The Territory Labor Government acknowledges the current level of crime and anti-social behaviour in Alice Springs is unacceptable and must improve.
The Territory Government, through the Social Order Response Team (SORT) is driving a coordinated approach across all sectors to improve social order throughout Alice Springs.
The SORT is a collaboration between government, NGOs and community sector groups who will meet regularly to coordinate more efficient and effective use of government and government-funded resources to achieve targeted social order outcomes for children, families, businesses and the wider community.
Since August, the SORT has been working with stakeholders who understand that the problems we face will not be fixed by government alone.
Today the Territory Government announced the public release of the SORT plan for Alice Springs.
The first plan for Alice Springs will see a range of measures to support the community and improve social outcomes, including:
- Improve the coordination of cross-government, business and community patrols, and implement a patrol strategy and patrollers' group communication network;
- Improve safety through the construction of safety zones, improved lighting and general amenity improvement across the CBD;
- Proactively target public drinking and substance abuse that often leads to anti-social behaviour and violence;
- Reinvigorate the 'No School, No Service' campaign by working with business owners to support the re-engagement of young people in school;
- Work across agencies and the NGO sector to target active outreach to illegal campers and rough sleepers;
- Promote collaborative responses to young people by all agencies that have a role with youth; and
- Progress safety in the CBD related to late night venues while exploring after-hours and courtesy bus services (CBD to suburbs).
The culmination of the plan for Alice Springs requires an Implementation Council made up of major stakeholders working together to drive, monitor and adjust the plan locally. Today that group is meeting for the first time.
The Implementation Council is made up of senior representatives from Alice Springs Town Council, Chamber of Commerce, Lhere Artepe, Tourism Central Australia, National Indigenous Australians Agency and Senior Government Officials from NT Police, Territory Families and the Department of the Chief Minister.
Working together collaboratively demonstrates ownership over the problems our community faces, while acknowledging that this cannot be solved by Police alone.
The Territory Government will also be allocating $2.5 million to establish the Safer Territory Grant Program which can be used to fund additional resourcing as determined by the SORT through consultation with community members, businesses and industry representatives.
Work will now commence on a SORT plan for the Darwin Northern Suburbs, followed by plans for other regions.
Quotes attributed to the Minister for Territory Families, Kate Worden:
"The Territory Labor Government is tackling the social issues in Central Australia and the Territory, while also making sure we are keeping the community safe".
"We recognise there are a lot of services and agencies in this space and SORT is a way to better coordinate and resource the areas that need it most.
"It is about improving social order and delivering better safety outcomes for children, families, businesses and by extension, the wider community.
"Locally led solutions by the people who live and work in the communities are the best decisions."
"It's encouraging to see this group meet for the first time. We know that working together is the only way forward for everyone to feel safe and welcome within our communities"
Northern Territory Government
