Alice Springs' youngest mayor, Matt Paterson, to step down to spend more time with family

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4 hours ago

He campaigned as a "boring" mayor, but Matt Paterson's term in office has been anything but dull.
Cr Paterson made history when he defeated Jimmy Cocking by just two votes in 2021, becoming at 30 the youngest-ever mayor of Alice Springs, a Central Australian town that has recently been at the centre of a national reckoning over crime and regional neglect.
His tenure saw him confronting the prime minister at round tables and featuring on national news broadcasts.
And in a headline-grabbing bid to draw attention to the region's tourism struggles, he once greeted a new airline service at the Alice Springs Airport wearing nothing but budgie smugglers.
Now, with just two months until the next local government election, Cr Paterson, now 34, has announced he will be stepping down to spend more time with his family.
"I've got two young kids that are only little once," he said.
"They don't know me not being an elected member and that puts a lot of things in perspective."
Growing up in Alice Springs as a self-described "ratbag" and expelled from school, Cr Paterson had to navigate people's shock and doubt when he first ran for council as a 26-year-old sparky.
"I had a teacher say that there was no chance she was going to vote for me in 2017, threw my flyer at me and then sent me a message in 2023 saying that she was very proud of how far I'd come," he said.
A few years after being elected mayor, Cr Paterson was plunged into the national spotlight when crime and alcohol-fuelled violence severely ratcheted up in Alice Springs, and he called on the prime minister to deploy the army or federal police to assist with the prolonged crisis.
He also publicly called for the entire NT government to be fired before a controversial two-week youth curfew was put in place over the town in 2024.
Reflecting on that time, Cr Paterson said Alice Springs was "at breaking point" and the decisions he had to make were "tough".
"We needed help, and I used my voice as mayor," he said.
"There's no rule book. I don't get a rule book on how to handle situations here, and we all feel pressure.
Controversially, the council banned football teams from remote communities — where there is little sports infrastructure — from using town ovals a number of times during Cr Paterson's tenure.
And in 2023, the mayor publicly apologised for writing a letter of support for a controversial horticultural project without consulting other councillors.
While he positioned himself as an advocate for change, willing to rattle cages at every level of government, Cr Paterson said he did not want to be remembered as "the mayor on the front page of the paper".
He said his biggest achievements were the "small things", such as investments into sports facility upgrades, an adventure park and plans for a new library.
"We're not solving world peace at local government levels, but we are making a difference, and it's those small things that help people live in Alice Springs and gives families and young kids something to look forward to," he said.
On the streets of Alice Springs, opinions are divided.
Michelle Pettit said the council could have been a "bigger, stronger voice for the community" in recent years.
"We're still looking at a lot of basic human rights that are not always addressed," she said.
"[The] word on the street is, 'Thank you very much and we wish you well.'"
John Adams said: "It's a tough job to go into."
John Maude, who voted for Cr Paterson in 2021, said he believed his term had been largely uneventful, but was pleased with his efforts to deal with crime.
Alex Long said she was sad to see him go.
"He's a young family man himself and I think that's important because most of the town is young families," she said.
Federal Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour said while she did not agree with Cr Paterson on everything, they "had the type of relationship where we could speak openly about things and that's something I appreciate".
"Our town is at a critical juncture, and we need strong community leadership to get us through it," she said.
Braitling MLA Joshua Burgoyne said Cr Paterson had "worked hard over his tenure to ensure Alice Springs has had its fair share".
"Our town needs more pragmatic leaders like Patto; I have always appreciated his frankness and collaboration on important projects for the town," he said.
This year, 16 territory councils will participate in local government elections in August, according to NT Electoral Commissioner Kirsten Kelly.
She said that while voter enrolment in the territory was at its highest level (94.1 per cent), participation in elections was declining.
Australian Electoral Commission data shows in the expansive seat of Lingiari, which includes Alice Springs, voter turnout at the most recent federal election was only 62.2 per cent, a drop from both the 2022 federal election (66.8 per cent) and 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum (64.4 per cent).
In terms of what's next for Cr Paterson, he said that after August 24, once the election was over, he would be "taking a breath".
"I'll probably go have a cold beer on the golf course and just have a few weeks to regroup and get in the garden because all of those things get neglected," he said.
"We'll just take a breath and have some family time."