Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made his first visit to Alice Springs since the end of the youth curfew a fortnight ago, announcing $8 million in funding for Northern Territory Public schools.
The Prime Minister also met with local advocate and "Action for Alice" social media page creator Darren Clark when he visited the Red Centre yesterday.
Speaking with 2GB's Ben Fordham, Clark said at their meeting he told Anthony Albanese: "I'm not political, I just want my town back".
"I want the people to be safe, and I want the kids saved," he said.
Clark said he told the Prime Minister "how bad this place has been for the last five years".
"People have had machetes held to their throats in their beds," he said.
Clark claimed that Albanese "didn't know how bad" the situation in Alice Springs had been.
"Some nights 150 kids had been running around the streets in the middle of the night," he said.
Clark told 2GB that he had discussed solutions to the youth crime crisis with the Prime Minister.
"You've gotta get these kids an education," he said.
Clark suggested that schools in the community should start later in the day.
Clark said that "things have calmed down" since the introduction of the curfew and heavy police presence.
"But this will take off at some stage again."
At a press conference today, the Prime Minister said his government :acknowledge there are real challenges there, but things have improved and the investment is making a difference".
The Prime Minister was joined by Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney on his visit to Alice Springs.
Albanese touted the increased education funding that had been directed to the Northern Territory in the last year.
He said that school attendance for flexible education programs had risen by 37 per cent since the rollout of funding last year.
"Enrolments in remote government schools are increasing," he said.
"The number of children who haven't attended school for more than 20 consecutive days has gone down, and there's also very early signs that attendance is up right across Central Australia.
"We know that it has been a difficult time in central Australia, but what my government is determined to do is to make sure that we invest, to make sure that we give this region, the opportunity to thrive in the future."
