The declaration of a two-week youth curfew in Alice Springs to curb crime and antisocial behaviour has been described as a "circuit-breaker" by some, and a "punitive", "knee-jerk" response by others.
But one thing locals, front-line organisations, police and government agree on is the need to focus on medium and long-term solutions to tackle the town's social issues.
Alice Springs community groups have said the key to reducing crime in the troubled outback town lies in giving young people a sense of purpose.
Arrernte women Sylvia Neale and Elaine Peckham are members of the Strong Grandmothers Group from the Central Desert Region — a group that patrols the streets of Alice Springs at night talking to children who have nowhere to go.
Both women have lived through countless government promises, fly-in political visits and a policy that still hurts them to this day — the Northern Territory Emergency Response, commonly known as "the intervention".
The grandmothers group has significantly scaled back its work from night patrols to providing meals to children across Alice Springs.
Ms Neale said she worried on a local and national scale the country was failing to see the humanity and opportunity in at-risk children.
"Those kids are amazing, intelligent kids, they just need to be given a chance," she said.
Both feel too tired to continue asking for community-led groups to be able to take carriage of service delivery.
They suggested providing unused space for their organisation to reconvene and coordinate support that may provide the impetus for sustained work to support at-risk children.
"You cannot sustain that [community work] unless you have the structure and infrastructure to make it work," Ms Neale said.
Ms Peckham, now in her 70s, has repeatedly called for on-country programs as an alternative to custody.
She said it was often spoken about by governments, but rarely materialised.
"Kids on country, not in jail, is just falling on deaf ears to this government," Ms Peckham said.
'A little therapy place'
The founder of Arrernte Boxing Club, Jason Lord, knows what it's like to be a young and disillusioned teenager.
"I've done my fair share of stealing cars and fighting and doing dumb stuff, smashing windows and so forth," Mr Lord said.
He said throwing on a pair of boxing gloves gave him the impetus to steer away from a path of ruin.
With the help of some inspirational mentors, in 2019 he opened his own boxing academy, where he could focus on supporting troubled young people in the community.
"To me it's simple. It's another little hospital, it's a little therapy place where people are getting a lot of help," he said.
Mr Lord, an Arrernte man and traditional owner for Alice Springs, said the boxing ring creates a life-changing environment.
"Kids comes through the door, different backgrounds, they're all different, they're not all the same," he said.
"Some need a bit more friendship, some need a bit more attention."
'This is all I got'
The Arrernte Boxing Club doesn't keep data or track outcomes for its participants, but there are several success stories.
Fifteen-year-old Arnold Baird said he used to harbour anger in himself and at the world.
"I would be just angry all the time, just a born fighter," he said.
"I'm not the best at school ... I'm not the best that at home ... I'm just not the best kid.
"But without boxing I don't know what I'd be doing."
In the ring, Arnold is better known as Bomber. He moves eloquently, striking with precision.
"This is all I got," he said.
Another boxer at the gym, 14-year-old Iggy Dooley, has also benefited from boxing.
"I wagged and I got sent to my aunt's house. They sent me home. I got in big trouble and I couldn't go to a boxing for the rest of the week," he said.
"[I was] angry, disappointed in myself. I didn't do that again.".
Both Arnold and Iggy said they had friends in school losing their way who could benefit from what boxing had to offer.
'There is never one answer'
Arrernte-Luritja woman Catherine Liddle — the chief executive of SNAICC, the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children — said there was no silver bullet solution.
"There is never one answer," Ms Liddle said.
"What we're hearing on the ground from our communities is that we need a circuit breaker, two weeks [to] have a chat to people on the ground."
Ms Liddle said now was the time for the government to talk to services on the ground, including police, social services, health services and "everyone that has skin in the game", especially children.
"More importantly it includes children that are affected, families that are affected and the broader community who live and breathe this every single day," she said.
"This is not about one knee-jerk response, this isn't about one event, this is about the 100 little things can be done to improve the situation immediately."
Loading...Last year the federal government announced a $250 million package for Alice Springs, aimed at addressing the complex, entrenched social challenges facing the region.
Last month Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a $4 billion remote housing package to build 2,700 homes over 10 years.
The Albanese government also announced $737 million for NT public schools, with the NT government also tipping in $350 million to bring the NT's public school system up to 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) by 2029.
Ms Liddle said while there was an "incredible increase" in funding for housing and education, change would take time.
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2024-03-31 01:10:59Z
CBMiXmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDI0LTAzLTMxL2FsaWNlLXNwcmluZ3MtbnQteW91dGgtY3VyZmV3LXdpZGVyLXNvbHV0aW9ucy8xMDM2NDkzMTLSAShodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTAzNjQ5MzEy
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