Alice Springs youth curfew extension on the table following violence in the red centre
A youth curfew in Alice Springs that bans children from the town centre at night could be extended throughout the school holidays.
Senior Northern Territory bureaucrats will meet on Monday afternoon to discuss extending the curfew which ends on Wednesday.
The two-week youth curfew was imposed on March 27 when the NT government declared an emergency following escalating violence in the red centre.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The curfew covered the Easter period and the start of the school holidays, but concerns have been raised over the end date.
Catherine Liddle, who runs the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care, and Police Commissioner Michael Murphy will join other stakeholders to decide whether to extend the date until children return to school on April 15.
Chief Minister Eva Lawler said she would take advice from that meeting as to whether to extend the curfew which she described as “an outstanding success”.
Mr Murphy said the curfew had been “really effective”.
“It has driven down crime (and) the impacts on domestic violence as well are noticeable,” he told ABC radio.
He said other stakeholders would also meet on Wednesday to discuss a “transition to more of a community-owned solution” away from policing.
On Friday the NT government pulled in South Australian reinforcements to relieve the pressure in Alice Springs, however, angering the SA police union who say they were left in the dark about the announcement.
SA Police Association president Mark Carroll said he was entirely unaware of the deployment.
Mr Carroll said the union would need to know the new terms and conditions, housing arrangements for those deployed and legal implications if something were to go wrong.
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said he supported sending the 20 extra troops to the desert town.
“Alice Springs has some dire challenges, ones that would be unrecognisable in South Australia, and we’ve got the capacity to help out,” he said on Monday.
“We’re Australians first and South Australians second.”
The officers will be sent in two rotations of ten.
