The imperative to say No
While yesterday’s awful events at the Under 17 football grand final have predictably attracted national attention, Friday’s march against violence in Alice Springs was disappointingly overlooked by the media. It was indeed “historic” as Alice Springs police commander Anne-Marie Murphy described it. As Sunday’s brawl illustrates, the challenge facing the marchers is huge. While domestic [...]
Wildflower poisoning was for “public safety”.
The Alice Springs Town Council has admitted poisoning stretches of brilliantly coloured wildflowers on the verge of a prominent Alice Springs street, claiming the spraying was in the interests of ‘public safety”. Yesterday I contacted the Council after a report from horticulturist Chris Brock that Council workers were spraying swathes of swainsona (a wildflower that [...]
Killing wildflowers: is that a joke?
From reader and horticulturalist Chris Brock comes an astonishing report this morning. Noticed the carpets of swainsonia that have suddenly appeared this month to grace our footpaths? In response to a recent post, Chris says: ”If you want to see wildflowers – go no further than Memorial Drive in Gillen next to the School – [...]
Not only for the inlanders
What an interesting Saturday night that was. I tend to avoid hope or idealism when parliamentary democracy is involved, but for the first time in many years, politics have become interesting — and maybe even promising. Just for once, political football is over. Suddenly, if only for a little while, it no longer matters if [...]
Lingiari’s choice
By Dave Richards Despite having six candidates choose from, voters in the Northern Territory seat of Lingiari may be feeling somewhat disenfranchised on the eve of tomorrow’s federal election. Country Liberal Party Candidate Leo Abbott — representing the Coalition — has refused to talk to media all week after he was given the go-ahead to [...]
Controlling Night Patrols: a recipe for failure?
Night patrols have been almost universally regarded as one of the most positive developments in the Territory’s Aboriginal communities in recent decades. Created and operated by community members, they are a uniquely Aboriginal way of maintaining order on communities and have flourished in town and the bush. One of the most powerful experiences I had [...]
Statuesque Alice?
In today’s Centralian Advocate, Betty Pearce and Eric Sultan have joined in the drive to get more statues in Alice Springs, calling for more recognition of the Centre’s heroes. Craig San Roque has some ideas on the subject too, presented in a letter he has just sent off to the Advocate: Ross Pollock (in his [...]
Taking history off the pedestal
Alice’s Big Explorer has spend the weekend at undisclosed location after his hour or so in the sun on the Council lawns on Friday afternoon. The citizens of Alice Springs may have no ultimate say in his future. But the events of the past fortnight have at least created a rare opportunity for public discussion [...]
Big Explorer faces unpredictable terrain
Despite vocal opposition to the idea of a five metre statue of John McDouall Stuart and his gun, the Alice Springs Town Council has upped the ante with a proposal to move it to a more prominent position on the perimeter of the Central Business District. But the move appears to have created more enemies [...]
The Barbara James Paradox, Part 1.
By Dave Richards For decades Adelaide has been the city where Central Australians go when their own hospital can’t fix them. The full import of this tradition hit me in 2007 when the casualty staff of Alice Springs Hospital gave me ten minutes to go home and pack for a free trip to Adelaide with [...]
We’re on to it.
Believe it or not folks, but I had no idea Mark Egan had been commissioned to build a statue of john McDouall Stuart in Alice Springs when I posted my suggestion on Monday night. I wrote my post after wandering among the statues in Adelaide, and put it up the night before the Advocate came [...]
Unexplored corners
Last night’s Four Corners episode on the death of Donny Ryder and the subsequent trial and imprisonment of the five young Alice Springs men responsible for his death was riveting and moving television. In gathering interviews with “the right people” and with surprising access to police interviews, Liz Jackson did an excellent job. She avoided [...]
Alice Springs, AUSTRALIA