Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Member for Namatjira Bill Yan says the CLP has been contacted by a public servant who claims they were reprimanded for attending the Darwin crime rally

Transcript

Member for Namatjira Bill Yan says the CLP has been contacted by a public servant who claims they were reprimanded for attending the Darwin crime rally · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now, last night we know that these tougher bail laws
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: past the Northern Territory Parliament following out cry from the
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: community around crime. But the reforms won't apply to offenses
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: involving improvised weapons like rocks and bottles. Now, the opposition's
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: amendment which we'd heard about yesterday morning calling for improvised
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: weapons to be included in those changes, well it didn't
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: get up. Now joining me on the line is the
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: CLP's member for Namajira, Bill Yan. Good morning to you, Bill.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katy, and good morning to your listeners. Bill.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: The changes passed last night, but the push from the
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: CLP to have improvised weapons included it didn't get across
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: the line.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: What happened, Yeah, Well, Katie said that the government bought
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: said those changes specifically around knives and control weapons under
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: the Act in and we bought an amendment to the
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: government's bar reform. Our first a member was to include
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: by defenders of it and didn't support that and voted
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: it down. So what we tried to do was to
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: at least meet on some middle ground and meet some
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: of those community expectations. So we asked that they include
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: what we're saying is improvised weapons. So those weapons of opportunity,
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: so offensive weapons, we asked that they be included as
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: part of that consideration. Now it sits within the Act.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: It wouldn't have taken much change from Labor to include
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: that change. It picks up those things that sadly a
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: lot of people are seeing as weapons. Trading to hammers, screwdrivers,
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: the star pickets, smout models, all those things that people
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: every day are being threatened with, either at home or
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: at work or just out on the street. Labor didn't
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: support those changes.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: So how disappointing is this for you after seeing just
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: over a week ago a local resident or you know,
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: we had the situation where there was that driver in
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: Alice Springs who'd suffered well lifelong injuries from a rock
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: throwing incident.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: And that's right, Katie, Matt, Matt will get no succor
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: from these changes. So effectively, someone throws a rock and
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: seriously hurts somebody, they're going to start from a presumption
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: of a bail a rock which has the ability to
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: kill somebody in the right circumstances. So those offenders because
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: throwing a rock, you're not throwing a rock not to
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: hurt somebody. You're throwing a rock to cause some harm,
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: they won't fall under and be picked up by these
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: these bail changes. It look, it doesn't meet community expectations.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: I was there at the rally last Saturday, and the
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: community expectation was for certainly some changes to the bail
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: lors to stop what we're seeing happening those revolving doors
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: of bail. But I think the community wanted to see
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: something a little bit more than just knives being picked
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: up and those control weapons which are hardly really ever
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: used in offensives seeing in a Territory bill. Look, the.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: Discussion is now moving forward as well to what this
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: is going to mean when you look at the number
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: of offenders being on remand in jail, because we do
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: actually have, you know, quite a few people that are
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: committing knife crime. If you listen to what the Northern
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: Territory government is saying right now, and we have you know,
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: we've certainly heard of so many situations where somebody's got
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: an aged weapon in the pressure releases that we receive
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: from the Northern Territory Police when there is an incident.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Do you think that we're going to see a surge
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: in numbers of people on remand within our correctional facilities.
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: Well, it was quite interesting, Katie. I listened to the
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: Attorney General on your show yesterday when you're asking this
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: same question, says there may be well, there may be not.
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: So I don't think the government really knows. But look,
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: if there's a surge in offenders ending up on remand
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: that's going to put the system under food of pressure.
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: And the government have known about it, these prison numbers
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: for years and years now, and they're chosen not doing
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: about it. It's just sort of buried the head and sand,
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: hoping that the problem will go away. Well, now the
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: problems well, and truly in their face. They need to
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: come up with some better old terms to putting people
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: in jail. There's a lot of people need to be
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: in jail while offenders need to be in jail to
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: protect the public. But they did not come up with
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: any alternatives with any work camps.
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  Speaker 1: So do you think there are some alternatives?
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: Bill?
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  Speaker 1: Do you think there are some alternatives other things that
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: you know that we could be doing, because I guess
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  Speaker 1: that this is you know, this is the thing. At
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: this point in time, we know that the prison is
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  Speaker 1: busting at the seams from what we are being told.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: I know that you've spoken to us about this before,
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: about those correctional facilities being very full. So where can
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: the prisoners go? Well, what are some of those other options?
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: Well, the options, the options were put to government years
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: ago came going back four and five years. We were
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: talking about work camps in Catherine, over in Bora Lula
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: and out at two Weed to reduce the burden on
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: those larger custoder facilities and getting people back out on communities,
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: doing reparation work into those communities, and these places would
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: be managed by correctional services. Government chose not to do that,
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: and now they see themselves in the position that they are.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: But they could expand electronic monitoring, expand community directions to
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: be able to get some of those really low level,
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  Speaker 2: low risk defenders out of custody and rather than sitting
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  Speaker 2: around and enjoying a bit of an easy life in jail,
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  Speaker 2: getting back out the communities and doing some reparation work
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: and giving back to the people who've offended again. But
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: they have an invested in that.
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: Either, Bill, I want to ask My understanding is that
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: there are some prisoners at the Palmerston Watchhouse. I've also
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: been told that they are getting organized to basically ramp
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: up the Peter McCauley Center if required. And I am
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: going to be catching up with the Police Association in
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: a couple of minutes and put this question to them
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  Speaker 1: as well. But what do you know at this point?
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  Speaker 2: Well, all I know is that they're using the Palmeston
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: Watchhouse to do overflow from the prison here in Darwin,
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: and of course in Al Springs has been going on
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: for quite some time. There've been housing prisoners in the
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: watchhouse because the prison is that capacity as six hundred
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: and fifty. They've got the no vacancy sign out that
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: there's no bedsleft. So that puts further pressure on corrections
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: because you can't put the burden on police to manage
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: these prisoners in the watchhouse. The responsibility correctional services, So
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: they're taking correctional services offices out of the prisons now
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: to manage and look after prisons in the watchhouse. So
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: it creates a situation where they're depleting rosters in the
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: prisons to manage the watchhouse, and you can't continue to
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: do that. It's a recipe for disaster. And it's not
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: sustainable long term.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: And from your experience, Bill, what does it mean as
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: well when it comes to the delivery of programs in
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: correctional facilities, when you know when they are this full,
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: does it mean that you know that you're still able
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: to deliver rehabilitation programs?
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: Well, the governments for a long time has been focused
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: on those high M programs, so those serious bile offenders
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: and sex offenders, but when you look at the prison population,
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: the majority there for aggravated assaultant domestic violence related defenses
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: and corrections have never been resourced to be able to
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: deliver effective programs that cable because it's so big and
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: we'll see it's short term turnaround, So people are getting
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: sentenced to three and six months. The waiting list is
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: so long it'll take years to try and catch up.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: Because that sector of corrections has not been resourced correctly.
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  Speaker 2: They rely on outside providers which do a great job there.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: Programs are great, but they're limited in their capability, so
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  Speaker 2: they can't do those hundreds of we're talking about. They
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: can do the tens and twenties two or three times
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: a year, and it just it doesn't get to all
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: those people that need those programs.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: Bill, I want to ask you. The Northern Territory Government
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  Speaker 1: is out this morning as we speak, announcing that they're
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: going to be undertaking what they are calling progressive alcohol reforms,
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: which focus on long term change and local decision making.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: Today the Northern Territory government's announcing what they're calling another
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: evidence based course of action, a voluntary buy back scheme
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: of grocery store liquor licenses across the Northern Territory. So
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: for the next four weeks, the voluntary buyback scheme is
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: going to be in place where grocery store licensees may
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  Speaker 1: express an interest for the government to purchase their liquor license.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: So all offers are going to be made commercial in confidence.
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  Speaker 1: The purpose of the EOI, according to the statement by
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory Government, is to reduce the number of
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: alcohol takeaway outlets across the territory. As they say, evidence
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: shows the density of liquor outly outlets contribute substantially to
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: alcohol related harms and take away out let's pose the
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: highest risk. What do you make of this?
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  Speaker 2: Okay, this is policy by stealth when you think about it.
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  Speaker 2: Previously there was that twenty five percent real boarding for
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  Speaker 2: those literal outlets attached to supermarkets, and those numbers are
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: reportable every twelve months because there's ebbs and flowers in
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: the sales cycle. So most of those little supermarkets were
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: okay with that twelve month reporting period. They kept an
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  Speaker 2: eye on their figures and they knew that some months
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  Speaker 2: they'd be said higher in sales, some months I'd be low,
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: and it sort of average itself out over the twelve months.
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  Speaker 2: Well what lay did? They changed the change the rules.
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  Speaker 2: I moved the goal post on that one. And now
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  Speaker 2: these little supermarkes you got to report every quarter, and
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  Speaker 2: of course those ebbs and flowers that happen in that
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  Speaker 2: quarter certainly and directly affect their sales. And the government
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  Speaker 2: using this now as a leader to say, well, if
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: you're going to be hitting that twenty five percent, we're
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: going to find You're seen just recently that supermarket out
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: of Zicoal is closing its fool shop to make sure
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: it stays under the cap. So now labor's saying, oh, well,
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: you're you're in thread of breaching that twenty five percent,
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: but will help you out, We'll buy back your licenses.
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  Speaker 2: But does it then make those businesses viable. There's a
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: supermarket doesn't need to have the takeaway outlet attached to
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: it to make the business viable. If you take it away,
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: will that business survive longer term as just a straight
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: up supermarket. That's yet to be seen. What it may
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: have the inrovert and effect of closing some of those
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: smaller supermarkets out of those communities.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: Are we in a situation where we do have too
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: many liquor outlets around around the Northern territory.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: Well, this is a This is a government that always
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: focuses on supply rather than actually looking at demand. So
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: rather than targeting the people who are selling the stuff,
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: and we actually target the problem drinkers and do some
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: work in that space, because we're seeing everybody else being
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: punished for issues created by the queue and that government
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: loves to do this and it does it all the time.
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: We've seen it with the alcohol restrictions in our springs.
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: Everybody has to abide by those restrictions because of the
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: issues of the few, and the rest of us have
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: to pay the price. So rather than target the entire
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: populace about, we look at helping those people who have
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: those problems with our whole and doing something to help
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: them so we can actually then reduce the harm cause
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: because those drinkers, even if there's a reduction in outlets,
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: don't find our whole somewhere else.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: Well, this is the thing, isn't it.
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: You know we're not going to get rid of the problem.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean they are still going
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: to get their hands on alcohol. That's the whole point,
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: and that is the whole concern. Bill Yan. Always appreciate
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: your time, mate, We are going to have to leave it. There.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: Anything happening this morning in parliament though, that we should
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: be aware of, just quickly.
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: Look, there's something that's come up. There's something really concerning
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: that came up from Saturday. The Opposition was contacted by
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: a public servant a couple of days ago who was
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: admonished by the apartment that they worked for for attending
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: the rally on Saturday. So the public servant said the
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: correspondence they got. They felt quite threatened. They thought it
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: was illegal. We're going to be pursuing that today.
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: Hang on a second, so somebody got so what happened
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: a public servant because they've attended the rally, they're now
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: in trouble with work.
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it seems that way. They were admonished by their department.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: That is a worry, Katie. We're going to be following
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: up on that as a matter of priority because that
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: impinges on the basic rights of a person. The person
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: in question wasn't at work on the day off, yeah,
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: and got admonished for attending the rallies.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: Interested to find out what they say here, Bill, because
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: I know that there were other public servants who actually
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: wanted to attend that rally on the weekend. I personally
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: know a number of them who wanted to attend and
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: they felt they couldn't because they were very concerned that
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: they would end up in trouble with work. So I'm
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: very keen to find out what the outcome is here.
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: As soon as we know, Katie will let you know.
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: This just shows a government that is so hell bent
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: on covering up and not allowing public discussion, and now
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: on public discourse and allowing public servants to go to
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: do what they sort of feel they might like to
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: do on their days off. Just because you're a public servant,
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: you don't give up all your rights. You're allowed to
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: come out and the criticized to do a few things,
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: but to impinge on the rights of people because you
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: don't like.
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: Well, let's be bloody honest, Bill. You know, like, at
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: the end of the day, if you're a public servant,
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: it doesn't stop you from getting broken into, doesn't stop
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: you from having a vehicle stolen, or from suffering from
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: some of the impacts that we're seeing with crime. So
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: I think that if you're a public servant and you
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: want to attend that rally, it's a peaceful rally, no
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: one's broken the law or any kind of rules. Why
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: shouldn't it be able to go along?
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: That's right. So that's why we're working on this at
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: the moment, Katie, because this is absolutely disgusting behavior by
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: government if they've done this and whatever they have happened
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: to have done. So, yeah, look where I'm certainly looking
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: at it very very closely, working with the person in question,
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: and there may be some more embarrassing questions of this
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: government if they're starting to impinge on the rights of
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: public servants going about things that they're allowed to do.
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: Well, Bill Yam, please keep us up to date. Mate,
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: Always appreciate your time. Thanks so much for chatting with me.
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: This morning.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: Cheers Katie, thank you,