Crime in Alice Springs – part 4

There really shouldn’t be this many posts on crime in this blog should there? Hopefully this will be the last of them for a long while.

In the interests of fairness, some links to the latest media articles:

– Alison Anderson, Member for Macdonnell, writes a response to Jennifer Mills’ article (Shock Tactics in Alice Springs) over at New Matilda.  I found it to be a good read.

– Alice Springs News reports in today’s paper upon the community meeting held Tuesday night. I have found it to be one of the more positive reports on the event.

– Alice Springs News also runs a report on how businesses are faring here in Alice Springs, both good and bad, ups and down. It’s very obvious to me, as a local, that many of those businesses enjoying very good times right now are due to the NT Intervention.

– Shaun Nancarrow’s column (sorry, you’ll have to scroll right down to the bottom of the page, the Alice Springs News site is pretty basic)(locals can just read their free copy, Shaun’s column is on page 2) looks at the vacant Melanka’s (a former nightclub & backpackers hostel) building site by night. I’d like to quote the last line:

I never thought I would see the day where I would rather have Melanka’s back but it’s true. How long will the government let the land lie undeveloped before they start to penalise the company holding?

– Local councillor, Jane Clark continues to write some good, thoughtful posts on the current situation, the Intervention & other issues affecting Alice Springs.

– Finally, have a read of Outback Deb’s say on the matter today. I think she encapsulates some of the complexities of the issues facing Alice Springs. As she says, it’s not black & white.

Will the recent spate of crime reporting on Alice Springs decrease after Saturday’s by-election?

Or has the town simply had enough?

For local residents, do keep in mind the NT Government Cabinet will be sitting in Alice Springs on 29, 30 & 31 March.  Might be worth attending, especially as it looks likely there will be (another) protest by locals on law & order.

Crime in Alice Springs – part 3

A fight breaks out amongst a small group of people on a street. A woman pulls a knife and takes a few swipes at the man she’s arguing with. At this stage at least one of the many witnesses dials 000. The call is routed to Darwin and it takes nearly 15 minutes for the emergency call to be switched to Alice Springs. By this time the fight has begun moving down the street, across the road and finally into one of the busier shopping centres, Yeperenye.

Eventually the arguing men move off and the woman with the knife makes her way back to her office.

Police do not attend the scene.

(The difficulties getting through to local police in Alice Springs in an emergency are well known to locals.)

Late at night in Alice Springs? Sadly, no. It was around 9.15 this morning.

It began on Gregory Terrace, near Alison Anderson MP’s office (right in the CBD). There were numerous witnesses to this incident, including two candidates for the Alice Springs Town Council by-election, Eli Melky and Steve Brown.

I did not witness the incident but arrived not long afterwards. Later I heard a number of people discussing the incident, it sounded quite a ferocious fight. I’m pretty hardened to what I see in the town but wielding a knife in the early morning on a main street sounds kind of frightening. No wonder candidates for this Saturday’s by-election are mentioning lawlessness as a major issue in their campaigns. No wonder groups such as “Action for Alice” are gathering a bit of a following.

Alice Springs has been in the news again. An editorial in The Australian yesterday mentions the dangers young, Indigenous women & girls face.

The TV ads made by Action for Alice are being queried by the NT Anti-Discrimination Commissioner.

A community meeting was held in town last night. Whilst organisers were stipulating people had to join Action for Alice in order to be allowed in it does sound like it was a productive meeting, if a little heated at times.  Reports from the meeting reveal there are some very angry, frustrated people in this town. But also some good suggestions that are worth considering:

– floodlighting the Todd River at night

– providing community buses for people to travel in to Alice Springs to do their shopping and then return home to their communities

– the youth campaign Tell ‘em That’s Enough campaign (have a look at this site, what a terrific idea!)

It was also good to hear that an older Indigenous man spoke at that meeting. His name is Lindsay and he was accorded great respect as he spoke and suggested a couple of those ideas.

The NT Opposition spokeswoman on child protection Robyn Lambley told the NT Parliament that children are soliciting for sex. I have personally heard young Indigenous girls suggesting sex-for-sale but given there were lots of giggles and followed by running off I assume they were just having a laugh, being provocative. Still, it’s sad.

Then we have our mayor, Damien Ryan saying law and order is the responsibility of the NT Government and he wants candidates to understand the Local Government Act.  Is the mayor suggesting Alice Springs Town Council cannot do ANYTHING about law & order in our town? Don’t some of our by-laws deal with law & order issues?

The NT News also ran a story on Alice Springs today. Whilst I don’t agree with them that violence has “gripped” the town, I do believe we, the residents of Alice Springs have become quite used to seeing incidences of such violence & general lawlessness.

I don’t know that the answer is. But I do believe we need to increase numbers of police in the town.  We all deserve to feel safe living in Alice Springs.

Politicians need to increase funding to those programs that are working successfully. We need more, a lot more beds in the sobering up & detox shelters. (Note to NT & Federal Governments: talk to groups such as DASA, they will let you know how much more money and beds they need.) We need to help the Indigenous children who are abused, who are suffering from addiction, who are wandering our streets late at night, who are committing crimes.

Maybe we do need regular community meetings to give all residents & community organisations a forum in which to speak up and/or suggest ideas?

So much of what happens in Alice Springs is highly politicised by various groups. I wonder if the hard headedness of some groups (this includes serving politicians) prevents a spirit of successful co-operation in easing the problems faced by this town?

For tourists & visitors to Alice Springs (and I would encourage Indigenous Australians from other states to also come see), I fervently believe Alice Springs is a safe place to visit! Staying at any of the major hotels, caravan parks or B&Bs you will be able to enjoy a very pleasant walk into town. Admire the leafy eucalypt trees and wildflowers down by the Todd River as you meander along the well-built shared pathways. Notice the many & varied birds – eagles, kites, galahs, mistletoes, the list is almost endless. Gaze at the majestic MacDonnell Ranges and take in the achingly beautiful desert landscape from atop Anzac Hill.

Visit Mbantua Gallery & Cultural Museum and learn a little about Indigenous culture & recent history. Listen to Indigenous languages being spoken on the street. And when you return home, think about all that you’ve seen in Alice Springs, both good and bad.

I’ll finish up with a link to cartoonist First Dog on the Moon’s cartoon in Crikey on that racism survey. 🙂

*Edited to correct spelling of Lindsay’s name. *

Crime in Alice Springs. Again.

First up I am going to shout out to all prospective tourists & visitors to Alice Springs that, despite the number of bad news stories in the media of late, especially over the past few days, ALICE SPRINGS IS A SAFE TOWN TO VISIT! 🙂

Honestly? The current crime levels are really only impacting upon the locals, black & white alike.

Occasionally an unlucky tourist will be the target of some unpleasant assault, such as the German woman walking with a group of friends, was stabbed one night earlier this month.

It should be noted however that all the victims of this crime were released quickly from hospital so we can assume wounds were not serious. I do accept this group of tourists will have been traumatized by this unpleasant encounter.

But overall, crime in this town affects primarily the local businesses and residents.

Tourists should exercise the same safety precautions they would observe whilst in a large city.

Check out Travel Outback Australia, a local website, for some really good advice about visiting & living here in Alice Springs.  And remember,  ALICE SPRINGS IS A SAFE TOWN TO VISIT!

Right now crime is at a level where many of the locals are complaining in frustration. Some businesses are taking extraordinary security measures (I consider using razor wire on fences to be extraordinary).

Me? I’m just tired of seeing so much litter in town – the empty alcohol cans & broken bottles, the silver wine cask bladders (used for sniffing volatile substances), the vomit & other excreta in public areas. Council does a good job cleaning up each day but it seems a never ending task. Tired also of hearing of the increasing number of break-ins and burglaries. Too many friends & people I know have recently experienced the trauma of such crimes.

I am also tired of seeing those big blue & white signs around town, one of which you can see on the drive in to town from the airport.

We’re just a small town of around 30,000 people. Should we be experiencing such levels of crime and anti-social behaviour? Should our excellent but small Alice Springs Hospital’s ED be seeing an average of 120 patients per day? (To contrast, Austin Hospital is one of Melbourne’s larger hospitals and sees an average of 200 per day. Melbourne’s population is considerably greater than Alice Springs’.)  Doesn’t this tell you there is something wrong in this remote desert town?

Local alderman Jane Clark says in her thoughtful post Law and Order, Vigilantism, Alice Springs:

I do place a lot of blame on the carelessness of the implementation of the federal intervention. When Alice Springs and Katherine Town Councils first felt the impact of people leaving communities due to the intervention, we were unable to access funding required for emergency affordable housing or for adequate social services.  Basically the feds didn’t believe what we were saying.  Now the mess is obvious and we still wait for the assistance needed to cope with this disaster as it unfolds before us.

I think Jane Clark is right.

Perhaps the NT & Federal levels of government need to go back to the Recommendations of the Little Children are Sacred Report and implement them properly and in full? This is what led to the Northern Territory National Emergency Response aka “the intervention”.  Initially I supported the intervention, but now? Obviously it’s not working so let’s go back to the Little Children are Sacred Report and re-read those recommendations. That would be a start.

I think there needs to be honesty and acceptance from all concerned parties in Alice Springs & indeed the whole of the NT, white & black. There needs to be a real willingness for all parties to implement workable, fair strategies, programs & lifestyle modifications. I think there has also to be an acceptance by all levels of government that a one size fits all approach will not work.

NT & Federal governments need to listen to the local shire & town councils. Governments need to actively engage with each Indigenous community, each mob. They all need to be listened to, respected, asked “what will help your community?”, “how can we best help you?” Yes, that makes it more expensive but tough.

I am weary of seeing runs in the media such as we have seen over the past few days:

Alice Springs News – Cops all out on crime but aldermen want more

NT News – Alice crime tsunami building tension

The Australian – Destroyed in Alice

NT Police Media Releases – Indecent Assault – Alice Springs – Update 1

NT Police Media Releases – Suspicious Death – Alice Springs – Update 1

But remember, I am speaking as someone who lives here. The town is QUITE SAFE for tourists, so please, do come & visit. 🙂

Back on board!

Life got busy & interesting and hence there hasn’t been any regular posting here for 8 months. Twitter also intervened, capturing my undivided attention at times as I watched various shufflings  in the Australian political landscape.

I still find Twitter a most useful way in which to keep track of the news here and overseas, especially at times of fast moving crises – floods, cyclones, fires & severe storms. An Australian summer has it all and it’s been a particularly tough one for so many people across my country.

At this stage I don’t think I can write coherently on what I’ve seen beyond stating how humbled and proud I feel of my fellow Australians & those overseas visitors who have shown so much kindness & help to those in need. I recommend you read Patty Beecham’s eloquent blog of her experience in the Brisbane Flood (scroll through, dip in and out, be touched by her posts on Murphy’s Creek as well as her words as she watched Cyclone Yasi devastate the far north of her state).

I worked much of the latter half of 2010. The usual mix of hard slog, laughs, good people, frustrations & regular pay. I am enjoying my usual summer break now.

I’ve yet to plan out my working plans for 2011 due to the sudden arising of a couple of intense health issues. Once they’re sorted I can scatter my resume far and wide and gather me a job.

Glitches & gremlins in the public health system mean I am still waiting to hear the results & treatment plan from my last endoscopy. I should have an appointment to see the visiting Gastroenterologist by the end of March.

I was diagnosed with iron-deficiency anaemia last September or so. A couple of months of taking heavy duty iron tablets and my iron levels were restored to normal. Terrific. Then, out of the blue, when I was getting ready to break out the champagne to celebrate having finally, come to the end of the menopause (yay!), some very heavy bleeding (HMB) laid me low for a few weeks. And those iron levels plummeted.

And thus I found myself on a drug cocktail of progesterone, tranexamic acid & painkillers. And iron.

An ultrasound (pelvic & trans-vag) a week before Christmas resulted in a referral to the visiting Gynaecologist. The first available appointment is at the end of this month. I did consider travelling south and going private but a check of a few gynae clinics showed waiting times for a first referral anywhere between 8 and 16 weeks. I might as well stay in town and go public. I am getting terrific support from my GP.  Hoping the diagnosis will be nought but a hormone imbalance. 🙂

With the wet weather we’ve been having here in Alice Springs over recent months the grasses have grown long & the desert is still green. This has encouraged mice to proliferate. Many of them into my house. A friend offered her cat but I said no need, between the snap-traps and the perentie in the roof-space I should be able to cull the numbers of rodents. 🙂

Highlight of the summer for me has to be the Desert Tree Frog. One appears on the kitchen window at night chasing bugs & avoiding the geckos, another frog ventures out on to the front door. Absolutely lovely. 🙂

Entertaining yourself in Alice … part 2

Alice Springs is not your typical small town with not much happening. Those that disagree, try living in some of the small towns in the rural areas of any of the other states.

We have the following:

• Cinema – and yes, it shows latest releases
• Theatre – local & regular visits by interstate companies, e.g. Bell Shakespeare, comedians etc
• More films, including art house at Araluen
• Art galleries – lots, including Araluen’s galleries
• Museums – including the magnificent Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame & others
• Events/parades/public holidays
• Alice Springs Show
• Rodeos
• Camping
• Casino
• Restaurants
• Masters Games + concert
• Concerts
• The Concert (replaces Bass in the Dust)
• Desert Park ( a must see)
• Sport – too many to mention, many folks enjoy playing their team sports immensely here

Then there’s our magnificent landscape. Camp if you like, but much can be done via day trips too.

• MacDonnell National Park – West
• Eastern MacDonnell Ranges – check out Arltunga with its historic ruins or one of the gorges
• Ross River Resort – on the Ross Highway, along the Eastern Macs
• Glen Helen – Resort & Gorge at the end of the bitumen along the Western Macs

Uluru, or the Rock (formerly known as Ayer’s Rock) is worthy of a visit. It’s not a day trip unless you do the Emu Run Tour (coach trip). It’s 450km or so down the road. Lovely drive, and you’ll get to see the spectacular Mount Connor well prior to reaching the federal National Park. And if you’re sightseeing at the Rock, you simply must drive the extra distance and inspect & explore Kata Tjuta (formerly The Olgas).

Come, move to the desert

I’ve been out on holiday. And now I’m back.  Sporadic posts will now recommence.    🙂

Some people I know from Tasmania are relocating to Alice Springs, so most of the posts over the coming weeks will concentrate on my thoughts & feelings about the town. Like most blogs, the content I write is going to be subjective with maybe a modicum of objectivity depending on my mood at the time I write.

I’ll be covering topics such as which suburbs (yes, Alice Springs is just large enough to have its own suburbs) are desirable, which schools & pre-schools would I choose, which medical centre I use and why and so on. All the stuff that people about to move in need to know in order to make semi-informed choices.

Now I don’t usually pass the url of this particular blog on to people I personally know, this is where I express myself completely, and in a small town, anonymity can be a useful thing. If friends or family stumble upon my little hideaway here in the centre of the universe, well, be warned if you go trawling through the archives.

Jobs, Illness, Heart Disease & a Flooded Desert

Jobs have come and gone.  Other jobs have proved elusive.  Another job was not what it appeared to be on first presentation to me.  Having expressed interest in one job I arranged to have an informal chat.  Which then became a more formal-sounding interview.  I appeared on time only to discover that they’d given that job to another. And somehow they’d forgotten to telephone or email me to let me know…

A close friend in town is very ill and we’re awaiting news due next week of his test results.  He’s way too young to be this ill.

I had hoped to make it to age 50 before having heart disease shoved up close and personal by way of a prescription for cholesterol lowering medication.  I have always had high cholesterol and it’s presumed to be genetic. The lowest reading I’ve had was 5.5 mmol/l and it’s been around 6.5 over the past five years.  But over a period of 3 months it skyrocketed to a more worrying 7.5.   Diet had not been changed so it’s time to try medication.

My blood pressure over the past year has also crept up very high (but with occasional large dips back to safer levels) & my doctor advised purchasing an automatic blood pressure monitoring kit.  Which I did.  And it looks like my BP is a lot lower when taken upon getting up in the morning.  This is good for it should mean I won’t need blood pressure medication yet.

Just the cholesterol-lowering medication.

I will be curious to see the results of the stress ECG & other heart tests later this year.  My father’s side of the family (including my generation) all have heart disease to some degree, many also have a history of minor heart attacks.  Dad died suddenly at age 65 from a massive heart attack.  In fact, most of the men on that side of the family died suddenly in their early 60s.

With all the rain that has fallen over outback Queensland over the past weeks & flooding the channel country, we’re hoping to do a flight over the desert to see the water flowing for ourselves.  Given good weather we should take off tomorrow morning for Birdsville, Boulia and maybe Innamincka.  I’ve charged up my camera battery in readiness.

More rain, more floods

It has been raining here in Alice Springs. Sometimes heavily. Very heavily.  For days.  And it’s cold.  Most undesertlike.

You may have read about it in the news here or even seen the video here.  Sadly, one person has already been swept to their death. And here’s today’s local news bulletin.

Sunday's satellite picture. Somewhere, under all that cloud is Alice Springs.

A monsoonal low pressure system has drifted south and is dumping lots of water upon the desert of Central Australia.You can check the Bureau of Meteorology for the latest weather for Alice Springs & the Northern Territory.

Radar pictures are also available there.

The Todd River is not only flowing but flooding. Again. But higher this time.

Todd River on Saturday 27 February 2010. The river has risen much further since this photo was taken.

We’ve been on flood alert (River Watch) for a few days with the risk of flood going up, going down, going back up again. As I type it’s on Level B. You can see a flood map & information brochure here.

I strolled down to the river yesterday in the late morning, snapping photos as I waltzed along the path in the drizzle & rain.

View of the MacDonnell Ranges from Stephens Road, Alice Springs. The cloud has tumbled down both sides of the mountains. Very novel & exciting. Note how green the vegetation is, we're not that used to this much greenery!

Street lamps have stayed on during the daytime as it's so dull. Stephens Road looking towards Heavitree Gap.

Greenery! So lush, so plentiful!

The Comfort Inn is usually photographed with the red mountain backdrop & startlingly clear blue skies. But not today.

The Comfort Inn Outback, Alice Springs.

The Todd flows under Taffy Pick bridge out of town, heading for the Gap. This crossing was closed today so the river has risen quite a lot since I took this photo. All the low level causeways have been shut for days.

The Todd River as viewed from South Tce just around the corner from Taffy Pick bridge. Looks quite rural, all we need is a herd of cows grazing. 🙂

Today I had to head out to the airport. All causeway crossings except for Stott Tce were shut. I cannot access Stott Tce from my suburb near the Golf Course so it was detour time through the power station land. (It’s the dotted line off Tuncks Road.)

Huge potholes, filled with water slowed the traffic right down. Then it was slow moving on to Sadadeen Road onto Stott Tce and through the roundabout near Imparja TV station (cnr of South Tce).

The river is a lot higher today than appears in these photos but I’m not about to venture out again today with the camera.

The rain got heavier for my walk home up Stephens Road. You can barely see the houses in the distance. It was around this time I figured out my old, faithful Goretex is no longer waterproff. Thank goodness for Icebreaker t-shirts!

Icebreaker clothing. Highly recommended for walking in the rain, doesn’t matter if they get wet you’ll still be warm & dry.

That cloud thickened up and sank further down the mountain by the time I was nearly home.

Spot the bird! It's a little honey-eater. The rain has brought out a lot of birds. In between the heavy downpours that is.

Fruitcake!

It was my birthday earlier this week. No big celebratory deal for me but I did think I should at least have a cake.

Given the fragility of my stomach I opted for a healthy, low-fat fruit cake. Made with pumpkin no less! It’s been years (decades) since I baked a fruit cake. It turned out well & we’re enjoying it immensely. And it has not upset my GORD (GERD) in spite of the presence of a little ginger.

Healthy, home made, easy fruit cake.

Moist Fruit Cake

3 cups (500g) mixed dried fruit – (I used an uneven mix of sultanas, raisins, cranberries, apricots & glace ginger)

½ cup of caster sugar (yes, you could use Splenda or similar sugar substitute)

1 tsp mixed spice (I used ¼ tsp each cinnamon & nutmeg)

½ cup water

1 tsp bi-carb soda

1 cup cooled mashed pumpkin (squash) (250g raw aprx) – (you could use sweet potato)

2 eggs, lightly beaten – (OR 3 egg whites)

A few drops of lemon & vanilla essences

2 cups self raising flour

Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a large loaf tin or 19cm round tin (or use baking paper).

Place fruit, sugar, mixed spice & water into a saucepan. Bring to boil & let boil for 3 minutes.

Stir in the bi-carb. (It will fizz.)

Stir in the cooled mashed pumpkin. (At this point I transferred mixture to a very large bowl.)

Stir in the eggs.

Finally add the flour, folding it in to the mixture. (I needed to add a wee bit more flour as it looked more like a batter than a cake mix.)

Pour the mixture into your prepared tin.

Bake for around 1 hour. Check that it is cooked all the way through by inserting a skewer into the cake – if it’s ready the skewer will come out clean.)

Let cool initially in the tin then turn out on to a rack.

Close up of the cake showing the fruit & you can even see the pumpkin fibres. No, it doesn't taste like pumpkin. At all.

I cut the cake in half (because it is heavy & large), then lengthwise followed by small slices. Then I bravely wrapped & froze most of the slices so we wouldn’t eat it all at once!

Next time I make this I will experiment with adding some nuts into the mixture.

It rains!

What more can I say? It’s raining! Has been off and on all day, since last night. Sometimes heavy, ofttimes lightly. But wet. Very wet. The roof of my verandah leaks. A lot in some places. So does the carport roof. I guess they’re good at keeping the sun off but not so good with precipitation. 🙂

There are puddles! On my very damp verandah. 😦