Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with Police Association President Paul McCue about a police force funding boost

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Katie spoke with Police Association President Paul McCue about a police force funding boost · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Through no over the weekend is that the Northern Territory
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: government had announced that there was going to be an
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  Speaker 1: additional ten million dollars invested into the Northern Territory Police,
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  Speaker 1: Fire and Emergency Services. So it's a one off payment
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  Speaker 1: which the government says recognizes the ongoing service and dedication
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  Speaker 1: from the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Service members
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  Speaker 1: who've worked tirelessly to keep the community safe during the
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  Speaker 1: COVID nineteen response. Now joining me on the line to
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  Speaker 1: tell us a little bit more about what this funding
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  Speaker 1: is going to mean. From the Police Association, the President,
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  Speaker 1: Paul Mchue.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Paul, very good morning Catie.
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  Speaker 1: Paul. This ten million dollars, it's a funding boost obviously
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  Speaker 1: announced by the Police Minister Nicole Madison on the weekend.
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  Speaker 1: What does it mean and what's it for?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, obviously you know police, you know eighteen months
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  Speaker 2: or so has had a huge impact from COVID and
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  Speaker 2: you know this additional funding is welcome. It will certainly
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  Speaker 2: help keep the wheels turning so to speak, in a
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  Speaker 2: very difficult time. I mean we've got police deployed the
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  Speaker 2: wallparts of the territory as we speak. Trying to contain
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  Speaker 2: this virus and help those communities. So that will cost money,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, the general police budget it clearly is
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  Speaker 2: not enough to do what they're being asked to do
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  Speaker 2: at the moment, and this will just go somewhere towards
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  Speaker 2: helping that.
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  Speaker 1: Paul talk us through how it is kind of working
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  Speaker 1: for for our different you know, for our police force
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  Speaker 1: in those different communities, because presumably there's been quite a
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  Speaker 1: bit of work to be done in the likes of
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  Speaker 1: Catherine Robinson, River Binjari, rock Hole and now La Jamano.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, there's a huge amount of work being done
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  Speaker 2: by the teams, you know, certainly including the management team.
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  Speaker 2: We've got a management team down there in Katherine, We've
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  Speaker 2: got the emergency operations center up here in Darwin. They're
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  Speaker 2: all doing huge hours to I guess get their heads together.
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  Speaker 2: And it's a very fluid situation as you know, and
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  Speaker 2: and you know Katherine and Bnjari in those areas down
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  Speaker 2: there have been restricted for some time. That all takes
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  Speaker 2: additional resources out of Darwin to help with that. And
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  Speaker 2: now we're seeing a similar response in La Jamanu, where
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  Speaker 2: we've had up to nearly twenty police from our springs
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  Speaker 2: be deployed over the last twenty four hours to boost
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  Speaker 2: some resources there and obviously try and restrict movement in
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  Speaker 2: and around that area. And they're working in some extreme
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  Speaker 2: conditions forty degrees plus for the next week, and that
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  Speaker 2: management team of certainly doing all they can in terms
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  Speaker 2: of making sure that those members have got what they
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  Speaker 2: want down there.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we actually had a caller getting contact with us
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  Speaker 1: last week and said that they'd gone through the roadblocks
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  Speaker 1: in Queensland around COVID and then when they got into
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory they've done the same near Catherine and
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  Speaker 1: they commented on the fact that the police are doing
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  Speaker 1: a phenomenal job, but the comparison to the infrastructure that
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  Speaker 1: was in place in Queensland was very different to what
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  Speaker 1: we've got here in the territory.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, the infrastructure is always an issue. I know when
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  Speaker 2: COVID first kicked off March April last year and the
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  Speaker 2: infrastructure by security points was fairly makeshift initially, and of
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  Speaker 2: course we had the defense assisting and then you know,
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  Speaker 2: slowly but surely there was some better infrastructure put in place,
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  Speaker 2: but nothing permanent, disappointingly, and of course now we're seeing
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  Speaker 2: a requirement for that again. But what I will say is,
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  Speaker 2: you know, we raised some concerns with the department, you know,
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  Speaker 2: last week around some of those roadblock areas around Capturing
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  Speaker 2: last week, those rectification was made immediately. Certainly, some air
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  Speaker 2: conditioned vans were put in place so those people get
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  Speaker 2: those core temperatures down, and that's certainly our concern working
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  Speaker 2: in that extreme hate. But certainly the infrastructure is a
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  Speaker 2: big concern. And you know, while we got COVID around,
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  Speaker 2: there's no doubt we're going to need those areas for
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  Speaker 2: some time to come.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Paul, you know you've touched on the work that
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  Speaker 1: obviously our police are doing in those different areas. We
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  Speaker 1: know that the ad Force called into support as well
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  Speaker 1: the week before early last week. Has that made much
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  Speaker 1: of a difference and do you think that we are
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  Speaker 1: going to need to see more of that in the future.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, I can't see any avoiding it, to be honest.
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  Speaker 2: I mean they have certainly assisted again this time around.
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  Speaker 2: The first time round we had obviously Australian Federal Police
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  Speaker 2: as well as defense because quite frankly, the police force
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  Speaker 2: here is very small in comparative to the size of
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  Speaker 2: the area where we're trying to look after. And of
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  Speaker 2: course day to day policing doesn't stop. The other requirements
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  Speaker 2: for policing doesn't stop because we've got COVID here as
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  Speaker 2: well now, so those resources are very finite. You know,
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  Speaker 2: We've got lots and lots of situations now where sections
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  Speaker 2: are strip bare to try and deal with this COVID situation.
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  Speaker 2: So I cannot see in avoiding the federal assistance being
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  Speaker 2: required again, whether that's through federal police or defense, to
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  Speaker 2: be frank, it doesn't really matter. But certainly police in
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  Speaker 2: the Northern Territory don't have the numbers if the situation
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  Speaker 2: continues to develop some of those communities, and obviously that's
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  Speaker 2: the fear fear right now.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and I would assume as well, as the country
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  Speaker 1: opens up, and as in Northern Territory opens up as well,
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  Speaker 1: that we are you know, that we are maybe going
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  Speaker 1: to see more police or need to see more police
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  Speaker 1: in different areas around the place.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, no doubt. And look, I'm absolutely certain the Commissioner
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  Speaker 2: and his management team would be would be having those
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  Speaker 2: considerations and those discussions at the federal level, and you know,
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  Speaker 2: we certainly support any assistance, you know, through that avenue
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  Speaker 2: because as I said, you know, as I said, we've
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  Speaker 2: had twenty just in our springs in the last twenty
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  Speaker 2: four hours, just about pulled out to go and help
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  Speaker 2: in larger Mania and surrounding areas. Now, that obviously affects
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  Speaker 2: the ability for our springs now to do it's core
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  Speaker 2: policing down there, and you know that's not sustainable in
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  Speaker 2: the long term, and certainly that there needs to be
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  Speaker 2: some other assistance brought in for those offices. That is
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  Speaker 2: a larger working some huge hours at the moment, Cadam
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  Speaker 2: and they are working twelve hour shifts extreme weather, and
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  Speaker 2: that is only sustainable for a very very short time,
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  Speaker 2: not long, not in the lockdown.
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  Speaker 1: So with these ten million dollars, is it going to
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  Speaker 1: be invested to try and like to make sure that
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  Speaker 1: we've got more people or more police on the ground.
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  Speaker 1: How exactly is it going to work and kind of
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  Speaker 1: come into play quite immediately.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, I mean, thankfully we've just had a graduation
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  Speaker 2: twenty eight constables last Friday. We've got another squad of
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  Speaker 2: constables graduating towards the end of December, so that'll be
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  Speaker 2: nearly fifty or so extra boots on the ground which
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  Speaker 2: are going to be absolutely needed over the Christmas New
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  Speaker 2: Year period. And then that additional funding, we hope is
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  Speaker 2: obviously going to be towards some additional infrastructure and logistical
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  Speaker 2: requirements to try and keep those members safe in those
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  Speaker 2: roadblock areas. And who knows, we may see biosecurity measures
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  Speaker 2: come back in that will require additional resources and infrastructure,
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  Speaker 2: and of course that money will naturally flow onto that,
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  Speaker 2: but certainly any funding is necessary, and of course looking
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  Speaker 2: into the coming year, so there's no doubt the NT
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  Speaker 2: government will need to review that and look at boosting
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  Speaker 2: that budget even further.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Police Association President Paul McHugh, I always appreciate your time.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you very much for having a chat with us
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  Speaker 1: this morning and just sort of making us a bit
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  Speaker 1: more aware of those different roles that our police are
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  Speaker 1: doing at the moment. Good on, Thank you,