News Club Interview: “We need to talk about it as a country”

Matt Paterson and Alice Springs…

Over the past few years, Alice Springs has seen a lot of national attention - mostly for for all the wrong reasons. Many point to the lapsing of alcohol bans in mid-2022 as the reason. Reports say off the back of that, property offences increased by almost 60%, assaults increased by 38% and domestic violence assaults doubled. 

Since then, steps have been taken to reinstate restrictions, and much has been done to address the problem. But even so, the town and its surrounding communities continue to be in the spotlight. Alice Springs has been the focus of the national debate around The Voice referendum for spikes in crime - particularly youth crime - as well as for poor school retention and the continuing alarming rate of domestic violence. Earlier this year, there was what’s been called a riot in the town that saw curfews put in place, funding announcements and increased police presence.

So as we were reflecting on the year that was, Alice Springs seems like an important news story to revisit. I ummed and ahhed on who to speak with. All roads, though, kept pointing back to Matt Paterson. He is the young, outspoken Mayor who landed himself in the job by just two votes back in 2021. 

I start by asking him ‘why’ - why put your hand up for this job?

Then we get into the issues in Alice Springs, the reality of trying to solve them and the wider implications. We touch on his take on Australia and whether we’re a racist country. And of course, the counterpoint, which is all the reasons why Matt says, despite everything, Alice Springs is an amazing place.

Listen to the full episode here, or scroll down for 3 highlights from our chat.

Highlight #1: On why he ran for mayor

When I first ran in 2017, I was the youngest person on the ballot out of all the councillors and mayoral candidates. And then in 2021, I was still the youngest. The average age of Alice Springs, according to the latest Census, is 34. So we're quite a young community. So, it was just about how I could help increase livability in the community and build some infrastructure, especially for young families.

Highlight #2: On the lapsing of grog bans

We had that for 10 years. Then overnight, it just lapsed. We had 10 years to plan for it. Then what we saw was absolute carnage in our town. I think the politicians actually forget sometimes why they're there. They were playing politics with it. Ultimately the ban was the best option because it was there to help with domestic violence, to help provide people with opportunities to actually buy groceries rather than alcohol. I consider letting the ban lapse one of the dumbest decisions for Alice Springs.

Highlight #3: On Alice Springs and racism

Is Alice Springs racist? Well, absolutely not. People are fed up with what's going on, whether you're black, white or brindle, we just want some answers. And you know, we have a community where you're playing footy with people from all across the countryside, or you're playing netball with them, or you're working with them. It's not racist. We love each other here, but we just want to get better as a community and we just want to have some of the answers.

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