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Katie Woolf spoke with Independent Member for Araluen Robyn Lambley · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The estimates process is running through at the moment. So
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  Speaker 1: what that means is obviously the opposition and the independent
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: members of Parliament have got the opportunity to scrutinize the
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: government and ask them a number of questions in every portfolio,
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  Speaker 1: not only of the government but also of those government departments.
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  Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line to talk more about
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  Speaker 1: what's happened so far this week is the independent member
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  Speaker 1: for our lun Robin Lamley. Good morning, Robin, Good morning Katie. Robin.
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  Speaker 1: How's it all going there in estimates?
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's been as expected as it is every year,
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  Speaker 2: quite grueling long hours. Yesterday we had about seven or
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  Speaker 2: eight hours of the Chief Minister who invariably told us
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  Speaker 2: how wonderful everything is and how even though the budget
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  Speaker 2: is extremely bleaked, that there's life at the end of
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  Speaker 2: the tunnel and all the indicators are showing that things
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  Speaker 2: are in proving, which I'm not sure whether I believe
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  Speaker 2: or not. And now at the moment we've got the
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  Speaker 2: Police Minister who's answering some grueling questions from the leader
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  Speaker 2: of the Opposition, Lea Fanocchiaro. So yeah, look, it's a
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  Speaker 2: great process. It's a pity that we've got sixty hours
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  Speaker 2: crammed in the four and a half days. That's probably
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  Speaker 2: my main complaint.
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  Speaker 1: Makes it hard, Robin, how are you guys getting many
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  Speaker 1: answers from the police Minister at the moment with some
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  Speaker 1: of the issues that we're seeing around the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: Well, once again, it's a very glowing picture of what's
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  Speaker 2: been done and what's going to happen in the future,
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  Speaker 2: despite the fact that most of us are still complaining
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  Speaker 2: about unacceptable crime right throughout the Northern Territory, with maybe
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  Speaker 2: the exception of Darwin itself. But look, I guess the
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  Speaker 2: main message I'm hearing is that they do have a plan.
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  Speaker 2: Jamie Chalker is still reasonably new in the job as
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  Speaker 2: the Police Commissioner, and he clearly has a plan and
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  Speaker 2: is very committed to sorting out the problems in places
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  Speaker 2: like Alice Springs, which of course is always my main concern.
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  Speaker 2: But look at you know, Lee has been asking all
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  Speaker 2: sorts of very technical questions, lots of questions about statistics,
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  Speaker 2: trying to sort of drag it out of them. What
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  Speaker 2: happens to all these kids that are apprehended and summoned
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  Speaker 2: and arrested. You know what actually happens to them, and
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  Speaker 2: you know, are they in some way sort of assisted
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  Speaker 2: to change their behavior or even indeed incarcerated. It's all
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  Speaker 2: very vague and obtuse, and we're not getting many answers. No,
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  Speaker 2: I think, you know, the general message is that I
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  Speaker 2: think this government has finally worked out that a really
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  Speaker 2: soft on crime approach doesn't really serve anyone any well.
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  Speaker 1: It doesn't And Robin, even here in Darwin City, well,
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  Speaker 1: yesterday we had a situation where three teenagers a seventeen
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  Speaker 1: year old and two sixteen year olds read tavoc on
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  Speaker 1: the CBD Woolworths. They assaulted a thirty two year old man.
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  Speaker 1: They then threw rocks at other people at the car
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  Speaker 1: park and inside, injuring some. They are then, as I
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  Speaker 1: understand it, assaulted a worker at Woolworths. So, you know,
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  Speaker 1: I guess for us all around the Northern Territory we're
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  Speaker 1: seeing that these issues when it comes to crime, and
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  Speaker 1: there is that real perception that it's its youth crime.
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  Speaker 1: But Robin, I caught up with the Minister for Territory
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  Speaker 1: Family's Kate Warden yesterday and asked her how things were
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  Speaker 1: going in Alice Springs. Take a listen to what she
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  Speaker 1: had to say. Minister, did you meet with general members
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  Speaker 1: of the public as well while you were there to
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  Speaker 1: hear their concerns about some of the issues that they've
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  Speaker 1: been experiencing.
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  Speaker 3: I engage regularly, often online with people that are talking
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  Speaker 3: about crime and often the perception of crime. When I
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  Speaker 3: met with Congress, they felt that things had really calmed
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  Speaker 3: down recently, which was pleasing. The police are saying the
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  Speaker 3: same thing, and certainly my observations indicated there were less
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  Speaker 3: kids out and about during the evening.
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  Speaker 1: I just find it strange that you, the Police Minister
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  Speaker 1: and the Chief Minister were there and didn't sort of
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  Speaker 1: think maybe we should have a bit of a meeting
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  Speaker 1: with members of the public to see how they are feeling.
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  Speaker 2: Well.
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  Speaker 3: I think indirectly, Katie, we are catching up with people.
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  Speaker 3: The people out of the multicultural community that I met with,
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  Speaker 3: the people out of the sporting groups that I met with,
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  Speaker 3: they're all people that live every day in other springs,
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  Speaker 3: and they certainly didn't raise it directly with me. Well,
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  Speaker 3: I think things have really calmed down in Olic Springs,
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  Speaker 3: and I think VIPA has done an amazing job down there.
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  Speaker 1: Robin, I think we'd all agree that tax Vipra is
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  Speaker 1: doing a great job. But if things really calmed down
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  Speaker 1: in Alice Springs.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think to here the minister say that things
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  Speaker 2: have really calmed down is a stretch. It's early days, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: It's very premature to say that it's been a resounding success.
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  Speaker 2: And depending on who you talk to, you get a
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  Speaker 2: different story. Some people are saying that in some ways
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  Speaker 2: it's calmed down, but in other ways it hasn't. And
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  Speaker 2: just before I came on air, I rang around a
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  Speaker 2: number of people I talked to regularly, and one of
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  Speaker 2: them said, yes, maybe kids that are offending. Opera special
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  Speaker 2: Unit VIPER. It focuses on property crime particularly, so you
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  Speaker 2: know they've identified kids that are committing those kids but
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  Speaker 2: he said, this guy said to me that they're still
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  Speaker 2: a car speeding around town at night, more than likely
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  Speaker 2: driven by people who are under the influence of alcohol.
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  Speaker 2: There's still a lot of rog running in town. We've
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  Speaker 2: got a long way to go. Look, and people are
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  Speaker 2: quite optimistic that we've finally got the attention of the government.
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  Speaker 2: The police have put extra resources in there. The signs
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  Speaker 2: are good, But Katie, to say, that it's a great
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  Speaker 2: success already and that things have really changed is a
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  Speaker 2: little bit rich. It's too soon to say that. Too
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  Speaker 2: many people are saying that there is still a big
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  Speaker 2: problem and there are still heaps of kids on the streets.
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  Speaker 2: Late at night, I checked out the situation with a
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  Speaker 2: couple of young people and they said, Yep, Saturday night,
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  Speaker 2: the streets were just full of kids, just like it
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  Speaker 2: normally is. So we've got a long way to go, Katie, Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: I'm optimistic.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I think we're all hoping we can be, Robin,
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  Speaker 1: but it seems like even up here in the top
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  Speaker 1: end people are fairly fed up. I think it is
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  Speaker 1: sort of reaching that point of boiling over or bubbling
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  Speaker 1: over again. Robin. Hee's seen much else that's come out
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  Speaker 1: of estimates over the last couple of days that might
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  Speaker 1: be of interest to our listeners.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, look, there was a stack that came out yesterday.
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  Speaker 2: I was pleased to see the NT News reported on
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  Speaker 2: a lot of that, A lot of the more interesting things,
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  Speaker 2: I suppose. One of the interesting things for me is
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  Speaker 2: what the IKA Commissioner talked about and the fact that
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  Speaker 2: pretty much conflicts of interest within the public service and
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  Speaker 2: I know a lot of public service listen to your
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  Speaker 2: program is right that people don't really understand what a
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  Speaker 2: conflict of interest is. And what he suggested is that
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: the government employ and ethics advisor. So if there's any
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  Speaker 2: query around do I have a conflict of interest because
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  Speaker 2: you know of you know where your husband might work,
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  Speaker 2: or your relationship to your boss or whatever you've got
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  Speaker 2: with the government, has someone there to just put it
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  Speaker 2: to rest and give really good solid advice. So obviously
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  Speaker 2: it's the k Commissioner has been swamps. Yes, complaints about
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  Speaker 2: public servants that have conflicts of interests very interesting.
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  Speaker 1: I thought, Yeah, do you reckon that's a good idea?
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  Speaker 1: Do we need to implement someone like that?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely? Yes, several other states have them, and I've heard
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  Speaker 2: of this before, and I absolutely think that in a
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  Speaker 2: place like the Northern Territory we don't really need another bureaucrat,
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  Speaker 2: but I think this one would be. Well, want some
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  Speaker 2: money in a place like the territory where we're all
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  Speaker 2: so closely connected and we've got the problems that we have, Yes,
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  Speaker 2: bring on an ethics advisor. I thought it was a
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  Speaker 2: great idea, an absolute Pearla Well.
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  Speaker 1: Robin Lambley It's always good to catch up with you.
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  Speaker 1: I think we were trying to see whether we might
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  Speaker 1: be able to get you on for the week. That
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  Speaker 1: was on Friday. I can't remember.
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  Speaker 2: I'm stuck here, yeah are.
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  Speaker 1: You're stuck in there?
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  Speaker 2: That's all right.
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  Speaker 1: We'll talk to you again very soon, Robin, thanks for
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  Speaker 1: your time.
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  Speaker 2: See.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that is Robin Lamley there, the independent member for
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  Speaker 1: our Lewis