Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Transport Workers Union President Ian Smith says more security guards on Darwin buses will be a good deterrent for anti-social behaviour

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Transport Workers Union President Ian Smith says more security guards on Darwin buses will be a good deterrent for anti-social behaviour · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: There has been quite a bit of discussion in recent
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: days and weeks about the bus services being canceled on
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: the Darwin Bus network due to a shortage of bus
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: drivers and also ongoing crime. Late yesterday though, the Northern
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Territory government announced more security measures for the public transport sector,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: which does include safety screens and more security on board.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: The Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics has launched a
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: three month trial which is going to see an additional
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: fourteen security officers positioned on those key bus routes, riding
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: alongside the passengers and providing a visible deterrent to anti
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: social behavior. Joining me on the line to tell us
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: a little bit more about his thoughts and the thought
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: thoughts of those drivers is Ian Smith from the Transport
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Workers Union.
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Ian.
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie. How are you going?
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Not too bad? And what is your reaction to this trial?
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: I think it's extremely important. I think the government's finally
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: starting to listen to the concerns of not only the
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: drivers but the community about what's happening on the network.
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: We need to stop this behavior, and we need to
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  Speaker 3: do it in there lots and lots of ways and
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: the additional security officers on the riding on the buses
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  Speaker 3: has got to be a deterrent, and with some of
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: the little little extra powers I have, there's got to
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: be the terrent and we should see some improvement. But
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: time will tell.
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: I agree with you. I agree with you. I think
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: it's a good move.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: Anything that can be done to try to keep those
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: on the bus network safer and to try to help
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: those drivers as well.
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: I'm assuming yes, absolutely, you know the drivers the current
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: security cages or as of such that they have are insufficient.
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: We're are pushing very, very hard, and I'll be quite
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: quite frank. It's really the responsibility CDC. Most of the
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: buses they own out right, their r own buses. They
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: need to provide a safe workplace for their employees. Now
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: you know we have provided with them with a screen,
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: a proper screen. It gets over the issues of reflection.
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: That actually makes the cabin secure and are secure cabin
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: where it means that you know they can do their
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: job safely. They can't be if people spit on them,
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: it's not going to get to them. If people you
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: are going to throw stuff over them, they can't get
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: to them. It's so important that the drivers can do
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: their job, then what happens behind them, we can take
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: care of it. And the introduction of these bordering new
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: security office from the problem roots is a fantastic stet.
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: And do you know what services?
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: Do you know what services the extra guards are going
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: to be on, Well.
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: Not off hand, but they'll be on there as well.
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  Speaker 3: I think the tsos and the animal government and our
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: drivers are pretty well aware of the services in the
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: problem and they'll be the ones that target. And you know,
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: we're constant reporting of what's going on the network. If
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: you've got to trust that those people replaced in the
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: in the right areas for the right times are never
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: going to be able to stop every bit of anti
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: social behavior. But if we can stop the practice and
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: make sure that people have responsibility to do the right thing,
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: and when they do miss behaved, there's going to be
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: some action taking against them. Sure, they's got to help
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: the improved. And it's also to give the public confidence
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  Speaker 3: they can ride on the buses safely. That's the most important.
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: But our drivers need to be able to do their
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: job safely, which will encourage more people to get back
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: into the industry. And second of that, the public needs
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: to be confident. They need a good public transport network.
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: We've got a great network up there, but it's unfortunately
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: it's been proven to not be safe because of this
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: anti social behavior.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, this is the thing. It's you know, it's right
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: across the board.
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  Speaker 1: It's something that we talk about all the time, whether
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: it's on the bus network or you know, whether it's
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: on the streets.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: It's something that's a real concern for people.
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  Speaker 1: Talk us through though as well in does it have
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: an impact on being able to fill those jobs, Like
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: are we seeing bus drivers maybe decide to take a
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: different career path because of that anti social behavior and crime.
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: Look, I don't think that we're seeing problems across the
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: whole in all industries as far as filling filling positions,
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  Speaker 3: and obviously bus driving although it's not the lowest paid
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: job out there, it's not a highly paid job, and
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: people are going chasing the money where the better money
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: is and the better conditions, They're going to do that,
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  Speaker 3: and that's what we're saying. But we need to make
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  Speaker 3: it more attracking and safety is a pretty big, pretty
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: big part of it. And you know, it is a
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: good job. You know, bus drivers would have been doing
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: their job for logs on. They love their job, they
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: love their customers, they just want to they just don't
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  Speaker 3: feel safe and that problem that we need to address,
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  Speaker 3: you know. And it's really realistically. Darwin's not the only
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: place that we've got the same problem. I know in
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: South Australia we have across the country if you follow
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  Speaker 3: the two w's web pages that we're seeing similar behavior
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: across the country. So we've had in Queensland. I think
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: this week the queens Ain't Governm has just announced up
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: in Canca they're going to be installing full driver protection
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: screens in all the cans buses in Victoria. Just about
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: the whole network has now been completely filled field with
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  Speaker 3: these driver protection screens to protect the cabin and I
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: think it's just what we have to expect. And I
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: think if we're looking at this moving forward, we probably
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: need to look at the design of the buses in
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  Speaker 3: the future and they replace them to make absolute cabin
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: safe and give the driver's confidence to the job. And
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: if the drivers are confident on the sell, the passengers
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  Speaker 3: and the people riding on a network will see that
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  Speaker 3: it is safe and we'll see the patronage growing because
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: of all the well is no different. Darwin is a
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: sophisticated system city that has it's like none other that's
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: having congestion problems and the cost of living pressures. So
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: a great public transfert network's going to go.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: And I know that you've been very voical and you
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: mentioned this before on the need for those security screens
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: means to protect drivers. Has there been much of an
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: update on that.
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: Not at this date. I'll be up in Darla next
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: week and we're going to meet with a new head
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: of the transport, the new department, and we'll certainly be
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: talking with a company. But we have supplied there's a
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: retrofitted screen that a Victorian company has put in all
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: the buses of Victoria, but that could be retrofitted to
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: the buses, which was about twelve hundred dollars the bus.
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: Now is a cost that what is the cost of
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: someone's life or someone's injury and it's a small cost.
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: You know, they need to be safe. Well, the company
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: has a responsibility to make it safe and our purse
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  Speaker 3: will be we need to come up with something better
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  Speaker 3: because what we have is not quite good.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: Not Transport Workers Union President Ian Smith, we always appreciate
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: your time.
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: Thanks for having a chat with us this morning. Thank you, by,
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: thank you,