Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Declan Laverty’s Dad Damien Crook says there will be a memorial for his son in Darwin in the coming days

Transcript

Declan Laverty’s Dad Damien Crook says there will be a memorial for his son in Darwin in the coming days · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: As we all know, the community was last week rocked
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: by the news that a young man had allegedly been
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: murdered while finishing his shift at a bottle shop in
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: the Northern Suburbs. The news, it is safe to say,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: sent shock waves and absolute sadness through the community. Declan
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Lavity was just twenty years old. He lived with his dad,
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Damien Crook, who called me on the show last Monday
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: to speak about his son, and that call, I think
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: it's safe to say, broke the hearts of Territorians who
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: wanted to wrap their arms around his dad, Damien and
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: well all of Declan's family at the time of absolute despair.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Now Damien joins me in the studio right now. Good morning,
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: Damien Hilke. Can I just say what a beautiful shirt
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: you've got on their pink flamingos. If I'd have known
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: that was the dress code, I'd have found something similar.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: Declinely Loads is my favorite place for silly shirts like this.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: I've got a war drack full of them, and Declan
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: would love love this shit. And I stand out like dogs,
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: you know what, but I love it.
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: It looks fantastic, mate. I can't even imagine how you
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: must feel over the last week. Your life has changed
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: entirely over seven days. You know, I was thinking about
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: it on the weekend as I saw you on the
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: steps of Parliament House. I thought to myself, this bloke
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: seven days ago would never have imagined that he was
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: going to be standing on the steps of Parliament House
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: and have gone through what you've gone through.
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: Well I wasn't very early because start work at six
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: o'clock in the morning, so yeah, that's exactly right. But look,
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: it is what it is. I just don't want anyone
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: else to go through this. So if anything, and you know,
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: we changed, that's fine. But yeah, I've had a great,
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: great support from my friends and family and absolutely from
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: all of Australia and actually all around the world, but
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: from Darwin. I mean, come on, you guys have been
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: absolutely incredible. You know, I just can't believe the outpouring
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: of support the people at that rally, from older people
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: to young people to it was just fantastic. And you
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: know the funny thing was was they said to me, Okay,
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: after we're going to go do the rally and you're
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: going to be at the front, and I said, no,
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: that's fine.
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: You know, my mother's very free and I was wondering
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: how that was going to work.
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: But by the time I started shaking hands and hugging,
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: people were at the back, and then by the time
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: we got to the pack, everyone's gone. But saying that
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: that's because I wanted to stop and every single person
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: and give a hug to say thank you to because
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: they're there to support me and Darwin and they need
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: a hug too.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Well, mate, I think that the whole of the Northern
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: Territory wanted to wrap their arms around you.
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: I know.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: That's the sense that I got on Monday, after you'd
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: spoken to me on the show last week. Honestly, I
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: have never had such you know, I've never had so
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: many people contact me at the station after work, so
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: many people just in contact to say that they wanted
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: to wrap their arms around you and all of all
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: of Declan's family and just tell you that they care
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: and that you know that what has happened needs to
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: make a difference.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: Absolutely and to everyone out there. They have made a
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: difference to me, you know, I feel that everyone has
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: wrapped their arms around me, so thank you. I really
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: appreciate it. And yes, I'm not a political person and
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: neither was Decline, but he would definitely want something to change. Absolutely.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: You know, he was staunched in his views and if
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: his views were something, then that would be it end.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: You know, Like in the paper I said, it was
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: the quote saying they put the poly sh to put
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: the big boy pants on. I mean, you know, at
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: the end of the day, I know there's always two sides,
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: but we should just get together and whatever.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: I can't.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: I'm not the one to sit here and make decisions.
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: Whatever decisions they make, they make them and they make
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: them quick.
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: That's all.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think, And I don't think that's too much
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: to ask. I think that people deserve to feel safe.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Everybody deserves to feel safe to go to work. They
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: deserve to feel safe in their homes. They deserve to
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: feel safe to go and do their shopping.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, I've had people scared, yeah, to take their kids out.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: I mean back in my day, when the lights went
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: on at night, that's when you went home. Now children
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: can't go out. People don't want to go out. I've
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: been to the shops lately and it's quiet. It's horrible,
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: and people should not feel like, Yeah, I mean, okay,
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: workers work, but you should still love your work. You
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: just want to go to work, and people just don't
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: want to go to work. You know, it's just not right,
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: it's not right down and I know you guys are hurting,
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: and just if we can if yeah, if we can
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: get things sorted, but also you know, if people can
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: just start trying to get back. But it's really hard
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: because no one, no one knows what's going on.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: Made. I know that there was talk at the rally
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: about creating Declan's Law. Is that something that you support
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: and do you have any idea what it might look like?
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: Or well, there is from what I'm aware of obviously
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: you know obviously the changes to the bail laws.
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: And I mean the thing.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: Is, I'm the type of person that I'm always fifty fifty,
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: you know, I want to be always look at both sides,
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: and bail is absolutely but depending on what it is.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: I mean, you can't say that no one ever gets bail.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: I mean that's not fair. No where do we sit
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: a line from where we say right, there's no bail
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: from the stage. I mean, I don't know, I really
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: don't know. I feel the other laws of this for example,
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: that that called them knives anymore, but the yep law.
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: I mean, if you're going fishing or hunting and you
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: got a knife on you, there no Oris. But if
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: you're in the street with a knife and something happens,
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: then there should be an extra extra charge on top.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: I mean, that's to me, that's pretty pretty green.
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it seems it seems like common sense, doesn't it
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: in a lot of ways.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: Well, I mean, if you're walking around with a cricket
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: bat and you're playing cricket, then sweet. But if you
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: walk around with a cricket bat in the street then.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, why are you're doing that?
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: And yeah, same things.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Damian, I want to ask as well. I know
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: that you know that you you're obviously planning planning Declan's
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: farewell in Cans is my understanding. But there's also going
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: to be a memorial here in Darwin, isn't there?
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: Yes, definitely, definitely.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: Well, on Friday Declan is having his his funeral in
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: Cairns and then we having a memorial. At this stage
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: it hasn't been exactly decided, but it's the second Friday
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: in April, which I believe is fourteenth or something like
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: that I'm not quite sure to be honest, the main
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: reason is actually obviously for myself, but for you for Day.
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: You know, really it's not.
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: Yes, it is there to celebrate Dick, and it's also
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: to come together and get day and back on track,
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: get you know, say hello.
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: To people that you haven't met before. That's what I want. Yeah,
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: you know, if it's anything, walk.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: Up, Okay, there you go when if you guys want
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: to go, you know, just walk up to someone and
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: say hi, how are you good? Because that's what we
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: would do. Yeah, And that's all. And if we can
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: do that, we can start getting dar and back on track. Yes,
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: everything else is to get involved. I understand that, but
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: it starts with me and it starts with us, and
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: I reckon, if we can just do that to start with,
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: let's see where it goes.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: Mate. I know that that we've been contacted by a
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: lot of people that work in bottle shops throughout the week,
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: and for me last Monday, that was that's what started
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: to choke me up, even before I'd spoken to you,
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: is that I was hearing from people that worked in
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: bottle shops and how they were feeling after what had
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: happened to your son, and it was like it was
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: breaking my heart reading those messages out. I know that
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: they like that, they're hurting at the moment and they're
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: quite scared. A lot of them have also said though,
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: that they want to make sure that they're there at
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: your son's memorial so that they can show you that
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: they care, show you and his family that they care.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: The thing is, as I've been I've been to the
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: BWS stores to say thank you, because in reality, those
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: people have to say the same things that Deathline had
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: to say, and how worries and would that would be
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: if something happened because of what they said, and they
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: are scared they do not want to come to it.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: And I understand. And it's not like I said, it's
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: not just BWS, it's all bottle store. But also because
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: unfortunately are the only ones in the liquor industry, it's
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: the only ones that you can actually have the place
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: that says, hey, no, sorry, you're on the band register
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  Speaker 2: of blah blah blah. That's so at this stage, every
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: every person.
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: Can be in trouble.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, at the stage
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: the liquor guys, that's who I feel sorry for they
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: have to say the same things and it's just I mean,
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: I felt sorry, I said to their manager after sorry
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: about that.
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: It's the major staff cry. But you know, they they're there.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: And someone said, you know, unfortunately it's done and we
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: have to be here because we need the money as well,
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: you know. But yeah, they are really hurting. And look,
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: if they can get there, no problems at all. But
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: if you can't, don't worry about it. Yeah, Oh no,
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: in my heart that if you're not there, you're not
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: there for a reason. And some people might not be
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: able to go because they just can't. And I understand
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: that too. Everyone everyone is hurting and everyone has their
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: own feelings, and please don't be upset if you don't
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: think that, you don't that you're gonna let me down
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: because you're not there.
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: No, no way, mate?
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: How lock How how do you think that Decluan would
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: be feeling if he knew? I reckon he probably does,
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: But how do you reckon he be feeling knowing the
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: way that the community has rallied and really come together
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: since last week?
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: Oh thanks for that. It's maybe your here girl to be.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: He would be absolutely astonished because he would say, it's
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: only me, what are you doing? He would be worried
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: because if the tables were turned and it was one
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: of his colleagues, oh my god, he would be a mess.
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: He would be a mess. His colleague is very unwell
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: at the moment just because of what's happened, So you know,
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: I feel for this guy. But definitely, yeah, he would be.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: He'd be livid and he he would be. He would be.
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: He'd be at that rally for if it was someone
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: else or whatever, he definitely would be there and he
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: would be Unfortunately, he would still be saying the rules
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: strongly as possible if he was still at work anyway,
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: because that's just who he was.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: Mate, I can't thank you enough for coming on the
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: show this morning. I know I don't have any comprehension
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: of how hard the last week has been for you.
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: I certainly you know I've felt lost in my life before,
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: but I don't think that it can ever get any
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: harder than the loss of losing your child. So I
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: admire your strength, I admire the resilience that you've shown
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: over the last week, and I think that your son
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: would be bloody proud of the way that you've stood
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: up and you know, really spoken to the community. But
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: our hearts go to you, to Declan's entire families, Mum,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: everybody at this point in time, it's really it's a
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: really hard time.
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: Thank you. I really appreciate it really quickly. If it's okay.
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: I was want to thank you to everyone, everyone and down,
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: but also everyone who left things at BWS in the airport.
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: One particular thing is the rock that someone has left
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: if you've seen photos of it's beautiful and I'm trying.
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: To make this quick.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: Sorry, you're right, So i'd like to know if you
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: know the person or the person is listening who has
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: engraved on the rock, if they could ring us for
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: you guys, I'd just like to talk to them because
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: I'd like to come more of them, because I think
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: that was absolutely everything. Sentiment was there was beautiful. That
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: touched me, you know, So that that's just a real
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: quick thing. Sorr Declan engraved with Decline on it and
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: also thanks for voting me territorying of the.
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: Week to like that I did.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: I did, but I haven't got the keys yet, so
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: I'm a bit worried about when they're going to turn.
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: The city. Yeah, but to be honest, that should be
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: death to the terater in a week, not me.
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: But I just want to say before I go the voucher,
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: that the voucher, I'd like to know whether I can
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: donate that to someone in some family or someone doing
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: it hard times. Thank you and I love you guys,
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: and I'm really sorry for you guys as well, and
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: Katie and Crystal and everyone, everyone and the team.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: Just thank you very much, Damian, thank you, thanks so
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: much for your time this morning.
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: Mate.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: We will stay in contact and talk to you again
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: very soon.
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: Thank you, thank you,