Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Chief Minister Natasha Fyles says there's no need for an inquiry into the NT police force

Transcript

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles says there's no need for an inquiry into the NT police force · 360 with Katie Woolf

0:00
Speaker 1: As you heard, of course, over recent days there has
0:03
Speaker 1: been some pretty serious accusations made against Northern Territory police officers.
0:07
Speaker 1: Now the arrests and charges follow weeks of mounting pressure
0:11
Speaker 1: on government and police executive around morale and lack of confidence,
0:15
Speaker 1: as well as mounting issues with crime. Now joining me
0:18
Speaker 1: in the studio is the Chief Minister at Tasha Files.
0:20
Speaker 1: Good morning to your Chief Minister. Good morning, Katie, Good
0:22
Speaker 1: morning listeners. Now what was your reaction over the course
0:25
Speaker 1: of the weekend and towards late last week to learn
0:29
Speaker 1: that four police officers were charged a couple of them charged,
0:33
Speaker 1: one arrested or serve notices to appear in court over
0:36
Speaker 1: such a short period of time last week.
0:39
Speaker 2: Katie, I won't make comment.
0:40
Speaker 3: I think that these people are entitled to a fair
0:42
Speaker 3: and just process and there is clearly investigations underway, so
0:45
Speaker 3: I'll talk more broadly in the sense that police disciplinely matters.
0:48
Speaker 3: It was an election commitment for us in twenty twenty
0:50
Speaker 3: around reviewing that process. The Police Association have said it
0:53
Speaker 3: is too lengthy and four officers that may be a
0:56
Speaker 3: subject to a disciplinary matter. Part of having a just
0:59
Speaker 3: process is that it is timely so that work is underway.
1:03
Speaker 4: So what exactly was the concern?
1:04
Speaker 1: The Police Association were concerned that when there is a
1:07
Speaker 1: discipline reaction, it was taking too long for it to
1:10
Speaker 1: be gotten through and to work out whether there should
1:13
Speaker 1: actually be action or not.
1:14
Speaker 3: Yeah, and stepping completely away from these incidents last week, Katie,
1:17
Speaker 3: but yeah, overall, if a police officer is found, you know,
1:22
Speaker 3: is accused of a disciplinary matter, and they can be
1:24
Speaker 3: wide ranging that the process is just taking too long
1:27
Speaker 3: and so they can't get on with their careers. And
1:29
Speaker 3: so that work has been underway around how we can
1:32
Speaker 3: ensure that there is a just process that is timely.
1:34
Speaker 1: I mean taking into account the situation that we're in
1:38
Speaker 1: towards the end of last week, though, do you think
1:40
Speaker 1: that this points to a bigger problem within the force.
1:43
Speaker 2: Oh, Katie, I want to be careful with my comments.
1:45
Speaker 3: You know that we saw these people that have now
1:50
Speaker 3: been under investigation for these matters and that's been made public.
1:54
Speaker 3: But I think across the whole our police force are
1:56
Speaker 3: incredibly hard working and my role as the Chief Minister
1:59
Speaker 3: is to ensure that they have the resources and the
2:01
Speaker 3: support to do their job.
2:02
Speaker 1: Well, let's talk a little bit more about that, because
2:03
Speaker 1: last time you were on the show, you spoke and
2:06
Speaker 1: said that there would be some action when it comes
2:08
Speaker 1: to the police force. It does follow on from the
2:10
Speaker 1: Police Association's survey which revealed serious issues with morale, concerns
2:15
Speaker 1: that there are not enough police to do the job,
2:17
Speaker 1: and lack of confidence in the commissioner. You'd said that
2:20
Speaker 1: the Police Minister would attend that conference and gain a
2:22
Speaker 1: better understanding. At this stage though we still don't know
2:26
Speaker 1: what the government's plan is in this space, can you
2:29
Speaker 1: outline the plan for the public and also the rank
2:31
Speaker 1: and file officers that listened to the show.
2:34
Speaker 3: So, Katie, there'll be a number of aspects to answer
2:36
Speaker 3: that question. There's not one simple answer. The Police Minister
2:39
Speaker 3: did attend that conference and she certainly took away all
2:41
Speaker 3: the points that were made to her and she's doing
2:43
Speaker 3: work with the Executive around the morale of our Northern
2:45
Speaker 3: Territory Police Force and making sure that officers are supported
2:48
Speaker 3: whether they're working in a remote station or here in
2:50
Speaker 3: our urban settings around resources. They've seen a thirty six
2:54
Speaker 3: percent increase to their budget since we came to government,
2:56
Speaker 3: but we've been doing detailed work to make sure that
2:59
Speaker 3: their support. And what I mean by that, Katie is
3:01
Speaker 3: and Jeanette Cur's done the deep dive in Ala Springs
3:03
Speaker 3: and we're now shifting to also do a deep dive
3:06
Speaker 3: into the Casarina area. So we have a number of
3:09
Speaker 3: government and non government services that work on the front line,
3:11
Speaker 3: and we need to make sure that they're in a
3:13
Speaker 3: coordinated approach that we're just not leaving it all to
3:15
Speaker 3: our police officers.
3:16
Speaker 4: Can you see though?
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Speaker 1: How again, officers listening this morning will be thinking, so
3:21
Speaker 1: the executive is charged with boosting that morale, but it's
3:25
Speaker 1: the same executive that officers don't have confidency.
3:28
Speaker 3: So when the Minister attended that conference, she was meeting
3:31
Speaker 3: with the Police Association and she'll continue to work with them,
3:33
Speaker 3: who are the representatives of our police officers.
3:36
Speaker 1: So at this point in time, again, I mean, it
3:39
Speaker 1: sort of doesn't seem to me as though the plan
3:41
Speaker 1: has changed very much from the last time we spoke
3:43
Speaker 1: and since that Association conference.
3:46
Speaker 3: No, Katie, so and I can point to the work
3:49
Speaker 3: and I was in our springs last week, and I
3:51
Speaker 3: know you have a number of listeners down there, but
3:54
Speaker 3: there is a deep body of work around ensuring that
3:56
Speaker 3: police are supported in their role that the range of
3:59
Speaker 3: government and non government services. And I can I'm talk
4:01
Speaker 3: into detail, but I'm conscious of time. But we have
4:04
Speaker 3: been doing that work just to make sure that we're
4:06
Speaker 3: not letting it all fall to our police and they're
4:08
Speaker 3: not in this constant cycle of picking up young people,
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Speaker 3: taking them home and then finding them a few hours later.
4:13
Speaker 3: We have to get so for example, in Alice Springs
4:15
Speaker 3: last week, Katie, on the Monday evening there was twenty
4:18
Speaker 3: one different patrols, so Council, private Security, public Housing, Tongue
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Speaker 3: and Geer the council down there and police. There was
4:26
Speaker 3: twenty one different paroles patrols sorry out across Alice Springs.
4:30
Speaker 2: We this week are going to have them working in coordination.
4:32
Speaker 3: And I know that seems really simplistic word, but going forward,
4:36
Speaker 3: it's doing this deep dive. It's engaging with some of
4:39
Speaker 3: the private property owners. So I know the shopping center
4:41
Speaker 3: in Alice Springs going in and working with them. So
4:43
Speaker 3: what police support do we put in there to help them?
4:46
Speaker 3: But equally, what are we doing to stop the problem
4:48
Speaker 3: before it escalates to being a police guard.
4:51
Speaker 1: So like if we've got twenty one patrols operating on
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Speaker 1: one night in Alice Springs, Like, how many kids are
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Speaker 1: on the street?
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Speaker 4: Is there more than twenty one?
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Speaker 1: You go, honestly, the reason sources then that are being
5:01
Speaker 1: put into a small group of young people that aren't
5:04
Speaker 1: doing the right thing.
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Speaker 4: Is extreme and then to have no positive outcome.
5:10
Speaker 3: I think, Katie, we should be careful those twenty one
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Speaker 3: patrols are across a number of different so public housing.
5:15
Speaker 3: They might be responding to a noise complaint, Like this
5:17
Speaker 3: is not all aimed at young people in youth.
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Speaker 2: I think we need to be very clear of that.
5:21
Speaker 3: I was out at the Ypparinia School, which is the
5:23
Speaker 3: Sunset School, Katie, So, I was in Ala Springs a
5:26
Speaker 3: couple of months before that, and we announced the additional
5:28
Speaker 3: funding and the continuation.
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Speaker 2: They have tripled their enrollment.
5:31
Speaker 3: And what that is is that is a place where
5:33
Speaker 3: young people can be engaged with school and support after hours,
5:37
Speaker 3: so from three till around eight or nine pm. So
5:39
Speaker 3: it is all of these parts of the puzzle coming together.
5:42
Speaker 4: Look, I do want to talk.
5:43
Speaker 1: A little bit more about some of those issues with crime,
5:45
Speaker 1: but I also want to ask you before I get
5:47
Speaker 1: into that. The opposition leader last week revealed on the
5:50
Speaker 1: show that she's going to once again move a motion
5:52
Speaker 1: in Parliament for there to be a select committee or
5:55
Speaker 1: a parliamentary review into the police force as well as
5:58
Speaker 1: issues with attrition and cancers around crime. It is the
6:01
Speaker 1: third attempt by the opposition. She's got the support of
6:04
Speaker 1: Independent member Kezi Epuic. Is the government going to allow
6:08
Speaker 1: this to happen, Katie?
6:10
Speaker 3: On the face of it, probably no, And the reason
6:11
Speaker 3: for that is we don't need another talk fest. We
6:13
Speaker 3: don't need politicians sitting around talking about it. We need
6:16
Speaker 3: action and that's what I'm stressed.
6:17
Speaker 1: From any other work that's getting underway. So I think
6:20
Speaker 1: this is the really big point to make is it's
6:21
Speaker 1: not going to distract from anything that the government's currently doing.
6:25
Speaker 1: You've had parliamentary reviews into various other things.
6:29
Speaker 4: Why not do it and why not allow there to
6:31
Speaker 4: be that look into what's going on?
6:33
Speaker 1: You know, you've got a situation at the moment where
6:35
Speaker 1: obviously police morale is low, there is no confidence in
6:38
Speaker 1: the commissioner or there's low confidence in the commissioner and
6:41
Speaker 1: the community is really.
6:42
Speaker 4: Upset with the situation that they've got with crime, So.
6:45
Speaker 3: Why not allow it I want to get on and
6:46
Speaker 3: solve those issues. I don't need to necessarily have a
6:48
Speaker 3: parliamentary talkfest. Having been in the Parliament over ten years,
6:51
Speaker 3: we have had a couple of select committees, but you know,
6:53
Speaker 3: we'll look at the motion that's presented to the House.
6:55
Speaker 3: But for me, I want to get on and deliver
6:57
Speaker 3: and we are seeing that. So the work in Oura
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Speaker 3: Spring has been undertaken where now I've been out at
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Speaker 3: Casarina meeting with some of the management of the shopping
7:05
Speaker 3: centers out there. We're focused around that and this is
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Speaker 3: all of our systems working together, NGO government and not
7:11
Speaker 3: just the police, but public housing, etc.
7:13
Speaker 1: Look, I'm just hearing from Kesi Epiric right now. She
7:16
Speaker 1: said that is outrageous. It's not a talk fest. It
7:19
Speaker 1: is real work that needs to happen. And Kesier can
7:21
Speaker 1: provide her commentary. But I'm being upfront with your listeners
7:24
Speaker 1: and saying what my thoughts, initial thoughts are on this.
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Speaker 4: But we just allow us.
7:29
Speaker 1: I mean, honestly, people are so worried at this point,
7:31
Speaker 1: why not allow that work to happen. You know, as
7:34
Speaker 1: all of the work that the government is doing is underway.
7:37
Speaker 2: And as I said Katie.
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Speaker 3: We'll consider that motion, but I'm inclined not to support
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Speaker 3: it because I think people just want us to get
7:42
Speaker 3: on with the job of making these changes.
7:44
Speaker 1: Are you inclined not to support it because it's the
7:46
Speaker 1: opposition that's proposing it, Not at all. So it's not
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Speaker 1: a situation where you just don't want to do it
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Speaker 1: because they've come forward with this motion.
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Speaker 2: No, and Kesier, who you just referred to, I have
7:56
Speaker 2: great respect for her. We work closely.
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Speaker 3: You know that it's not about that for me, about
8:00
Speaker 3: just getting on and making these changes.
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Speaker 1: But why not, like I suppose for me, every day
8:05
Speaker 1: I'm hearing from people who are having their cars stolen.
8:07
Speaker 1: You know, last week I spoke to the grandmother of
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Speaker 1: a young fellow, a young autistic boy who was assaulted
8:13
Speaker 1: at Casarina. You know, I've heard from the shopping center
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Speaker 1: owners at both Casarina and also at North Flakes.
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Speaker 4: I've spoken to.
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Speaker 1: The airport about the you know, the car thefts that
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Speaker 1: they're experiencing and what's going on with them.
8:25
Speaker 4: Why not allow a bit of a.
8:27
Speaker 1: Look into this so that we can get to the
8:29
Speaker 1: bottom of what's going on right.
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Speaker 3: Now because we need hard work to solve these issues.
8:34
Speaker 3: We don't need to just keep talking about it. The
8:36
Speaker 3: community expects us to respond and we are and that
8:38
Speaker 3: was absolutely unacceptable what happened to that young boy at Casarina.
8:42
Speaker 3: In terms of the work around the airport, there has
8:44
Speaker 3: been working with airport management.
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Speaker 2: Police are working through.
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Speaker 3: These are unique situations in each circumstance and we need
8:50
Speaker 3: to make.
8:51
Speaker 2: Sure that we have the resources and that we're working
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Speaker 2: through it.
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Speaker 1: Are you concerned though, that there are members of the
8:55
Speaker 1: community that don't have the confidence at the moment in
8:58
Speaker 1: the government being able to make sure that that work
9:01
Speaker 1: gets underway, and that they would like to see, you know,
9:04
Speaker 1: a look into this so we can work out what's
9:06
Speaker 1: going wrong at the moment with.
9:07
Speaker 4: The police force and what's going wrong with that crime.
9:10
Speaker 3: So, Katie, we've identified that it's our resources coming together
9:13
Speaker 3: and working to stop the issues before they're happening. And
9:16
Speaker 3: so with public housing, for example, overcrowding in public housing,
9:20
Speaker 3: making sure that people only have a small number of visitors,
9:23
Speaker 3: not having large numbers that then cause flow on issues
9:26
Speaker 3: not only to nearby residents but to the broader community.
9:28
Speaker 3: So they're the issues that we're focused on.
9:30
Speaker 1: How quickly do you think we're going to see a
9:32
Speaker 1: change in this space, then I'm confident in Allie Springs.
9:35
Speaker 1: Jeanette cur has done an enormous amount of work. I
9:37
Speaker 1: was down there with her and the Police Minister last week,
9:40
Speaker 1: tying together the resources that we have, making sure everybody
9:43
Speaker 1: is working together, not in isolation, and making sure that
9:46
Speaker 1: we have a highly visible response that we're engaging not
9:49
Speaker 1: only young people, but the other factors that lead to
9:51
Speaker 1: crime and antisocial behavior. WA's a message for police officers
9:55
Speaker 1: listening this morning, who are going to be feeling.
9:57
Speaker 4: Pretty deflated by the fact that they're.
10:00
Speaker 1: You know that the answer to them moving forward at
10:03
Speaker 1: this point is, you know that, realistically, they've got to
10:06
Speaker 1: just trust that the government's working on this.
10:09
Speaker 3: So the Police Minister attended the Police Association conference. She
10:12
Speaker 3: met with the Police Association executive and was able to
10:15
Speaker 3: hear directly from them, and she's spoken to me and
10:18
Speaker 3: I know she's working through the actions that they'd like
10:21
Speaker 3: to see in great detail, and she'll keep that engagement.
10:23
Speaker 3: Paul mceue is someone that I've spoken to and the
10:26
Speaker 3: Police Minister will also work with.
10:27
Speaker 1: Now I know that there has been quite a bit
10:30
Speaker 1: of concern with some of the displaced people from what
10:33
Speaker 1: Air causing trouble around Darwin. To put it really bluntly,
10:37
Speaker 1: what works underway in this space so that we can
10:39
Speaker 1: hopefully see some change there as well.
10:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, Katie, and what has been a long standing issue,
10:43
Speaker 3: and I'm determined to not just go it's too hard
10:45
Speaker 3: to solve and just leave it for another ten or
10:47
Speaker 3: twenty years. So there's a multi agency task force that's
10:50
Speaker 3: been doing a great deal of work. We do have
10:52
Speaker 3: a number of people that are displaced into Darwin presently,
10:55
Speaker 3: and about eighty people are still being returned home each month.
10:58
Speaker 3: It's also around engaging those people if they do choose
11:01
Speaker 3: to stay here, that we get them into some temporary
11:03
Speaker 3: and then more secure accommodation. But it is a big
11:05
Speaker 3: job out there in what I am ensuring that we
11:08
Speaker 3: engage with the different leadership to work through longer term solutions.
11:11
Speaker 1: I do just want to bring up, and I know
11:13
Speaker 1: that you've probably seen it now, but that vision that
11:16
Speaker 1: emerged last week where there was ten and eleven year
11:19
Speaker 1: old's allegedly involved in some really terrible stuff around Casurina,
11:24
Speaker 1: but also an elderly indigenous man asleep on the ground
11:29
Speaker 1: in the Northern suburbs having his head stomped on.
11:32
Speaker 4: Look, I felt like crying when I saw that vision.
11:35
Speaker 1: I mean, for you, as the Chief Minister, how do
11:37
Speaker 1: you feel when you see stuff like.
11:38
Speaker 4: That happening in our great place, our great city.
11:41
Speaker 2: Oh disgusts me.
11:42
Speaker 3: It's unacceptable and to think that anybody feels that they
11:46
Speaker 3: can pick on someone when they're vulnerable, and especially to
11:48
Speaker 3: see that in someone so young, that behavior, Katie, But
11:51
Speaker 3: we need to not turn our back on these young people. Absolutely,
11:54
Speaker 3: they have to understand the consequences, but we need to
11:57
Speaker 3: make sure through those consequences that these reability that we
12:00
Speaker 3: don't just see them ending up in that cycle of
12:02
Speaker 3: causing crime for our community.
12:04
Speaker 1: Okay, I'm going to move along because there is so
12:06
Speaker 1: much happening around the place and I've got a few
12:08
Speaker 1: things that i want to get through pretty quickly. But
12:10
Speaker 1: we know that there is going to be a day
12:12
Speaker 1: of action which the unions are taking on Thursday. Teachers
12:15
Speaker 1: and correction staff are going to stop work. Other public
12:18
Speaker 1: servants are going to rally on the lawns of Parliament
12:21
Speaker 1: House over the wage freeze. Chief Minister, has there been
12:24
Speaker 1: further negotiations with teachers.
12:27
Speaker 3: Yes, Katie, So an enterprise bargaining agreement is a process,
12:30
Speaker 3: so the employees can take that protected action and employers
12:34
Speaker 3: can negotiate, and we are saying to our frontline workers
12:36
Speaker 3: we will continue to negotiate with you in good faith.
12:39
Speaker 3: The Minister for Public Employment is working with the union
12:41
Speaker 3: officials around what they might like to see. And you
12:44
Speaker 3: put multiple offers to that workforce.
12:46
Speaker 4: What are you going to offer them?
12:47
Speaker 2: So we have a huge.
12:48
Speaker 3: Responsibility, Katie, because we do need to manage the budget
12:51
Speaker 3: going forward. We don't want to see ourselves in a
12:53
Speaker 3: situation where we can't afford this and then we have
12:55
Speaker 3: to sack people into the future. So it's around understanding
12:58
Speaker 3: what their needs and wishes are, how we can be fair.
13:01
Speaker 4: But a pay increase is going to have to be
13:02
Speaker 4: on the cards for them, isn't it.
13:04
Speaker 3: As I said to you Katie last week or when
13:06
Speaker 3: we last spoke, I apologize I can't remember the timing,
13:09
Speaker 3: but we do acknowledge them. Even the RBA was caught
13:11
Speaker 3: off guard with interest rates rising so quickly, the cost
13:14
Speaker 3: of living. I was talking to a teacher yesterday, but
13:16
Speaker 3: they're really keen to hear that we are negotiating in
13:18
Speaker 3: good faith and will continue that.
13:20
Speaker 1: Look, I think the situation we've got right now as well,
13:22
Speaker 1: though a lot of people are very supportive of our
13:24
Speaker 1: wonderful teachers. I know I am, but that's not going
13:26
Speaker 1: to last long if the government doesn't sort of, you know,
13:29
Speaker 1: sort this issue out. Because even for the kids to
13:32
Speaker 1: be in another situation on Thursday where the teachers are striking,
13:35
Speaker 1: it does become disruptive. So how quickly do you think
13:38
Speaker 1: we're going to have an outcome?
13:39
Speaker 3: As a parent of school age children, I absolutely get
13:42
Speaker 3: the urgency of this, Katie. Our kids have had enough
13:44
Speaker 3: disruption over the last couple of years. We really want
13:47
Speaker 3: this resolve because we know that those teachers don't really
13:49
Speaker 3: want to be bargaining and negotiating with us.
13:52
Speaker 2: They want to just be in the classroom doing what
13:53
Speaker 2: they love.
13:54
Speaker 4: So how quickly, Katie.
13:56
Speaker 2: It's a process. We're working through it.
13:57
Speaker 3: But I can assure your listeners that many of your
13:59
Speaker 3: teachers won't be listening.
14:00
Speaker 2: They'll probably be listening to a replay of this. They're
14:02
Speaker 2: in school teaching our beautiful.
14:03
Speaker 1: Children going out to camp this morning, so maybe they
14:06
Speaker 1: will be listening in the back playing mix on the
14:07
Speaker 1: bus well, I know lots of the bus drivers do.
14:11
Speaker 1: But so it like, is it something that is on
14:13
Speaker 1: your agenda to sort out quickly.
14:16
Speaker 3: In terms of these agreements, we absolutely want to get
14:19
Speaker 3: them in place as soon as we can, but it
14:21
Speaker 3: is a process around it and we do have to
14:23
Speaker 3: respect and follow that.
14:24
Speaker 4: Al Right. I've got a few really quick ones to
14:25
Speaker 4: get through. Code yellow? How long is it going to
14:27
Speaker 4: stay in place at our major hospital?
14:29
Speaker 3: So they're talking at Roddale Hospital right now, Katie, around
14:33
Speaker 3: that code yellow. So this is where the system kicks
14:36
Speaker 3: in to provide support to our staff and ensures patient safety.
14:40
Speaker 3: So we'll advise the public as soon as there may
14:43
Speaker 3: be any changes there all right.
14:44
Speaker 1: Now, another one that I'm keen to ask about federally,
14:48
Speaker 1: it is looking as though there's going to be some
14:49
Speaker 1: COVID isolation changes that it's going to change from seven
14:53
Speaker 1: days io if you've got COVID down to five, is
14:56
Speaker 1: that going to happen in the endt.
14:58
Speaker 3: So, Katie, We're very conscious of the m packs of
15:00
Speaker 3: COVID on our workforce, and people have a large variety.
15:04
Speaker 3: Some people are sick for a day and some people
15:06
Speaker 3: are sick for quite a number of weeks. So I'm
15:09
Speaker 3: heading off to National Cabinet and I've also got a
15:11
Speaker 3: Health minister's meeting later this week, so as soon as
15:13
Speaker 3: we have and I haven't had any formal advice that
15:16
Speaker 3: that may change, but will certainly work with our health officials.
15:19
Speaker 1: All right now, in relation to fuel, people are still
15:22
Speaker 1: really concerned about the petrol prices. Is there any update
15:25
Speaker 1: from your end, because we know that that excise is
15:27
Speaker 1: ending on September twenty eight. Reports nationally this morning that
15:31
Speaker 1: we're going to see it go up immediately.
15:33
Speaker 3: So, as you know, Katie, I wrote to the fuel
15:35
Speaker 3: retailers as well as the A Triple C saying it's
15:37
Speaker 3: not good enough. I hadn't heard back late late last week,
15:40
Speaker 3: but I won't dob them in in case they have
15:42
Speaker 3: written to me. But we certainly want to make sure
15:45
Speaker 3: that particularly the A Triple C, are looking at the
15:47
Speaker 3: prices here in the territory that excise. The previous coalition
15:50
Speaker 3: government made a put that excise change in there. I
15:54
Speaker 3: think the Commonwealth are stepping away from it. It won't
15:56
Speaker 3: be extended, so it will have an impact on territory motorists.
15:59
Speaker 4: Is it a bit disious.
16:00
Speaker 1: Thankful for some of those fuel companies to have not
16:02
Speaker 1: even responded.
16:02
Speaker 4: To you yet.
16:04
Speaker 3: I certainly will be chasing them for a reply because
16:06
Speaker 3: they need to know that they'll be held to account
16:08
Speaker 3: by our government that represents the community.
16:10
Speaker 4: Now, I do want to ask you.
16:12
Speaker 1: There's a report in the Northern Territory News today that
16:14
Speaker 1: the Territory government's calling on leofanochi Aio to apologize after
16:18
Speaker 1: the opposition leader was apparently photographed campaigning with an apparent
16:22
Speaker 1: white supremacist sympathizer. So it's reported in the paper that
16:27
Speaker 1: the country liberal parties refuse to explain its links to
16:30
Speaker 1: the man who was previously seen flashing a white supremist
16:33
Speaker 1: hand sign while wearing a shirt linked to a far
16:37
Speaker 1: right extremist group. Chief Minister, what is the situation here?
16:41
Speaker 1: I mean, is this a real concern or is this
16:43
Speaker 1: a bit of mudslinging.
16:44
Speaker 2: I think it is concerning, Katie.
16:46
Speaker 3: We have such a beautiful multicultural community and that diversity
16:49
Speaker 3: is something that we love and there's no excuse for
16:51
Speaker 3: supporting racism. So for these people to be in the
16:54
Speaker 3: COLP with these extreme views is unacceptable and Lefanochiara needs
16:58
Speaker 3: to explain and apologize.
16:59
Speaker 1: And so you know, how is he linked to the
17:01
Speaker 1: COLP from your understanding?
17:03
Speaker 3: So my understanding and that article points it out, is
17:06
Speaker 3: that he was photographed with the leader of the opposition.
17:08
Speaker 3: He was at a number of events. I mean we're
17:10
Speaker 3: calling was he at the Fanny Bay by election party?
17:13
Speaker 3: So you know, we have to be really careful that
17:16
Speaker 3: we preserve that uniqueness that we have in the territory
17:18
Speaker 3: and we don't have these extreme views.
17:20
Speaker 4: All right, we'll follow that up.
17:21
Speaker 1: We are due to have the Opposition leader on the
17:23
Speaker 1: show tomorrow morning. Now, before I let you go, we
17:25
Speaker 1: know that this job Summer it's happening later this week,
17:28
Speaker 1: this Federal Job Summit. We are due to catch up
17:30
Speaker 1: with NT Farmers in a few minutes time. We're also
17:33
Speaker 1: going to be catching up with tourism Central Australia. We
17:36
Speaker 1: know the situation with the job shortage right around the
17:38
Speaker 1: nation is having a massive impact in the Northern territory.
17:42
Speaker 1: Do you think we're going to see some positive outcomes
17:45
Speaker 1: from this or is it going to be a talk face?
17:46
Speaker 3: Well, Katie, I'll be heading down to Canberra to make
17:48
Speaker 3: sure that the Northern territories view so remote and Regional
17:51
Speaker 3: Australia is heard. I know that the workforce shortage is
17:55
Speaker 3: a huge issue here and now, and we don't have time.
17:58
Speaker 3: We need to get on with this and makes or
18:00
Speaker 3: that the Commonwealth is pulling every lever they can so
18:02
Speaker 3: that we can get workers into the territory.
18:04
Speaker 1: Are we bringing enough in from overseas at this point
18:06
Speaker 1: or does there need to be some you know, some
18:08
Speaker 1: faster movement in this space.
18:10
Speaker 3: I think that that's an area that we could focus on, Katie,
18:12
Speaker 3: particularly ahead of mango season, just as one example. And
18:15
Speaker 3: we've had a couple of unique schemes here in the
18:18
Speaker 3: territory that have seen Pacific workers. We've got Team or
18:21
Speaker 3: lester as a close neighbor and strong relationship. So I
18:24
Speaker 3: want the Commonwealth Government to know that we are willing
18:26
Speaker 3: to do what we need to do, but we need
18:28
Speaker 3: to see workers here in the territory.
18:29
Speaker 1: Well, Chief Minister Natasha Files, we'll have to leave it there.
18:32
Speaker 1: It is just after nine thirty. Thanks for your time
18:34
Speaker 1: this morning. Take care, Thank you,