Northern Territory January to June 2023

Heading into the August 2024 general election, the Fyles ALP Government is facing growing community unrest about the levels of youth crime, property damage, injury and death. Protests spread from Alice Springs to Darwin where six northern suburbs electorates traditionally determine electoral fortunes. Acting Local Court Judge David Woodroffe, the first Aboriginal person to be appointed to the Northern Territory bench, was permanently appointed and sworn in by Acting Chief Justice Stephen Southwood (ABC News, 3 January; NT News, 4 January 2023). Rising property offences and violence in Alice Springs elicited a range of responses,1 culminating in a meeting between NT and federal authorities, which resulted in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chief Minister Natasha Fyles announcing a raft of…