Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour is calling on the NT Government to ask for whatever Federal assistance it needs to address the Territory-wide crime crisis

Transcript

Member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour is calling on the NT Government to ask for whatever Federal assistance it needs to address the Territory-wide crime crisis · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Now we know that the Australian and the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: governments they say that they're working together to deliver the
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  Speaker 1: next stage of the two hundred and fifty million dollars
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  Speaker 1: that's been earmarked for Central Australia in an effort to
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  Speaker 1: improve community safety, tackle alcohol related harm and provide more
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  Speaker 1: opportunities for young people. But questions are being raised after
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  Speaker 1: that plan outlined in the budget, seem to be almost
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  Speaker 1: one hundred million dollars short, well ninety four million dollars
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  Speaker 1: as we understand it being kept in a contingency fund.
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  Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line is Marion Scrimjaw, who
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  Speaker 1: is the member for Lingiari.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Marion.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 2: How are you really good?
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  Speaker 1: Although unfortunately more issues with crime overnight all these vehicles stolen.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. Look, I was talking to the owner of the
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  Speaker 3: United Service station, Kin Dawen about what has been happening
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  Speaker 3: at some of the serviceations both the night before and stuff.
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  Speaker 3: And you know, like I think we've got to get
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  Speaker 3: a focus on Darwin. The last time I was in Darwen,
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  Speaker 3: and I've said this before, I was born and bred
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  Speaker 3: and grew up in that town. It's not the same,
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  Speaker 3: and we've got to you know, like like Alice Springs,
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  Speaker 3: we've got to not shy away from dealing with that.
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  Speaker 3: So I look forward to coming up to the top
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  Speaker 3: end on Friday and we'll have some discussion with some
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  Speaker 3: of the groups, but in touch with some of the
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  Speaker 3: businesses that are feeling this issue, Katie, and certainly working
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  Speaker 3: with Luke Gosling who is the Member for Solomon, because
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  Speaker 3: I know he shares that same concern that we've got
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  Speaker 3: to do something about it.
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  Speaker 1: Marion.
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  Speaker 2: Is the Northern Territory government taking this.
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  Speaker 1: Issue as seriously as they should be, because I interviewed
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  Speaker 1: the Chief Minister on Tuesday and what people were.
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  Speaker 2: Really upset and disheartened.
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  Speaker 1: It truly sounded as though she felt as though the
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  Speaker 1: policy settings that they've got are right, as though she
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  Speaker 1: felt that, you know that they're giving the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: Police the funding that they need and that it's you know,
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  Speaker 1: it's up to them to allocate those resources the way
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  Speaker 1: that they do. But people felt really disheartened after that interview.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. Look, and this was the same with Alice Sprangs, Katie,
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  Speaker 3: which is why I took a strong stance and we
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  Speaker 3: need to and I'm looking forward to having this discussion
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  Speaker 3: with the Chief Minister but also the Police Minister, but
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  Speaker 3: also the Acting Commissioner, because there's a lot of resources
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  Speaker 3: and funding that's coming from the federal government for Central
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  Speaker 3: Australia and we need to have a look at and
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  Speaker 3: as that bring out then you know, the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 3: Police to make sure that resources are being applied to
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  Speaker 3: the top end and particularly parts of my letters. You know, Catherine,
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  Speaker 3: there are some serious issues in and around Catherine ten
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  Speaker 3: and Creature seeing the same issues. I was there a
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  Speaker 3: couple of weeks ago and we're seeing the same you know,
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  Speaker 3: environments and crime playing out. So you know, like I
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  Speaker 3: think we've got to be honest that there is right
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  Speaker 3: across the nation. We're seeing this issue of crime and
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  Speaker 3: you know, the spike right across the nation, and I
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  Speaker 3: think we shouldn't show away from that there is a
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  Speaker 3: crisis and there is a problem CADI and that we
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  Speaker 3: need to do something about it, and that SEDROOL members
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  Speaker 3: are certainly wanting to look at how do we you know,
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  Speaker 3: get the resources and work with the Northern Territory government
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  Speaker 3: but make sure people in the community feel safe. Yeah,
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  Speaker 3: we spot on it's about it's about people safety.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and you know, at the end of the day,
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  Speaker 1: no one's feeling overly safe when we've seen four people's.
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  Speaker 2: Lives lost in like sixty days.
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  Speaker 1: You know, we saw the terrible situation where a bloke
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  Speaker 1: was allegedly killed in Rapid Creek. We then had a
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  Speaker 1: terrible situation where deck Lan Lavity was allegedly stabbed. We
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  Speaker 1: then had another terrible situation where the Federal Indigenous Affairs
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  Speaker 1: Minister was in town and a woman was allegedly killed
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  Speaker 1: in a domestic violence incident outside the hotel where they
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  Speaker 1: were staying. And then last week to have an international
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  Speaker 1: student allegedly murdered while in his accommodation, in his bed.
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  Speaker 1: It is its heartbreaking, Marion.
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  Speaker 3: Look, it's terrible, Katie. And all of those incidents, you know,
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  Speaker 3: two young people losing their lives and such sinkless murders.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, those murders could have been avoided. The Aboriginal
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  Speaker 3: woman who was killed in town, and I know speaking
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  Speaker 3: to Linda just you know she's been absolutely affected by it,
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  Speaker 3: and the same with her staff who were there has
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  Speaker 3: just been rocked by You know that that senseless you know,
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  Speaker 3: the violence that came out as that, but there are
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  Speaker 3: so many of these incidences happening cases. We've got to
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  Speaker 3: do something about it, the domestic and family violence strategies.
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  Speaker 3: And it's not just alcohol. And I said just a
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  Speaker 3: couple of weeks ago in Alice Spring the grog issues
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  Speaker 3: that were impacting on Alice Springs. With those restrictions, that
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  Speaker 3: has been that decraise, you know, in alcohol related incidences
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  Speaker 3: in Alice Springs. But I think that we've got to
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  Speaker 3: have a discussion and more of a focus on the
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  Speaker 3: level of the liftid drugs that are there on the street.
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  Speaker 3: And I'm not talking about marijuana, but I think, you know,
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  Speaker 3: like let's talk about ice and meth amphetamine that are
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  Speaker 3: on the street, and cocaine and that aboriginal These young
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  Speaker 3: people are getting access to it, and that's where that
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  Speaker 3: behavior is certainly one where there is no boundary and
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  Speaker 3: people are carrying a lot of weapons and innocent people
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  Speaker 3: are losing their lives because of this issue, and we've
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  Speaker 3: got to do something about it.
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  Speaker 1: We have to, and we've got to we've got to
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  Speaker 1: do it urgently.
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  Speaker 2: Marion.
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  Speaker 1: You know, two hundred and fifty million dollars for Central Australia.
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  Speaker 1: From what I can gather going through where that money
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  Speaker 1: is being invested, there seems to be some really good investments.
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  Speaker 1: A lot of people scratching their heads about this ninety
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  Speaker 1: four million dollar contingency fund.
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  Speaker 2: What's going to happen with that money?
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  Speaker 3: Katie. One of the commitments that Linda Bernie gave to
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  Speaker 3: a lot of the Aboriginal leadership. So what I've been
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  Speaker 3: at pains to do is to get a number of
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  Speaker 3: Aboriginal leaders to stand up and to start working with government,
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  Speaker 3: both the Northern Territory and the Commas, but also the
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  Speaker 3: business community in everyone in Alice, France. That money will
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  Speaker 3: be made. There will be a division made and they
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  Speaker 3: will they will have a look at the in the
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  Speaker 3: in stage two. What are they going to do with
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  Speaker 3: this money and put it in their hands and the
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  Speaker 3: community you know, represented from the business community, from tourism,
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  Speaker 3: what will that ninety four minion look like and how
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  Speaker 3: do we get this money rolled out? There's been substantial
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  Speaker 3: money put in Katie. At the start there was one
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  Speaker 3: hundred and twenty million, which was part of my election
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  Speaker 3: commitment that was rolled out committed to in last year's budgets.
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  Speaker 3: There was three hundred and thirty two million in terms
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  Speaker 3: of of roads infrastructure with the Marini Loop and the
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  Speaker 3: Santa Treza one hundred and fifty five point three of
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  Speaker 3: the two hundred and fifty the Treasurer made there is
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  Speaker 3: the commitment for the two point fifty we have rolled
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  Speaker 3: out one hundred and fifty five. I think it's one
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  Speaker 3: hundred and fifty five point three million is what's been
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  Speaker 3: broken down, and I think for our government it is
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  Speaker 3: being responsible. It's been cautious and making sure that we
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  Speaker 3: are going to get the best outcome for the community.
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  Speaker 3: We have to make a difference with this money taking.
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  Speaker 3: It can't get lost either in the bureaucracy, nor should
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  Speaker 3: we give money to organizations and nothing changes on the
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  Speaker 3: ground and community.
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  Speaker 1: Are You'll be hard pressed to find anybody who disagrees
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  Speaker 1: with that.
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  Speaker 3: Marion.
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  Speaker 2: I think you hit the nail on the head.
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  Speaker 1: Is there any money going towards you bring your school
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  Speaker 1: to get that boarding house up and running?
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  Speaker 3: Not at the moment. And look, I've said to Yaprina
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  Speaker 3: that I will support the board's aspirations as to what
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  Speaker 3: they want to do. But the proposal that's been put forward,
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  Speaker 3: it doesn't address the criteria and it's full of holds, Katie.
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  Speaker 3: We've got to get to a point that if you're
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  Speaker 3: going to have taxpayer dollars invested in this, we've got
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  Speaker 3: to do the right thing here. So I've said to
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  Speaker 3: the Principle of Yaparina and the board, I will work
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  Speaker 3: with them over the next couple of months to look
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  Speaker 3: at their proposal and we can refine that a bit more. Now.
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  Speaker 3: It may be it's not in this budget, and I
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  Speaker 3: made that clear to them that it wasn't in this budget,
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  Speaker 3: but I will work with them to look at when
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  Speaker 3: that proposal is that a point where I think it
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  Speaker 3: is sufficient, you know, and it's going to address some
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  Speaker 3: of the issues. For example, their existing proposal only deals
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  Speaker 3: with about twenty children at the moment on Alice Springs,
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  Speaker 3: where we're looking at there's nearly one hundred kids on
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  Speaker 3: the street, and we need to look at what do
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  Speaker 3: we need to do to provide a safe and secure
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  Speaker 3: facility that is going to keep these young people safe
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  Speaker 3: and that they've got somewhere where we can re engage
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  Speaker 3: them back in the education system, getting the therapeutic care
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  Speaker 3: because a lot of them have fadd and other issues.
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  Speaker 3: And we need to start addressing this case. We can't
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  Speaker 3: keep ignoring it. And it's the same with Darwin. I
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  Speaker 3: think if we look right across the Northern Territory, there
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  Speaker 3: are kids that have been that have fallen through the
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  Speaker 3: cracks here and we need to we need to start
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  Speaker 3: addressing it in a proper way and then in a
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  Speaker 3: real way. And its government, the federal government. There is
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  Speaker 3: a lot of money in the system at the moment.
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  Speaker 3: We've going to make sure we're getting the outcomes for
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  Speaker 3: the community and for these individuals.
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  Speaker 1: And this is where a lot of people have feeling
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  Speaker 1: quite perplexed because, as you've said, there's.
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  Speaker 2: A lot of money going into it.
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  Speaker 1: You know, the Northern Territory government have now been in
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  Speaker 1: power for the last six seven nearly seven years, and Marian,
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  Speaker 1: it seems to be getting worse in the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: right now. And I think that you know what people
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  Speaker 1: have liked over the last six months or so is
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  Speaker 1: your absolute honesty and the fact that you acknowledge that
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  Speaker 1: there is a really serious issue and that you seem
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  Speaker 1: to be trying your best to get stuck into it.
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  Speaker 1: But they're really bloody frustrated with the Northern Territory Government.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, and look, Katie, anyone who knows me, I hate
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  Speaker 3: the spin of any any you know, whether it's a
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  Speaker 3: fifth flaw or whether it's in Federal Parliament. I think,
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  Speaker 3: you know, people want answers and people want us as
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  Speaker 3: elected members to do what we can do to make
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  Speaker 3: sure that they are feeling safe and that their needs
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  Speaker 3: are going to be addressed. You know, we're not always
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  Speaker 3: going to have people happy with us. But I think
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  Speaker 3: if people conceive that we're not spinning the truth and
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  Speaker 3: that we're doing the best that we can to try
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  Speaker 3: and deal with some of this issues, but being honest,
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  Speaker 3: that there is a crisis and there is a problem
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  Speaker 3: and we've just got to work through this. And if
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  Speaker 3: it's as I've said many times Katie, whether it's on
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  Speaker 3: your show or whether it's with other media, if they
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  Speaker 3: need the support of the federal government, all the Northern
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  Speaker 3: Charity the government needs to do is just there are
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  Speaker 3: three federal members who are willing and able and committed
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  Speaker 3: to dealing with this. And I know Luke Gosling, you know,
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  Speaker 3: in terms of Darwin, we've just got all work together
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  Speaker 3: to try and get the best outcome for the community.
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  Speaker 1: So, Marion, have the Northern Territory government asked you for
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  Speaker 1: any additional support or help at this point for the
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  Speaker 1: top end or the Northern Territory more generally.
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  Speaker 3: Oh, look, Katie, I know that Natasha has spoken to
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  Speaker 3: the Prime Minister, to Linda Bernie. There has been discussions
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  Speaker 3: in terms of the top end because whilst we've focused
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  Speaker 3: on Central Australia and you know the issues that have
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  Speaker 3: been in Central Australia, we do need to look at
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  Speaker 3: the whole of the Northern Territory and you know that's
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  Speaker 3: I know that certainly Natasha. I know Chancey Pate for
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  Speaker 3: Kate Warden as well, and now that they've resolved the issues,
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  Speaker 3: I think with the Commissioner, I think the Acting Commissioner,
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  Speaker 3: I have a lot of respects for Michael Murphy and
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  Speaker 3: I think we just need to work with him to
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  Speaker 3: get the police resourcing and other you know, other funding
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  Speaker 3: to organizations that are at the cold face of all
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  Speaker 3: of these matters, but work with the business community because
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  Speaker 3: if our economy gets hit because of the crime, we're
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  Speaker 3: going to see people shut shop and leave the territory
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  Speaker 3: and that's not good for the territory economy. So you know,
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  Speaker 3: they need to there needs to be less spitten. There
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  Speaker 3: needs to be you know, sometimes the are heads have
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  Speaker 3: to come out of the sand and we need to
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  Speaker 3: address the bleeding obvious that there is a major issue
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  Speaker 3: in Darwin and you know in a lot of our
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  Speaker 3: remote community as well.
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  Speaker 1: Marion, we are going to have to cut it short
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  Speaker 1: because we've got to head off to the National news.
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  Speaker 1: I always appreciate your time and we will talk to
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  Speaker 1: you again very soon.
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  Speaker 2: No worries.
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  Speaker 3: I always enjoy talking to you.
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  Speaker 2: Katie's marrying, Yeah, you two. Thank you