EXCLUSIVE
The mayor of Alice Springs says he’ll fly 2,550km to Canberra to tell the Prime Minister he’s failing desperate residents if Anthony Albanese refuses to visit the riot-hit town.
Mayor Matt Paterson spoke to Daily Mail on Thursday after the first emergency night of curfew for youths in the outback town.
It followed terrifying footage of locals barricaded inside the Todd Tavern and ‘scared for their lives’ as a rampaging mob of about 70 rioters attacked the pub.
They desperateluy tried to smash their way through glass doors and windows with rocks, bricks and flying kicks while carrying crow bars and axes.
Mr Patterson said Mr Albanese’s a fly-in fly-out visit to the town a year ago – where he spent around four hour in meetings – was never enough to understand the underlying problems and witness the end result of decisions made far away.
‘I would welcome anyone from any political party to come to Alice Springs,’ he told Daily Mail .
‘Before they make decisions in Canberra or Darwin, they need to come here and look at the unintended consequences.
‘And if the Prime Minister doesn’t want to come here I am more than happy to go to Canberra to speak to the Prime Minister.’
Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson says he’ll fly 2,550km to Canberra to tell the Prime Minister he’s failing desperate residents if Anthony Albanese refuses to visit the riot-hit town
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has resisted calls to visit the trouble-plagued town of Alice again (pictured during January 2023 visit)
Extra police are still arriving in Alice Springs to enforce the newly-imposed youth curfew and ensure there is no repeat of Tuesday’s terrifying scenes.
‘What happened on Tuesday in Alice Springs is completely unacceptable,’ Mr Patterson said.
‘If you look at those people who were barricaded in, they were scared for their lives.
‘The venue that was attacked is 300 metres from a preschool and primary school.
‘It was happening at school pick-up time. That is scary and it is not acceptable.
‘That behaviour has got to stop.’
Mr Patterson said that the latest outbreak of anarchy was not far from day to day life in Alice Springs.
‘It was the worst thing we have ever seen on Tuesday – but we are not surprised or shocked by it anymore,’ he said.
‘A lot of the community are so desensitised to what happens here, because it has been happening here for such a long time.’
Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler announced an emergency curfew for Alice Springs following the horrifying footage from both inside and outside
Between the hours of 6pm and 6am daily, all youths must stay at home and off the streets for the next 14 days with an additional 58 police being deployed to restore law and order.
Mr Patterson welcomed Ms Lawler for ‘making some pretty big calls’ especially as she was new to the job but said there was ‘no guarantee’ once the 14-day emergency measures were over that things would improve.
Terrifying footage emerged on Tuesday of rampaging mob attacking an Alice Springs pub as locals barricade themselves inside
The rampaging mob of around 70 people took over one of the main roads of Alice Springs as they attacked the hotel
Mr Patterson also admitted there were concerns that the curfew might only push misbehaviour out of the CBD into the town’s suburbs.
‘The situation needs to be assessed,’ he said of how effective the curfew would be.
‘Hopefully with the extra police, we can see some proactive policing in the suburbs as well.
Mr Patterson has now backed down from earlier calls for the federal government to take over the Northern Territory in the wake of the new emergency measures,
But he said he did not want to take that option off the table if it’s later needed.
‘What I said is that if the Northern Territory government can’t keep us safe then they need to remove themselves and the federal government to step in,’ he told Daily Mail .
‘We’re not the only place in the Territory suffering crime, which is why I have said we need outside resources.’
The extra officers coming to Alice were being pulled away from other duties, he said.
‘Ultimately that’s not my decision,’ he added. ‘That’s a decision for the Chief Minister and the Police Commissioner.’
Mr Albanese has resisted calls to visit Alice Springs again to tackle the crisis after a lightning trip in January 2023.
He has made no commitment to return to the town after being asked in Parliament by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton whether he would return following Tuesday’s riot, which has made headlines around the world.
Instead he said had taken the entire cabinet to the Northern Territory ‘just last week’.
Inside the Todd Tavern a man was forced to hold the glass doors shut with his foot as attackers launched themselves at them
Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler announced an immediate curfew on youths for Alice that began on Thursday night
‘We had ministers in Alice Springs, in Catherine, in remote Northern Territory as well and I visited a remote community to commit to $4 billion to fix housing in remote communities,’ he said.
But Nationals NT senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price accused the Prime Minister and Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney of making a fleeting visit as a PR stunt.
‘The Prime Minister had gone to their community to deliver a funding announcement,’ Senator Price told Sky News on Wednesday night.
‘But the community wanted to speak to the minister and the prime minister about their issues. They were promised that they would get that conversation
‘They (Mr Albanese and Ms Burney) flew in, did the media conference and took off and that community is reeling at that.
‘They need to spend real time and listen to people on the ground and they are just not doing that.’
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says money being spent on Alice Springs is not producing outcomes there needs to be an audit