Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro says she’ll move an amendment for the government’s bail law reforms for offensive weapon crimes to include all kinds of weapons

Transcript

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro says she’ll move an amendment for the government’s bail law reforms for offensive weapon crimes to include all kinds of weapons · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now is the opposition
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: leader Leah Finocchio. Good morning to you, Leah. Let me
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: just try that again. I'm not too sure what's going
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: on with that phone line. Bear with me a moment.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Have we got you there, Leah?
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Yes, Katie, morning now, No, we haven't.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Now, Leah. Firstly, did you have the opportunity to hear
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: the Attorney General on the show about twenty minutes or
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: so ago? And what did you make of the announcement yesterday?
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: Oh, Katie, I did hear the Attorney General. In respect
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: to the announcement, we welcome it. This is this is
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: absolutely better than nothing, but it must go further. In
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: respect to the Attorney general's comments, it was really probably
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: left your listeners wondering why they're even bothering, because ultimately
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: he talked a lot about their being need to tread
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: carefully because of unintended consequences. Well, what are the unintended consequences?
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Natasha fars is so worried? It should absolutely be the
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: government's intention that all weapons are included in this reform.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: It should be intentional of government. And what probably horrified
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: me the most, Katie, was that he said it may
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: increase people reminded, so that means it may increase people
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: not bailed. Now, Labour should be confident that this legislation
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: will result in an increase in people not being bailed.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: That is the entire point of this reform. And let
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: yet you have the Attorney General saying it only may
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: increase people not bailed.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Why do you think that would be.
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: Because it doesn't go far enough. And I think really
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: he was probably more honest than Labor have been in
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: a long time through those comments. Katie. It is very limited.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: They've deliberately picked a very limited list of weapons that
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: are included, and of course it doesn't include things like rocks,
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: broken bottles, star pickets, cars, crowbars, all of these other
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: types of weapons we see being used on a regular basis, Katie,
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: across the Norman territory, there are all items that are
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: easy and readily available to people and those have been
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: deliberately excluded from this legislation by Labor.
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: Leah, I mean, what are you thinking to yourself today
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: after the fact that just last week we had the
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: government saying we're not going to be making knee jerk
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: reactions on Friday on the week that was the police
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: Minister had said that very sentence to Bill Yan. We
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: are not going to be making knee jerk We're not
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: going to be having knee jerk reactions like the CLPR
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: and getting the I can't think what they're called the
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: parliamentary the legislative you know, the crew that you were needing, Yeah,
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: the Parliamentary Council to work over the weekend, you know,
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: to basically, you know, to push your agenda. But then
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: that is exactly what's happened. I mean, it does seem
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: so it's a step in the right direction, but they've
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: really had to be taken there kicking and screaming.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: They have, and it is two years too late, and
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: it is a step in the right direction. I'm not
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: taking away from that, and I think people would expect
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: us to welcome it, and of course we will help
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: support parts it today. But ultimately people need to be
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: very very clear that the government has deliberately limited it
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: to a small list of weapons. There are forty eight
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: weapons that this includes. It does not include improvised weapons,
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: which are all those things like rocks and bottles and
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: star pickers and all those other types of things that
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: can be used. We think it needs to be. It
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: needs to start at this serious violence offence with or
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: without a weapon. It should be that people who commit
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: a serious violence offense start with that position of no bail,
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: irrespective of the weapon, and that will start to protect
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: the community more. And the fact that the Attorney General
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: said that it only may increase people on romand shows
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: just how few people this legislative change is actually going
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: to target, because the list of weapons they've decided to
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: include is just far too narrow. And Katie for example,
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: I mean when it comes to rocks, this is why
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: rocks is so important to be included. We've just had
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: a man two weeks ago loose sight in one eye
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: because he was a rock was thrown at him. We've
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: seen just on the same night that deckl and Lavity
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: lost his life, a security guard at the Beachfront Hotel
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: had a bottle smashed over his head. So we see
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: these types of weapons used constantly across the Northern Territory.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: Cars are very regularly used as weapons at people here
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: in the Northern Territory. And so all of these things
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: must be included to make a difference. And Labor has
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: really desperately yesterday again for a second time in two
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: weeks run out to do a press conference to try
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: and show they're doing something when in reality they're not
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: doing enough.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: Leah, look, I certainly I understand what you're saying. You know,
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: I think that everybody listening this morning understands what you're saying,
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: because there are so many people messaging through saying, you know,
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: why isn't it including all weapons. Anything can be used
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: as a weapon a weapon and we've seen that, so
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: we know that the COLP is really calling for this
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: to go further. But are you going to support the
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: legislation today in Parliament?
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: We will support the legislation, but we're also going to
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: move an amendment, Kadien. So I'm literally just asked my
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: team to circulate that to all members of Parliament. We
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: have nothing to hide here. I don't want it to
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: be a gotcha moment on the floor of Parliament. I
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: want everyone to have had time to see it. We
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: are going to amend what the government has put forward
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: so that every serious violence offense, so that's with or
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: without a weapon, every serious violence of offender means they
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: start with a position of know about We think this
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: is an opportunity for government to have heard the feedback
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: from the community over the last twenty four hours, if
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: not for years, Kate.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well this is it. We've been talking about this
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: for such a long time. Honestly, there's been weeks where
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: I've thought to myself, can't there be something else to
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: talk about? And you know it, can't they stop. We
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: seem to have lost Leah. Hopefully we're able to get
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: her back on the line because I am just keen
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: to find out her thoughts on the situation with the jails.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: We have just lost Lea Finocchiaro, So hopefully we're able
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: to get her back online. But yeah, keen to find
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: out a little bit more about what this is going
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: to mean when it comes to the jails and just
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: how full our jails are at this point, whether they're
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: going to end up even fuller than what they currently are.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: So just trying to find out. Yep, we have got
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: Leah back on line. One. Good morning again to you, Leah.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure what happened then. Now, Yeah, before I
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: let you go, so obviously you are going to make
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: this amendment to include every serious violent offense, starting with
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: the position of there are no bails, so against bail, Yes, Leah,
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: the only concern that we have got here at the
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: moment is that the jails are already overflowing. What do
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: you think this is going to mean when it comes
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: to the number of people that we've got locked up
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: and where are they going to go?
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: You're right, and the jails are full and ultimately labor
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: has no plan for that.
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: What we would do, and what we would.
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: Like to see government do, is move low risk prisoners
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: into work camps. They have been highly successful across the
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: territory in days gone by, and we need to be
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: doing more of it. It is important that prisoners have
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: the opportunity to work. Prison is also about rehabilitation. It's
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: not about just sitting in a jail cell and rotting away.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: And we think for prisoners who present a very low
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: risk of the community that we need to be looking
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: much more seriously at getting them out into work camps,
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: giving back to the community, being productive, positioning themselves to
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: gain employment after they've served their time. So we think
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: government need to immediately be looking at those models and
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: acting fast. And irrespective of the changes in Parliament today,
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: governments still have to deal with this issue in our
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: prison so I.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Can hear the bells ringing side. Just ask you very quickly,
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: do you think that the Attorney General's response this morning
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: to being in Sydney was good enough.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: No, he is making it sound like he was on
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: some sort of necessary personal leave. He was down there
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: campaigning for a new South Wales election, helping his labor mates.
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: He is the Attorney General.
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: He went. It pains to say that he is doing
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: his secret review with departmental staff. Well, he doesn't need
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: to be consulting with his department on this law reform.
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: He needs to be listening to the community.
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: It is the territorians out there who are crying out
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: for change and for action are the relevant people that
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: need to be part of this so called endless time
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: Let's review.
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: He still did not say when the review would be completed.
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: It doesn't pass the pub test that it's not going
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: to be made public. And nobody thinks that the Department
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: and the Minister is in a better position to change
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: the law than what the community are crying out for,
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: which is another reason why we will move an amendment
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: this morning to the government's proposed change so that it
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: makes it stronger, so that all violent offenders are included
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: and we can start to actually deliver what the community
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: sentiment is rather than just saying it the time for
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: politics on this is over. We as a parliament can
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: make an absolute change in people's lives in about seven
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: minutes time. Katie and I sure am hopeful that the
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: government is going to get on board and start to
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: deliver for the people.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: Leah, please keep in contact with us and let us
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: know how that goes this morning. Appreciate your time. You
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: better get in there.
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: Yes, take care everyone.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: Thank you,