Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / The Week That Was – 3rd February 2023

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The Week That Was – 3rd February 2023 · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It's time for the week that was and joining us
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: in the studio today. We have got Jared Mayley, the
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Deputy Opposition Leader. Good morning to you, Jered.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Morning Katie, Good morning listeners.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: We've got Robin Lamley, the Independent Member for Ara lun
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: here from Alice Springs.
• 0:12
  Speaker 3: Good morning to you, Robin, morning, Katie.
• 0:15
  Speaker 4: Great to have you on the show.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: And we've also got Evil Alla, the Minister for Infrastructure,
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: the Treasurer, plenty.
• 0:21
  Speaker 4: Of other portfolios. Good morning to you, Eva, Good morning Katie.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining us, and no doubt going
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: to be a busy Friday morning, because we do know
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: that a report ordered by the Prime Minister has recommended
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory Government urgently reinstate alcohol bands in Aboriginal
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: town camps around Alice Springs. Now the report, which has
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: been prepared by Central Australia Regional Controller Darrel Anderson, has
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: been handed to Anthony Albanezi and the Northern Territory Chief
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Minister Natasha Files. Now it also indeed calls for needs
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: based funding. It's not been made public yet and the
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: government has now agreed to come back and well to
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: work things out, I guess and come back next week
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: with a plan. So my understanding is that both of
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: the consecutive governments are going to be sitting down with
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: their cabinets to work out where we go to from here. Now,
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Robin Lamley, you've been out saying that the Northern Territory
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: government need to apologize for the disastrous decision to allow
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: the rivers have grog to flow freely in Ella Springs
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: and overturn that decision. Today, by the sounds of things,
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: you think that both tears of government need to stop
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: waiting and get into it immediately.
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: Yes, as soon as possible. Finally, some common sense from
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: Darrell Anderson, the Central Australia Controller. Look, these things have
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: to be reversed straight away. The damage that the lifting
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: of those alcohol bands across all those Aboriginal living areas,
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: particularly in Central Australia, has been an absolute disaster. So
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: now I'm absolutely bewildered as to why we have to
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: work up to a week for some sort of action.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm not one hundred percent sure about the thinking
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: behind it either, whether it's a situation now where the
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory Chief Minister is sort of going, well, we're
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: not going to re implement this span until we have
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: a commitment from the federal government for the needs based
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: funding EVA.
• 2:19
  Speaker 4: Do you have any insight into that.
• 2:21
  Speaker 5: Yeah, thank you, Katie. Of course, it's you know, it
• 2:24
  Speaker 5: has we understand the issues in Alice Springs and it
• 2:27
  Speaker 5: has been an issue that didn't happen overnight, and we
• 2:30
  Speaker 5: have got those immediate plans that we have put in
• 2:32
  Speaker 5: place at the moment and the results from that have
• 2:35
  Speaker 5: been positive from people talking on the ground, what they
• 2:38
  Speaker 5: saw Monday Tuesday was positive. But we all know it's
• 2:42
  Speaker 5: not just about alcohol, and so they're the discussions that
• 2:45
  Speaker 5: have been taking place with the Prime Minister, between the
• 2:48
  Speaker 5: Chief Minister and Prime Minister, and there needs to be,
• 2:52
  Speaker 5: you know, other discussions around what the territory needs if
• 2:55
  Speaker 5: we're going to go back to that stronger futures legislation.
• 2:59
  Speaker 5: So in my portfolio, for an example I'll give is
• 3:02
  Speaker 5: around education, and that's one that obviously comes up often
• 3:06
  Speaker 5: around solutions for Alice Springs. But a lot of these
• 3:09
  Speaker 5: children and Alice Springs have FAZDI, they have autism, they
• 3:12
  Speaker 5: have trauma, many many other complexities. But it is very
• 3:17
  Speaker 5: difficult and the Northern Territory government does have you counselor's
• 3:21
  Speaker 5: guidance officers, child psychologists ots, but there are never enough
• 3:24
  Speaker 5: of those. So that's one of the things that I
• 3:26
  Speaker 5: would like to see when we talk about needs based funding,
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: greater funding for those sorts of services in central Australia,
• 3:33
  Speaker 5: so not just in town, but in the remotes, because
• 3:35
  Speaker 5: if we're going to get kids to school, no child
• 3:37
  Speaker 5: wants to go to school if every day they go
• 3:39
  Speaker 5: to school and they're singled out, they're embarrassed their failure,
• 3:42
  Speaker 5: So how do you support them.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: I get all of that, and I think that there's
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: a lot of long term work that needs to happen here,
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: and we keep hearing that. We keep hearing about the
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: generational change, and we keep hearing about the long term stuff,
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: but right now there also needs to be you know,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: we have got a boil that's basically exploded. You know,
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: things need to be so that needs to be that
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: needs to be worked on immediately. There's an acute problem
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: that needs to be worked on immediately, and obviously all
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: of that other work needs to continue to happen. But
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: you know, we've even got a situation yesterday where Marian Scrimjaw,
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: the Member Filingiari.
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: She was on the show.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: She is urging the Northern Territory government to legislate on
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: not only you know, not only Central Australia when it
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: comes to those to the alcohol restrictions, but she wants
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: it to be territory wide, she'd said to me on
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: the show yesterday. It needs to be territory wide and
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: include you know, town camps and everywhere having those alcohol
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: management plans. She had also said that, you know, as
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: far as she's concerned, she would like to see that
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: legislation drafted for the first week of Northern Territory Parliament
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: and it to be happening urgently.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: Thank God for Marion Scrimdaw, thank God for her sensible voice.
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: I mean, all this stuff about needs based funding, we
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: know that's that's true, but this is a distraction. But
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: the key problem here is alcohol. All the evidence suggests
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: that since the lifting of the Stronger future alcohol bans
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: across all those Aboriginal living areas, including all our town
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: camps in Alice Springs, has been a disaster. We've seen
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: more crime, more violence against women and children. This business
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: about talking about funding at the same time is a distraction.
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: It's a political decoy.
• 5:22
  Speaker 6: Let's talk about let's talk about the human cost to this.
• 5:25
  Speaker 6: You know, we know that they're almost every day there's
• 5:27
  Speaker 6: some sort of a sexual assault or some sort of
• 5:29
  Speaker 6: domestic violence happening in around Alice Springs. So every day
• 5:32
  Speaker 6: there's a delay, someone out there is becoming a victim.
• 5:35
  Speaker 6: So there's already been lots of delay, So let's forget
• 5:37
  Speaker 6: about the political side of it.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: I could Sling Martin say.
• 5:40
  Speaker 6: Once you resign, but I'm angry because this labor government
• 5:43
  Speaker 6: have failed and the territories and now there's another delay.
• 5:46
  Speaker 6: So every day this is a delay. There's someone out
• 5:50
  Speaker 6: there is going to become a victim, and there's going
• 5:51
  Speaker 6: to be a child, could be sexually assaulted, someone get
• 5:54
  Speaker 6: broken into. And yet this government or they're really doing
• 5:56
  Speaker 6: is thinking how can they spin it? So they say
• 5:59
  Speaker 6: their own jobs and they forget about territory and then
• 6:01
  Speaker 6: forget about people Alice Brings.
• 6:03
  Speaker 5: I'm just absolutely not true. So it is an opportunity
• 6:06
  Speaker 5: to work with the federal government. Marion scrim Jaw included
• 6:10
  Speaker 5: to get additional needs based funding. We've you've had Kate
• 6:13
  Speaker 5: Warden talking about needs based funding for domestic violence for
• 6:16
  Speaker 5: a very long time. This is an opportunity to actually
• 6:19
  Speaker 5: make that happen.
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: I have no doubt that it is, and I do
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: think that it needs to happen. There is no doubt
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: that in the Northern Territory we do need needs based funding.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: I mean, all you've got to do is look at
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: our domestic violence statistics. All you've got to do is
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: look at the fact that we've got groups of kids
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: roaming the streets. But again, I'll go back to the
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: fact that there needs to be urgent action, and it
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: needed to happen yesterday.
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: You know, it needed to happen last year.
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: It needed to happen six months ago.
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: Urgent action to come about. May I bring back to
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: the center of this discussion. I mean, this is the
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: problems in Alice Springs have been deteriorating for years, and
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: there's been no rush by your government eva to do anything.
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: You've been dragged screaming and kicking. The people of Alice
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: Springs don't want to talk at this point about needs
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: based funding. They want to talk about restoring law and
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: order to the streets of Alice Springs. They want to
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: talk about the damage that has been done to them
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: psychologically and physically to their whole entire existence in Alice Springs, and.
• 7:22
  Speaker 6: They can fix it. They could fix this in one day.
• 7:24
  Speaker 6: They put on this band and get it sorted and
• 7:26
  Speaker 6: then go and look at the review. Because this is
• 7:28
  Speaker 6: not about funding, this is not about money. This is
• 7:30
  Speaker 6: about people's lives. And don't get me, and I'll tell
• 7:32
  Speaker 6: you right now, this is coming to Darling. The stuff
• 7:34
  Speaker 6: that's happening in Alice Springs is moving up the track
• 7:37
  Speaker 6: and it's happening in Catherine's coming to darl And so
• 7:40
  Speaker 6: it makes me angry.
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: I've been here my whole life.
• 7:42
  Speaker 6: I've got my family here and I don't want my
• 7:44
  Speaker 6: family to have to see all this. And the territory
• 7:46
  Speaker 6: go down the Googler because the Labor government have just
• 7:48
  Speaker 6: too scared to act anything, and all.
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: They're trying to do is save themselves.
• 7:51
  Speaker 6: They're trying to work out speed, trying to make sure
• 7:53
  Speaker 6: they look up for their jobs, and they're forgetting territories.
• 7:56
  Speaker 6: US failed Alice Springs and they're going to fail all
• 7:58
  Speaker 6: across the terricort. Really, really, you make me angry.
• 8:00
  Speaker 5: Let's just remember that the Northern Territory government, a third
• 8:04
  Speaker 5: of our cabinet are Indigenous people pretty disappointed. We have
• 8:10
  Speaker 5: listened to them. That's why we are in this situation.
• 8:13
  Speaker 5: This is why we're in this position because obviously they're
• 8:15
  Speaker 5: on the ground, they're talking to their constituents, and so
• 8:21
  Speaker 5: I just want.
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: To take you to a point.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: So on Monday, I interviewed the Chief Minister and I
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: asked exactly who was being consulted with on the Stronger
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: Futures legislation ending, but also, you know, over the last
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: couple of weeks, who was being consulted with as a
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: result of what was going on. And she had said
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: that there had been consultation with Tongue and Jeer Town Council.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: Now I understand that there needs to be obviously with them,
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: but the thing that I sort of couldn't wrap my
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: head around is Marian Scrimjaw had said that she had
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: met with women who had said that they needed they
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: needed the tap turned off, and that they needed that support,
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: and that immediately I'd ask the Chief Minister whether she'd
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: met with any of the women in those town camps
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: last week, and she hadn't. Now I find that incredibly
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: distressing because there's a.
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: Few layers here.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: We're talking about you know the situation that we've got
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: with crime. You're talking about kids rohaming the streets, but
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: you are talking about the safety of women and children,
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: and if the safety of women and children is in jeopardy,
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: I do not understand why they're not being spoken to
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: and why there is not immediate action to ensure that
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: there isn't another person.
• 9:34
  Speaker 5: So that is hersh o Katie. We're in government, so
• 9:36
  Speaker 5: you have know people like Derel. You have a large
• 9:39
  Speaker 5: number of agencies who are in Central Australia and of
• 9:42
  Speaker 5: course they're talking to people. So Marian doesn't have necessarily
• 9:47
  Speaker 5: an agency or a government person that she's got in
• 9:50
  Speaker 5: Nalla Springs. I don't know who she's talking about. In
• 9:52
  Speaker 5: the past, she's spoken to people on the ground, but
• 9:55
  Speaker 5: there's said Torell Anderson, the team of people that she's
• 9:59
  Speaker 5: got absolutely talking to people on the ground as well.
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: But you know which, Abson doesn't agree with you either,
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: though she's come out saying exact opposite to your political
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: position on this. She's calling for those grog restrictions to
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: be put back in place. She's an Aboriginal woman, she's
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: been born and bred in Central Australia. She's been listening
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: to the Aboriginal leaders right across the Northern territory calling
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: for those grog restrictions to be put back in place,
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: and thank god she's had the common sense to recommend
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: that in her report. Chancey Paik, However, the Minister for
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: the Attorney General, also a Centrailian, has taken a different
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: view because he's prioritized the views of.
• 10:40
  Speaker 5: Tongue and Jura Council.
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: I don't think he's consulted with any other Aboriginal organization
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: apart from Tongue in Jura Council. That he has personal
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: and professional ties to which I don't think he's ever declared,
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: and that's where his position has sat. Now, if you
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: call that consultation, then I'm sorry. You've failed yourself and
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: you're filed.
• 11:00
  Speaker 6: Down and Cambra're trying to work out a delay not
• 11:03
  Speaker 6: even there on the ground.
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: I just want to ask Eva, I mean, is like,
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: is the caucus all in agreement on what is going
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: on at the moment in terms of you know, well, firstly,
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: I guess the stronger future legislation ending, but you know,
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: in terms of the delays now because you've got it,
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: like you know, even from a political perspective, this is
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: absolutely damaging, you know it is. It's damaging first and
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: foremost to the community of Alice Springs who are struggling,
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: but it is damaging now to the Northern Territory government
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: in the sense that people are going hang on our
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: safety is in jeopardy, and the government's not acting urgently
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: on this, and they're looking to try and hold the
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: federal government, you know, for ransom.
• 11:48
  Speaker 5: So first of all, Katie, absolutely, we're on the ground
• 11:52
  Speaker 5: talking to people, listening, and we've got to actually cabinet
• 11:54
  Speaker 5: down there and caucus all of us down there next week.
• 11:58
  Speaker 5: But I think one of the things that we people
• 12:00
  Speaker 5: who sight of is that we think all Aboriginal people
• 12:02
  Speaker 5: have the same views and the same opinions that we're
• 12:05
  Speaker 5: totally removed from that Aboriginal people. Just like anybody. There's
• 12:09
  Speaker 5: a continuum of opinions here around this and the issue
• 12:12
  Speaker 5: around alcohol. So at the time, absolutely the Northern Territory
• 12:16
  Speaker 5: government was out there having conversations and wanted and this
• 12:21
  Speaker 5: is why, as I said, it was a race based
• 12:23
  Speaker 5: decision around the stronger futures, and so our cabinet, the caucus,
• 12:28
  Speaker 5: the discussions were that an Aboriginal person in Alice Springs
• 12:32
  Speaker 5: should be able to buy some alcohol, go home, sit
• 12:35
  Speaker 5: in front of the TV and have a drink while
• 12:37
  Speaker 5: they watch the footy, or have a birthday party in
• 12:40
  Speaker 5: their own home. So if you were in a town camp,
• 12:43
  Speaker 5: you can't do that. So if you want to drink
• 12:46
  Speaker 5: under the stronger futures, if you want to have a
• 12:47
  Speaker 5: drink a kid's birthday party where you want to have
• 12:49
  Speaker 5: a barbecue and some drinks, you couldn't do that. So
• 12:53
  Speaker 5: that was the decision around making sure that we didn't
• 12:56
  Speaker 5: have a race based you've got it wrong going to
• 13:05
  Speaker 5: women and children.
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: We're going to make.
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: Sure I might just have to manage these microphones. But look,
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: so that's like I understand that, and I think everybody
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: in the community understands that. But the big question that
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: people are asking at the moment is well, why are
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: you only listening to some Aboriginal voices, Because you've got
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: Aboriginal voices that are incredibly, you know, incredibly loud right now,
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: the likes of Marion Scrimjaw, the likes of just Enterprise,
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: You've got, You've got am sand who have said that
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: they were concerned about stronger futures legislation ending you've got Congress,
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: you know there, Michael Little, They're just a few of them.
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: There's just a few.
• 13:39
  Speaker 6: Getting the balance these people's choice to be able to
• 13:42
  Speaker 6: have a drink, and also the victims of crime and
• 13:45
  Speaker 6: the and the victims of sexual assault have a choice, don't.
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: Have a back to that point.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: And so you have actually got these really strong voices
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: at the moment who are saying what's happened is not
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: the right way to go. And I take on board
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: certainly what you are saying that you know, everybody does
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: reserve the right to make their own choices and to
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: be able to have a drink quietly while they're watching
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: the footy. But why was it not a situation where
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: people actually went through the process of having their alcohol
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: management plans before we turned the tap back on?
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: Why did we put the cart before the harnment lied?
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: They said that they did consultations with all these living
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: areas four hundred plus living areas across the Northern Territory
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: that were potentially impacted by these changes, and they didn't.
• 14:32
  Speaker 5: It just did not happen.
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: And I dispute whether even the consultation proper consultation occurred
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: within the town camps of Alice Springs. Yes, the government
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: met with a handful of executive directors from Tonguanjira Council
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: and perhaps the leaders of different camps. But were the
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: women and children consulted? I don't think so, don't have
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: a choice.
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: It's just so I want to just ask.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: Earlier in the week as well, the Chief Minister had
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: said that it was going to be as situation now
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: in Alice Springs where there is a ballot before it
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: is determined whether the alcohol band, what would happen with
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: these alcohol bands. So a ballot for town camps in
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: Alice Springs is very firm on that and wanting that
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: to happen.
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: Does the caucus agree with that?
• 15:14
  Speaker 5: So this is this is why let's this is why
• 15:20
  Speaker 5: Natasha has actually said that we need a ballot because
• 15:22
  Speaker 5: you've got these varied opinions out there. So you're hearing
• 15:25
  Speaker 5: about women and children. There'd be probably some women and
• 15:28
  Speaker 5: children in town camps or women in town camps who
• 15:31
  Speaker 5: absolutely their families don't drink alcohol, that they or their
• 15:36
  Speaker 5: partners are you know, wanting to drink alcohol, but in
• 15:40
  Speaker 5: a very measured way. So we shouldn't condemn all indigenous
• 15:43
  Speaker 5: people in but this is the this absolutely, So Natasha's
• 15:47
  Speaker 5: view is around you're talking about women and children, tange
• 15:50
  Speaker 5: in Ji. Are the elected? Are the elector their executive
• 15:52
  Speaker 5: of the people who represent those town camps. It's it's
• 15:55
  Speaker 5: the same as anything. It is really hard to talk
• 15:58
  Speaker 5: to everybody in a town camp because you'd get various
• 16:00
  Speaker 5: views around that. So that was Natasha's idea was then
• 16:04
  Speaker 5: at least you can get a majority and you can
• 16:06
  Speaker 5: hear a voice around that.
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: Does the cabinet agree the caucus agree with that?
• 16:10
  Speaker 5: Well, it is about because we're in this situation where
• 16:12
  Speaker 5: you have people like Robin are saying no ban everyone.
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: Else in the Northern Territory is saying.
• 16:18
  Speaker 5: But as we said that, it's those people as well
• 16:22
  Speaker 5: that are on the ground, that are in those town
• 16:24
  Speaker 5: camps who haven't been able to have alcohol in there
• 16:27
  Speaker 5: in their houses and drink for nearly fifteen years or
• 16:29
  Speaker 5: so since the intervention came in. So this needs to
• 16:33
  Speaker 5: be as I said, and that was the option around it.
• 16:36
  Speaker 5: Having a vote then you can.
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: Get waste of time and make.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: So looking back on things now, was ending the strongest
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: futures legislation in the way that it ended.
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: The right thing for the government to do.
• 16:49
  Speaker 5: You'd have to ask the Federal the Federal Coalition who
• 16:52
  Speaker 5: are in.
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: The Northern Ertary government though it didn't have the opportunity
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: to put on the restrictions are government.
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: It was the biggest mistake you've ever made. It's probably
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: the worst political decision I've ever witnessed in my thirty
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: years of living in the Northern Territory. It has called
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: caused endless destruction. And the least you can do Ei
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: and your government is apologized to the people of Central
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: Australia and all those women and children who've been subjected
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: to more violence living on those town camps. It's been
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: an absolute disgrace. I will never forgive you.
• 17:25
  Speaker 6: Just remember the week after Stronger Futures there was like
• 17:28
  Speaker 6: one hundred and seventy nine domestic violence call outs to
• 17:30
  Speaker 6: those town camps. That's straight after it, so there was
• 17:32
  Speaker 6: grog in there. The services weren't there to wrap round.
• 17:34
  Speaker 6: It's just an absolute mistake, and you've got to remember
• 17:37
  Speaker 6: it's to the human cost here. This delay is actually
• 17:40
  Speaker 6: affecting people day in, day out, So every day you delay,
• 17:42
  Speaker 6: someone's out there going to become a victim of crime.
• 17:45
  Speaker 6: A child might get assaulted and those children don't have
• 17:47
  Speaker 6: a choice either.
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: They do not have a choice.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: We are going to have to take a very short break.
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: There is a lot to discuss and when we come back,
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: I do want to talk more about the police response.
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: So that's coming your way in just a couple of moments.
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: You are listening to mix What four nine, three sixty
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: if you've just joined us in the studio with me
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: this morning, is the Treasurer of the Northern Territory, Eva Laula.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: We've got the Independent member Farara lun Robin Lamley and
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: the Deputy Opposition Leader Jared Mayley. Now there has obviously
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: been a lot happened throughout the week. I do know
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: that many of the Northern Territory Police, so we certainly
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: were contacted by officers and the Northern Territory Police Association
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: who were pretty unhappy upon hearing the Chief Minister on
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: the show a little earlier in the week when she'd
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: made these comments.
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: If you missed it, take a listen.
• 18:34
  Speaker 7: One of the tasks of the Central Australian Regional Controller
• 18:36
  Speaker 7: is to look at those services and make sure they're
• 18:39
  Speaker 7: being funded and they're being run appropriately. I was briefed
• 18:42
  Speaker 7: yesterday afternoon and what the work that she is doing
• 18:47
  Speaker 7: is bringing together what is happening, what needs to be achieved,
• 18:51
  Speaker 7: and how we can deliver that. The Commonwealth Government are
• 18:54
  Speaker 7: at the table in terms of funding. For example, we
• 18:57
  Speaker 7: see people coming into Alice Springs to access service. Why
• 19:00
  Speaker 7: does a place like you and Demu not have those
• 19:02
  Speaker 7: basic services. It's identifying the issues around why people are
• 19:07
  Speaker 7: in town, engaging them with the services. And I think
• 19:10
  Speaker 7: it is Katie in two parts. There's the alcohol part,
• 19:13
  Speaker 7: but there's also the youth and the young kids and
• 19:16
  Speaker 7: sadly that's generational. But we can't just say that as
• 19:19
  Speaker 7: a response. We have to have an immediate response, which
• 19:22
  Speaker 7: is why police have been asked to step up and
• 19:25
  Speaker 7: I have contacted the Police Commissioner to say I expect
• 19:28
  Speaker 7: every resource to be placed into Alice Springs to support
• 19:32
  Speaker 7: that community right now.
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: So that was the Chief Minister on the show earlier
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: in the week and as I say, that step up
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: comment had caused quite a bit of anger amongst the
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: amongst some of the Northern Territory Police Force. Paul Mchue
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: joining us on the show to you know, to voice
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: his concern out those comments. But I will say that
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: the Chief Minister did then apologize for those comments and
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: said that you know that she does indeed respect and
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: appreciate the work of our Northern territory.
• 20:00
  Speaker 4: But it was clunky.
• 20:04
  Speaker 6: Yeah, this is the Labor government blaming everyone else but themselves.
• 20:07
  Speaker 6: You know, no one can dispute the fact that all
• 20:10
  Speaker 6: that's happening across the territory lays at the Labor government feet.
• 20:13
  Speaker 6: They're the ones that the policy is. They're the ones
• 20:16
  Speaker 6: with the policies that haven't worked. I haven't even start
• 20:17
  Speaker 6: talking about the debt yet. We're at nine million dollars
• 20:19
  Speaker 6: worth of debt. You know, I'm not even talking about that.
• 20:21
  Speaker 6: I'm talking about the crime. I'm talking about the human
• 20:24
  Speaker 6: costs that's ha been right across the territory. And like
• 20:26
  Speaker 6: I said earlier, it's coming up the track. It's coming
• 20:28
  Speaker 6: to Darwin. Look at the stuff you see in Wilworst
• 20:30
  Speaker 6: here in the CBD. There's fights there. It's out of control.
• 20:33
  Speaker 6: This anti social behavior is affecting the territory. And what
• 20:36
  Speaker 6: about tourism. We're got a tourism season coming up. You
• 20:39
  Speaker 6: know this national media is going to think, well, people
• 20:42
  Speaker 6: are going to Downtouth to go, well, I'm not going
• 20:43
  Speaker 6: to darwe, I'm not going to out of springs. It's
• 20:45
  Speaker 6: going to have a flow on effect because this labor
• 20:47
  Speaker 6: government are too busy trying to save their own skin
• 20:50
  Speaker 6: work out what sort of spin to put on this.
• 20:51
  Speaker 6: All they need to do is reverse the decision and
• 20:53
  Speaker 6: fix the problem.
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: Simple and the only person who should be stepping up
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: as the Chief Minister. But I was start and to
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: hear her apologize. I've never heard Natasha Files apologize for anything,
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: so that was a positive. I hope we hear an
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: apology from the Chief Minister to the people of Central Australia.
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: Well look she did obviously apologize.
• 21:14
  Speaker 5: That's face it. That's been absolutely very busy couple of
• 21:18
  Speaker 5: weeks for Natasha and you know at times it's is
• 21:21
  Speaker 5: stressful when you're on media and you know, she said
• 21:24
  Speaker 5: that it wasn't the right thing to say, and I
• 21:26
  Speaker 5: think you know misconstrued what she was trying to say,
• 21:29
  Speaker 5: and which was we all need to get out there
• 21:31
  Speaker 5: and do what we need to do. So yeah, we
• 21:33
  Speaker 5: said we analyze every word that anybody ever says. I
• 21:37
  Speaker 5: think we've all been.
• 21:40
  Speaker 3: You know that.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: In addition, it really did sort of get the traction
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: and the attention was because of the fact that then
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: the Police Minister, Kate Warden, was photographed from over her
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: shoulder reading a document titled Frontline Staff Reductions to meet
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory Government savings targets. So it was a snippet
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: from that document appeared to show potential budget cuts of
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: sixteen million dollars to the Northern Territory Police Foreign Emergency
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: Services over the next two years, and another thirty one
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: million dollars cut to funding was proposed for the services
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: over twenty twenty seven and twenty eight. You know, I've
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: got to say that, you know there it would be
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: a lot of people questioning how we could cut, you know,
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: our resourcing to the Northern Territory Police at this point
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: when they are doing an unbelievable amount of work to
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: try and keep territory in safe.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: How embarrassing for the Labor government.
• 22:33
  Speaker 6: And like anyone with any sense would read the first
• 22:35
  Speaker 6: line that document and ShredIt you won't even consider it,
• 22:38
  Speaker 6: look at the problem of having and that this is
• 22:40
  Speaker 6: a document and I know that the ministers come out
• 22:42
  Speaker 6: and said, oh, it's the government department, telling us, well,
• 22:45
  Speaker 6: do you read that it's to the cabinet from the minister.
• 22:48
  Speaker 6: So it's not from the department, it's from her to
• 22:50
  Speaker 6: the cabinet. So she tried to use this excuse that ultimately, oh,
• 22:54
  Speaker 6: it's just the government department. She would have requested it.
• 22:57
  Speaker 6: She had the document from her to the cap So,
• 23:01
  Speaker 6: like I said, anyone of any sense, would you shred
• 23:02
  Speaker 6: that document?
• 23:05
  Speaker 5: You've got no idea how government works. So as treasury though,
• 23:09
  Speaker 5: we can all read you got caught out, you got
• 23:15
  Speaker 5: caught you got caught no way, Jared. So let's explain.
• 23:19
  Speaker 5: So the budget. So this is the budget process. So
• 23:22
  Speaker 5: of course I'm treasurer. I've asked and so it wasn't
• 23:25
  Speaker 5: Katie or I mean, wasn't Kate or anybody else asking
• 23:28
  Speaker 5: when we start and was starting the budget process. I
• 23:31
  Speaker 5: think that memo was from late last year. So I
• 23:35
  Speaker 5: go to every agency as Treasurer and work with the
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: under treasurer and say in the budget preparation time, because
• 23:41
  Speaker 5: at the same time you're getting lots of budget bids
• 23:43
  Speaker 5: from agencies. You then say to the agencies, as a treasurer,
• 23:47
  Speaker 5: I want you to find any efficiencies I want you
• 23:50
  Speaker 5: to find. Are there any ways that you can introduce
• 23:52
  Speaker 5: technology to make savings? Are there any additional revenue measures?
• 23:57
  Speaker 5: Are there any external funds that you can access a
• 23:59
  Speaker 5: i e. Going to the federal government. So we asked
• 24:02
  Speaker 5: that of every agency, because of course, as a treasurer,
• 24:05
  Speaker 5: I want to see, you know, agencies to be fiscal responsible.
• 24:08
  Speaker 5: So that's then a paper that was produced by police
• 24:12
  Speaker 5: and that went to Kate. It didn't I haven't seen
• 24:15
  Speaker 5: that document. Kate didn't agree with that and that and
• 24:18
  Speaker 5: you know, let's face it, it's great that she's actually
• 24:21
  Speaker 5: working while she's in the quats club. Plenty of other
• 24:23
  Speaker 5: people drink alcohol and things.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: Thet you're contemplating cuts to frontline public means, so then
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: you can, however you want.
• 24:40
  Speaker 5: Just let's just see the rest of us. So then
• 24:42
  Speaker 5: Kate obviously read that document. She then didn't agree with that.
• 24:46
  Speaker 5: She passed it back to the police. But as treasurer,
• 24:48
  Speaker 5: we then gather As treasure we then gather all that
• 24:51
  Speaker 5: information that comes from agencies around you know, efficiencies or
• 24:54
  Speaker 5: any suggestions that around things that they can do, programs
• 24:57
  Speaker 5: or that may not have an evidence space that may
• 24:59
  Speaker 5: not need to continue. Can we meet at budget Cabinet
• 25:03
  Speaker 5: which will be happening in March, and that's when those
• 25:05
  Speaker 5: decisions are made around those, you know, whatever measures they are.
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: Can we rule out cuts of sixteen million dollars to
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: the Northern Terrantory Police Foreign Emergency Services?
• 25:14
  Speaker 5: So the police, Let's be really clear. Police have had
• 25:17
  Speaker 5: about one hundred million, and people can go back and
• 25:19
  Speaker 5: have a look at the budget papers. Police have had
• 25:21
  Speaker 5: an increase of about one hundred million. Their budgets since
• 25:24
  Speaker 5: we've been in government. See budget's about five hundred and
• 25:27
  Speaker 5: ten million, five hundred and ten million dollars, so they
• 25:31
  Speaker 5: have a substantial budget. But you know, they're the discussions
• 25:34
  Speaker 5: and there that's what happens in budget cabinet. You make
• 25:37
  Speaker 5: those decisions around that. But those figures sixteen and thirty
• 25:40
  Speaker 5: one or whatever it was, I've never seen those figures,
• 25:42
  Speaker 5: never had those ass of those of the agency at all.
• 25:45
  Speaker 5: It was something that was generated from the agency. Said
• 25:50
  Speaker 5: it wasn't approvedrocess. She said it wasn't approved, So he's
• 25:52
  Speaker 5: not telling the truth. It wasn't approved by Kate's to
• 25:57
  Speaker 5: come to bud It never got to go any further.
• 26:00
  Speaker 3: Mists are contemplating cutting frontline services in the Northern Territory
• 26:04
  Speaker 3: public service. And that's the message from that leaps document
• 26:11
  Speaker 3: the way you want.
• 26:13
  Speaker 5: It's a fact as treasurer considering cauestions reasons around them,
• 26:25
  Speaker 5: and you know the frontline may be in the administration area. Well, look,
• 26:30
  Speaker 5: it's a fiscally responsible government does that every agency where
• 26:34
  Speaker 5: they can make savings.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: So it's at the same time that we're asking the
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: federal government for more, you know, for more money to
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: deal with the issues that we've got ahol with alcohol
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: and other issues in Alice Springs. And I think that
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: first and foremost a lot of people can see that
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory Police are dealing with the ramifications right now.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: Have some pretty bad policy settings, to be blunt about it,
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: from the Northern Territory government when it comes to alcohol.
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: Hosted so much money either over the last six and
• 27:00
  Speaker 3: a half years on things that have delivered nothing to territorians.
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: And now you're in a position we've never seen before.
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: We have so much dared, your deficit is out of control,
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: and so you're looking at cutting frontline services.
• 27:15
  Speaker 5: That is the true picture. You just have to wait
• 27:18
  Speaker 5: till the budget comes down and you'll see that what
• 27:20
  Speaker 5: the decisions. But as I said, trust to the treasure
• 27:23
  Speaker 5: Well that's what a treasurer does. You were treasurer for
• 27:25
  Speaker 5: six months. Treasure you absolutely as agencies where they can
• 27:30
  Speaker 5: make savings because on one hand you'll have every agency
• 27:33
  Speaker 5: asking you for new things. Things that for the new
• 27:37
  Speaker 5: then whether that's a new suit blown, it's it's more
• 27:43
  Speaker 5: you have to make. So you always have asks that
• 27:46
  Speaker 5: come in from agencies and of course you ask them
• 27:49
  Speaker 5: what efficiencies, where is the evidence around some of the programs.
• 27:52
  Speaker 5: Can you seek external funding? That's what.
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: I think.
• 27:56
  Speaker 6: What you're saying, it's a load of rubbish. Why don't
• 27:58
  Speaker 6: you just release the document released?
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: We are doing to take a break.
• 28:02
  Speaker 4: We're going to take a very short break.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: You are listening to Mix one oh four nine's three
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: sixty are of course listening to the week that was
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: right here on Mix one O four nine. But we
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: did here earlier in the week that it was a
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: situation where the motocross the Australian Junior Motocross Championships had
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: to be moved from Alice Springs due to safety concerns.
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: In some good news that is now going to be
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: happening up here in the top end, so not lost
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: from the northern territory. But we did catch up with
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: well with the crew from down there a little earlier
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: in the week, and they had spoken about, you know,
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: the fact that it was really difficult, a really really
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: difficult decision to be made, but fundamentally they had to
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: make sure that people traveling from into state that it
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: was that they were safe, that people were safe and
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: able to take part. I've no doubt that it would
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: have been a hit to the community of Katie.
• 28:51
  Speaker 3: It was a blow. I mean trying to convince people,
• 28:54
  Speaker 3: particularly for me, to stay, to come to Alice Springs
• 28:57
  Speaker 3: after what's been exposed over the line us a couple
• 29:00
  Speaker 3: of weeks nationally in terms of crime and problems in
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: the town is going to be a real challenge. And
• 29:05
  Speaker 3: as Jared said earlier in the program, our tourism industry
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: will suffer. It is suffering, and this is the first
• 29:12
  Speaker 3: big blow we've had since the recent attention.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: Do you think we're going to wind up in a
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: situation either where things like Pachama or things like the
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: Fink or other major events could end up in jeopardy
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: if we like if we can't get into a situation
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: where where people are feeling safe and they're feeling safe
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: to travel back here.
• 29:34
  Speaker 5: Absolutely, that's not what government wants. You know, of course,
• 29:38
  Speaker 5: going to happen a few years ago.
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: You've got the leaders to fix it.
• 29:44
  Speaker 5: Just to assure listeners, the government works every single day
• 29:48
  Speaker 5: to make sure that, you know, there is no crime.
• 29:50
  Speaker 5: A good day is when there's no crime across the territory.
• 29:53
  Speaker 5: So absolutely it's hard work and it's constant work for
• 29:56
  Speaker 5: the government to do that. We you know, I lived
• 29:59
  Speaker 5: in Alice. Alice is a fantastic town, of beautiful town.
• 30:02
  Speaker 5: It's a lovely place. People who live there just you know,
• 30:05
  Speaker 5: adore the landscape and enjoy that living there. So of
• 30:08
  Speaker 5: course we want to make sure that we have those
• 30:10
  Speaker 5: amazing events happening in Alice Springs, that tourism's you know,
• 30:14
  Speaker 5: really thriving, and I mean we've seen that, We've put
• 30:16
  Speaker 5: in money for the Marine Loop, a new tourist information center.
• 30:19
  Speaker 5: They're the things that we want to see in Alis.
• 30:21
  Speaker 5: So of course we'll work.
• 30:22
  Speaker 4: I understand about it.
• 30:24
  Speaker 7: You know.
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: Even towards the end of last year, we had Daniel Rochford,
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: the CEO of Tourism Central Australia on the show, and
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: he was really distressed and had said, you know, Katie, we.
• 30:34
  Speaker 4: Are in a state of emergency. And that was towards
• 30:36
  Speaker 4: the end of last year, and.
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: I feel as though his concerns were really not listened
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: to in the way that they should have been. And
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: now we've wound up in a situation where this has
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: become a national embarrassment and it has become a national
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: shame for us.
• 30:53
  Speaker 4: Where it is it like it is.
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: It's a very real problem that it's impacting tourism right now.
• 30:59
  Speaker 5: Katie's concerned will listened to. So there was additional police
• 31:02
  Speaker 5: operations put in Alice Springs fever. Okay, forty police.
• 31:07
  Speaker 3: Isn't I told you it wasn't enough. But I'm just
• 31:12
  Speaker 3: going to say platitudes we Springs. It's a great to
• 31:16
  Speaker 3: hear it from you all. You've neglected the town for years.
• 31:20
  Speaker 5: Just saying there were things that your programs put in,
• 31:26
  Speaker 5: so there were additional.
• 31:27
  Speaker 4: Resources in time.
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: We don't feel as though the government doesn't feel as
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: though it's a very real possibility that any of those
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: events are going to be uh, you know that they're
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: going to be a struggle to put on.
• 31:38
  Speaker 3: Of course, what a load of rubbi. It's scared to
• 31:42
  Speaker 3: come to Alice Springs. Either I own it, take responsibility.
• 31:46
  Speaker 6: People bring these really expensive cars or motorbikes Fowler Springs
• 31:51
  Speaker 6: either have it stolen or vanalyze or destroyed. These things
• 31:55
  Speaker 6: are they're prime and enjoy it and they go in
• 31:57
  Speaker 6: the town.
• 32:01
  Speaker 3: Did Alice Springs for years you and your hopeless Darwin
• 32:05
  Speaker 3: centric government and he's talking the town then.
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: Actually, government an embarrassment.
• 32:12
  Speaker 4: I actually really disappointed to hear that.
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: I've got to say, I you know, I will I
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: will say that last year in Parliament there were questions
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: asked by Robin on the floor of Parliament about the
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: concerns in Alice Springs. There were things raised in Alice
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: Springs and it actually it was upsetting to hear the
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory government say stop talking the territory down because
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: right now we're in a situation where it has become
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: a national shame job for us. The situation that is
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: unfolding and that continues to unfold in Alice Springs.
• 32:42
  Speaker 4: I think it's it is. It is absolutely terrible to me.
• 32:47
  Speaker 8: You're taking response every day, every day of delay having
• 32:51
  Speaker 8: an effect on somebody every day that a delay is
• 32:54
  Speaker 8: affecting people right across the territory and especially in Alice
• 32:56
  Speaker 8: Brow There is just so embarrassing would.
• 32:59
  Speaker 5: Work to the situation in Alice Springs, and it is
• 33:02
  Speaker 5: about making sure that events like the Fink, like Patchoma
• 33:07
  Speaker 5: can be safe for visitors and will constantly work to
• 33:10
  Speaker 5: make sure of that.
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: We've you know, just while we're talking, we've got people
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: who are messaging in saying, if you know, why didn't
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: the government just get some additional support from the Australian
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: Federal Police in Alice Springs. Why wasn't there any look
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: at things like a curfew? You'd had people on to
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: talk about the security with the canines.
• 33:28
  Speaker 4: Why wasn't that looked at?
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: You know, like there is, there's a lot of people
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: in contact with us, and I've got to tell you
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: not many of them are happy with the response at
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: this point in time or don't feel as though, you know,
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: enough was done when it was raised critically towards the
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: end of last year.
• 33:47
  Speaker 4: So I get what you're saying.
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: Either. I get that you were saying that the government's
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: done different little things or different things, not little things,
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: different things.
• 33:54
  Speaker 5: But for the additional police and parmesan would be a
• 33:56
  Speaker 5: great story for us.
• 33:57
  Speaker 4: Absolutely, it'd be a good thing.
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: But you know, even with the alcohol situation, why were
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: we in a situation where it took you know, the
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: Prime Minister traveling to Alice Springs before there wasn't some
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: serious action taken on alcohol.
• 34:11
  Speaker 5: Because Katie, as I said, the Stronger Futures legislation was
• 34:15
  Speaker 5: a federal legislation. It ended in July. The consultation, the
• 34:19
  Speaker 5: conversations with people was about how do we move away
• 34:22
  Speaker 5: from what was the intervention where we had a race
• 34:25
  Speaker 5: based policy.
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: How do we have.
• 34:26
  Speaker 5: Something else where families where people can drink in their homes.
• 34:30
  Speaker 5: How can we have normalized those town camps so that
• 34:34
  Speaker 5: we and that was our original goal of the Alice
• 34:36
  Speaker 5: Springs Transformation Plan which was twenty ten, twenty eleven, twenty twelve,
• 34:40
  Speaker 5: how do we make those town camps just like another
• 34:42
  Speaker 5: suburb in Alice Springs.
• 34:44
  Speaker 6: Do you accept that you failed that though? Do you
• 34:46
  Speaker 6: accepted that as failed and now Alice Springs is hurting?
• 34:49
  Speaker 5: Absolutely, we do that, of course, we understand what these show.
• 34:52
  Speaker 6: You accept that you've made a mistake and you've failed
• 34:54
  Speaker 6: territory and you failed people Alice Springs and now native
• 34:56
  Speaker 6: opportunity to stick it, and you're delaying it.
• 34:58
  Speaker 5: Do you accept that we're not delaying that decision. We
• 35:01
  Speaker 5: are we have put in place actually, or even if
• 35:06
  Speaker 5: it was even if it was changed tomorrow, it still
• 35:08
  Speaker 5: needs to be a change of legislation. And whether that's federal.
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: Legilation, well, I guess at the end of the day,
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: it's probably going to reach a point now where regardless
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: it is going to have to depending on exactly.
• 35:19
  Speaker 5: The Discrimination Act of some sort or a section of that.
• 35:21
  Speaker 5: That's sure. Okay, Well let's.
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: Well, let's say let's take actually, before we take a
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: bit of a break, I do just want to go
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: back to the Motocross Championships. So we're in a situation
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: now where they were indeed canceled from Alice Springs or
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: moved from Alice Springs. But in good news, the organizers
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: have been able to make sure that they're able to
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: happen up here in the top end. I do want
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: to say that if you are a motocross fan, if
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: you are somebody who wants to support a great junior
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: sport as well, they are indeed looking for sponsors and
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: they are looking for that support. So if you're out
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: there listening and you're a business owner and you think
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: that that's something that you might be able to get
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: in contact with us, we can point you in contact
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: with those with the crew to be able to make
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: that happen. But I'm really pleased that those kids that
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: are involved are still going to be able to take
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: part in that spook because I know it was going
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: to be tough. It hadn't been held in Alos since
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: nineteen eighty seven, so it is a good thing that
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: it's still able to happen in the Northern Territory, even
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: though it's a loss for Alice Springs. Well, take a
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: bit of a break. You are listening to Mix one
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: O four nine's three sixty. There has been so much
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: to discuss throughout the week, but I do want to
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: just talk about the fact that there has been an
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: awful lot of cancelations on the bus network. More than
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty top end services have been canceled
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: in a single day. It had raised doubts about whether
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: the kids were going to make it to the classroom.
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: I understand that there is a driver shortage at the
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: moment isn't.
• 36:46
  Speaker 5: There, so they did, you know, and that prioritize so's
• 36:49
  Speaker 5: you know, it is a private company CDC, lordn Terurchy,
• 36:52
  Speaker 5: Government DIP will have a contract with CDC which they're
• 36:55
  Speaker 5: managing very tightly because we've been highly concerned around the
• 36:59
  Speaker 5: cancer of routes. You know, it is not acceptable to
• 37:02
  Speaker 5: have that cancelation of routes. And but that said, there
• 37:06
  Speaker 5: is a bus driver shortage across Australia and you know
• 37:09
  Speaker 5: it does hark back to COVID as much as we
• 37:11
  Speaker 5: may not like you know, we've all moved on from COVID.
• 37:13
  Speaker 5: There was lack of migration for a couple of years
• 37:16
  Speaker 5: and some of the drivers that that was a lack
• 37:20
  Speaker 5: of numbers. So they are short of drivers. CDC have
• 37:24
  Speaker 5: assured Government that they have a recruitment campaign underway. They've
• 37:27
  Speaker 5: even actually been flying drivers up. But the other one,
• 37:30
  Speaker 5: I would just actually like to thank the drivers who
• 37:32
  Speaker 5: are there because some of them are volunteering doing extra
• 37:36
  Speaker 5: hours filling gap. So to all the drivers who are
• 37:39
  Speaker 5: really doing far more than their shifts, thank you very
• 37:42
  Speaker 5: much for doing that. But the priority was schools. But yeah,
• 37:46
  Speaker 5: it isn't a good situation.
• 37:47
  Speaker 7: To be in.
• 37:47
  Speaker 5: We want to see more more drivers. So again, if
• 37:50
  Speaker 5: you're someone out there looking, they're tackling into the gray
• 37:53
  Speaker 5: nomad market as well to see if they can get
• 37:56
  Speaker 5: people short term as well into bus driving. So yeah,
• 38:00
  Speaker 5: if you're interested in being a bus driver, I always.
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: Think, and I know this is a federal discussion, not
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: one really for us in here, but I always think,
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: you know, why don't you let people who are on
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: the pension, why don't they let them work a few
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: more hours and make a bit more money, because then
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: it might be that they could do a job like that.
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: You know, you might have a granddad who's a great
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: you know, brus driver and do the bus, you know.
• 38:20
  Speaker 6: And but you know, one of the big problems in
• 38:22
  Speaker 6: my view is that these bus drivers don't want to
• 38:24
  Speaker 6: work because they become victims of crime.
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 38:26
  Speaker 6: It's just another result of the Labour's failed crime policy
• 38:30
  Speaker 6: right across the charity. Because you're in a bus and
• 38:32
  Speaker 6: we know that there's lots of antisocial behavior, and I
• 38:34
  Speaker 6: saw some videos and just this week one of my
• 38:37
  Speaker 6: constituents contacted me and I put.
• 38:38
  Speaker 2: The little child on the bus or on the bus stop.
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: The bus didn't come.
• 38:41
  Speaker 6: For twenty minutes and they got attacked by the neighbor's dog.
• 38:44
  Speaker 6: So there's there's a direct consequence of someone getting hurt.
• 38:46
  Speaker 6: Because the crime rate is there, the bus drivers don't
• 38:49
  Speaker 6: want to work because they become.
• 38:50
  Speaker 2: Victims of crime. It's just a flow on effect. It
• 38:52
  Speaker 2: just goes around and around and around.
• 38:53
  Speaker 5: It's yeah. So again, Jared, we've done a lot of
• 38:56
  Speaker 5: work around making sure our bus drivers are safe. So
• 38:59
  Speaker 5: you know, we're bought in as minister, I've brought in
• 39:01
  Speaker 5: the highest level, brought in more legislation. We have bought
• 39:04
  Speaker 5: in K ninees at bus stops, at bus interchanges as well,
• 39:09
  Speaker 5: so we'll yeah, constantly working to make sure our buses
• 39:11
  Speaker 5: are safe and we want to see more people on buses.
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: I did have a listener question, actually, a few listeners
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: got in contact with me during the week about those
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: fan dangle signs, those very big, expensive signs that went
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: up and the fact that they didn't have the detail
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: of a pretty significant crash that had happened earlier in
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: the week notifying people on those signs so that they
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: were aware of any delays.
• 39:35
  Speaker 4: Why was that?
• 39:36
  Speaker 5: Yeah, So I asked that question too, because it was
• 39:38
  Speaker 5: coming in from Palmerston and it was the along McMillan's
• 39:42
  Speaker 5: road there, so it's a back entrance into Robinson Barracks.
• 39:45
  Speaker 5: So DIPPLE have advised me that there is no CCTV
• 39:48
  Speaker 5: in that area and so they weren't actually able to
• 39:51
  Speaker 5: get that information around the crash. So we'll work more
• 39:54
  Speaker 5: closely or DIPPLE will work more closely with police to
• 39:57
  Speaker 5: get police to notify so that they get the information
• 40:00
  Speaker 5: from other sources not just relying on And if you've
• 40:04
  Speaker 5: ever been into Highway House, there's a myriad of CCTVs there,
• 40:09
  Speaker 5: so pretty much every intersection Northern Territory. I've stood there.
• 40:12
  Speaker 5: I've seen the Larapintra intersection even from Darwin. So they
• 40:15
  Speaker 5: watch all the intersections and have that information. But there
• 40:18
  Speaker 5: there was no They were not getting a feed of information.
• 40:22
  Speaker 5: So we need to actually rely on just a phone
• 40:24
  Speaker 5: call from police literally around that to get to update
• 40:27
  Speaker 5: that information. So probably a bit of a glitch in
• 40:29
  Speaker 5: the communication around that.
• 40:32
  Speaker 4: But it is possible for them to have that detail. Yeah,
• 40:34
  Speaker 4: there is so.
• 40:35
  Speaker 5: Usually as I said, it's the guys that are people
• 40:37
  Speaker 5: that are in that operation area. So what they do
• 40:40
  Speaker 5: is they watch the traffic lights intersection. So if they
• 40:43
  Speaker 5: can see that there is an issue at any intersection,
• 40:46
  Speaker 5: they are able to get repair people out or whatever else.
• 40:49
  Speaker 5: But that information also feeds into the visual message boards.
• 40:52
  Speaker 5: But in this instance it was on that back road
• 40:54
  Speaker 5: or the McMillan's road and that back entrance and they
• 40:58
  Speaker 5: didn't get info. So we do need to access day
• 41:00
  Speaker 5: work and just have the old traditional send a message
• 41:03
  Speaker 5: or a phone from police to provide that information to
• 41:05
  Speaker 5: DIPPLE so they can update that.
• 41:07
  Speaker 6: I think the feeling is that those signed a complete
• 41:09
  Speaker 6: waste of money.
• 41:12
  Speaker 4: Well that's on the street.
• 41:14
  Speaker 5: Yeah, it's Australia wide and it was initiative and pushed
• 41:17
  Speaker 5: from the federal government around road safety.
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: On that note, we are going to have to wrap
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: up for this morning. Thank you all so very much
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: for your time. Jared Mailey, the Deputy Opposition Later, thank
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: you for your time today.
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you, Katie, Thank you listeners.
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: Robin Lamley, the Independent member for our Lund, thank you
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: for joining us from Alice Springs today, my pleasure. And
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: Eva Lula, the Treasurer of the Northern Territory, thank you
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: for your time today. Very much.
• 41:38
  Speaker 2: Katie