Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Darwin’s Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis says work is underway on the new Casuarina Aquatic Centre

Transcript

Darwin’s Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis says work is underway on the new Casuarina Aquatic Centre · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me live in the studio is the Lord Mayor
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: of Darwin, Conbat Scarlets.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, con.
• 0:04
  Speaker 3: Good morning Kate. And if you notice is getting hot,
• 0:07
  Speaker 3: assume it.
• 0:08
  Speaker 4: And we heading towards the cycling season, so it's excusting. Yes,
• 0:13
  Speaker 4: if you are not prepared, you better go and visit
• 0:15
  Speaker 4: your local supermarket, do your regular cycling season supplies or
• 0:19
  Speaker 4: food to last you for at least forty eight to
• 0:22
  Speaker 4: thirty six hours for your family, water and butteries, radio,
• 0:26
  Speaker 4: all these censors that we're familiar here, you know.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: As it all, we did catch up with the Northern
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Territory Emergency Services about that last week as well. It's
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: always a very timely reminder and we'll try and catch
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: up with them again next week just to keep people
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: on the ball.
• 0:39
  Speaker 4: Codd thing I want to tell our resident is that
• 0:41
  Speaker 4: our city of Darwin is prepared. We had one hundred
• 0:43
  Speaker 4: stuff going through the training of last week about cycle
• 0:47
  Speaker 4: of preparedness because if something goes wrong, we have to
• 0:50
  Speaker 4: be able to respond very very quickly, either with the
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: removing trees or helping essential services if damage has occurred.
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: So we are fully prepare and for it to deploy
• 1:01
  Speaker 4: people and having our activation center ready to in case
• 1:06
  Speaker 4: of a cyclone. So let's we're with you in that one.
• 1:09
  Speaker 4: We live in the same city. If something going to
• 1:11
  Speaker 4: happen affects you, it will affect us well.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: And I guess you know the city of Darwin knows
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: all too well. Also after a few years back where
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: we had all the trees go down, we had such
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: you know, there was so much damage.
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: We've all got to be prepared. It doesn't matter whether
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: you're a big organization.
• 1:27
  Speaker 4: To you before we replaced twice as many and we
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: keep putting trees out all the time. Look, when the
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: cyclon comes, it can. Actually the good thing is because
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: our buildings now built in new standards, we stand a cyclone.
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: But again it's the rain, the water, if a tree
• 1:42
  Speaker 4: falls on your roof or on your yard or anything else.
• 1:46
  Speaker 4: But the important thing is day safe and be prepared.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Con Now, I want to ask what was your reaction
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: to the federal budget over eights. Is there much in
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: the federal budget from the council's perspective, We know there's
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: a massive infrastructure spen in the Northern Territory two point
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: five billion. Much from council's perspective.
• 2:04
  Speaker 4: The reality is if money are invested in the territory
• 2:06
  Speaker 4: is going to affect positively the economy, it going to
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: be wrong.
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: More people and all these things will affect council.
• 2:12
  Speaker 4: We have to be prepared to deliver service to more people,
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: from the swimming pools to libraries to the removal of rubbish.
• 2:19
  Speaker 4: It's good news to hear so much money spending the territory.
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: Suddenly camera realized that the territory is very important with
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: regards to defense and then investing in our defense capabilities.
• 2:29
  Speaker 4: We're looking out to see where the money for our
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: swimming pool are because there's a lot of buckets and
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: trying to unravel where money are. It's a nightmare and
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: eventually would take about two to three weeks before we
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: find out if we got Sammy or not. I expect
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: we'll get something, after all, the Minister of the current
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: government announcement in Casarina promise seven and a half million dollars.
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: I think it will be very very unwise. All of
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: a sudden the manager disappear. But again, let's wait, it's
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: only the what not even twenty four hours in CNAs.
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: It was an interesting budget because you have to remember
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: we came from a very very bad situation COVID nineteen
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: and of course the situation in Ukraine now and the
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: pressures in the banking system. And talk about recession in America,
• 3:14
  Speaker 4: it doesn't sound very good. Hopefully we'll not have a
• 3:17
  Speaker 4: recession in Australia.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: Well, and it's always hard, I think when the budget
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: is delivered all when it is handed down, it sort
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: of takes a little bit of time for us to
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: go through everything, make sure we can see exactly which
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: buckets of funding can potentially be utilized here in the
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory, et cetera, et cetera.
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: An interesting thing is because this budget is actually putting
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: in place now, just a few weeks before the Victorian
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: election happened. Now the interesting thing talk about electricity. But
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: what I'm noticed, first time ever a political leader make
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: a very good statement that he's going to restate the
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: State Electricity Commission, so that means bring back the electricity
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: production under the state authority, which we privatize a lot
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: and see what the result does we pay through the nose.
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: It might be a good idea, but.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: For us here in the Northern Territory, obviously it's a
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: different scenario. Because Power and Water is the government Orange corporate.
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  Speaker 3: Thank god for that.
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  Speaker 4: And the good thing is I have to tell you
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  Speaker 4: that as a minister, I refuse to allow to become
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: the part of what has become part of the national
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: network because I knew what was going to happen. We're
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: going to follow the national trends. That means you're paying
• 4:19
  Speaker 4: twice as much as you pay now for electricity.
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  Speaker 2: Come, we will move along.
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: I know there's some issues earlier in the week with
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: waste collection. Have they now been rectified?
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: Yeah, things happen. There's breakdown on equipment and facilities. The
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: moment we've become aware of it because regis ring Us
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: or their local elected member, we straight away organized for
• 4:39
  Speaker 4: a rubbish recovery. It is unfortunate and we apologize for
• 4:42
  Speaker 4: that one again. Cars breakdown and if it happens again,
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: please the thing to do is ring counsel straight away
• 4:49
  Speaker 4: and we're organized, pick up the live and removal.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: A call just come through from Marion wants to ask
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: you what's happening with the bus stop at Woolly's Darwin City,
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  Speaker 1: saying that there's fighting every day about forty people there
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: last night with anti social behavior going on with police
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  Speaker 1: and security constantly having to take people away. She says
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  Speaker 1: it's only happening because of the bus stop.
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  Speaker 3: I know, Marian and very well.
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  Speaker 4: We counsel actually told the territory government that was not
• 5:15
  Speaker 4: the right idea, not the right place. Unfortunately, territory government
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: makes a decision where the bus.
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  Speaker 3: Stops will go.
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  Speaker 4: Probably I don't know where you live, but there might
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: be a good idea to approach your local member and
• 5:26
  Speaker 4: blust him or blast her about it. Hopefully they might
• 5:29
  Speaker 4: listen to you and might have some influence to do
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: something better there.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: So you reckon, they don't want to move that bus stop, Well.
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: They reckon. Actually is a very central bus stop that
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: serves a lot of people.
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: But me living in the city, driving from there every day,
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: I always see police or the transport officers, or fights
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: or a lot of.
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  Speaker 3: People just hanging around.
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  Speaker 4: I might be a better idea to put somewhere else,
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  Speaker 4: or split them up and move them somewhere else.
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: Now I've had somebody else get in contact with us.
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  Speaker 2: I have sent a screen.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: Well, I've sent a photo of somebody who is a
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: big in the city but also intimidating others.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: I think that he's quite a regular person in the city.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: He's gone into one location today, as I understand it,
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: you know, basically asking for money inside a shop, but
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: also getting more bold, this person says with his actions
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  Speaker 1: and a bit more aggressive.
• 6:20
  Speaker 4: I think if the person is aggressive, the best thing
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: to do is call the police straight away.
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: Begging it's an offense.
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: The problem we've got is people who are begging, they
• 6:29
  Speaker 4: don't hit no fix address. In most cases, they don't
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: even have an idea with them. Trying to actually put
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: it certifying to somebody we don't know who they are
• 6:38
  Speaker 4: and where they live, it's nearly impossible because the only
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: thing we do is write a piece of paper and
• 6:42
  Speaker 4: that's it. But again, if the people are aggressive, please
• 6:46
  Speaker 4: do call the police.
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  Speaker 3: This is the thing.
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  Speaker 2: Well, are you allowed to actually beg on the straight?
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  Speaker 1: I mean, is it something that's allowed. I didn't think
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  Speaker 1: that it was so. I thought there was legislation says
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: that you can't.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, you might not do it.
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  Speaker 4: But trying to get us before a person of no
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  Speaker 4: fix addressed a no fixed name, it's virtually impossible. I mean,
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: we can issue find to throw the pages of paper away.
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  Speaker 4: There's nothing we can do about it. So the important thing,
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  Speaker 4: and that's what I'm saying is if you see a
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  Speaker 4: social behavior ring the police, don't think that, oh well,
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  Speaker 4: it happens all the time. The reality is if you
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: don't ring, it's one less care for the police. And
• 7:17
  Speaker 4: if there are too many people not ringing policys, there's
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  Speaker 4: no problem.
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: Do you think that there should maybe be and this
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: is a question from that listener, should there be a
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  Speaker 1: bit of a blitz through the city to you know,
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: when you've got this kind of behavior.
• 7:28
  Speaker 4: When the segues are in the city, there's not a
• 7:31
  Speaker 4: disocial behavior behavior happening. That's as always said. Bring the
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: police patrols in the city for the same reason, not
• 7:37
  Speaker 4: because they're going to solve all problems in the world,
• 7:39
  Speaker 4: but it's going to actually stop the stubid people doing
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  Speaker 4: stupid things, and that includes everybody.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: Is it just a police issue though? I mean, should
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: there be more more of the council ranges and people
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  Speaker 1: like that patrol? You know, like going through the streets too.
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  Speaker 3: Well, rangers go through the streets.
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  Speaker 4: The problem will go with the rangers is when my
• 7:56
  Speaker 4: reges go through the streeps and they come back and
• 7:58
  Speaker 4: says we've been threatened with knives, be threatened with physical violence,
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: they are not going to continue that one because their
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: physical safety is paramount. The people they can actually train
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  Speaker 4: to deal with this kind of people is the police.
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  Speaker 4: The reason I'm happening all the time for police patrols
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  Speaker 4: in the city because every time we had police in
• 8:16
  Speaker 4: the city, we have less incidents, full stop. Everybody knows that.
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  Speaker 4: The onliest people that don't seem to know that is
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  Speaker 4: the people that are allocating police resources.
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  Speaker 1: But I mean, can the council just sort of wash
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: their hands of this and go all right, let's onn
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: the a police issue.
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: Well, no, because we go through the mall, if we
• 8:32
  Speaker 4: find somebody who's actually basking, for example, which is a
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: forbe of begging with that license, wim of them on
• 8:38
  Speaker 4: we said, tell them to move the money, wom of
• 8:40
  Speaker 4: the morn. If a person just walks around the street begging,
• 8:42
  Speaker 4: I mean, first of all, we don't know where they
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: are and we might come across them. But as the
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: other what I said, the caller said, he's aggressive, Well,
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: if he's aggressive, there's one way to deal with it.
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  Speaker 3: Please do call the police. If you feel threatened, do
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: call the police now.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: Con I also have a question that's come through throughout
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: the week, people wanting a bit further update on the footbridges.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: I know that this is one that we've spoken about
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: just about every single week.
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  Speaker 4: Last week, after I finished here, I went straight to
• 9:09
  Speaker 4: the bridge and I had to look at it. They
• 9:11
  Speaker 4: actually are saw where they dug and find out all
• 9:13
  Speaker 4: the members of the bridge had been rusty and dangerous.
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: It is actually obvious that the bridge it was unsafe,
• 9:19
  Speaker 4: and that's what we're closed.
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: Now.
• 9:21
  Speaker 4: We've got all these rusty members being manufacturer workshop in
• 9:25
  Speaker 4: Winelly by a local company. When they finished, they will
• 9:28
  Speaker 4: start going to work and replace these members. I'm expected
• 9:31
  Speaker 4: to take about six weeks. The damage was more than
• 9:34
  Speaker 4: we thought. After we start digging around or the contractors
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: start digging around, fund more damage and it's going to
• 9:40
  Speaker 4: be able to actually fix it in about six.
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: Weeks, all right, So about six weeks time.
• 9:47
  Speaker 4: I mean, I can't believe when we just dig out
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: and we got this member, the metal parts out of
• 9:54
  Speaker 4: the ground. How I mean there were actually big holes
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: until then?
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: What they know about it?
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: So luckily and have any exactly You can see some outside,
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: but when you're studying in the foundation, you find out
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: they were really really damaged. So lucky there wasn't a
• 10:06
  Speaker 4: series exactly that nobody actually had an accident.
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: Because this is the thing.
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: It's hidden from side and you don't know, and something
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: happens you don't know, but now we do know and
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: we are going to fix it.
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: Well. Convat Scholars, The Lord Mayor of Darwin always good
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: to catch up. We will talk to you again next
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: week and can to get a few updates on lots
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: of different things.
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: Really. The other thing I want to tell you before
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: closing is work has started already in the casual in
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: a pool.
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: Demolition is taking place.
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: All the plan's been through the Development Consent Authority, so
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: we're working on that one as we speak. And yes,
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: and we'll be following up the bridge. That's important. But
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: the thing I'll say is be prepared for the cycling decision.
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: Don't be complacent.
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: It happens, It might not happen now, it might happen
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: next month or before Christmas.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: Go on, you cant thank you as always