EXCLUSIVE
The mayor of Alice Springs says he will fly 2,550 kilometers to Canberra to tell the Prime Minister he is failing desperate residents if Anthony Albanese refuses to visit the riot-hit city.
Mayor Matt Paterson spoke to Daily Mail Australia on Thursday after the first night of an emergency curfew for young people in the outback city.
It followed terrifying images of locals barricaded inside Todd Tavern and “fearing for their lives” as a mob of around 70 rioters attacked the pub.
The terrifying mob desperately tried to force their way through glass doors and windows with stones, bricks and flying kicks while carrying crowbars and axes.
Patterson said Albanese’s visit to the city a year ago, where he spent about four hours 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 Australia.
‘Before making decisions in Canberra or Darwin, they should come here and consider the unintended consequences.
“And if the Prime Minister doesn’t want to come here, I will be more than happy to go to Canberra to speak to the Prime Minister.”
Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson says he will fly 2,550 kilometers to Canberra to tell the Prime Minister he is failing desperate residents if Anthony Albanese refuses to visit the riot-hit city.
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 the people who were barricaded, they feared for their lives.
‘The premises that were attacked are 300 meters from a preschool and primary school.
‘It was happening at school pick-up time. That is scary and not acceptable.
‘“That behavior has to stop.”
Patterson said the latest outbreak of lawlessness was not far from everyday life in Alice Springs.
“It was the worst we’ve ever seen on Tuesday, but it no longer surprises or shocks us,” he said.
“A lot of the community is very desensitized to what’s going on here, because it’s been going on here for a long time.”
Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler announced an emergency curfew in Alice Springs following horrific images both inside and outside.
Between 6pm and 6am each day, all young people must stay home and off the streets for the next 14 days and an additional 58 police officers will be deployed to restore law and order.
Patterson welcomed 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 ended that things would improve.
Terrifying images emerged on Tuesday of an angry mob attacking an Alice Springs pub as locals barricaded themselves inside.
A mob of about 70 people took to one of Alice Springs’ main streets and attacked the hotel.
Patterson also admitted there were concerns the curfew could only push misconduct out of the CBD and into the city’s suburbs.
“It is necessary to evaluate the situation,” he said of the effectiveness of the curfew.
‘Hopefully, with the additional police, we can see proactive policing in the suburbs as well.
Patterson has now backtracked on his earlier calls for the federal government to take over the Northern Territory in the wake of the new emergency measures.
But he said he didn’t want to rule out that option if it became necessary later.
“What I said is if the Northern Territory government can’t keep us safe then they need to stand down themselves and have the federal government step in,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
“We are not the only place in the Territory that suffers from crime, which is why I have said we need external resources.”
The additional officers coming to Alice were being pulled away from other duties, he said.
“Ultimately, that’s not my decision,” he added. “That is a decision of the Chief Minister and the Commissioner of Police.”
Albanese has resisted calls to visit Alice Springs again to address the crisis after a whirlwind trip in January 2023.
He has not committed to returning to the city after opposition leader Peter Dutton asked him in Parliament if he would return after Tuesday’s riots, which have made headlines around the world.
Instead, he said he had brought the entire cabinet to the Northern Territory “last week”.
Inside Todd Tavern, a man was forced to hold the glass doors closed with his foot as the attackers charged toward them.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler announced an immediate curfew for Alice youth that began on Thursday night.
“We had ministers in Alice Springs, in Catherine and also in the remote Northern Territory, and I visited a remote community to commit $4 billion to fix housing in remote communities,” he said.
But NT National Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price accused Prime Minister and Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney of conducting the pop-up visit as a public relations stunt.
“The Prime Minister had gone to his community to make a funding announcement,” Senator Price told Sky News on Wednesday night.
‘But the community wanted to talk to the minister and the prime minister about their problems. They were promised they would have that conversation.
‘They (Mr Albanese and Ms Burney) flew in, did the press conference and took off, and that community is reeling from it.
“They need to spend real time and listen to people on the ground and they’re just not doing it.”
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says the money being spent in Alice Springs is not producing results and an audit is needed.