Arabic version: إغلاق عيادة ألبورورولام بعد تهديدات لممرضتين
According to ABC News, the health clinic in Alpurrurulam, also known as Lake Nash, has closed after two nurses were evacuated following alleged threats and community-wide unrest. The remote Northern Territory community, home to about 350 people, is less than 20 kilometres from the Queensland border.
NT Police said officers responded on Sunday to assaults on a woman in the community. Officers were deployed from Avon Downs, Tennant Creek and Camooweal in Queensland. A Queensland police officer arrived with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and the injured woman was taken to Mount Isa before being transferred to Townsville for specialist surgery. She remains in a stable condition.
The health workers raised safety concerns after saying they had been threatened by residents, and police escorted them from the community. With the clinic shut, residents needing care would have to travel 180 kilometres north-east across the border to Camooweal. Barkly Regional Council chief executive Peter Harder called the departure of the two long-time nurses a “real loss” and said the council hoped the clinic could reopen for vulnerable residents.
Police said reports indicated alcohol was a significant factor in the unrest and investigations were continuing. The council has reported that black-market alcohol is being transported from Queensland into Alpurrurulam, a dry community. Natalie Gibson, manager at nearby Lake Nash Station, said alcohol brought over the border was the main driver of violence and described the lack of police enforcement in the community as a serious challenge.
The community has not had a permanent police officer since 2018, when a rotating patrol model was introduced. Mr Harder urged the NT government to accelerate work on the police station, while Barkly member Steve Edgington said regular police visits should occur at least fortnightly until a standard station model could return. NT Police Association president Nathan Finn described the unrest as an “isolated incident” and said officers were best supported under the current drive-in-drive-out arrangement.
