The Northern Territory chief minister, Eva Lawler, has announced a two-week curfew for young people will begin on Wednesday night in Alice Springs after violence outside a town pub the previous day.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Lawler said the state of emergency had been declared and those aged under 18 would be subject to the curfew between 6pm and 6am.
More than 50 additional police and liquor inspectors will be deployed in the town after a series of violent clashes following the commemoration of the death of a teenager.
“We want people in Alice Springs to be able to walk down the street, feel safe, be able to go to the shopping centre, pick up their kids from school and not be concerned about their own safety,” Lawler said.
“If someone under 18 years old is in the CBD past 6pm and before 6am without a valid reason they will be taken home or to a safe place.”
The curfew, which was welcomed by the federal government, comes after chaos descended on the town on Tuesday afternoon, when up to 70 people attacked a local pub, the Todd Tavern. The Northern Territory police commissioner, Michael Murphy, alleged some of the violence was related to the death of an 18-year-old man in a car accident this month.
The 18-year-old died on 8 March when an allegedly stolen car rolled over in…
More information can be found here
