the curfew worked in Alice Springs,” Mr Potter said.

Ms Lawler said the parliamentary wing was also united on its gas expansion stance, downplaying anti-fracking comments made by Mr Paech and a party candidate in recent months.

Originally published as Territory Labor to introduce stand-alone curfew laws after Alice Springs snap youth curfew