The minister for Indigenous Australians and the Northern Territory's police minister have accused Peter Dutton of mischaracterising the situation in Alice Springs for political advantage.
The federal opposition leader is currently in Alice Springs, having flown in on Wednesday for a two-day visit that has so far been focused on crime in the town.
During his visit, Mr Dutton repeated claims that sexual abuse was occurring around Alice Springs and not being addressed.
"[Police and social workers] have kids taking them back into homes where they've been sexually assaulted and six-year-olds grabbing onto their legs begging not to be left there," Mr Dutton said.
"I don't know what the academics are saying. I don't know what the bureaucrats are saying. I can tell you though what the human experience is on the frontline."
Responding to Mr Dutton's comments, Northern Territory Police Minister Kate Worden said he should report the claims.
"I'll remind Mr Dutton we have mandatory reporting for child sexual abuse in the Northern Territory" she said.
"If Mr Dutton has evidence of these claims that he's made around child sexual abuse in Alice Springs, he needs to come forward."
The chief executive of the secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), Catherine Liddle, said she was "beyond frustrated" with Mr Dutton's comments.
"I'm neither a bureaucrat nor an academic — but I certainly am from Alice Springs, and have lived in Alice Springs for most of my life," she told ABC's The Drum.
"Sexual abuse is a really serious crime, which has a devastating impact on children, families and communities — this is not a political football.
"I'm beyond frustrated, and it's really disappointing that someone in a leadership position can stand up and say the same things over and over again.
"What we definitely have not seen in the evidence, and [in] the data, is an increase in child sexual abuse."
Ms Worden did not comment on exact rate of sexual assaults against children in Alice Springs, but she said that when compared to the number of notifications, "there was a very small number of substantiations".
She also rejected calls from Mr Dutton, which he renewed on Thursday, that the Australian Federal Police members be deployed to Alice Springs to address rates of violence and crime.
"What we've seen over the last couple of days from Peter Dutton in Central Australia is absolutely opportunistic, political game playing, and using the most vulnerable people here in the heart of our nation in Central Australia as a pawn in that game," she said.
"It's quite frankly a dog act."
Dutton, Burney clash on crime situation
Mr Dutton also claimed violent crime in Alice Springs has reverted to the levels it was at earlier this year when the town made national headlines for high crime rates.
Mr Dutton said he found the situation in Alice Springs had not improved since he last visited in October.
"When you move around the community, as we walk the streets talking to people about their own issues, there is a common theme here," he said.
"A lot of people have spoken to us about this curfew that's self-imposed, where they get home and lock themselves in their homes.
"That is a terrible situation and it wouldn't be tolerated in any other part of the country, certainly not in any capital city."
Mr Dutton said urgent action was required to address the situation, and re-iterated calls from earlier this year for Australian Federal Police (AFP) assistance in the town.
"You need to restore law and order. That's the first thing that needs to happen," he said.
Responding to Mr Dutton's comments, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said Alice Springs was being used as a "political means to an end" by the opposition leader.
"I have been to Alice Springs three times [in recent months] and I have had ongoing discussions with people who are running organisations and living in Alice Springs," she said.
"Alice Springs sure has hit the headlines, but I can assure you … the statistics are heading in the right direction in Alice Springs.
"There has been substantial reduction in presentations to the emergency ward and call-outs for domestic violence.
"Dramatic changes, which are not being reflected unfortunately by the use of Alice Springs as a political football that we're seeing right now."
Alice Springs mayor Matt Patterson has raised similar concerns to Mr Dutton, saying crime was so bad that people were leaving Alice Springs "in droves" out of fear for their personal safety and livelihoods.
"People just really feel unsafe in their own homes. Unfortunately, that's just the reality of the situation we face," he told ABC Radio National.
NT Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said not enough was being done to address the issues Alice Springs was facing.
"The reaction from the prime minister's visit last time might have caused a little bit of downtime, in terms of the alcohol restrictions in place, but it hasn't spoken to the issues of the children on our streets, every single night," she said.
In late January the NT government introduced temporary alcohol restrictions in Alice Springs after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese flew into the outback town amid calls for action on perceived high levels of crime.
In the weeks that followed, NT Police reported a drop in offending.
NT Police have been contacted for comment about Mr Dutton and Mr Patterson's claims.
Questions over alcohol restrictions, federal funding
Alice Springs's temporary alcohol restrictions are due to expire at the end of this month, and it is unclear what will happen when they end.
Both industry and Mr Patterson have called for one measure — a takeaway alcohol purchase limit of one transaction per person per day — to remain in place.
Mr Patterson said the temporary alcohol restrictions had led to improvements, including a reduction in hospital admissions, but what would happen once that lapsed was up in the air.
He also said the ongoing issue of youth crime was yet to be addressed.
"Alcohol is one part, and the youth crime and the and the stuff happening with the kids is the other part, and that hasn't been addressed as of yet," he said.
"What we're seeing is children stealing cars, ram-raiding businesses, ram-raiding security cars out of the street, break-and-enters."
Mr Dutton also questioned the status of $250 million in federal government funding announced for Alice Springs earlier this year, saying there was no evidence that money had started to flow.
"Speaking to a lot of operators and those who deliver services on the ground here, their view is that there's still a committee stage going on about where that money will be spent," he said.
Ms Burney, however, said the "governance arrangements for the $250 million are going to be done, and are being done properly".
She also stressed the government would be listening closely to local leaders through the process.
"What Alice Springs can offer is its own solution and we are taking that extremely seriously," she said.
"The best way to get solutions on the ground is not to impose things, as we saw 13 years ago [with the Commonwealth's Northern Territory Intervention], with disastrous outcomes for places like Central Australia.
"The way to support long-term change there is working with the local community, working with the Northern Territory government, and that is precisely what we are doing."
