WATCH: Lidia who? Alice Springs aboriginals SLAM 'scared' politicians
Locals in Alice Springs struggle to identify indigenous politicians claiming to represent them.
Aboriginals in Alice Springs struggled to identify indigenous politicians who claim to represent them when I interviewed locals on the streets of a town in crisis.
When I floated names of outspoken representatives like former Greens senator Lidia Thorpe and minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney, locals were perplexed, and most said that they hadn't heard of them, but when asked did know of conservative NT Senator Jacinta Price.
"We call them blowflies," one local told me.
"We have people blow in and blow out of here. They come, they think they know what's right for this town, then they leave.
"They meet with key stakeholders, obviously that's a process that has to happen from a government point of view — We understand that — But people on the ground ... Whatever happens in the town that affects us directly, we need to be talked to ... spoken to.
"We need an opportunity to come out and say how we feel about stuff."
Alice Springs is a town grappling with persistent issues that have been plaguing locals for decades but tensions are now sky-high among residents with growing concerns about the surge in violent crime.
"You've got to go out in the community, find out why people are doing what they're doing," said another.
While some of the residents I talked to knew of Burney, they thought she was too "scared" to talk to people in the Alice Springs community.
"If she's been to the Northern Territory she would have went to Darwin," a local told me. "That'd be more safe for her," he added.
Locals told me it was a "crazy time" in the town with an out-of-control youth crime problem fuelled by alcoholism and anti-social behaviour placing Alice Springs in "crisis mode".
Mainstream media like the ABC are not willing to tell the truth about what is going on here in Alice Springs. To see all of our reports talking to locals on the ground at TheRealVoice.com.au and if you can, please donate to help cover our costs in bringing you the other side of the story.
Don't Get Censored
Big Tech is censoring us. Sign up so we can always stay in touch.
Don't Get Censored
Big Tech is censoring us. Sign up so we can always stay in touch.