Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Minister for Logistics Eva Lawler explains new measures to improve safety on Territory buses and at interchanges

Transcript

Minister for Logistics Eva Lawler explains new measures to improve safety on Territory buses and at interchanges · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Good morning to your minister. Good morning now, thanks so
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: much for your time. Minister, tell us a little bit
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: more about what prompted these changes.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: So these changes are about the safety of passengers, so
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: in making sure that when you're traveling on a bus
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: it's is actually a pleasurable experience. But it is also
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: about the safety of our drivers as well. So I've
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: had a number of meetings with the Transport Workers Union
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: over well since I've been Minister obviously for a quite
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: a considerable amount of time. So we bought in the
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: legislation earlier this year. The admin and the training has
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: been undertaken and so that legislation has been enacted and
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  Speaker 2: so as of today there are penalties in place. So
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: people can be banned from getting on a bus at
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: the bus stop or the bus interchange. So there's always
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  Speaker 2: been that power of arrest for our transit safety offices,
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  Speaker 2: but the legislation removes that ambiguity and broadened like geographically
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  Speaker 2: it can be in the vicinity of a bus interchanges well,
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: so people can be banned for three to six months.
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  Speaker 2: The transit safety officers can arrest somebody who may be
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  Speaker 2: damaging a bus, throwing locks at the bus. Always doing
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  Speaker 2: the wrong thing on a bus, causing trouble on the bus.
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  Speaker 2: They can be then detained by the transit safety officers
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  Speaker 2: or conveyed to the closest police station.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Minister, we did catch up with the union just
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  Speaker 1: a little bit earlier this morning. We'd spoken to them
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  Speaker 1: last week as well, following on from some pretty bad
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: anti social behavior on the bus network. There was one
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  Speaker 1: instance in particular that Ian Smith, the secretary of the
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  Speaker 1: Transport Union, had spoken to us about last week where
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  Speaker 1: a bus driver actually ended up turning that bus back
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: to the depot. As I understand, after some pretty bad
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: anti social behavior. How concerned are you about some of
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: whatsh those drivers and indeed the public have had to
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: put up with.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, very concerned, Katie. That's why we've bought in this legislation. Now,
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  Speaker 2: as a minister, that's the highest power that you can do,
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  Speaker 2: is to bring in new leglegislation, go through the process
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: of writing legislation, addressing the issue, introducing it in parliament,
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  Speaker 2: you know, debating passing that legislation, and that's what we've done.
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  Speaker 2: So I think we've taken some really solid strong action
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  Speaker 2: around that. It's also about making sure those security contractors,
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  Speaker 2: So at the at the depot, sorry, at the interchanges,
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  Speaker 2: we have security contractors as well, and it's been it's
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  Speaker 2: also giving them payers they can't arrest, but it is
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  Speaker 2: also giving them the powers to be able to ask
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  Speaker 2: somebody from their name, their data, birth, but also provide
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  Speaker 2: directions to them saying, you know, leave the vicinity, go
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  Speaker 2: away off, you know, move away sort of thing as well.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: So it's giving those security contractors additional powers, but also
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: particularly the trends of safety officers.
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  Speaker 1: How many of those transit safety officers have we got.
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  Speaker 2: So we've got nineteen. We're putting on additional two. But
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  Speaker 2: I've already said to Andrew Kirkman, you know, let's keep
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: looking at this if they're you know, if they have
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: an impact, if we need additional resources. We've seen fuel
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: prices go up, we've seen them starting to come down,
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  Speaker 2: but there are more people who are looking at using
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: public transport, people who are very conscious about their emissions
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  Speaker 2: as well. So probably ninety percent of people who travel
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  Speaker 2: on the bus do the right thing, but there is
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  Speaker 2: a small percentage in our community who don't do that.
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  Speaker 2: We meet and we've got the powers to be able
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  Speaker 2: to say, well, you've lost that privilege of catching a bus.
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  Speaker 2: You can't hang around loiter at the bus interchange causing trouble.
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  Speaker 2: You're gone. You have to move away, and so I
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: think it's important to be able to do that.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Minister. How exactly will a ban work? I suppose you know.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: The thing that I sort of wonder is if somebody
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: is banned by one of the transit officers, how can
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  Speaker 1: it then be policed.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: I'm not the expert, but apparently there's like a database
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  Speaker 2: where all that information goes. So there is the police
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  Speaker 2: use the same database. There are also CCTVs the transit
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  Speaker 2: slafety officers where body worn cameras as well, so that
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  Speaker 2: information then is held. I think most of them. The
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  Speaker 2: information I have is most of these venders are people
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  Speaker 2: who are well known to the SERRIC security guards as
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  Speaker 2: well as the security contractors as well as the transit
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  Speaker 2: safety officers, so they have that information. That information on
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  Speaker 2: who's been banned is with the bus drivers, but the
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  Speaker 2: transit safety officers have that information. So then they can
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  Speaker 2: you know, if somebody gets picked up at a bus
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  Speaker 2: into change the bus stop, they can then ring that
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  Speaker 2: in or the transit safety officers or the CCTV from
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  Speaker 2: the bus can pick that up. So yeah, there's I mean,
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  Speaker 2: I haven't got the exact details, but it is a
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  Speaker 2: database that police access as well as the transit safety
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  Speaker 2: officers that has that information.
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  Speaker 1: Minister when it comes to the transit safety officers arresting people,
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  Speaker 1: have they had to do much of that in the past.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, they have had to do that in the past,
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  Speaker 2: but this broadens their power. So they are able to
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  Speaker 2: remove somebody who's on the bus that's causing trouble at
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  Speaker 2: a bus interchange, but now also in the vicinity of
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  Speaker 2: a bus interchange. So sometimes people are beyond the fenced
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  Speaker 2: area and they're causing trouble by throwing rocks for example,
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  Speaker 2: And so they are able to either detain them till
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  Speaker 2: the police arrives, or they can take them to a
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  Speaker 2: police station. And like Casarine is quite close to the
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  Speaker 2: Casuine police station, Parlersan Interchange is just across the road
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  Speaker 2: from the Palms and Police Interchange. Cabina Street is relatively close,
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  Speaker 2: so they can detain them or they can take them
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  Speaker 2: to a police station. But that said, earlier this year
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  Speaker 2: I did an event where it was Larachie Nation, the
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  Speaker 2: transit safety offices, the security, you know, the police, all
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  Speaker 2: of them work together anyway, and this is, as I said,
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  Speaker 2: giving those transit safety offices more power to be able
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  Speaker 2: to act Minister.
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  Speaker 1: When we caught up with the Transport Workers Union a
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: bit earlier this morning, Ian Smith said that this is
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: definitely a step in the right direction. He was very
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: positive about the fact that the government has been continuing
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: to meet with the union, but he did say that
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: he thinks there needs to be more of those transport officers,
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: transport safety officers, and also he wants to see those
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: driver protection screens or better driver protection screens. Is that
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: something that you are speaking with the union about.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so these driver protection screens. They're trialing that at
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  Speaker 2: the moment. So there's a number of versions of those,
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  Speaker 2: and some people don't some of the drivers don't necessarily
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: like the Perspex ones, but that's being trialed at the moment. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: some mechanisms for the bus drivers to keep the bus
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  Speaker 2: drivers safe, So those are being trialed. The other positive
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: thing or and I know if it's positive, but an
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  Speaker 2: additional thing is now we have one bus company, so
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  Speaker 2: CDC manage all our dal and buses, so you know,
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  Speaker 2: in the past you're dealing in the Union also was
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: dealing with two companies. You now have one company CDC
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  Speaker 2: that managers or that runs our whole bus network. So
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: it's yeah, you have that direct line. So I think
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: that's one less step basically where you're dealing with two
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: different bus companies, all.
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  Speaker 1: Right, and so with that trial as well, then on
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  Speaker 1: the protection screens, is that something that may be implemented
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: across the network.
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so yes, definitely, So there are you know, if
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: you could travel on the bus, they do have some
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: sort of cage already, a mesh sort of area, but
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  Speaker 2: with some of those the bus drivers feel and there
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: are passengers that can reach over or get over the
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: top of those. So it is about increasing and improving
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: the safety for the bus drivers. And so I think
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  Speaker 2: into the future any new buses will be fitted with
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  Speaker 2: those screens anyway, And I mean that's we're not unique
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: in the Northern Territory around bus safety, bus driver safety,
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  Speaker 2: it's probably a worldwide issue. So they're fitting those anyway
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  Speaker 2: in new buses. But it's how do we also fit
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: those or CDC then have those fitted in buses currently.
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: Well, Minister for Transport Infrastructure and Logistics, Evil Lawler. Were
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: appreciate you taking the time to have a chat with
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: us this morning and just talking us through those changes.
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  Speaker 1: I hope that they do make a make a difference.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, yeah, I mean yeah. We want more people to
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  Speaker 2: be going on our buses. We want them to feel
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  Speaker 2: comfortable and safe on our buses.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time this morning.
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: Thank you, Katie, Thank you.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: That is Minister Evil Laula there, who is indeed the
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics. And look, I think
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  Speaker 1: I speak for most of you this morning when I
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: say that we really do hope that these changes do
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: make a difference. By the sounds of it from what
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: the Minister had said there, they're certainly open to the
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: potential for more transit safety officers based on what the
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: Minister had said, but also in terms of those screens
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: that the union had spoken about as well, because fundamentally
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: it's not just about making sure that all the passengers
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: are safe that are on those buses, but also about
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: making sure that drivers are safe. And some of what
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: we've heard that they've been subjected to not only over
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: the last few weeks, but certainly over the years is
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: pretty horrendous and we want to make sure that people
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: are able to be safe in their workplaces. Now, if
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: you would like to send us a message this morning
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: zero four double nine seven double one three six zero,
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: we're going to take a really short break. When we
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: come back, you're going to hear from Saint John's