Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with Transport Workers Union Secretary Ian Smith about Darwin's anti-social bus behaviour

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Katie spoke with Transport Workers Union Secretary Ian Smith about Darwin's anti-social bus behaviour · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: But you may have heard on Friday morning I did
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: mention a statement had come out from the Transport Workers
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Union in relation to antisocial behavior on our bus network
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: and the Transport Workers Union calling for urgent action to
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: protect bus drivers following another violent assault. Now joining me
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: on the line right now is the TWU branch secretary
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Ian Smith.
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  Speaker 2: Get a in good morning. Here you going, Kadie, Not
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: too bad, Ian.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: I was pretty mortified when I read this statement on
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  Speaker 1: Friday that said that you guys have received reports that
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  Speaker 1: a female bus driver was physically assaulted at about three
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: point fifteen on Thursday afternoon by a male perpetrator who
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: was under the influence of alcohol. Now, are you able
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  Speaker 1: to give us a bit further detail of exactly what happened?
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  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, it's real concerning. It's horrifying for me and
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  Speaker 2: as the Union of self. The fact that it's through
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  Speaker 2: fifte in the afternoon, when not only people are turning home,
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  Speaker 2: but the school children were turning home from school. And
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: the think that the perpetrators invaded been out of invader
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  Speaker 2: bus driver's space is real concerning. You know, if the
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: bus is moving and they got into those space, it's
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  Speaker 2: a real Garma from what I understanding. Look, the security
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: system that was put in across the network, we thought
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  Speaker 2: was quite adequate and would have would have protected the drivers.
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  Speaker 2: And we had an incident a few weeks ago about
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  Speaker 2: someone getting through the locking system. That matters been addressed
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  Speaker 2: and all those things are fine now, but some of
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  Speaker 2: this perpetrators try to get over the top of that
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  Speaker 2: screen and managed to do that and started punching and
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  Speaker 2: spitting and hitting the driver. Now luckily she was uninjured.
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  Speaker 2: And our other observation has been that the security was
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: there very quickly to assist that it's just not good.
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  Speaker 2: Now what's happening on the network. It's we put a
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: lot of things in place to try and ease the
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  Speaker 2: pressure that it seems to be continuing. So I think
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  Speaker 2: we're getting to the stage that we need to really
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  Speaker 2: reassess what buses actually look like, and the driver needs
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: to be completely isolated and so that the public can't
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  Speaker 2: get through unfortunately or her, and we need to come
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  Speaker 2: up with a four dollar protection system, which there is
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  Speaker 2: designs and there is those systems that have been designed
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  Speaker 2: in New South Wales and Victoria that would probably retroit
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  Speaker 2: those buses because they're pretty standard, but I think the
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  Speaker 2: time is coming, but we need to do that.
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  Speaker 1: Well, it sounds as though something needs to be done,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, from what I've read, it says that it's
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  Speaker 1: alleged that that after several failed attempts to break open
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: the driver protection screen, the perpetrator used the pay slot
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: in the middle of the door to climb on top
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  Speaker 1: of the frame, where he could then reach the driver
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  Speaker 1: through that gap. He then proceeded to punch the driver
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  Speaker 1: repeatedly in the head and spit on her through the
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  Speaker 1: gap in the door. I mean, this must have been
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  Speaker 1: quite a terrifying situation for that driver. Have you spoken
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  Speaker 1: to her Ian, No, we.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: Haven't, but our understanding is she's okay and wasn't physically
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: injured badly, and then she's pretty shaken up. And our
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  Speaker 2: understanding is also that the company took all the appropriate
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: steps to make sure that she was okay, but we
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  Speaker 2: haven't caught up with her yet. She's the most important
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: person in this matter, because it is just not good enough.
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  Speaker 2: And like we've called for an urgent meeting and I'm
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: happy to say there's a meeting schedule for fifteenth of December,
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  Speaker 2: and we need to be addressing these issues with this
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  Speaker 2: the Network Committee to get on top of this because
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  Speaker 2: sooner or later we're going to have a serious incident.
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  Speaker 2: Not only when the bus rider is going to be
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: serious interident, but there's going to be Fassenger's incident and
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  Speaker 2: no one wants that. I understand. The government has put
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: some trying to tighten the legislation up this week in Parliament,
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  Speaker 2: but we need to do more. It's not good enough
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  Speaker 2: and we need to come up with full driver protection
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  Speaker 2: system that protects the driver so then if they can
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  Speaker 2: do their job, and then if there is any anti
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  Speaker 2: social belathory, we need quick action from police. I understand
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  Speaker 2: the legislation allows to do so. To ban now, to
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  Speaker 2: actually banned perpetrators off the buses and kick them off,
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  Speaker 2: that's a great thing. But there's got to be a
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  Speaker 2: bigger consequence.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: And can you tell me do you have any idea
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  Speaker 1: how many bus drivers have been assaulted in the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory this year so far?
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  Speaker 2: No, offhand, I can't tell that, but it is on
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  Speaker 2: the rolly, Yeah, surveys who always get the bus drivers
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  Speaker 2: always copied because of the buses, laiters as well, all
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  Speaker 2: the things that happen in life. So you know, we
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  Speaker 2: know unfortunately the territory itself has a lot of antisocial
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  Speaker 2: behavior issues everybody's trying to address, but it's certainly on
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  Speaker 2: the rise and we're certainly going to need to take
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  Speaker 2: action to make sure that this doesn't continue.
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  Speaker 1: All right, So I from here you are obviously, as
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  Speaker 1: you've said, there is going to be a meeting on
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  Speaker 1: the fifteenth of December. Is that going to be with
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  Speaker 1: the minister or the department? And what do you hope
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  Speaker 1: to get from that meeting?
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  Speaker 2: That meeting is going to consist of all the players,
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  Speaker 2: so the companies, the police, the security companies, are the
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  Speaker 2: department and hope now there could be a representative from
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  Speaker 2: the government so that its job is to make a
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  Speaker 2: difference for those things will be attending and we'll be
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  Speaker 2: pushing pretty hard. More needs to be done, and certainly
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  Speaker 2: if we don't, something's going to happen that no already
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  Speaker 2: wants and we can't accept that. You know, this is
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  Speaker 2: a good society and it's public. The buses is one
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  Speaker 2: of the few public transport systems you have in the
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  Speaker 2: territory in Dawah, and it's a great sis and run
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  Speaker 2: by a couple of good operators, So let's protect the
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  Speaker 2: people and then that and they's come up with a
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  Speaker 2: real solution that makes them safe and so they can
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  Speaker 2: carry out their duties and we get on top of
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  Speaker 2: this anti social behavior. That committee has done some good things.
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  Speaker 2: Education is a big part of it. More police officer
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  Speaker 2: is a big part of it. Driver protection systems is
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  Speaker 2: a big part of it. But it's getting to the
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  Speaker 2: stage now where we need to work very closely and
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  Speaker 2: come up with a system where the driver is protected
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  Speaker 2: in the first place, so these perpetrators think that they
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  Speaker 2: can get anywhere near on like it is very similar
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  Speaker 2: that happens in transtra across the country where the driver's
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  Speaker 2: completely isolated and doesn't have the interaction with the public
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  Speaker 2: and I get on with it.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well it is so very important. I mean, we've
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  Speaker 1: got to make sure that that anybody on the front line,
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  Speaker 1: and you know, like with our bus drivers, we've got
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  Speaker 1: to make sure that they're able to do their jobs
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  Speaker 1: and do them without being fearful of being assaulted and
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: without being assaulted. We all understand that there's going to
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: be issues from time to time, but you know, hearing
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  Speaker 1: that on Friday and what had happened on Thursday. I thought,
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  Speaker 1: what a frightening situation for that bus driver.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and our hearts to go out for her and
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  Speaker 2: her family and hope she's okay, and I know she'll
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: be getting to support you need. Yeah, but it's not
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  Speaker 2: good enough. You know it is not good enough, and
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  Speaker 2: it needs to stop. And the rest assured. I don't
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: like having these conversations with you, Caddy. We need to
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  Speaker 2: make sure to keep the pressure on all parties to
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  Speaker 2: make sure that we come up a solution to stop
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  Speaker 2: system happening and we move forward.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: I agree, and keep us up to date. Let us
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  Speaker 1: know how that meeting goes on the fifteenth. We really
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: appreciate your time, and if you do speak to that
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  Speaker 1: driver please, I don't know that the whole community hopes
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  Speaker 1: that she is okay, and we're all pretty mortified upon
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  Speaker 1: hearing what had happened.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Gadie, Thank you for your listen you to Thanks Ma,