SYDNEY, July 8 — Australian police today imposed a three-night curfew in the inland tourist city of Alice Springs following several violent incidents, including an alleged assault on four off-duty police officers.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said “significant harm and disturbance” had occurred in Alice Springs in the past 72 hours.
Murphy told reporters the officers were attacked on their way home and it was not immediately clear whether the assailants identified them as police. The curfew will be in place from 10pm to 6am local time.
Under new laws introduced in May, the police commissioner has the power to impose a three-day lockdown to curb violence and can ask the government for an extension.
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“If we believe an extension is necessary, we will provide written reasons why we believe that should happen,” he said.
A two-week youth curfew was imposed in Alice Springs in March after a mass brawl involving 150 people, and community leaders have long identified alcohol abuse as a major factor in the violence.
“The criminal behaviour in Alice Springs over the past few days is unacceptable,” the territory’s Premier Eva Lawler said at a press conference on Monday.
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“The curfew will give police additional powers to assess the situation on the ground in Alice Springs.”
“This is precisely why our government passed the curfew bill in May.”
The remote town of Alice Springs, located about 2,000 kilometres northwest of Sydney in Australia’s vast outback, is the gateway to major tourist attractions including Uluru, the giant red sandstone monolith formerly known as Ayers Rock.
About a fifth of the town’s population is Indigenous Australian, a group that has been historically marginalized since the continent was colonized by Britain in the late 18th century. — Reuters
