A landmark trial allowing the public sale of pepper spray will be introduced in a crime-hit territory, but opponents have issued stinging rebukes.
The Northern Territory initiative has been called an "admission of failure", as citizens are being asked to protect themselves because "the government cannot do the job".
The territory will become only the second jurisdiction in Australia to allow residents to carry pepper spray, giving people "more choice when it comes to personal safety".
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said a 12-month trial would start in September, allowing approved members of the public to carry a low-percentage oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray under strict legal conditions.
The move was part of the NT government's justice reforms that focus on reducing crime and restoring community safety, she said.
"We're strengthening the frontline with more police, stronger laws and better prevention, but we also believe individuals should have lawful tools to protect themselves if needed," Ms Finocchiaro said in a statement.
Her government made law and order the cornerstone of its first budget with a record $1.5 billion investment in corrections, courts and police.
Consultation to determine the pepper spray trial's specifics will be led by NT Police, industry bodies, licensees and the broader community.
Western Australia is the only jurisdictions in Australia which allows residents to carry pepper spray.
"This is about giving territorians more choice when it comes to personal safety," the chief minister said.
Opposition Leader Selina Uibo said the initiative was an "admission of failure" by Ms Finocchiaro and her government.
"They are now telling territorians to defend themselves because the government cannot do the job," she told reporters on Wednesday.
The government should invest more in policing if it was serious about community safety "rather than handing out pepper spray and telling territorians to hope for the best", Ms Uibo said.
She said broad consultation and regulations would be needed to ensure there were no unintended consequences of the trial.
The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory said allowing the public sale of pepper spray would do nothing to improve community safety and instead put more lives at risk.
"It is incredibly misleading to suggest that equipping the community with a weapon is any kind of solution to community safety," CEO John Paterson said.
"Weaponising people and allowing wider access to a harmful substance like OC spray won't fix violence - it will fuel it."
Dr Paterson said the decision was especially dangerous for vulnerable people, including those sleeping rough, who were disproportionately targeted and criminalised, many of them Aboriginal.
Data shows the NT has an incarceration rate three times greater than anywhere else in Australia and has the highest reoffending rate, with six out of 10 prisoners returning to jail within two years of release.
