A family in Central Australia is pleading for urgent help after a violent attack that has left them shaken and afraid. The family lives at Oak Valley Art Station, about 90 kilometres south of Alice Springs, where they were woken at about three o'clock on Sunday morning. Sisters Tara and Erin Liddy, who live in the Top End far from their red centre homelands, watched the attack on their family unfold through social media. They described the toll it has taken, saying everybody is extremely shaken up, emotional and traumatised.
The attack left several members of the family seriously hurt. Three relatives were taken to Alice Springs Hospital following the disturbance. According to the family, one of them suffered a broken jaw and another a broken eye socket. A 60-year-old woman was left with significant damage to her eye, underlining how serious the violence was.
Police have since moved to lay charges over the incident. Three men and a woman have been charged with aggravated assault and engaging in violent conduct. Northern Territory police say they are continuing to investigate the disturbance. The charges mark the first formal response to an episode that has alarmed the wider family and community.
Beyond the criminal investigation, police are also seeking support for mediation between the family groups involved. The violence has been linked to a longer-running dispute over access to housing at Oak Valley. That underlying tension, rather than a one-off flashpoint, appears to be at the heart of what unfolded. Resolving it is now seen as central to preventing further trouble.
The dispute has been building for some time. The family says multiple people have gone to the Central Land Council in just the last few months about all of the drama. The Central Land Council says its role is limited to helping arrange independent mediation between the parties. So far, however, both parties have not been able to reach an agreement, leaving the conflict unresolved.
Frustrated by the lack of a solution, the family has taken their plea to the highest levels of the Territory. They have written to the Chief Minister and to local politicians demanding urgent support. Their message is that authorities need to demonstrate now that this kind of behaviour is not tolerated in the Northern Territory. For the family, the response so far has not matched the seriousness of what they have experienced.
Underlying their appeal is a fear of what may come next. The family worries that the behaviour could escalate further if the issue is not addressed. Having already seen relatives hospitalised, they are warning that the situation remains dangerous while the dispute drags on. Their call for intervention is as much about preventing the next attack as it is about answering for the last one.