The Northern Territory Justice Minister says the Federal Government's welfare system is contributing to rising crime rates in Alice Springs.
The latest Territory Government crime statistics show crime in Alice Springs has risen across the board for the past five years, with offences nearly doubling.
Assaults have gone up by 44 per cent, and the number of house break-ins have nearly quadrupled.
The Territory's Justice Minister John Elferink says the Federal Government has contributed to the rise, by handing out welfare money to people without making them work for it.
"I find it absurd that every fortnight the Federal Government pours millions of dollars into the Northern Territory in the form of passive welfare," he said.
"So that the Territory Government can spend millions of dollars every fortnight fixing up the mess."
Mr Elferink says the Federal Government needs to introduce a work for welfare program to seriously address the issue of crime in Alice Springs.
"What we're starting to see is the outcomes of that Federal Government indifference," he said.
Mr Elferink is the second Territory Government Minister to call for an overhaul of the welfare system in the past week.