Leader of the Opposition, Lia Finocchiaro, says the Gunner Labor Government should be ashamed of its negligent failure to address the Territory’s crime crisis, which was showcased last night in a damning report by Nine’s A Current Affair, focusing on Alice Springs youth crime and weak bail laws.
“The first thing Michael Gunner needs to do is apologise to every Territorian for this failure. The story highlights the raw pain, fear and violation that thousands of Alice Springs residents are feeling daily. They have been totally abandoned by the Gunner Government.
“Those images delivered a knockout blow to our tourism sector. At a time when the COVID- ravaged industry is struggling to re-boot, the Northern Territory can’t afford our image on the national stage to be obliterated. The footage beamed across Australia last night did just that.
“Now the nation has seen more of Alice Springs at night than our own Chief Minister. This isn’t a media beat-up, Chief Minister, this is a real problem that you need to address.
“The level of devastation and embarrassment you have brought to Territorians is immeasurable. You don’t deserve to be our leader.
“Territorians have long been calling on the Gunner Government to stop the revolving door of repeat youth offending. We passed crisis point when it was revealed half of all youths arrested last financial year were on bail and 75 percent of offenders dealt with by Strike Force Viper are repeat offenders. Our police need more powers, more resources and more support.
“There is no leadership from the Chief Minister, so we will lead from Opposition and introduce tougher bail laws next week in parliament.
Shadow Minister for Territory Families, Joshua Burgoyne, says the system isn’t just broken, it has completely collapsed under Labor.