A hostile meeting of about 3,000 in Alice Springs on Monday night has exposed deep division in the town, already reeling from a surge in crime and antisocial behaviour.
Alice Springs has become a flashpoint in recent weeks, with an increase in property crime and violence prompting new alcohol restrictions to be imposed.
At a meeting in the central Australian town on Monday night which, according to the NT chief minister’s office, drew thousands of people, some called for a class action against the NT government to recoup losses from the crime wave.
Several attendees told Guardian Australia that people at the meeting had been handed a flyer titled “Save Alice Springs”, calling for “justice” over the NT government’s “negligence” on tackling crime. The flyer also called for a class action against the NT government, saying thousands of ratepayers and businesses in town could be compensated $100,000 each, totalling $1.5bn.
A Central Arrernte man, Declan Furber Gillick, said the mood inside the vast convention centre felt tense.
“It felt hostile to me … it sort of became a real kind of rallying cry for quite divisive rhetoric and for creating a kind of explicit ‘us and them’ divide,” Furber Gillick said. “It was a big room, and it felt scary, I wasn’t expecting that at all.”
Gillick, who has spent most of his life in Alice Springs, said he feared the gathering could stir racism and vigilante attacks.
“We’ve seen young, angry white men fuelled up on alcohol drive around and hurt people before … and I am scared, I wasn’t scared before all this.”
Furber Gillick said that many did not realise the meeting was about calling for action over community concerns and a push to take legal action against the government. When one man spoke out against the proposed legal action, he was “booed off the stage”.
Furber Gillick said he was taken aback by how many people were in attendance and said he was concerned that there did not appear to be any security and or police presence at the meeting.
Alice Springs police have been contacted for comment.
The NT government said no compensation claim has been made to the government.
In a statement, a territory spokesperson said they are committed to investing and revitalising the town and said the government is tackling the complex issues.
“No single solution will solve these issues, it takes hard work and tough decisions, but we will continue to work at it every single day.”
Interventionist bans on alcohol in remote Aboriginal communities came to an end in July, when liquor became legal in some communities for the first time in 15 years, while other communities were able to buy takeaway alcohol without restrictions.
NT police statistics show reported property offences in Alice Springs have jumped by almost 60% over the past 12 months, while assaults increased by 38% and domestic violence assaults doubled.
Last week, the prime minister and territory government politicians announced a suite of new alcohol restrictions and additional funding for a range of measures, including liquor licence compliance and emergency accommodation.
The NT government also appointed a Central Australian regional controller, who is expected to provide an initial report on Wednesday to the prime minister and chief minister about further changes to alcohol restrictions.
But Jerome Cubillo, a spokesperson for Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT and chief executive of the NT Indigenous Business Network, said interventionist approaches had been happening for “such a long time now” but still haven’t yielded any positive results.
“Those investments into policies and programs have got to go directly to Aboriginal organisations,” the Larrakia and Torres Strait Island man from Darwin told Guardian Australia. “We’re connected to our communities. We have our fingers on the pulse. We know what the issues are, it’s time to let us lead the solutions.”
Furber Gillick said he is not denying the issues in the town but is calling for the community to work together to address the challenges the town is facing.
“I don’t think the way forward is calling in the military, developing vigilante groups, and suing the government for not protecting private business interests.
“People are frustrated … but I think if we come together and have hard talks and we have each other’s back we can get through these problems, I think that’s the way forward.”
