Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT Chamber of Commerce COO Nicole Walsh says businesses in Alice Springs want immediate measures brought in to stop crime

Transcript

NT Chamber of Commerce COO Nicole Walsh says businesses in Alice Springs want immediate measures brought in to stop crime · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now you would have heard us speaking just a short
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: time ago to well to one of the tourism operators
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  Speaker 1: in Central Australia who'd been a terrible situation over the
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  Speaker 1: weekend where they had been driving back into town after
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  Speaker 1: a full day tour and rocks were hurled at that bus,
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  Speaker 1: that tour bus while there was tourists inside, smashing the windows.
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  Speaker 1: It's a big concern, but sadly not a surprise. I
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  Speaker 1: don't think out of Central Australia at this point when
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  Speaker 1: we hear about the issues that they are experiencing with crime,
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  Speaker 1: particularly with alleged youth crime. Now joining me on the
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  Speaker 1: line is Nicole Walsh from the Chamber of Commerce. Good
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  Speaker 1: morning to you, Nicole.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Great to have you on the show. Nicole. I know
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  Speaker 1: that this issue of crime in Central Australia is something
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  Speaker 1: that the Chambers has been raising for a little while
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  Speaker 1: and is a big concern for some of your members.
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  Speaker 2: Oh. Look, absolutely no doubt that this is you know,
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  Speaker 2: we have been talking about as you said, we have
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  Speaker 2: talking about this for a while and the concern from
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  Speaker 2: the business community and community overall, but past the business
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  Speaker 2: community and members is it's a huge concern and you know,
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  Speaker 2: it's it's wiring what we're seeing over the weekend as well.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Nicole, from your perspective and from the perspective of
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  Speaker 1: businesses in Central Australia, what do they want to see
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  Speaker 1: happen here?
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  Speaker 2: There's quite a few things that they want to see happening,
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  Speaker 2: and we're actually we're part of the historic the social
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  Speaker 2: order responsive limitations really which is a really good thing
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  Speaker 2: for the Chamber to be involved with, so we can
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  Speaker 2: actually be asking and putting for these ideas. But businesses
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  Speaker 2: just really want to see some first something to stop
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  Speaker 2: what's going on. I think that there's no doubt that
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  Speaker 2: there's you know, they just need something that's a sort
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  Speaker 2: of a stop gap. There's a piece around consequences with
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  Speaker 2: other wrap around processes around that, particularly with young people
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  Speaker 2: as well, some more control over their business space and
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  Speaker 2: what's happening in their businesses. So they really just wanted
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  Speaker 2: to stop with understanding that there's other stuff that needs
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  Speaker 2: to be done at the background again about those wrap
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  Speaker 2: around processes and other things. So I just yeah, it's
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  Speaker 2: been hard.
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  Speaker 1: Now with some of those wrap around processes, Like I
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  Speaker 1: guess in that instance, what are businesses saying to you,
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  Speaker 1: are they saying that they want things like victim conferencing?
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  Speaker 1: What are they saying? Oh?
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  Speaker 2: Look absolutely businesses always said that they want to be
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  Speaker 2: part of the solution as well. Sometimes again they just
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  Speaker 2: need something to stop gap that. But they do want
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  Speaker 2: to be part of the victim impact conferencing calls which
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  Speaker 2: I've done, interview which I've done with myself as well
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  Speaker 2: a few years ago, which I've found very very beneficial.
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  Speaker 2: They really want to understand what the use of use
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  Speaker 2: of version processes are. And then also again going back
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  Speaker 2: into that piece around you know, what is out there,
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  Speaker 2: how can they be part of it, or what their
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  Speaker 2: expectations are on some of these other providers as well.
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  Speaker 2: But as part of that Storic committee again the Chamber
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  Speaker 2: actually has the opportunity to really look at that and
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  Speaker 2: see what's happening, which is which is really good us.
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  Speaker 2: We can pass it on to the Chamber and the
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  Speaker 2: business community and.
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  Speaker 1: In the in the interim, you know, for a lot
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  Speaker 1: of people right now, what they want, like you said,
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  Speaker 1: is that stop gap, but they want want something to
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  Speaker 1: sort of happen immediately. What are the businesses in Central
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  Speaker 1: Australia saying in that space.
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  Speaker 2: It's a really hard one, but there's no doubt again
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  Speaker 2: there there's different bits about some immediate consequences or some
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  Speaker 2: immediate you know, getting some big service from some really
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  Speaker 2: strong service providers in and I know a lot of
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  Speaker 2: work's being done on the ground behind that. So I
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  Speaker 2: think again going back to this committee, it's really working
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  Speaker 2: out how we can actually do something, to do everything
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  Speaker 2: to really have an impact on what's going on, so
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  Speaker 2: wrap around services, you know, police everything. At the moment,
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  Speaker 2: we all need to work together because I think that's
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  Speaker 2: the stop gap. Really, it's something that can happen and
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  Speaker 2: we can do it together. Yeah, separation and.
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  Speaker 1: It sort of reached the point where it has to,
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  Speaker 1: doesn't it. You know, like it's having a debilitating effect
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  Speaker 1: on people. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Look, and we've got the most amazing towns, but the
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  Speaker 2: most amazing people like the rest of the Northern Church.
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  Speaker 2: And I know that we're not the only ones. I'm
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  Speaker 2: based in Alice Springs obviously carrying the church, You're not
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  Speaker 2: the only ones impacted by this. But where we're really looking,
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  Speaker 2: we can actually do that. We do need to do
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  Speaker 2: it together, We need to do it. To this committee,
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  Speaker 2: accountability is a big part of this, so it is
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  Speaker 2: I think that's the only way to go forward and
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  Speaker 2: we need some really strong, strong movement in this space
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  Speaker 2: as well.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Nicole, when you talk more generally about the territory broadly,
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  Speaker 1: I know that even this morning there are some businesses
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  Speaker 1: meeting up talking about crime. There is you know, there's
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  Speaker 1: always concerns what a business is saying sort of up
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  Speaker 1: towards the top end as well. At the moment.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, we again really interesting as move throughout the territory.
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  Speaker 2: It's stunning to I mean, there's always no doubt you know,
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  Speaker 2: every cross every country, across every city is not just
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  Speaker 2: in the Northern territory, and we know that that it's
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  Speaker 2: hard when when it's impacting you in your life directly.
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  Speaker 2: But they are saying that sort of the behavior sometimes
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  Speaker 2: that we're getting in Central Australia probably have been seen
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  Speaker 2: a little bit more throughout the whole territory as well,
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  Speaker 2: and we know that everyone's trying to you know, it's
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  Speaker 2: taken a while to get here, that it's going to
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  Speaker 2: take a while to actually you get this sorted and
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  Speaker 2: get this support. But yeah, they're saying the same things.
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  Speaker 2: But you know some of the behavior and obviously the
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  Speaker 2: break ins. I'll see something happening in Palmerston today as well.
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  Speaker 2: I know Captain being impacted over the weekend in particular
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  Speaker 2: as well.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a shame, you know. Like honestly, I'm at
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  Speaker 1: the point where I wish there was other stuff for
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  Speaker 1: us to I mean, there is other things to talk
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  Speaker 1: about with, but where this wasn't such a huge issue
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  Speaker 1: that people, you know, were so concerned about it that
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  Speaker 1: it wasn't at the forefront all the time. I do
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  Speaker 1: really hope that we can get to the point where
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  Speaker 1: there is some serious change.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, I don't think anyone in this space ever wants
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  Speaker 2: to the people that are on this again, the Story
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  Speaker 2: Committee and Alice Springs, who as you know, have sat
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  Speaker 2: on these committals and he's done everything, who work in
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  Speaker 2: the space of youth. No one wants to be in
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  Speaker 2: this position. So I'm really hardened that. I hope we're
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  Speaker 2: moving together forward as a whole community. As providers, we
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  Speaker 2: need to look at local solutions. There does need to
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  Speaker 2: be consequence as peace, but that's certainly not about that's
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  Speaker 2: about sort of re engaging. There just needs to be
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  Speaker 2: a whole lot of stuff done because we need to
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  Speaker 2: really think outside the box. Yeah, we don't want to
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  Speaker 2: be speaking about this every day. We've got amazing businesses,
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  Speaker 2: amazing territory, We've got so many opportunities here and I
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  Speaker 2: totally agree.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Nicole Walsh. Always good to catch up with you.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you very much for your time this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Great, thank you, thank you.