Alice Springs residents threaten to bring $1.5 billion class action against NT government over spiralling crime crisis

Alice Springs residents have voiced support for a class action against the Northern Territory for failing to keep violence off the streets.

Thousands of local residents gathered at a community meeting on Monday night to discuss a response to the upsurge in violent crime and alcohol abuse in the outer town.

Organizer Garth Thompson laid the blame for the crisis squarely at the feet of the government, arguing that the “negligence” of the Territory Government meant residents deserved to be compensated in return.

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The business owner said he has consulted with attorneys about the potential class action.

“I am more than proud to stand here and say we, as a community of Alice Springs, are about to sue our government for $1.5 billion in compensation,” Mr Thompson told the thousands of residents said.

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was among the throngs of Alice Springs residents who attended the community meeting.

“I attended this rally yesterday. I got there and it was already full. There were about 3000 locals who turned up. It was probably the biggest community meeting I think has ever been held,” she told Sky News Australia on Tuesday night.

Senator Price said both indigenous and non-indigenous members of the community were “beside themselves” over the recent spate of crime in the town.

“They want their community brought under control and back to its former glory,” she said.

She said residents present at the meeting supported the idea of ​​a class action against the Territory Government.

“Ultimately they decided that they wanted to file a class action against the Northern Territory government for their failure to rid us of crime and all the issues we are currently facing,” she said.

“I think this will be the start of many more meetings to come.”

However, not all residents of Alice Springs were happy with the meeting.

Central Arrernte man Declan Furber Gilick told the ABC he was frustrated and disappointed with the meeting, which he said no Aboriginal elders were invited to speak.

“Those of us who came here for a community meeting ended up listening to 20 to 30 minutes of a local business owner essentially evoking a very emotional story centered around protecting private property,” he said. said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed in the beleaguered Central Australian town last Tuesday to announce a flurry of measures aimed at easing rising crime rates.

The response includes restrictions on the purchase of takeaway alcohol and the appointment of a Central Australian controller to assess appropriate action in the community.

According to data from the Northern Territory Police, in 2022 domestic violence-related assault in Alice Springs rose by 53 per cent and alcohol-related assault by 54 per cent.