Australia’s Outback Crime Capital Continues to Suffer
Alice Springs (Mparntwe) is a vibrant town located in the heart of Australia’s Northern Territory. It’s known for its stunning red desert landscapes, rich Indigenous culture, and as a gateway to iconic outback attractions like Uluru / Ayers Rock and Kings Canyon. The town offers a unique blend of natural beauty, cultural heritage, and adventure, making it a fascinating destination for visitors. An Oasis in Australia’s Red Centre, or at least, that’s what I read off the tourist brochure. Now for the reality.
Late last month, a man carrying a sword or machete attended the Alice Springs casino after being evicted from the venue. Don’t worry, police only took five days to respond, presumably being inundated with other matters, such as…
“Baby left with fractured skull after alleged NT home invasion.”
In another shocking event, a 22-year-old man allegedly broke into a woman’s house, did something while she slept, with the criminality only stopping when the victim woke up during the assault and screamed, causing the man to flee the scene.
Last week, former Administrator of the Northern Territory and musician Ted Egan woke to the sounds of his wife screaming and found two young intruders in his Alice Springs home. He chased them through the living room, yelling at them using local Indigenous languages.
In another incident also last week, three teenage boys used a stolen car to approach the home of a 57-year-old man, and used bodily force, a baseball bat and a tomahawk, to break through the front door and demanded alcohol, before the man relented and gave them a bottle of whisky.
Of course, these are just the serious crimes that have been reported in Alice Springs in just the last seven days. There’s too many to count if I tried to list the number of crimes that occurred this year, for example.
How do you think the ABC reported on all of this? Well, of course, they focused on identity politics. “Alice Springs women, vulnerable residents say there's 'a lot of fear' over violent crime”. “Women in Alice Springs say they feel increasingly vulnerable after a string of violent incidents in the town in recent weeks.” Yes, I agree, crime against women is wrong. But isn’t crime against babies also wrong? Crime against old men? Crime against anybody is wrong, is it not? Why focus on women? Because the ABC can’t help themselves. They have to play identity politics.
Former Alice Springs deputy mayor Murray Stewart, has illegally purchased himself some capsicum spray and a taser in order to protect himself. “I understand they’re illegal, but I would rather a day in court than to be dead.” Fair enough.
On the outskirts of Alice Springs, Aboriginal stockman Damien Kunoth and his brother Warren run the All Rounder Program, an initiative that works with young men in the community and youth detention centre teaching them traditional stockmen skills. Good on them for trying to fix this. We need more men like these guys.
Federal Labor Party member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour, who lives in Alice Springs herself and has experienced a break-in before, described the situation as complete anarchy.
Senator for the Northern Territory Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who also lives and was raised in Alice Springs, in a recent interview about the recent violence, said, “I reported this strange behaviour of a vehicle full of young men on my street last night. You sort of think, is my house going to be next? Am I going to be the next home invasion? There are times when I've called the police and I've stated who I am, because I know that being a senator, I can get a sort of instant reaction, but my concern is for regular community members who don't have have a title where they can get a swifter response. We should not have to feel this way in my town, the town that I've grown up in. We can't continue to look at this situation like it's a racial thing, like it's a black and white thing, and treating one group of people differently to another in our society. An offender is an offender, and needs to be treated as such.”
She’s right. We have to treat everybody equally. If you commit the crime, you have to do the time. We can’t keep letting people who’ve been charged with hundreds of offences out on bail. 35 times, was it? And then we foolishly expect them to not go around bashing babies on the head? This never-ending cycle of violence that’s plagued Alice Springs needs to stop.
MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn