Charge state extension in spotlight as machete, spears used in latest Alice Springs brawl

A heavy NT Police presence has been filmed in Alice Springs after reports of about 50 people involved in a brawl outside Coles in the Alice Springs CBD.

An eyewitness said two groups of 25 people were involved in the fight on Wednesday afternoon.

“I saw a guy attack a woman with a baseball bat,” the witness said.

“People were very scared,” he said.

Coles was locked and its steel shutters lowered. Customers were locked inside the store until the fight was over.”

Video has emerged of a heavy police presence in the CBD after the brawl, with officers seen moving on a large group of people.

Police confirmed that five people were arrested following the “violent disturbances”, with a number of weapons including nulla-nullas, spears, a baseball bat and a machete confiscated.

In a statement, police said officers responded to several reports of a large group fighting with various weapons on Bath Street around 1.15pm.

They said the incident allegedly involved family groups known to each other.

“Several police units including Strike Force Viper, the Canine Operations Unit and members of Operation Southern Traffic attended the incident to engage and restore order. The crowd has been dispersed and there is no threat to public safety,” police said in the statement.

Two women aged 17 and 19 have been arrested along with three magicians aged 21, 26 and 42 and are all expected to be charged with offences, including being armed with an offensive weapon and disorderly conduct in a place public.

Acting Southern Commander Drew Slape praised the quick work of police who responded to the violent scene and apprehended the offenders.

“This type of violent criminal behavior does not occur in our community,” he said.

“We will continue to take action against people who engage in this type of reprehensible behaviour.

“Our dedicated officers have been responding to calls for assistance and we will have additional members working tonight, giving up their free time to keep the residents of Alice Springs safe.”

It comes as the Northern Territory Government continues discussions to “re-evaluate” the current Alice Springs police station, according to the Chief Minister, with the Police Minister confirming a decision will come tomorrow.

Police Minister Brent Potter said he had been in “regular contact” with Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy about the current police station in Alice Springs.

“A decision on whether or not to extend the curfew will be made tomorrow with the most up-to-date information,” he said.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler confirmed the two had discussed whether an extension of the curfew was necessary.

“That decision will be made either later today or tomorrow morning as to whether we need to extend, but the reports we’ve had are that the resort is operating,” she said.

“We know that the restriction is only an interim measure – a release of pressure … it is not a long-term strategy.”

Ms Lawler said it was important that programs were implemented to help change the lives of the “one per cent” of young people, to get them back on track.

“It’s not just about being tough on crime because at some point, those young people who are in detention have to get out, so that’s our government’s job now,” she said.

“Two new youth justice institutions that will focus heavily on employing children to have training pathways to work.”

Shadow Youth Minister Josh Burgoyne called on the Government to keep the community informed amid uncertainty over the curfew.

“The government needs to tell the people of Alice Springs what they intend to do once the three-day period is up. To be continued? Will it be extended to the whole of Alice Springs?” he said.

“During the last curfew, crime was simply pushed into the suburbs and the same thing happened again.

“What we need are tougher laws to deal with criminals and programs to address the root causes of crime. This is what CLP offers.

“Intercepts are a stopgap measure and protect only a small part of our entire community.”