Another Step Toward Militarised Control of Aboriginal Communities
We say NO TO GUNS
The National Network condemn in the strongest possible terms the Northern Territory Government’s plan to arm Housing Officers and Bus Safety Officers under the guise of a new “Police Public Safety Officer” (PPSO) scheme. ‘This announcement, following closely on the heels of the CLP’s outrageous decision to allow members of the public to purchase capsicum spray, represents an escalation in the violent, carceral policing of public space — and a direct threat to Aboriginal lives,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘Let us be clear: this is not about community safety. This is about control. This is about criminalising poverty, pathologising public presence, and further empowering state-sanctioned violence in places where people live, shop, gather, and survive,’ said Debbie Kilroy. ‘It is about extending the reach of the police state into every aspect of daily life in the Northern Territory, under the false banner of “visibility” and “efficiency,” said Debbie Kilroy.
We are now arming housing officers. We are now arming transit staff. Who next? Librarians? Teachers? Social workers?
‘Just weeks ago, a disabled Aboriginal man was killed by police in a Coles supermarket while seeking food. A man who needed support and care. And now, the NT Government wants to put guns in the hands of more people — more uniforms in more places — all to further target Aboriginal people in public spaces. This is not safety. This is colonial violence,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘The idea that so called “antisocial behaviour” is best addressed through a weaponised response is not only dangerous — it is lazy. Community safety does not come from uniforms, guns, and more people with the legal right to use force. Safety comes from housing, food, health care, connection, and culturally safe support — the very things being gutted by successive governments while billions are poured into police and prisons,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘We must refuse to accept a future where catching a bus or living in public housing means being surveilled, harassed, or harmed by state agents in police uniforms. We must refuse to accept the quiet normalisation of force and fear as the price for existing while Black and poor in so-called Australia,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘This plan is not progress — it is regression. It is a militarised reorganisation of roles that were never meant to be violent. It is the state’s answer to rising inequality: arm the workers, blame the victims, and call it progress,’ said Tabitha Lean.
The National Network call on all community organisations, unions, and elected representatives to condemn this plan and resist the further expansion of armed policing into our streets, our homes, and our lives.
We say no to guns in public housing.
We say no to guns on buses.
We say no to the continued policing and punishment of our communities.
WE SAY NO TO GUNS.
END THE VIOLENCE. DISARM THE STATE.
NOT ONE MORE DEATH.
For further comment, please contact Debbie Kilroy on 0419 762 474 or Tabitha Lean on 0499 780 226.
