Alice Springs saw one of it’s most significant flood events in recent memory, claiming the life of one Territorian, without the hard work of our Police, Fire and Emergency Services staff and volunteers it could have been much worse.
Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services Peter Chandler will today visit the men and women who have worked tirelessly to help their community in its time of need.
“Anyone who’s spent time in Alice Springs knows it’s a close-knit community that looks after each other, what we saw during the recent floods is a perfect demonstration of that,” Mr Chandler said.
“The tri-services of Police Officers, Fire Fighters and Emergency Services banded together with volunteers to make sure Alice Spring weathered this storm.
“A special thanks needs to go out to volunteers, regular Territorians with day jobs who roll up their sleeves when things get tough and help out. Our emergency response could simply not function without these fine people.”
Minister Chandler said he will talk to the emergency response team to understand how it operated and see if there could be any improvement should an event like this reoccur.
“It’s important with these significant events to assess how we responded and make sure we’re ready to do it all again,” Mr Chandler said.
While in Alice Springs Minister Chandler will also be visiting Police Officers at Temporary Beat Locations to see the positive effect they’re having on the community.
The town has seen a 26.3% reduction in the presence of alcohol in the offender, a 40% reduction in the presence of alcohol in the victim and a drop of 32.7% in female assault victims for the quarter 1 March – 30 June 2014 compared with this same quarter in 2013.
“Crime has been a serious issue in Alice Springs for over a decade so it is encouraging to see these crime statistics, however the important thing is to maintain this for the long term. That is what this Country Liberals Government is committed to doing,” Mr Chandler said.