00:00In broad daylight, weapons seized from cars outside an Alice Springs supermarket.
00:07A reminder that crime doesn't wait for the 10pm curfew.
00:11The reports that I've had is the curfew is working, it has settled down Alice Springs.
00:16Whether it's settled down enough for the curfew to end after tonight as planned,
00:20is a question that won't be answered until tomorrow.
00:23I think some of the problems are bigger than just a three day curfew.
00:28I think it's a really knee jerk reaction and I think that it's probably a continuation
00:33of some long term underfunding of programs.
00:36The boys got to stay away from the trouble with their families.
00:41Stay away from the trouble, stay with their mum and look after the families here.
00:49At this Aboriginal fabric gallery in the middle of town,
00:52owner Robert says tourists are avoiding the area.
00:55We notice that the hotels can be full sometimes and that very few people venture into town.
01:00He says crime is still occurring outside the curfew zone.
01:04So obviously the curfew doesn't work.
01:07What it does is it's creating national interest, national negative publicity
01:12and it's crippling the town.
01:14Tonight the curfew will be tested in a different context.
01:18Two popular late night pubs are now allowed to reopen.
01:22After a temporary liquor licence suspension meant they weren't able to trade
01:26over the first two nights of the lockdown.
01:29Bottle shops are always closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in Alice Springs
01:33but tonight they will be open too.
01:35Regardless of whether the curfew is extended, the government acknowledges its limits.
01:40It is not a long term strategy.
01:42It is but one string to the bow that police can have to absolutely get on top of crime
01:48in the areas of Alice Springs.
01:50There's deeper underlying problems. This is not going to go away easily.
01:54There's a lot that needs to be done but just throwing money at things
01:57and doing knee jerk reactions like this is not working.
02:00Calls for more lasting solutions on what could be the final night of curfew.
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