A raft of new alcohol restrictions will be introduced in Alice Springs, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stopped short of reinstating blanket Intervention-era bans.
Mr Albanese flew to the outback town for meetings this afternoon amid a storm of sudden political pressure and media attention on high crime rates.
Under the changes, Mondays and Tuesdays have been designated as takeaway-alcohol-free days, with daily opening hours otherwise restricted to between 3pm and 7pm.
Alcohol sales will also be limited to one transaction per person per day.
A recent surge in violence and crime in Alice Springs has been blamed on the NT government's handling of the end of 15-year-old alcohol bans introduced as part of the Intervention.
Mr Albanese left the door open to changes that would see the bans partially reinstated, and communities required to organise to opt out of them.
"These are complex problems [in Alice Springs] and they require a full solution, which won't be immediate, which requires different levels of government to work together," he said.
Aboriginal peak bodies had argued against the NT government's "opt-in" system, which took effect the day after the bans expired halfway through last year, and instead advocated for an "opt-out" transition period.
In response, the NT government has repeatedly said it does not support race-based policy, but it has not addressed the transition criticism.
On Tuesday, NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said it was "now clear" that change was needed.
She said expected "not everybody is going to be happy" with the announcements.
"We've done more than any other government around alcohol policy and measures to reduce harm in our community," she said.
"But we need to give the community respite and support, and we need to do that immediately."
The announcements come after days of national headlines following calls by the local mayor for the army or federal police to be sent in — calls which were taken up by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and several media commentators.
Ms Fyles said Mr Dutton and the former Morrison government had not acted to extend the bans while in government.
"Yet over the last few weeks, he's played politics with this issue without even visiting the Northern Territory," she said.
A new senior bureaucrat has also been appointed and tasked with advising on whether to adopt an opt-out model by mid-next week.
Arrernte woman and long-time public servant Dorrelle Anderson will serve as Central Australia controller and report back to both governments, Mr Albanese said.
The prime minister said a range of safety initiatives would be funded through a $48.8 million investment for Alice Springs over two years.
But he did not say how much of the funding was new money, apart from $14.2 million in extra funding for police.
The alcohol purchase limits will be in place for an initial period of three months.
Aboriginal community groups voice alarm at political debate, media reporting
A number of local Aboriginal groups issued statements on Tuesday, many expressing concern about the potential for a knee-jerk government response.
The group representing the town's Arrernte traditional owners said the current crisis was the result of Intervention policies and decades of "chronic and systemic neglect" of remote communities.
They said Arrernte in Alice Springs had watched poverty, inadequate housing and under-investment in remote schools and health services force people to abandon their home communities and move into town.
"[We] are pained that we do not have the capacity to help our brothers and sisters, many of whom are related to us by kin and ceremony," the statement said.
"We are hurt by the negative images and stereotyping of all Aboriginal people. We are harmed by the violence and alcohol abuse in our midst."
Aboriginal-led education service Children's Ground said sensationalist coverage put especially young people in Alice Springs at risk.
The group said Aboriginal people working hard on solutions in Alice Springs "have been made to look like we are turning a blind eye to our children" instead of getting support.
"We see that some First Nations people are swayed to support the implementation of more police and the deployment of military-style resources into our streets," the statement said.
"Their voices are not our voices. We have suffered years of heavy policing, and this has not worked.
"This has been the government's answer for too many years. It has caused more harm."
Earlier in the day NT Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker said greater investment in social services, especially to remote communities, was needed to address the under-lying issues exacerbated by alcohol.
Crime statistics released on Monday showed a more than 50 per cent increase in commercial break-in's, property damage and alcohol-related assault in the past year.
There was a 53 per cent increase in domestic violence-related assaults in Alice Springs.
