Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Chief Minister Michael Gunner

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Katie Woolf spoke with Chief Minister Michael Gunner · 360 with Katie Woolf

0:00
Speaker 1: Let's get straight into it because the Chief Minister, Michael
0:02
Speaker 1: Gunner is waiting patiently in the studio. Good morning to
0:05
Speaker 1: your chief minister. Welcome back on here, thank you, good
0:08
Speaker 1: to be back. Now let's get into it because there's
0:10
Speaker 1: certainly a lot to cover off and we know well.
0:13
Speaker 1: The news of the day really is the latest concept
0:16
Speaker 1: State of the State's report. It's been released and it
0:18
Speaker 1: shows that once again the Northern Territory is the worst
0:21
Speaker 1: performing economy in the country. Now, you told the paper
0:25
Speaker 1: that the report's deeply flawed because it compares the Northern
0:27
Speaker 1: Territory economy against its ten year average, which includes the
0:31
Speaker 1: impets construction boom, and the report belongs in the recycling bin.
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Speaker 1: Now I'm not actually interested in trying to discredit concept.
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Speaker 1: The fact is that we do have some deep concerns
0:41
Speaker 1: when it comes to when it comes to the economy.
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Speaker 1: We're doing it tough, and the expectation is that it's
0:47
Speaker 1: going to be even tougher when the job keeper extension ends.
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Speaker 1: When are we going to begin to see some of
0:53
Speaker 1: the positive impacts following on from the Territory's economic report,
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Speaker 1: the Turk report, And if we're no longer using important
1:00
Speaker 1: documents like.
1:00
Speaker 2: The State of the State report.
1:02
Speaker 1: Will we have someone independent who measures those different benchmarks.
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Speaker 3: There's a lot there, Katie.
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Speaker 4: The first is that we are leading the national comeback
1:11
Speaker 4: post Corona, so we've got some really good things that
1:14
Speaker 4: are happening in the territory right now, while acknowledging there
1:16
Speaker 4: are some businesses out there who are still struggling. So
1:19
Speaker 4: we've got unemployment down, wages up, housing finance up, retail up,
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Speaker 4: tourism up. I feel sorry for some tour operators out
1:27
Speaker 4: there who were specifically targeting international tourism, for example, so
1:31
Speaker 4: we know there are parts of the economy that are
1:33
Speaker 4: still hurting. As an example with that comp SEC report.
1:37
Speaker 4: So I actually think most reports are actually really important
1:40
Speaker 4: reading and helpful. With even the com SEC if you
1:42
Speaker 4: want to look at how we compared to the IMPECS
1:44
Speaker 4: high obviously it's relevant for that, but doesn't actually compare
1:46
Speaker 4: us to the rest of the nation. And yet they
1:48
Speaker 4: report as if we are being compared to the rest
1:49
Speaker 4: of the nation.
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Speaker 1: If we don't actually I mean, if things like com sick,
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Speaker 1: if it's deeply flawed, what are we going to use
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Speaker 1: to actually measure those different benchmarks? Said there that you
2:00
Speaker 1: know that we're performing better than the rest of the
2:02
Speaker 1: country in various different areas. What measures are you actually
2:06
Speaker 1: using to show us that.
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Speaker 4: Well, some of these are publicly nationally reported, So for example,
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Speaker 4: we're currently second when it comes to unemployment. That's a
2:14
Speaker 4: national reporting benchmark. Deloitte released the report showing that we
2:19
Speaker 4: were number one in the country last year for economic growth.
2:22
Speaker 4: Concept actually had us last because it compared us to
2:24
Speaker 4: the ten year high.
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Speaker 3: Now, I absolutely agree.
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Speaker 4: We are not where we were at the peak of
2:28
Speaker 4: impex construction. That's correct, but that doesn't accurately compare us
2:32
Speaker 4: to the rest of the country. So there are a
2:34
Speaker 4: number of different stats out there or things that get
2:37
Speaker 4: reported on that we obviously look at, which show where
2:40
Speaker 4: we're going. But I think it's always important that you
2:43
Speaker 4: understand the deep dive in the economy. So some of
2:45
Speaker 4: those figures are generic. Right, the unemployment rate is where
2:48
Speaker 4: it is at second second best in the country, but
2:51
Speaker 4: we know there are sectors out there that are still
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Speaker 4: doing it tough, or individual businesses that are doing it tough.
2:58
Speaker 4: I know one of the things that gets raising me
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Speaker 4: a lot last few months because of the international borders,
3:03
Speaker 4: some of those sectors that were reliant on bringing people
3:06
Speaker 4: in for international skills under the DAMA two, for example,
3:10
Speaker 4: there's that area Migration Agreement mark too that's now very difficult,
3:13
Speaker 4: so we've got to rely on bringing people up from
3:15
Speaker 4: down south. There's never been a better time to advertise
3:18
Speaker 4: non territory our population. We actually had our best population
3:21
Speaker 4: figures in seven years for interstate migration.
3:24
Speaker 2: So I just want to get back to where we
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Speaker 2: were before.
3:26
Speaker 1: And the essence of that first question is, realistically, we've
3:30
Speaker 1: now got the Turk Report, how are we going to
3:33
Speaker 1: actually measure if and when we start to see the
3:37
Speaker 1: turnaround with the economy. You've said that the concept report
3:40
Speaker 1: is not where we're going to see it from, even
3:42
Speaker 1: though other states around the nation do use that comsept report.
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Speaker 1: How are we going to measure those benchmarks and how
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Speaker 1: are we actually aside from sort of political spin, is
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Speaker 1: there going to be an independent report or a way
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Speaker 1: of reporting whether the Turk recommendations are being implemented and
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Speaker 1: whether they work.
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Speaker 4: So we'll obviously definitely report back on the Tercy Sorry
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Speaker 4: Tertary Reconstruction Commission report. I gave public servants homework over
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Speaker 4: the Christmas break about coming back to me around being
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Speaker 4: those two year, five year, and ten year targets.
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Speaker 3: So we'll provide that.
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Speaker 4: They'll obviously provide a mechanism to hold us to account
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Speaker 4: against at least what we're going to do and when
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Speaker 4: we're going to do it over that two, five and
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Speaker 4: ten year timelines. But some of these figures are a
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Speaker 4: national and public figure. So unemployment is a national public figure.
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Speaker 4: I don't write down employment figures. That's done separately. Growth again,
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Speaker 4: the GDP or GSP or the growth figures are again
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Speaker 4: public nationally reported figures. So through a number of ways
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Speaker 4: you can measure whether the territory economy is growing, and
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Speaker 4: so for example, we were the number one growing economy
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Speaker 4: last year. Concept has as last because it's comparing us
4:46
Speaker 4: to the impects high and not comparing us to other
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Speaker 4: states or territory. So every report's useful if you understand
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Speaker 4: how you're reading it. The concept doesn't provide useful data
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Speaker 4: in that sense, but there are many many ways that
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Speaker 4: you can measure whether the economy is growing or not,
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Speaker 4: whether the jobs are being created or not, and all
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Speaker 4: those figures are public.
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Speaker 1: A big issue that we've got here in the Northern
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Speaker 1: territories obviously the population. Today, the government is going to
5:07
Speaker 1: be announcing, as I understand it, five key work sectors
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Speaker 1: that will be targeted in a new campaign to attract
5:13
Speaker 1: skilled workers to the Northern Territory. Now, the campaign targets
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Speaker 1: skilled and semi skilled workers in the nation's big three
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Speaker 1: markets Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand. How many people
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Speaker 1: are you hoping to attract to the Northern Territory.
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Speaker 4: This is more about filling those jobs that are vacant.
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Speaker 4: So it's about helping small business, mainly small business attract workers.
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Speaker 4: Normally we do this through Desgnated Area Migration Agreement Mark two,
5:36
Speaker 4: which part provides a pathway to citizenship. This is about
5:39
Speaker 4: saying we have got jobs going, and we do have
5:42
Speaker 4: jobs going in the end, and trying to help people
5:44
Speaker 4: move here to fill it. So I haven't said here's
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Speaker 4: a specific job number. It's about making sure that we
5:49
Speaker 4: know that people down south, so that people down souths have.
5:52
Speaker 2: An idea though how many jobs need to be filled.
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Speaker 4: So we have an unemployment rate of around five percent,
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Speaker 4: so it wouldn't be great if we filled the five
6:00
Speaker 4: unemployment rate. Now, where that comes from down south or
6:03
Speaker 4: not is difference about making sure that people know that
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Speaker 4: we've got jobs going. We had our best population result
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Speaker 4: in seven years last year in state migration was basically neutral.
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Speaker 4: So for a decade at least we had more people
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Speaker 4: leading the territory than coming. That trend reversed last year.
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Speaker 4: We're actually able to hold on to territories and track
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Speaker 4: more territories here and more people have become territories.
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Speaker 2: How much is the campaign costing?
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Speaker 3: Oh, that's a good question. I'll give aat you about
6:28
Speaker 3: that pain.
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Speaker 2: Okay, because I'm keen to know.
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Speaker 1: I guess again, you know the essence of what I'm
6:31
Speaker 1: trying to get through is if we are doing different
6:34
Speaker 1: things to try and fix the economy, to try and
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Speaker 1: draw people here to the Northern Territory to fill those jobs.
6:39
Speaker 1: I'm keen to find out exactly how much the campaign
6:42
Speaker 1: is costing and what benchmark we're using to see whether
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Speaker 1: it works or not.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, so I'll fund you the info and how much
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Speaker 4: it's costing. I don't think as much. It's a marketing
6:52
Speaker 4: campaign and it's tied back into those job ads around
6:56
Speaker 4: what is going in thern Territory. So for me, the
6:58
Speaker 4: success rate here is if busy is finding the workers
7:00
Speaker 4: they need to be able to open their business or
7:02
Speaker 4: grow their business a lot in hostality for example, as
7:06
Speaker 4: we know they've been reliant in the past on bringing
7:09
Speaker 4: in chefs, and that from overseas not gonna be happen now.
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Speaker 2: So house is different to boundless possible.
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Speaker 4: So bounce possble as a brand, not a marketing campaign,
7:17
Speaker 4: if that makes sense. So we mark it down South
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Speaker 4: all the time. What we're doing now is because the
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Speaker 4: international skilled migration is not on the table, we're boosting
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Speaker 4: interstate marketing campaign to make sure that we are trying
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Speaker 4: to attract people here to feel the vacant jobs that
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Speaker 4: we have here. As we know, Unfortunate Territories is small place.
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Speaker 4: We can't fill these jobs from within our own ranks.
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Speaker 1: All right, let's move along, because Chief, I'm not sure
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Speaker 1: about you, but I've had a lot of Territorians get
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Speaker 1: in contact with me over the Christmas period, and disappointingly,
7:44
Speaker 1: the main concern.
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Speaker 2: That they've had is again crime.
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Speaker 1: Have you had Territorians contacting you and raising concerns about
7:51
Speaker 1: crime over Christmas in New Year?
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Speaker 3: Yes?
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Speaker 4: Yes, so well, I don't think it's a specific to
7:55
Speaker 4: the New year problem.
7:56
Speaker 3: I think crime.
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Speaker 4: Reducing crime will be a permanent task for anyone who
8:01
Speaker 4: sits in my chair. We're going to do everything we
8:03
Speaker 4: can to constantly reduce crime or respond quickly if a
8:07
Speaker 4: crime occurs. So this is a permanent work task for
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Speaker 4: me and the government is do everything we can to
8:12
Speaker 4: reduce crime. So I don't think it's a new year
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Speaker 4: that there's crime.
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Speaker 1: I've got a question here from one of our listeners.
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Speaker 1: It says, can you please ask mister Gunna White took
8:20
Speaker 1: five hours for police attendance on Sunday to the cafe
8:24
Speaker 1: break in at Mad Hatter's Cafe.
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Speaker 4: I can ask that question about what was going going
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Speaker 4: on in that instance, So this would be post breakin,
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Speaker 4: So anyway, I'll get back to you that one.
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Speaker 1: Now, I think what most people are really keen to
8:37
Speaker 1: find out. You know, it's a new year. What's the
8:40
Speaker 1: government going to do differently in twenty twenty one to
8:43
Speaker 1: try and get a hold of this issue.
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Speaker 4: So you've just got to keep working at this. We've
8:48
Speaker 4: got ninety police going through training at the moment. It
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Speaker 4: s will increase the amount of police that we have in.
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Speaker 3: The Northern Territory.
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Speaker 4: So you've got to have those people at the front
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Speaker 4: end working working on it. We've flagged a number of
9:00
Speaker 4: things that we want to work on it when it
9:01
Speaker 4: comes to providing more consequences, so more places that if
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Speaker 4: someone does the wrong thing, we can send them so
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Speaker 4: there's a genuine consequence that breaks the cycle.
9:10
Speaker 3: We've said we're going.
9:11
Speaker 4: To review a range of different things such as the
9:14
Speaker 4: property crime, car related, diggle related offenses and look at
9:17
Speaker 4: what's happening in that space about whether police have the
9:19
Speaker 4: powers they need and whether the consequences are the right constance.
9:21
Speaker 1: So do those bail laws need to be strengthened with
9:24
Speaker 1: a presumption against bail for repeat offenders and those arrested
9:28
Speaker 1: while already on bail.
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Speaker 4: So we have extremely strong bail laws and I think
9:32
Speaker 4: we've got a seventy five percent success rate in terms
9:35
Speaker 4: of not breaching bail, and we've put in supported bail
9:38
Speaker 4: accommodation which has gone a long way towards making sure
9:42
Speaker 4: we get that result.
9:43
Speaker 2: So, so yes or no, will those bail laws change?
9:45
Speaker 3: I don't know. I don't think that's the issue.
9:47
Speaker 1: No, So they will not change, because that's something that
9:49
Speaker 1: a lot of people are asking. I want to take
9:52
Speaker 1: you back to twenty seventeen, you said that an additional
9:55
Speaker 1: eighteen million dollars a year was going to be invested
9:58
Speaker 1: into the issue of youth justice, into support structures and
10:01
Speaker 1: programs to combat these issues. Fifty two youth justice officers,
10:06
Speaker 1: I believe for also getting underway.
10:09
Speaker 2: From your perspective, are.
10:11
Speaker 1: These programs working and is that aight million dollars a
10:15
Speaker 1: year being spent appropriately?
10:18
Speaker 4: Yeah, So we basically put a lot more people on
10:21
Speaker 4: the frontline helping police. So are the aureos a youth
10:25
Speaker 4: outreach the areos sorry apologies cover the whole acronym. They're
10:31
Speaker 4: out there often working at night for example, so I've
10:33
Speaker 4: been out of patrol with them. They work closely with
10:35
Speaker 4: youth who are evolved either to prevent crime occurring or
10:39
Speaker 4: post a crime occurring, and then of the rehabilitation, so
10:43
Speaker 4: significant amount of work there. That all goes down towards
10:46
Speaker 4: what can we do to reduce the chances of crime
10:48
Speaker 4: occurring or the chances of crime occurring. Again, that goes
10:52
Speaker 4: to all the different consequences We're now got in place
10:54
Speaker 4: the victims of crime.
10:58
Speaker 1: So I mean in Alice Springs on the weekend there
11:00
Speaker 1: were twenty five unlawful entries in Darwin, as we've heard
11:04
Speaker 1: Mad Hatter's Cafe said they wouldn't be able to reopen
11:07
Speaker 1: after another break in, for I believe since November, I
11:10
Speaker 1: know Jason Hannah's restaurant was again broken into overnight. You
11:14
Speaker 1: have long said that the government wants to break that
11:16
Speaker 1: cycle when it comes to youth crime, but the community
11:19
Speaker 1: right now is once again really crying out for the
11:22
Speaker 1: government to intervene now and do something differently for twenty
11:27
Speaker 1: twenty one. What can you tell my listeners this morning
11:31
Speaker 1: when it comes to crime and when it comes to
11:33
Speaker 1: this issue, are you going to be doing anything differently
11:37
Speaker 1: this year to really try to get a hold of
11:40
Speaker 1: this because I think you know, it's having an issue
11:43
Speaker 1: in terms of our population, it's having an issue in
11:46
Speaker 1: terms of retaining our police force, it's having an issue
11:49
Speaker 1: in terms of growing our population. Like I would say,
11:52
Speaker 1: it's one of our number one concerns, and people feel
11:55
Speaker 1: like they're not being listened to.
11:57
Speaker 4: I can give you absolute confidence Caddie that I agree
12:00
Speaker 4: it's a huge issue. Can the absolute confidence they listen
12:03
Speaker 4: to everybody who says crime is an issue for them
12:05
Speaker 4: and they've experienced it.
12:06
Speaker 3: We don't want anyone to experience crime.
12:09
Speaker 4: We keep working extremely hard at this issue, whether it's
12:11
Speaker 4: about giving police a support, they need to put more
12:13
Speaker 4: consequences in place. We have seen those programs have put
12:17
Speaker 4: in place, like the Victim's conferencing or the different boot
12:20
Speaker 4: camp and bush camps have success rates when it comes
12:23
Speaker 4: to seeing people not reoffend. I want to see more
12:26
Speaker 4: happening in that space, so a greater range of consequences. Again,
12:29
Speaker 4: we keep working on that. So seven EMU you only
12:31
Speaker 4: opened late last year. That's the cattle station out near
12:34
Speaker 4: Barra Lula, a great new option for sending hiple two
12:39
Speaker 4: for consequences. So we've got to keep adding to that
12:41
Speaker 4: consequence space. So for me, the work never stops. You've
12:45
Speaker 4: got to keep doing hard work in this space. You
12:47
Speaker 4: can never stop working in this space, and we will
12:48
Speaker 4: keep doing that.
12:49
Speaker 1: There seems to be a real disconnect at the moment though,
12:52
Speaker 1: you know, from regular territorians feeling as though the government
12:56
Speaker 1: doesn't get it when it comes to crime. Whether that's
12:58
Speaker 1: a correct perception or not, there seems to be that
13:01
Speaker 1: real disconnect. What I want to know is what benchmarks
13:05
Speaker 1: is the government going to be setting this year? So
13:08
Speaker 1: that territorians can see how things are changing in this
13:12
Speaker 1: space and whether those programs are having a positive impact
13:16
Speaker 1: or not.
13:17
Speaker 4: So we report back on those programs. But if you
13:19
Speaker 4: go through the victims conferencing, for example, what is your
13:21
Speaker 4: reoffending rate? I think it's around to seventy five percent
13:25
Speaker 4: of kids don't reoffend if they go through the victims conferencing.
13:27
Speaker 4: So those targets are out there, we report against them.
13:30
Speaker 4: That's why I want to see more consequences in that space,
13:32
Speaker 4: because those programs are show on to lead to less
13:36
Speaker 4: crime occurring in the community. So for me, it goes
13:38
Speaker 4: to unfortunately tragically, we know there's a bit of a pipeline.
13:42
Speaker 4: If we see less kids or families be identified as
13:46
Speaker 4: vulnerable and go into care, we know over here you'll
13:49
Speaker 4: see less crime occurring. So there's a whole range of
13:52
Speaker 4: different things that I'm looking at constantly to see are
13:55
Speaker 4: we doing the.
13:55
Speaker 1: Hard about those kids at the moment that are doing
13:58
Speaker 1: things like breaking into a stron in Palmeiston on the weekend,
14:02
Speaker 1: smashing in, stealing the till, breaking into mad hatters, running
14:06
Speaker 1: a mark with seemingly no care about the consequence.
14:10
Speaker 4: Well, they soume experience that there is a consequence. Our
14:12
Speaker 4: police have an excellent clearance rate. They'll find the people
14:15
Speaker 4: who do the wrong thing, they'll arrest them, they'll go
14:17
Speaker 4: before our courts and they'll experience the consequence. And we
14:21
Speaker 4: know that the consequence usually leads to less crime occurring.
14:25
Speaker 4: Not always are There are some unfortunately, some kids out
14:27
Speaker 4: there or adults too, So it's not just a kid
14:30
Speaker 4: problem who go through the system, come out and still
14:32
Speaker 4: commit crime. But we know put those consequences in that
14:36
Speaker 4: we can lead to less crime occurring.
14:38
Speaker 3: It just takes work work.
14:39
Speaker 1: Do you think that this issue where some call it
14:42
Speaker 1: a catch and release program, I don't know if that's
14:44
Speaker 1: correct or not. I have heard from the police different
14:47
Speaker 1: times that they're dropping kids home, you know, up to
14:50
Speaker 1: ten times in a night. Do you think that that
14:53
Speaker 1: is having an impact on police morale?
14:56
Speaker 4: Well, that doesn't sound accurate to me. If it makes sense, Katie,
15:00
Speaker 4: I would be extremely frustrated if a police officer permanently,
15:03
Speaker 4: because you're dealing with an extremely difficult, challenging work environment.
15:09
Speaker 4: If you think about it, put yourself in police shoes
15:11
Speaker 4: for a second. When you log on to work. Your
15:14
Speaker 4: job is to deal with crime constantly every single day.
15:18
Speaker 4: That's a hard job.
15:20
Speaker 2: Is it good job to be dropping kids time? Up
15:21
Speaker 2: to ten times a night?
15:22
Speaker 3: Though, it is your job.
15:24
Speaker 4: If you find a kid on the street and you're
15:26
Speaker 4: dealing with them, we need to know why they're on
15:29
Speaker 4: the street, and that includes going home to know why
15:32
Speaker 4: are they not at home and that usually there's a
15:34
Speaker 4: bigger problem at play. We need to know about that
15:36
Speaker 4: so as a government, territory families or others can get
15:39
Speaker 4: involved and make change at the home front. So that's
15:41
Speaker 4: not necessary a police job. Police need to them pass
15:43
Speaker 4: that on to territory families to intervene in that home environment.
15:46
Speaker 4: But we do need to know what's happening at home
15:48
Speaker 4: that kid's on the street.
15:50
Speaker 1: Why, yeah, understand that. Now I want to talk about
15:54
Speaker 1: police morale quickly. I know you're pressed for time, as
15:57
Speaker 1: are we. Morale is low from what we're being told.
16:00
Speaker 1: That's according to the Police Association. The president, Paul McHugh
16:04
Speaker 1: says some officers have had their annual leave reduced or
16:06
Speaker 1: of work twelve months without leave. Mister McHugh has urged
16:10
Speaker 1: you to take some advice on board. So the territory's
16:13
Speaker 1: police force is better positioned to retain staff what work
16:18
Speaker 1: is underway to address these concerns.
16:21
Speaker 4: So we've got ninety police going through training college. At
16:23
Speaker 4: the moment, the NT police remains an extremely attractive place
16:26
Speaker 4: to work, so we find recruitment is positive. There are
16:30
Speaker 4: some campaigns going on in state right now, so I've
16:32
Speaker 4: discussed this with the Police Commissioner, the acting Police Commissioner.
16:35
Speaker 4: Territory police are desirable if that makes sense, and other
16:38
Speaker 4: states and territories are looking at attracting our police. I
16:42
Speaker 4: think last year is possibly the toughest year police have
16:44
Speaker 4: ever had if you look at the work rate they
16:47
Speaker 4: picked up. So it wasn't just their ordinary day job.
16:49
Speaker 4: They were also on our borders with the Australian Defense Force
16:51
Speaker 4: in Australian Federal Police, so extremely extremely difficult job. I
16:56
Speaker 4: think all of us out there, if you know a
16:57
Speaker 4: police officer, thank them because they probably did it tougher
16:59
Speaker 4: than most last year, and so I can unerstand why
17:02
Speaker 4: there's some morale impacts there because that was some seriously
17:05
Speaker 4: gut breaking work that did last year.
17:06
Speaker 3: I'm very grateful to them for it.
17:07
Speaker 1: All right, I want to ask you about something that's
17:09
Speaker 1: been reported nationally, and that is that the Australian government
17:13
Speaker 1: is going to be investing one billion dollars to commence
17:16
Speaker 1: the early deployment of advanced guided weapons to enhance Australia's
17:20
Speaker 1: maritime security. Now with ranges in excess of three hundred
17:24
Speaker 1: and seventy kilometers for anti ship and surface to air missiles,
17:30
Speaker 1: so I guess we're talking long range missiles, and basically
17:35
Speaker 1: the federal government is looking at investing a billion dollars
17:38
Speaker 1: to commence the deployment of this program. Has anyone spoken
17:42
Speaker 1: with you from the federal government or have there been
17:45
Speaker 1: any discussions with you or with anyone from the Northern
17:47
Speaker 1: Territory government about the possibility of these long range missiles
17:51
Speaker 1: being based in the top.
17:52
Speaker 4: End, So as I understand it, they will be based
17:54
Speaker 4: on Navy platforms, and the platforms are in the top end,
17:57
Speaker 4: so and obviously maybe platforms are mobile. Well, we are
18:01
Speaker 4: seeing a significant investment in our navy. We're seeing the
18:04
Speaker 4: United States setting to stand up the first fleet again
18:06
Speaker 4: in our region, and we've got the thumpingly large fuel
18:09
Speaker 4: reserve going in here into Darwin, so we know we're
18:13
Speaker 4: going to be seeing an increase in activity here through
18:15
Speaker 4: Darln Harbor. When it comes to navy vessels, we've put
18:18
Speaker 4: the shiplift in place, and that was prior to some
18:20
Speaker 4: of these decisions. So the shiplift stacked up, if that
18:24
Speaker 4: makes sense, if you go back a few years, it
18:25
Speaker 4: got even more value now that we know there's going
18:28
Speaker 4: to be even more vessels operating in our area that
18:30
Speaker 4: need to be maintained, serviced and maintained refueled here that
18:34
Speaker 4: fuel reserve.
18:35
Speaker 3: So this all.
18:36
Speaker 4: Indicates increased activity in our region and more jobs here
18:39
Speaker 4: in Dahala the territories.
18:40
Speaker 2: Does it also make us a target?
18:44
Speaker 4: I think if you get to that hypothetical space, everyone
18:47
Speaker 4: who lives in the territory and in darn particularly Thos,
18:49
Speaker 4: we've always been a target. We've got bond of nineteen
18:50
Speaker 4: forty two where valuable strategic location. That's why we are
18:55
Speaker 4: a defense town. We have been a defense town. Obviously
18:57
Speaker 4: we're an incredibly long time well we are the towns as well,
18:59
Speaker 4: but we're also a defense town.
19:01
Speaker 1: Taking that into account and taking into account the fact
19:04
Speaker 1: that Australia's relationship with China at the moment isn't fantastic,
19:08
Speaker 1: I mean, does that concern you as the Chief Minister.
19:11
Speaker 4: I think that we always need to invest into the
19:16
Speaker 4: global trade between nations. So Japan are they came here
19:24
Speaker 4: a few years back with the impacts opening, that was
19:26
Speaker 4: a deliberate signal that trade works. If you think back
19:31
Speaker 4: to nineteen forty two, in the fact we've got bombed
19:33
Speaker 4: by Japan and we're now home for the largest investment
19:36
Speaker 4: in Japanese history Outside Japan, the current global the way
19:41
Speaker 4: the world currently works with how we trade is how
19:46
Speaker 4: we avoid war. So we've got to have positive trade relationships.
19:49
Speaker 4: That was in jeopardy over the last few years. We
19:52
Speaker 4: saw America take essentially a different posture when it came
19:56
Speaker 4: to how you negotiate honor trade agreements. I think they
19:58
Speaker 4: will change on the new president, isn't it, Biden? And
20:01
Speaker 4: I think you're going to see a much more a
20:04
Speaker 4: return to normal trading.
20:06
Speaker 1: So are you saying that realistically, if we have a
20:09
Speaker 1: good trading relationship with China, then we don't have to
20:11
Speaker 1: worry about being a target.
20:12
Speaker 4: I think that's true for all countries. If you allow
20:15
Speaker 4: people to buy what they need, then they don't invade you.
20:18
Speaker 2: Interesting.
20:19
Speaker 1: Interesting, Chief Minister, actually, just on that note very quickly
20:22
Speaker 1: did Biden's offers step back to you.
20:24
Speaker 2: Is he coming to the territory.
20:26
Speaker 3: Not yet, but I can confirm that he has personally
20:28
Speaker 3: received the latter.
20:29
Speaker 2: He has received it, but no response yet.
20:31
Speaker 3: Not yet.
20:31
Speaker 1: All right, we'll wait and here Chief Minister Michael Gonna
20:33
Speaker 1: thank you for your time.
20:34
Speaker 2: As always,