Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson says more needs to be done to address the town’s crime crisis in addition to bringing back an alcohol ban

Transcript

Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson says more needs to be done to address the town’s crime crisis in addition to bringing back an alcohol ban · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Now, as we've been discussing, this report, which was commissioned
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  Speaker 1: by the Northern Territory and federal governments, has recommended that
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  Speaker 1: the Territory urgently legislate further alcohol restrictions in Central Australia.
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  Speaker 1: Now Darrell Anderson was tasked with advising on whether intervention
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  Speaker 1: era alcohol bans should be temporarily reinstated in the face
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  Speaker 1: of that spiking crime and alcohol fueled violence. We just
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  Speaker 1: spoke to the Member for Lingiari, Marion Scrimjaw. She has
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  Speaker 1: said yes that she does believe that the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: government needs to make sure that there is draft legislation
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  Speaker 1: ready to go by February thirteen. I believe it's the
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  Speaker 1: first day that the Northern Territory Parliament sits. She believes
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  Speaker 1: that legislation needs to be ready to go and that
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  Speaker 1: it shouldn't only be for Central Australian town camps, but
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  Speaker 1: it should be for communities across the Northern Territory. So
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  Speaker 1: she pointed to the likes of Baggett community and she
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  Speaker 1: said that if there is to be a ballot happen
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  Speaker 1: for you know, I let sew those town camps in
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  Speaker 1: Central Australia, as the Chief Minister had suggested that that
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  Speaker 1: could happen, but that happens after the legislative changes come
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  Speaker 1: into play and those restrictions are put back in place,
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  Speaker 1: and then a community would have the opportunity to obviously
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  Speaker 1: put together their alcohol management plan and if they wanted
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  Speaker 1: to conduct a ballot to see whether their residents want
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  Speaker 1: to opt in or to opt out, that would come
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  Speaker 1: down to the residence after that legislation is already in place.
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  Speaker 2: So that's part of it.
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  Speaker 1: Now we're yet to see the full report. And joining
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  Speaker 1: me on the line right now though, to talk more
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  Speaker 1: about the report and plenty of other things, it is
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  Speaker 1: the mayor of Alice Springs, Matt Patterson.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Matt, Good morning Katie. I'll just say that
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  Speaker 2: I don't think you need a interview, man. I agree
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  Speaker 2: with what Marian has said there, to be completely honest,
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  Speaker 2: it's the same message that I've been talking about for
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  Speaker 2: a little while. So Foy endorse what the memical Indiari
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  Speaker 2: has said.
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  Speaker 1: She spoke common sense. I think in so many ways
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  Speaker 1: she said that it's you know, obviously Alice Springs is
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  Speaker 1: hurt right now, you know, to paraphrase her, and you know,
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  Speaker 1: to put my own words on word on things, but
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  Speaker 1: she said that, you know, Alice Springs is in a
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  Speaker 1: really difficult situation, as you and I have discussed on
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  Speaker 1: so many occasions, but these issues right around the territory
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  Speaker 1: when it comes to alcohol, and so she does think
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  Speaker 1: that the legislation needs to be for right across the
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  Speaker 1: northern territory, which I reckon is fair enough. So essentially,
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  Speaker 1: you know, going back to what people had been calling for,
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  Speaker 1: and that was that stronger futures legislation.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's right. I mean, I'm reluctant to speak
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  Speaker 2: about those communities up in Dalwin that will be affected,
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  Speaker 2: but I think as a community down here, we certainly
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  Speaker 2: weren't ready for the lapsing. And I just you know,
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  Speaker 2: if they want to set a precedence with the ballot,
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  Speaker 2: that's okay, but let's put it in place first, and
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  Speaker 2: let's get our ducks in a row to have the
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  Speaker 2: community be ready for that, and you know, let's undertake
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  Speaker 2: the necessary education piece as well. So you know, I
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  Speaker 2: am waiting to see what other restrictions will be in place.
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  Speaker 2: You know that if you read between it, it doesn't
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  Speaker 2: seem like it will just be stronger futures. But we
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  Speaker 2: will wait and see. And I just hope as well, Katie,
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  Speaker 2: that it's not just the alcohol that's in the report,
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  Speaker 2: because I've said many times that yes, there's an alcohol
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  Speaker 2: problem on one hand, but on the other hand, it's
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  Speaker 2: the anti social behavior side as well. So that's the
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  Speaker 2: pace that has been forgotten about during all this.
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  Speaker 1: It feels like you're spot on, like we've kind of
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  Speaker 1: taken this total other path which is all about alcohol,
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  Speaker 1: and I get it, but all the while there's still
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  Speaker 1: kids running a mark on the streets in Allie Springs.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. And you know I've been, you know,
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  Speaker 2: pretty vocal about there being two challenges here and whilst
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  Speaker 2: we can address one, we can't we've still got to
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  Speaker 2: address the other one at the same time. So look,
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  Speaker 2: we'll wait and see. I mean, I sit on some
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  Speaker 2: committees with Darell, so you know she's quite across the
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  Speaker 2: Council's perspective on the matter. And I look, I think
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  Speaker 2: that the Northern Territory government need to reintroduced stronger futures
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  Speaker 2: at their earliest convenience.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think a lot of people are in agreement
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  Speaker 1: with you on that, Matt, Now, how have things been
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  Speaker 1: over the last couple of days.
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  Speaker 2: The perception of any social behavior still here, and it's happening,
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  Speaker 2: and it's still in our face. We're still seeing edged
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  Speaker 2: weapons in the community. I will say to me, it
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  Speaker 2: feels like there are more place here, more boots on
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  Speaker 2: the ground, which is welcome. But look, it is still happening.
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  Speaker 2: It's still it's still in your faith, Katie. So you know,
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  Speaker 2: everyone's very hopeful that this is going to be the
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  Speaker 2: tipping point for change. And you know we've seen that
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  Speaker 2: the other day with three thousand people at a town
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  Speaker 2: hall meeting, make.
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  Speaker 1: Three and a half thousand people at that town hall meeting.
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  Speaker 1: We spoke to the organizer, Gath, and I don't think
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  Speaker 1: I've ever heard of that many people in the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory turning up to a meeting to have the voices
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  Speaker 1: heard on something. And you know, the message was pretty clear.
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  Speaker 1: People have had enough.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, and you know there was people from all
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  Speaker 2: backgrounds at that town meeting. Garth, the organizer, undertook it
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  Speaker 2: very well. He was very sensitive to the issues. But
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  Speaker 2: as I said, that just goes to show that the
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  Speaker 2: community as a whole demanding change to what we're going through.
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  Speaker 2: And Katie, I just want to say it was completely
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  Speaker 2: disappointed with the ABC's take from it, and I've asked
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  Speaker 2: the chair Ida Buttrose to retract the article that went
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  Speaker 2: up that was in regards to white supremacy, and of
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  Speaker 2: been quite open with that in premising that, I just
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  Speaker 2: want to say as well that it's got nothing to
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  Speaker 2: do with the local ABC journalists on the ground here,
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  Speaker 2: but ABC National really need to retract that because it's
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  Speaker 2: kicking the teeth to the residents and it was an
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  Speaker 2: embarrassing article.
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  Speaker 1: Quite frankly, have you heard anything back from the ABC
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  Speaker 1: at this point in time, Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: We got some. I got the standard media release that
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  Speaker 2: was you know, it didn't Yeah, it was. It was
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  Speaker 2: a very hollow media release from ABC that I've seen,
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  Speaker 2: you know, in print media. Look, I'll just say that again,
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  Speaker 2: was at that I was at that meeting, the town
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  Speaker 2: hall meeting. That couldn't be further from the truth. There
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  Speaker 2: was over three thousand people there. That media organization's just
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  Speaker 2: got the view of a select few, so completely inappropriate,
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  Speaker 2: wasn't It wasn't a fair I know, a fair story
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  Speaker 2: as a as a journalist, I know.
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  Speaker 1: The shadow Communications Minister federally Sarah Henderson has unleashed on
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  Speaker 1: the public broadcaster, saying it was absolutely disgraceful coverage and
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  Speaker 1: demanded an urgent apology as well as a retraction and
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  Speaker 1: an internal review into journalistic training. Matt, I know you
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  Speaker 1: touched on it just a moment ago, but Mate, was there, like,
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  Speaker 1: was there any racism in that room?
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  Speaker 2: No, there was no racism in that room. There was
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  Speaker 2: a few protesters to my knowledge, Yeah, Kai, there was
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  Speaker 2: no racism in that room. It was obviously there was
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  Speaker 2: a lot of people in there. There was a few
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  Speaker 2: protesters that were protesting about the kids, And I mean,
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  Speaker 2: isn't that what we're all protesting for right now at
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  Speaker 2: the moment, is the safety of the kids. There was
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  Speaker 2: a really you know, I didn't hear it. They added
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  Speaker 2: it onto the story at the end. But there was
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  Speaker 2: a racist comment from someone who remained anonymous. And again
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  Speaker 2: I say that person, it was an absolutely appalling comment
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  Speaker 2: that was outside the meeting, that had nothing to do
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  Speaker 2: with the way that the meeting was handled. And I
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  Speaker 2: say that the organizer Gars did a fantastic job at
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  Speaker 2: handling it. There was a racist comment that was put
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  Speaker 2: forward on ABC's new channel that was outside the meeting
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  Speaker 2: from someone who wasn't on camera, so you know that
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  Speaker 2: it was a disgusting comment and that the meeting itself
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  Speaker 2: had nothing to do with what was printed.
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  Speaker 1: And you know, to go back to the whole reason
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  Speaker 1: that we're talking this morning, the whole reason that all
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  Speaker 1: of us have been talking for really quite some time.
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  Speaker 1: You know, the issues in Alice Springs remain ongoing. Things
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  Speaker 1: are not getting better. You know. I know that you've
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  Speaker 1: said that that definitely there has been a greater police
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  Speaker 1: presence by the sounds of it. You know, i'd heard
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  Speaker 1: from some of the police comments to the ABC locally
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  Speaker 1: and Alice Springs that there's been a decrease in the
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  Speaker 1: number of callouts over those two days where the restrictions
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  Speaker 1: had been in place. You know, but as we've discussed,
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  Speaker 1: the concerns still remain in place about children being on
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  Speaker 1: the street, whether they do not have a safe place
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  Speaker 1: to go, or exactly what's going on. That is work
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  Speaker 1: that the Northern Territory and the federal government really need
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  Speaker 1: to get into and they need to try to get
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  Speaker 1: to the bottom of because right now we're continuing to
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  Speaker 1: do the same thing over and over again and expecting
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  Speaker 1: a different result.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. And you know, as a human being,
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  Speaker 2: it's pretty sad to see children on the street. Is
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  Speaker 2: it's safer for them to be on the street than
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  Speaker 2: at home. And that's the heartbreaking thing right at the
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  Speaker 2: end of the day, these are little human beings that
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  Speaker 2: we're setting up to fail because governments don't intervene. And
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  Speaker 2: I've been quite clear Katie that we need to have
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  Speaker 2: the uncomfortable conversations, and that is to call out the
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  Speaker 2: service providers that aren't doing their job, that are on
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  Speaker 2: the government ticket, that are clearly not meeting KPIs quite
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  Speaker 2: It's the easy thing to do is say it's territory
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  Speaker 2: families roles and responsibilities to intervene here. That the way
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  Speaker 2: that I look at it is the government through tertiary
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  Speaker 2: families is the ambulance at the edge of the cliff.
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  Speaker 2: You know, there are thirty five service providers in our
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  Speaker 2: springs that should be intervening with these kids or these
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  Speaker 2: children before it gets it's the government's responsibility. So you know,
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  Speaker 2: whilst we're here, we need to have those conversations about
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  Speaker 2: putting everyone on notice and calling out the service providers
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  Speaker 2: because again we continue to do the same thing and
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  Speaker 2: throw money at the problem, but we don't actually sit
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  Speaker 2: down and blank canvas. So the time for all that
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  Speaker 2: change is right now, and whilst we've got the attention
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  Speaker 2: of the federal government and the Prime Minister, we need
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  Speaker 2: to have those conversations now.
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  Speaker 1: I agree. Well, Matt Patterson, the Mayor of Alice Springs,
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  Speaker 1: thank you as always for your time. No doubt we'll
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  Speaker 1: talk to you again very soon.
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  Speaker 2: Good on your Katie. Thanks, thank you,