Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro says the party plans to move a motion of no confidence in the Labor Government

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Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro says the party plans to move a motion of no confidence in the Labor Government · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: You do know that there's been a lot of different
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  Speaker 1: reactions to what is going on in Central Australia and
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  Speaker 1: Dean Ali Springs. Now joining me in the studio is
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  Speaker 1: Leah Fanocchiaro, the Opposition leader.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Leah, Good morning Katie and your
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  Speaker 2: wonderful listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Leah, first things first, we have had quite a
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  Speaker 1: few people get in contact with us saying where is
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  Speaker 1: the opposition leader.
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  Speaker 2: Why haven't we heard from her? Yeap, and that's fair.
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  Speaker 3: I have been spending time with my young family, particularly
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  Speaker 3: and the lead up to the start of the school
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  Speaker 3: year and my youngest son, Isaac starting at big schools,
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  Speaker 3: so I took that time. But equally, Katie, I have
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  Speaker 3: full confidence in my team and unlike Labor, we have
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  Speaker 3: a very strong, capable team and this is a very
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  Speaker 3: big issue across the territory, but particularly in Central Australia,
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  Speaker 3: and it was important for my whole team that the
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  Speaker 3: voices of Bill Yan and Joshua Burgoyne and Steve Edgington
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  Speaker 3: were heard loud and clear representing their people.
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  Speaker 1: Liah. Some people saying, you know, THO were questioning whether
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  Speaker 1: you should come back early given the crisis that was
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  Speaker 1: unfolding in Alice Springs. Do you regret that should you
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  Speaker 1: have come back earlier.
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  Speaker 3: Look, what I know is that my team didn't exceptional
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  Speaker 3: job holding this government to account. And we all can't
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  Speaker 3: be everywhere every time, all the time. But an issue
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  Speaker 3: as pertinent as this to Central Australia was really important
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  Speaker 3: to be led from the front by my Central Australian
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  Speaker 3: and Berkley Region team and that's exactly what happened. And
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  Speaker 3: as we track into Parliament next week, I know territories
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  Speaker 3: will see exactly what it is we're doing to hold
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  Speaker 3: the government to account for its disastrous failures.
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  Speaker 1: So no regrets, no wishing that you'd have maybe come
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  Speaker 1: back a little sooner.
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  Speaker 3: Well, look, it's really important. We all have families and responsibilities.
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  Speaker 1: You know.
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  Speaker 3: I take my responsibility as opposition leader incredibly seriously. But
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  Speaker 3: even if I was here, Katie, it would have been
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  Speaker 3: Josh Burgo and Billion and Steve ed Didgington leading the
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  Speaker 3: charge as they should, and I'm immensely proud of the
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  Speaker 3: way they held the government to account.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Leah, I think holding the government to account at
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  Speaker 1: this point in time is incredibly important, and you know
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  Speaker 1: what we've seen unfolding over the last well it's not
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  Speaker 1: just the last few weeks.
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  Speaker 2: It's gone into the national spotlight.
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  Speaker 1: In the last few weeks, but this has been a
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  Speaker 1: crisis for quite some time out of Central Australia. You know,
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  Speaker 1: I understand that you are going to be traveling to
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  Speaker 1: Alice Springs tomorrow.
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  Speaker 2: Is that right, Yes, that's correct.
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  Speaker 3: I've had that trip planned for some time and it's
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  Speaker 3: going to be a really great opportunity to feel that
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  Speaker 3: community's response to Natasha Files's announcement earlier this week, and
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  Speaker 3: of course I'll be meeting with the mayor, Matt Patterson.
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  Speaker 3: I'll also be meeting with community leaders and making myself
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  Speaker 3: available to the public. It's really important that we hear
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  Speaker 3: how the announcement this week is going to make an impact,
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  Speaker 3: because certainly the promise of two hundred and fifty million
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  Speaker 3: dollars is something that isn't making the lives of Central
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  Speaker 3: Australians better today, tomorrow, in a month, maybe not even
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  Speaker 3: in a year, Katie, and so we need to hear
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  Speaker 3: loud and clear what they think of the government's response,
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  Speaker 3: which is too little, too late for many.
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  Speaker 1: So what's your response to the announcement earlier in the week,
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  Speaker 1: particularly you know the alcohol are restrictions that are going
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  Speaker 1: to come into play. We know that that two hundred
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  Speaker 1: and fifty million dollars, A lot of people wondering how
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  Speaker 1: it's going to be monitored to ensure that it's spent
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  Speaker 1: in the appropriate areas. So what is your reaction to
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  Speaker 1: the announcement earlier in the week.
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  Speaker 2: I was hugely disappointed.
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  Speaker 3: I feel that it was a missed opportunity for the
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  Speaker 3: government to admit that they'd gotten it wrong. For Natasha
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  Speaker 3: Fhiles to face people in Central Australia and say she
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  Speaker 3: made a mistake as Alcohol Minister and Chief Minister.
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  Speaker 2: I think it was a missed opportunity.
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  Speaker 3: Certainly, if I was Chief Minister Katie, I would have
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  Speaker 3: stood up and demanded that the Prime Minister provide Australian
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  Speaker 3: Federal Police into Alice Springs to tackle the immediate law
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  Speaker 3: and order crisis. I would have demanded additional child protection
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  Speaker 3: staff come into Central Australia and certainly conducted an immediate
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  Speaker 3: audit of all funds being spent in this space and
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  Speaker 3: how we can do things better now. Labor and Natasha
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  Speaker 3: Files didn't do any of those things. There was promises
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  Speaker 3: of more money to be spent by a government that
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  Speaker 3: we know can't manage money, and of course no respite
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  Speaker 3: for a community crying out for support. So how quickly
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  Speaker 3: do you think that there does need to be an
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  Speaker 3: audit of those different different NGOs that are supposed to
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  Speaker 3: be delivering services into Central Australia immediately And it should
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  Speaker 3: have happened a very long time ago. Like you said,
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  Speaker 3: this is not a new issue. You and I and
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  Speaker 3: your listeners and many people have been talking about this
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  Speaker 3: for years now. We've had a labor government for six years.
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  Speaker 3: Natasha Fhiles has been Alcohol Minister for six out of
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  Speaker 3: six years and it's.
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  Speaker 2: Not good enough.
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  Speaker 3: And everyone you know cried the warnings in mid last
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  Speaker 3: year about the end of stronger futures. Everyone warned government
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  Speaker 3: not to do it, and they have ignored the voices
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  Speaker 3: of people for a very long time. And I think
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  Speaker 3: if you are a Central Australian and heard the announcement
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  Speaker 3: on Monday, you would be have your head in your
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  Speaker 3: hands wondering what.
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  Speaker 2: Is it going to take for them to do something
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  Speaker 2: and listen to us.
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  Speaker 1: So, Leah, what is the CLP's approach this year, because
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  Speaker 1: we hear all too often, you know from our listeners
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  Speaker 1: they're saying, Okay, well, I'm not overly happy with what
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory government's doing, but what's the CLP going
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  Speaker 1: to do?
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  Speaker 2: Differently?
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  Speaker 1: So, as Parliament it goes back next week. We know
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  Speaker 1: that obviously the Northern Territory governm it's going to be
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  Speaker 1: introducing this legislation or urgency.
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  Speaker 2: What are you going to do?
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  Speaker 3: So we know that Territorians have no confidence in Natasha
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  Speaker 3: Files or the Labor government, and so we will be
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  Speaker 3: as a CLP responding to those concerns, and we will
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  Speaker 3: be giving notice of emotion of no confidence in the government,
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  Speaker 3: which is the most single most serious thing you can
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  Speaker 3: do in Parliament, which if successful, Katie would could force
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  Speaker 3: a general election.
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  Speaker 1: So you are going to move a motion of no
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  Speaker 1: confidence in the Northern Territory Government next week.
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  Speaker 3: Next week we will give notice of that motion. It
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  Speaker 3: will then be scheduled to debate on the twenty first
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  Speaker 3: of March in the March sittings. And that is going
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  Speaker 3: to send a very clear message to the Labor government
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  Speaker 3: that Territorians are not okay. I will be writing to
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  Speaker 3: every backbencher Labor backbencher. Today, Katie, I will write to
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  Speaker 3: every independent member of the Parliament outlining why Territorians have
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  Speaker 3: lost the confidence in this government and why they should
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  Speaker 3: be supporting a no confidence motion.
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  Speaker 1: How do you think that this needs to happen? What
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  Speaker 1: are those reasons that you've got no confidence in the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory government to be able to do their jobs?
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  Speaker 1: Because this is quite an unprecedented thing to do. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: do you recall have you ever done this before in your.
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  Speaker 3: Top The last no confidence motion was in twenty nineteen,
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  Speaker 3: and the time before that twenty sixteen, So they are
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  Speaker 3: very rare and they are hurled for the most grievous
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  Speaker 3: of situations. But ultimately, Katie, Territorians want to be able
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  Speaker 3: to look forward to their future and instead they're looking
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  Speaker 3: over their shoulder. Territorians are instead of planning what they're
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  Speaker 3: doing on the weekend, are worrying about where are they
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  Speaker 3: going to park their car? Can they go to the supermarket?
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  Speaker 3: Is it safe to go to the movies. People can't
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  Speaker 3: live their lives like this. It's driving good people out
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  Speaker 3: of the territory. It's debilitating on so many levels, and
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  Speaker 3: ultimately people are spending more time worrying about their own
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  Speaker 3: personal safety, whether they can go to sleep at night,
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  Speaker 3: how they're going to pay the bills, how are they
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  Speaker 3: going to put fuel in the car, And these things
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  Speaker 3: are crippling our society. We have a police crisis, we
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  Speaker 3: have a health crisis, we have an education crisis, and
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  Speaker 3: most of all, we have a personal safety crisis where
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  Speaker 3: lawlessness is destroying this place that we love so much.
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  Speaker 1: So, Leah, there's going to be a lot of people
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  Speaker 1: listening this morning who maybe don't know exactly what this means.
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  Speaker 1: I mean moving a motion of no confidence in the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory government. So essentially what you have to do
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  Speaker 1: is bring that forward on urgency. Did you say for
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  Speaker 1: next week or you've got to move that motion next week.
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  Speaker 3: Unfortunately, there are some complicated timeframes that I can't do
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  Speaker 3: anything about. But ultimately what I would do on Tuesday
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  Speaker 3: is introduce that motion that then has to have three
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  Speaker 3: clear working days and because it is a one week sitting,
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  Speaker 3: it means it won't be able to be debated, so
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  Speaker 3: it will come on in March. There will then be
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  Speaker 3: a debate about the government not holding the confidence of
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  Speaker 3: the people and all of the reasons why this government
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  Speaker 3: is not fit to govern and I think after six
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  Speaker 3: long years, Natasha Files and her government have shown they
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  Speaker 3: can't do the basics. This is about providing basic services
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  Speaker 3: and basic fundamental structures of a society and they have failed.
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  Speaker 2: So that debate will happen.
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  Speaker 3: As I said, we will be appealing to the backbench
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  Speaker 3: and the cross bench and independence over that period of
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  Speaker 3: time because they must be hearing the concerns of the
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  Speaker 3: community like we are, Katie, and their responsibility is to
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  Speaker 3: their electorate, not their leader, Natasha Files. And so this
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  Speaker 3: will be a very important time for the territory to
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  Speaker 3: look very closely at whether or not Natasha Files can
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  Speaker 3: claw this back from here, or whether or not it
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  Speaker 3: will ultimately force a general election.
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  Speaker 1: Lea.
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  Speaker 2: This is a big call. It's a very big call.
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  Speaker 1: To move a motion of no confidence in the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory government. And again I will say that I know
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  Speaker 1: people will be listening thinking, okay, well that's fine and
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  Speaker 1: good to do, but you know, how will the COLP
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  Speaker 1: do it differently or how would you do it better?
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, Katie, and there's a very stark difference between us. Ultimately,
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  Speaker 3: the CLP backs our police and we absolutely would put
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  Speaker 3: the rights of people to be safe a right above
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  Speaker 3: the rights of offenders, and that means we will reinstate
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  Speaker 3: a raft of changes that were watered down with bail.
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  Speaker 2: We will be reversing.
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  Speaker 3: I mean this government brought in the disastrous raising the
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  Speaker 3: age of criminal responsibility.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we will reverse that.
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  Speaker 3: We will put law and order front and center. I,
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  Speaker 3: as Chief Minister, will hold the Police portfolio so that
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  Speaker 3: I can guarantee every single Territorians that community safety will
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  Speaker 3: be front of mind for me and my government every
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  Speaker 3: single day. We will make sure that the territory is
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  Speaker 3: a safe place to live, that police have power to
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  Speaker 3: deal with alcoholics, and that people can start to focus
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  Speaker 3: on the good things in life instead of worrying about
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  Speaker 3: whether or not there's going to be a machete attack
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  Speaker 3: in a car park at their local supermarket.
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  Speaker 1: Leah, is this just a publicity stunt because the likelihood
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  Speaker 1: of it actually happening is very low. Oh, you don't
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  Speaker 1: have the numbers in Parliament, so is this just a stunt?
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  Speaker 3: I don't think that the likelihood is very low, Katie.
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  Speaker 3: I certainly need six votes in addition to mine. There
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  Speaker 3: are three independent members, a cross Bench member and then,
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  Speaker 3: of course, like I said, there will be back benches
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  Speaker 3: who are very angry with their government and ultimately have
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  Speaker 3: to make a decision between supporting their community or supporting
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  Speaker 3: their party. And I think this is an ultimate test
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  Speaker 3: for that backbench whether or not they have the grit
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  Speaker 3: and determination to represent Territorians like they're elected to do,
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  Speaker 3: or whether or not they're going to fall into line
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  Speaker 3: and be tarnished by what has been a terrible government.
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  Speaker 3: But I know people can't keep living like this, Katie.
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  Speaker 3: You know, Territorians have always fought to protect their lifestyle
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  Speaker 3: and our freedoms, and now they're finding to protect their
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  Speaker 3: lives and their livelihoods and that is unsustainable and unacceptable.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Leaf and ol Kiara, I'm interested to see exactly
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  Speaker 1: how this all goes and very interested to hear from
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  Speaker 1: our listeners this morning about their thoughts on these zero
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  Speaker 1: four double nine seven, double one three six zero lea
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  Speaker 1: before I let you go, Robin Lamley, the Independent member
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  Speaker 1: Fararah Luhn has this morning issue to statement. She made
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  Speaker 1: quite spectacular claims on the show yesterday, saying that she's
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  Speaker 1: taken the step of referring the Northern Territory Attorney General
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  Speaker 1: Chancey Paike to the NT Independent Commission against Corruption for
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  Speaker 1: failing to declare his conflict of interest with the local
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  Speaker 1: Alice Springs Aboriginal Corporation with whom he has deep connections
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  Speaker 1: and where he has directed enormous amounts of public money.
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  Speaker 1: She says, do you support this? Do you think that
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  Speaker 1: this needs to happen?
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  Speaker 3: Well, certainly we all have an obligation to report to
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  Speaker 3: the K Commissioner and so it seems very clear that
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  Speaker 3: the Member for our Luhin has got information that has
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  Speaker 3: driven her to take these steps and that's incredibly important.
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  Speaker 3: So it will now sit with the K Commissioner and
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  Speaker 3: of course that process will take pay place, and it's
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  Speaker 3: a very important process. And territories need to have confidence
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  Speaker 3: that there is integrity and government and that's exactly why
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  Speaker 3: there is an IK Commission. So I think people will
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  Speaker 3: be watching to see what happens there.
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  Speaker 2: Katie Lea, I've got.
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  Speaker 1: A message here from Keith in Malak. He says, Team
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  Speaker 1: I applaud the opposition to move a no confidence motion
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  Speaker 1: it's required. However, I don't have much confidence in the
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  Speaker 1: young COLP team that one there from Keith, What do you.
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  Speaker 3: Say to that oh look, Keith, thank you so much
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  Speaker 3: for reaching out, and I encourage everyone to write to
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  Speaker 3: their local member on this no confidence issue and you
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: express to them why they should be supporting of it.
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  Speaker 2: Keith, please have confidence.
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  Speaker 3: I have a committed, dedicated, energized team who are so
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  Speaker 3: passionate about the territory. We're devastated to see how labor
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  Speaker 3: have dragged the territory into the place that we are,
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  Speaker 3: and we will spend every waking moment, if given the
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  Speaker 3: opportunity to govern, to make sure that the territory is
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  Speaker 3: a great place to live, work and enjoy our lives.
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  Speaker 1: Leah Finocchiaro, the opposition leader, thanks so much for joining
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  Speaker 1: us in the studio this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you. Wonderful to say you