Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Palmerston Council Mayor Athina Pascoe-Bell

Transcript

Katie Woolf spoke with Palmerston Council Mayor Athina Pascoe-Bell · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now is the Palmeston
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Beer Asina Pasco Bell. Good morning to you, Athena.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Good morning now.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: I understand or certainly a statement was issued by the
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Palveston Council yesterday saying that there was going to be
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: a booze ban at at Marlow Lagoon Reserve. How come
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: this decision was made?
• 0:21
  Speaker 3: I'll probably just give you some background context to the
• 0:24
  Speaker 3: actual reserve. It is the only public space in Palmerston
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: where drinking has been permitted, and it wasn't clear and
• 0:31
  Speaker 3: we weren't able to find any information as to why
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: that was the only public space with drinking.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Following on from that, over the last twelve months.
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: Or so, there's been an increase of incident relating to
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: alcohol in Marlo Lagoon and it is affecting members of
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: the community enjoying the space down there. So council made
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: a decision that we would have a ban on drinking
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: in the location for four months and then review what
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: the impact of that is.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: And so was it sort of a request that had
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: been put in by the police. I know at East
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Point that was the situation where they'd ask the council
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: whether those drinking hours could be restricted, but was that
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: the case out there in Palmerston.
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: Look, we always work closely with the police, but in
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: this case there's also a number of requests from members
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: of the public the drinking issues down there. Mala Lagoun
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: is not like East Point or any of the foreshore
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: areas in Darwin. It is a large regional park. People
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: don't go there for sunset viewing. They go there to
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: walk their dog, cycle take their kids to the part
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: children's birthday parties. So it's a completely different use of
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: that space to what you would.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: See along the Foreshaw in Darwin, and I think.
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: That's probably the reason our community has a different perspective
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: on what's going on there. We recognize that, you know,
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: it is a bit of a change for some people
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: who might like to take a six pack with them
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: while they were walking the dog. But the primary focus
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: of the park is that it is a regional family
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: friendly facility. And one of the other key aspects to
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: the decision is that from our community Plan, which was
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: written by fifty members of the community, they wanted counsel
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: to focus on making Palmerstan a family friendly place and
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: one of the measures of success was that we reduce
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: crime rates, specifically a reduction in alcohol fueled violence. So
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: you know, we've taken a different perspective on this. This
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: is what the community has told us they want us
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: to deliver for the community. We recognize it's going to
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: be a bit of a change for some people who
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: use the location in the appropriate ways. But if you
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: are a family or someone who wants to have a
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: wedding or a birthday party and you want alcohol at
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: that event, the process is the same as with any
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: of our other public spaces, and that is you can
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: apply for a permit to have alcohol at your event.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: You know, it does sound like it's a fairly different
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: situation to what we've seen at the likes of East Point, where,
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: like you said, people generally go down there, you know,
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: in the evenings they might enjoy wine while they watch
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: the sun seat. Have you had instances at at Marlow
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: Lagoon where alcohol has been misused and there's been, you know,
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: instances that you really don't want to happen again.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: Yes, I'm aware of too.
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: One actually involved a school group that was doing some
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: orientation as part of their school program.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: So they've gone to the park.
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: To you know, undertake an activity and excursion and they
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: were confronted with some very abusive language from some drunk
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: people in the park, but obviously, you know, completely stopped
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: their event and they had to return to their school.
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: I'm also aware of people who are also abused and
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: yelled at when they just you know, using the park's
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: normal uses, riding bikes, walking dogs. So we don't want
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: to see these altercations happen. The police have indicated to
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: us that they have to respond to over three hundred
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: incidents a year, and it's something that we want to
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: make sure that the majority of the community are able
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: to use space in the appropriate way and feel saith
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: using it.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: There you go, So you know, it's again, it sounds
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: like quite a different situation where you guys being fairly
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: proactive about this and trying your best to make it
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: a safe place for people to be able to use.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: Particularly you know, like, that's pretty bloody ordinary to hear
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: that these kids they're orienteering and then they end up abuse.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: That's just not acceptable, No.
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: It's not acceptable, And you know, it's this sort of
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: behavior that we really want to put a stop to
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: in our community.
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: You know, I do recognize.
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: Some of the commentary that Robert Cooper from Larikia has
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: book board and that these people need help, Absolutely, they
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: need help. But we have to measure up the benefits
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: and the health of the community against all the other
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: competing factors, and we want to make sure that this
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: space remains a very usable and family friendly recreational space.
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: It's also part of our fishing competition at the moment
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: as well.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: So you know, you don't want.
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: You to send your children down there to have a
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: flick and they're confronted with things that you don't want
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: them to see.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: Well, you would end up just not letting them go.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: I mean, that's the real simplicity of it, isn't it.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: And you don't want that situation. You want it to
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: be somewhere that's utilized. As you've said.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so it is our biggest regional park, and you know,
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: we don't have an exemption on liquor at any of
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: our other regional or suburban parks, so it was quite
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: unusual that it's sitting there out on its own as
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: a place where drinking was allowed.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: You know. Following the four months.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: Trial period, we'll review the data that we get from
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: you know, just incidents reported to counsel and police and
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: any other information we can get and see if there
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: is a significant difference in the way you know that.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: The people use the park. Yeah, we're hoping that.
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: We can attract families back down into the area.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: And that people do feel safe to use it again.
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: Athena, just finally, who's going to police it? I mean,
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: who's going to make sure that there aren't people in
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: the park drinking? Will it be the police or will
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: it be rangers?
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: Look, both rangers and police do regular patrols right around Parmestan,
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: so that will continue all right.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: Well, Athena, I'll be really keen to hear sort of
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: how that trial goes, So no doubt we'll catch up
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: again very soon. Really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: so much for having a chat with us.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: Thank you very much.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: That's the Palmeston mayor there, Athena Pasco Bell And look,
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: it does sound as though you know they're doing this
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: on a as a proactive measure and that it's needed
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: by the sounds of it. I don't live out in Parmeston,
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: so I don't have as good an idea as to
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: some of the issues that go on at Marlow lagoon
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: as what others may so if you do want to
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: give us a call and let us know your thoughts,
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: eight nine four one one oh four nine is the number.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: But it does sound like they're they're doing something that
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: the community wants. Well, certainly that's that's the way that
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: the mayor made it sound, and that it's a fairly
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: different situation to what we've seen at East Point.