Alice Springs: Where $250 Million Buys You a Riot

Added: 2026-05-14

[00:00:00]Ah, the ABC’s coverage of the riots and looting  in Alice Springs—sparked by the arrest of alleged child murderer Jefferson Lewis—who, it turns  out, had only been out of prison for about a week. On one hand, they’re hesitant to cast  a negative light on the local Aboriginal community. On the other, they can’t ignore  a glaringly violent, highly racialised riot.

[00:00:26]The mob—who were clearly Aboriginal people—thought  it appropriate to hurl rocks and other projectiles at the local hospital and nearby businesses, while  smashing and setting vehicles ablaze. This left police and hospital staff to scramble under a hail  of improvised weapons while trying to defend the very facilities and equipment meant to keep the  community safe—to varying degrees of success.

[00:00:54]A brief intermission for the critics: some people accuse me of “picking on the ABC.”  Personally, I call it “taxpayer oversight.”

[00:01:04]Just to be clear, the only reason I do  this is because they are a taxpayer-funded national broadcaster. I don’t fund  Channel Seven, so for the most part, I couldn’t care less how they spin their  stories. But the ABC is being paid for by our tax dollars—over a billion of them  this year, in fact. Of course I have a vested interest in how they spend my  money that I never willingly gave them.

[00:01:30]But back to their latest report on the “unrest”: “Alice Springs riot another  flashpoint for town trying to heal.”

[00:01:39]Because in the ABC’s universe,  when a mob attacks a hospital, the conversation isn’t about “criminality”  or “public safety”—it’s about “healing.”

[00:01:49]And what better way to heal than by attacking  a modern, government-funded healing centre?

[00:01:55]Naturally, the article opens with a warning:  “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the  image of an Indigenous person who has died.”

[00:02:06]Apparently, the rest of us don’t  require such a courtesy. It seems race is only a factor when it’s your  race—so long as you aren’t Caucasian.

[00:02:16]They made sure to mention that “Police used  tear gas.” It’s a bit of a half-truth. The more accurate version would be: “Police  used tear gas in response to Aboriginal people using rocks.” But I suppose  focusing on the violence coming from police makes the narrative much more  palatable for an inner-city audience.

[00:02:37]To be fair, they did include a photo of  children hurling projectiles at the police.

[00:02:42]They noted: “Children could be seen taking  part in rioting behaviour during the unrest.”

[00:02:49]Now, I’m no parenting expert, but if I were  planning a night of rioting and looting, I’d probably suggest the kids  stay home. But apparently, in Alice Springs, “healing” is a family activity.

[00:03:02]Sarcasm aside, I’m genuinely trying to be fair to  the ABC here. They didn’t hide the ugly details.

[00:03:09]They noted: “Young children, under 10 years old,  were among those rushing to the front of the crowd and throwing rocks towards emergency service  workers… While they were the minority in the crowd, seeing such young children involved in a  violent affray will likely be alarming to many.”

[00:03:28]Alarming? To whom? For the people who  actually live and work in Alice Springs, this isn’t an “alarming” anomaly—it’s a Thursday.

[00:03:38]They also highlighted the looting, stating: “CCTV footage allegedly shows  people looting a service station.”

[00:03:46]Allegedly? If the cameras show them stealing,  what’s “alleged” about it? Unless the ABC is suggesting the owners used AI to fake the footage  for an insurance payout, this actually happened.

[00:03:59]But of course, they made sure  to find a silver lining, noting: “A protester at the riot outside of Alice Springs  hospital could be seen hugging a police officer.”

[00:04:10]Look, I’m glad the police are shown to be  human, but I have to ask about the wording: “a protester at the riot”? Isn’t it a “rioter”  at a riot? Or is that just me? It’s like calling someone a “pedestrian on a Formula One track.”  The location kind of changes your job description.

[00:04:29]To their credit, they did interview a local  leader, Michael Liddle, who didn’t exactly stick to the “healing” script. He criticised  the violence directed at emergency services, noting: “Through that incident, we  had police cars being damaged and ambulances being damaged. And when  you take those services out, well, we’ve got a scenario of no rules,  no laws, and people become hurt.”

[00:04:54]They did somewhat admit this is an  ongoing problem, noting in an aside: “Kids hooning around in stolen  cars. Driving head-on at police.

[00:05:04]Filming the action. A youth crime  wave has engulfed Alice Springs.”

[00:05:09]But let’s keep talking about “healing.” I’m sure  a few more hugs will fix the head-on collisions.

[00:05:15]And finally, how is the government planning  to solve all this? Money, of course.

[00:05:21]The article notes: “In early 2023, Prime Minister  Anthony Albanese flew into the town to announce that $250 million would be spent to improve  outcomes for people in Central Australia.”

[00:05:35]Three years later, with ambulances being  smashed and service stations looted, it’s clear that money was well  spent. Everything is A-OK.

[00:05:46]Oh wait.