Spears, a baseball bat, nulla-nullas, and a machete have been seized by police in Alice Springs this afternoon as the town prepares to enter its third night of curfew. Residents will have to wait until tomorrow to find out if the lockdown will be extended. Tonight, will also see the curfew in operation with alcohol more readily available.
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00:00In broad daylight, weapons seized from cars outside an Alice Springs supermarket.
00:07A reminder that crime doesn't wait for the 10pm curfew.
00:11The reports that I've had is the curfew is working, it has settled down Alice Springs.
00:16Whether it's settled down enough for the curfew to end after tonight as planned,
00:20is a question that won't be answered until tomorrow.
00:23I think some of the problems are bigger than just a three day curfew.
00:28I think it's a really knee jerk reaction and I think that it's probably a continuation
00:33of some long term underfunding of programs.
00:36The boys got to stay away from the trouble with their families.
00:41Stay away from the trouble, stay with their mum and look after the families here.
00:49At this Aboriginal fabric gallery in the middle of town,
00:52owner Robert says tourists are avoiding the area.
00:55We notice that the hotels can be full sometimes and that very few people venture into town.
01:00He says crime is still occurring outside the curfew zone.
01:04So obviously the curfew doesn't work.
01:07What it does is it's creating national interest, national negative publicity
01:12and it's crippling the town.
01:14Tonight the curfew will be tested in a different context.
01:18Two popular late night pubs are now allowed to reopen.
01:22After a temporary liquor licence suspension meant they weren't able to trade
01:26over the first two nights of the lockdown.
01:29Bottle shops are always closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in Alice Springs
01:33but tonight they will be open too.
01:35Regardless of whether the curfew is extended, the government acknowledges its limits.
01:40It is not a long term strategy.
01:42It is but one string to the bow that police can have to absolutely get on top of crime
01:48in the areas of Alice Springs.
01:50There's deeper underlying problems. This is not going to go away easily.
01:54There's a lot that needs to be done but just throwing money at things
01:57and doing knee jerk reactions like this is not working.
02:00Calls for more lasting solutions on what could be the final night of curfew.