Home PoliticsNT buses to be patrolled by armed officers in move critics say will hit Aboriginal Territorians hardest

NT buses to be patrolled by armed officers in move critics say will hit Aboriginal Territorians hardest

by Layla Hart
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NT buses to be patrolled by armed officers in move critics say will hit Aboriginal Territorians hardest

Transit safety and public housing officers in the Northern Territory will soon be armed with guns, in a move that critics have described as “inherently dangerous and unnecessary” and one that will disproportionately affect Aboriginal Territorians.

The first members of a new force of armed Police Public Safety Officers (PPSOs) are expected to begin patrolling in Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine and Alice Springs in June, following an 18-week training program.

First Nations legal advocates and politicians have warned that the change risks doing the opposite of what it is meant to achieve. Rather than making public transport safer, they say, it could leave Indigenous people feeling less safe and deepen existing concerns about the treatment of Aboriginal people in public spaces.

The Northern Territory government introduced legislation to create the PPSO role last year. At the time, it said the new officers were being brought in response to an increase in antisocial behaviour on public transport.

The plan has now prompted renewed criticism from the NT’s First Nations legal service, which has argued that arming officers in this setting is not only unnecessary but also dangerous. The service says the decision would have a disproportionate impact on Aboriginal Territorians, who are already more likely to be affected by frontline policing and enforcement measures.

The new officers are being positioned as a transit safety and public housing response, but the move has become the subject of wider debate about policing, public safety and the risks of introducing firearms into environments where vulnerable people are present.

The rollout begins in June and will cover several major centres across the territory, including the NT capital, Darwin, as well as Palmerston, Katherine and Alice Springs. With the legislation already introduced and training underway, the government is pressing ahead despite growing criticism from legal and political voices representing First Nations communities.

The controversy comes amid ongoing concerns about how public safety policy affects Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory. Critics say that any increase in armed presence on buses and in related public settings needs to be weighed carefully against the potential harm to the people most likely to encounter those officers.

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