Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough pledged to do everything he could to improve the appalling conditions in the camps around the central Australian town and believes big improvements could be made within a year.
Federal Human Services Minister Joe Hockey last week described the camps as "ghettoes of despair" and likened them to South Africa's shanty towns.
With 15 cases of murder or manslaughter in Alice Springs in the past 16 months, Mr Brough said the situation was "desperate". He said reducing crime was an immediate priority for the 2,500 people living in the camps.
"No part of Australia should have those circumstances and I'm determined to work with the Territory government and also the local authorities there ... to turn this situation around and to do it rapidly," he told ABC radio.
Mr Brough, who took over the portfolio from Amanda Vanstone in late January, said the immediate focus should be to eliminate alcohol and drug fuelled crime in the camps, rather than other issues such as improving school attendance.
"Before we worry about kids going to school or anything else we must first of all restore law and order," he said. "The rule of law doesn't just mean a whole heap of police. It means ensuring that people are safe and that that right that we all take for granted should be just as well adhered to in ... a town camp."
The minister said good results could be achieved in a year and cited the example of the Balgo community on the edge of the Tanami Desert in Western Australia's Kimberley region.
"There were just an enormous amount of crimes committed in the month of January. Twelve months later, by restoring law and order and governance, there was zero crime," Mr Brough said.