Youth curfew announced for Alice Springs CBD amid calls for ...

A two-week youth curfew will be imposed in Alice Springs following recent unrest in the town.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler will declare an "emergency situation" in the Alice Springs CBD, announcing an additional 58 police officers will be deployed to combat crime and antisocial behaviour.

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Ms Lawler acknowledged community frustration at the unrest.

"The community have had enough, and so have I," she said.

"If someone is under the age of 18 and they are seen out in the town centre, they will be taken home or taken to a safe place."

The curfew will apply between 6pm and 6am.

NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said some of the violence was related to the death of an 18-year-old man in a vehicle rollover earlier this month. 

"That's led to family feuds and that's what erupted in Alice Springs yesterday, in a couple of locations," he said.

The series of violent and destructive incidents in Alice Springs has triggered calls for a federal response to crime in the town, with some local and federal politicians saying drastic action needs to be taken to address the town's issues.

The incidents occurred after a ceremony and funeral for the teenager who died in the crash.

After the funeral, photos and videos circulating on social media showed scenes of chaos, including dozens of residents gathering outside the Todd Tavern, with some throwing bricks at the building and attempting to kick down the entrance door. 

Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson has described the chaos, which NT Police says involved about 150 people, as a "national embarrassment" and said he wants the federal government to take over control of the Northern Territory.

Staff working at the Todd Tavern were shaken by the attacks on the building, according to Craig Jervis, who oversees the venue's operations.

"I haven't seen it this bad before," he said.

A screenshot of a social media post showing the attack on the Todd Tavern.(Supplied)

"The ferocity in which they were trying to get in and the willingness to damage everything [and] anything was very scary.

"They [were using] branches and metal bars and throwing rocks and bricks through our windows … we just sort of barricaded ourselves in."

NT Police issued a call for information on Wednesday following what it called "violent disturbances" across the town.

"This is criminal conduct that will be fully investigated," NT Police Acting Assistant Commissioner James Gray-Spence said.

Windows and doors of the Todd Tavern were smashed in the unrest.(Supplied)

Five males have been arrested in relation to the incidents, police said, and more than 50 weapons have been seized.

Mr Gray-Spence said police officers had been attacked when they responded to the incident at the pub.

"We had rocks thrown at our vehicle at the same time while we were restoring order as a result of our attendance," he said.

Police also said officers encountered 150 people in the Alice Springs suburb of Sadadeen, with some allegedly armed and engaging in violent conduct.

A car was allegedly set alight as well as a mattress inside a nearby premises,  before fire crews attended and extinguished the blazes.

Mr Paterson said the incidents constituted the worst behaviour he had ever seen in Alice Springs, adding that it was "frightening" to witness people fighting on the town council lawns in the CBD.

"That is absolute senseless destruction in our town, and it's frightening," he said.

Damage to the doors of the Todd Tavern on Tuesday afternoon.(Supplied)

Mr Paterson, who has previously called for federal assistance in Alice Springs, including the military, said he now wanted the federal government to take over control of the Northern Territory.

"It may sound dramatic, but I've called [for] the federal government to step in here. They need to overrule the territory government and step in because this is dangerous, it's scary," he said.

"This is not an attack on the Chief Minister [Eva Lawler], or Labor or Liberal, I don't really care. But what we've shown over the last 14 years is we are too immature as a jurisdiction to run ourselves.

"If you have a look at what happened yesterday, that is not Australia. That is a national embarrassment."

Matt Paterson has called for the federal government to "step in".(ABC News: Michael Franchi)

Federal senator and Shadow Indigenous Australians Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who is from Alice Springs, also called for a federal response following the incidents.

"Whether it's a riot squad, or the presence of ADF [Australian Defence Force personnel] on our streets for some time until the people of Alice Springs can get to a point where they feel safe," she said.

Ms Price said the NT government had failed young Indigenous children in the Northern Territory.

"This is years of policy failures in terms of our most vulnerable kids who have been left in utter dysfunction, to end up on a direct path to incarceration or death," she said.

"We have not been able to address these issues with any real honesty or integrity to treat Indigenous children like other Australian citizens."

Jacinta Price says young Aboriginal people are being failed in Alice Springs.(ABC News: Che Chorley)

NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler rejected calls for a federal response and said the government had not lost control of Alice Springs.

She said the unrest was "horrific", that police would be "coming down hard" on any offenders and that police dog and mounted units would patrol the town.

"We've all had enough of that. We're all sick and tired of it," she said.

"We haven't [lost control] and the police are doing a great job. We saw that they were able to disperse the crowd. They have had Aboriginal liaison officers talking to the family members [about the incidents].

"Skills for federal police are very different to the skills [that] you need for police on the ground … we can ramp up and have additional police in Alice Springs."

The front of the Todd Tavern was smashed by people kicking and throwing objects at the building.(ABC News: Xavier Martin)

Ms Lawler did leave the door open for closing liquor stores on Wednesday, saying she would consult with agencies across the Northern Territory.

Senator Price said she was open to more alcohol restrictions being imposed in the immediate term, including closing bottle shops for the day, but was wary of “punishing” the entire town over the incident. 

On Wednesday, NT Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro shared a letter with media addressed to Ms Lawler urging the NT government to recall parliament.

"The situation in Alice Springs continues to rapidly escalate, residents are frightened, businesses are under siege," she wrote.

"I write with an urgent request that you recall parliament immediately for an emergency sitting.

"The present threat to safety must be addressed as a matter of priority; anything less is a dereliction of duty."

Lia Finocchiaro has repeated calls for tougher bail laws following the incidents.(ABC News: Owain Stia-James)

In a statement, the Country Liberal Party (CLP) also said it wanted parliament to pass legislation lowering the age of criminal responsibility and changing bail laws, among other changes.

Alice Springs was cast into the national spotlight last year in the wake of surging crime and anti-social behaviour, exacerbated by the end of alcohol laws known as Stronger Futures in July 2022.

In January last year Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the town following calls for more federal support and promised a $250 million funding package to address Indigenous disadvantage in the region.

Police say they are expecting to make further arrests. (ABC News: Bridget Judd)

Acting Assistant Commissioner Gray-Spence said the ceremony in town on Tuesday had been a peaceful event, but that some in attendance were later involved in incidents at the Todd Tavern, Hidden Valley Town Camp, Alice Springs Town Council lawns and a car park along Leichhardt Terrace.

"It's really unfortunate that a small group of people who were along for that event appear to have taken a different path," he said.

He also said there was fighting in the Hidden Valley Town Camp, a small Aboriginal community two kilometres outside the CBD.

"We were over in Hidden Valley, where we had what we believe will be another related disturbance where we had a lot of people fighting with both edged and blunt weapons," he said.

He said two males, aged 18 and 16, were arrested for engaging in violent conduct and damage to property, and that more people were expected to be arrested following police investigations.