The Chief Minister and Police Commissioner appeared to change their stories over why the “emergency situation” was declared for Alice Springs last week, including the youth curfew, following accusations by the union representing police that the emergency order is unlawful.
A motorcyclist was charged for driving 180km/h through Adelaide River and an alleged uninsured drug-head was picked up on Easter Sunday, after swerving at cars in a Nightcliff roundabout while allegedly high and with “illicit substances” in his possession, police said, as part of the NT Police’s high-visibility long weekend traffic blitz from Darwin through Alice Springs.
UPDATED: Chief Minister Eva Lawler has declared a youth curfew as part of an “emergency situation” for Alice Springs after a day of rioting in the troubled town, pledging to send more police officers to restore order over the next 14 days.
Federal politicians on all sides have called for action to help under siege Alice Springs on Wednesday, with Labor Member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour pledging to get the federal Attorney-General to speak with the NT Police Commissioner about possible AFP assistance, while federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton asked the Prime Minister when he would go back to Alice Springs to help restore order.
Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson has called for the Lawler Government to hand responsibility for Alice Springs over to the federal government if it cannot keep residents safe, and once again called for Australian Federal Police or the Australian Army to be brought in, after what he said was the scariest thing he had ever witnessed on the streets on Tuesday.
A 32-year-old man has been arrested over a fatal alleged hit-and-run in Alice Springs, which is being treated as a death in custody, NT Police said.
Low-cost carrier Airnorth is the third airline to expand its network in the NT by launching a new Alice Springs to Perth route under the NT Government’s Aviation Attraction Scheme, which aims to attract new players into the local aviation market.
Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson wants an audit of all youth social service providers in Alice Springs to find out if these organisations’ work helps reduce crime in the town.
Sites for three of the four proposed residential youth justice facilities in Darwin, Tennant Creek, and Alice Springs have been selected, with a fourth facility being planned for the Katherine region, the Chief Minister said, while also announcing the people who will lead the government’s Youth Justice Review.
The Flickerfest short film festival is returning to the Northern Territory from this month with Australian, international and short films.
There will be no disciplinary action taken against senior police officers who gave evidence to the coroner denying the TRG’s Nooguda award was racist until an investigation into the matter is complete, Police Commissioner Michael Murphy has said, which followed the lifting of a suppression order on the publication of certificates handed out with the award, including one that had an Aboriginal flag backdrop.
Two 18-year-old males have been charged in connection to a fatal crash in a stolen vehicle that occurred on Railway Terrace, Alice Springs last week, which killed another 18-year-old male in an incident that saw multiple youths leave the teen to die with no assistance after the crash.
