The Challenges of Public Transport in Darwin
In Darwin, the experience of using public transport after dark is something that Lismyati avoids at all costs. “It’s too dangerous,” she says. As someone who doesn’t drive, Lismyati relies heavily on her family or the local bus network to get around. She has witnessed violent fights and public drunkenness — issues that have persisted for years and made Darwin’s bus network one of the most dangerous in Australia.
As the conflict in the Middle East continues, more people than ever are turning to public transport as petrol prices climb. However, in Darwin, this choice comes with its own unique cost. In December last year, the NT government shut down Darwin’s major bus terminals, altered routes, and increased security in an effort to bring antisocial behavior under control. Months before that, buses became free of charge to reduce conflict. The Country Liberal Party (CLP) government also announced that officers would begin patrolling the bus network, armed with guns.
Assistant NT Police Commissioner Brendan Muldoon said the armed officers — officially known as police public safety officers (PPSOs) — would create “safer public spaces.” The first group of 24 is expected to begin patrols in June, following four months of training. “PPSOs are sworn police officers and receive the same training for defensive tactics, firearms, and other accoutrements as constables,” Assistant Commissioner Muldoon said.
Transit officers already carry pepper spray and hold powers to arrest or forcibly remove people, however Assistant Commissioner Muldoon said the addition of armed PPSOs would better respond to antisocial behavior “while also minimizing harm associated with alcohol misuse.” However, justice groups and community organizations warned the move could result in more deaths in custody.
Last year, after the CLP plan was pushed through parliament, Independent MLA Yingiya Guyula took to social media with a warning. He urged Indigenous people to stay away from Darwin if possible or, if there’s no choice but to visit from remote communities for health or family reasons, he asked them to “be careful.” “We are seeing more racism, and now capsicum spray and more guns,” he wrote in the September social media post. “We know Aboriginal people will be targeted.”
Bus Crime ‘Worst in the Country’
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) organiser for the NT, Barry Norton, welcomed the government’s intervention and said antisocial behavior had been “rampant” for years. “It is the worst in the country,” he said. Last October, bus drivers walked off the job for 24 hours, striking for better pay and safer conditions. “There’s been mass brawls, fights, consumption of alcohol — it was just getting out of hand,” Mr Norton said.
However, he said the closure of the Casuarina bus interchange — located at the city’s largest shopping complex — had made a difference. “It is now a get-on-and-get-off place, whereas before it was a place where people could meet,” he said. “But the antisocial behavior on the buses is just as bad as it ever was, there’s been no change there.”
TWU declined to say whether it supported the NT government’s plan to arm officers monitoring public transport with guns, but said any measures to combat antisocial behavior “must be carefully thought out.”
Darwin local Roger McHugh said, because the bus is free, he frequently catches public transport from his home to the shops. Sitting at the bus stop which once operated as the Casuarina interchange, he said the closure had often left him waiting for buses in the rain. Despite the CLP’s intervention, he said the bus stop did not seem any safer. “Someone got stabbed here not long ago,” he said.
According to the NT government, the tide is turning. A spokesperson for the Department of Logistics and Infrastructure said closing the Casuarina bus interchange had resulted in a 65 per cent drop in incidents that required a response from the Transit Safety Unit (TSU). He said TSU officers attended 2,023 incidents in the three months prior to the closure. In the three months after, that figure fell to 710 — an average of eight incidents a day.
Public transport passenger Heath Baxter said, since the network’s overhaul, he had noticed bus stops were left without shelter from the sun and rain. He told the ABC he didn’t believe arming officers on public transport with guns would address safety issues. “It’s a bit extreme … I don’t think guns are the solution — there’s other ways to keep everybody safe,” he said.
While Victoria has armed officers on public transport, there have been calls to take away the weapons and critics have argued the officers are under-trained — claiming they had repeatedly over-stepped their powers.
Minister for Logistics and Infrastructure Bill Yan did not directly respond to questions from the ABC about whether the NT government’s other crime-reduction measures had worked. He could not point to any evidence, anywhere else in the country, that suggested putting armed officers on public transport had reduced crime.
“An increase of police public safety officers and uniform personnel, whether it be on our streets or on our bus network — we know that physical and visual presence has an effect on antisocial behavior — that’s effectively a given,” Mr Yan said.
Last month, a brawl involving dozens of students broke out at the Palmerston bus interchange — a problem area according to the NT government, listed as next in line for possible closure in the CLP’s reform strategy. However, a spokesperson said that decision required “further consideration” to protect connections across Darwin, Casuarina, rural areas, and school bus routes.
Mr Norton said he was waiting to see whether the NT government’s changes would make a difference, but pointed out it had not yet dealt with the underlying issue. “The root cause is not the geography,” he said. “It is the psychology of the people that commit these acts.”
