Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with Police Association President Paul McCue about how the requirements for the December 20 reopening mean for the police force

Transcript

Katie spoke with Police Association President Paul McCue about how the requirements for the December 20 reopening mean for the police force · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining us live on the line again. Police Association President
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Paul mchu Good morning, Paul. That's all right mate. Now
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: we were talking about these border changes and what kind
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: of impact it's going to have on our frontline police
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: who work out in some very remote and regional locations. Paul,
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: what are officers saying to you since that announcement was
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: made last week?
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, obviously, unless there's some exemptions provided, it's going
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: to create an enormous issue for our offices. Not just them,
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: but they're families of course, who many have children in
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: these isolated areas or go to boarding school down south
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: and over on the East Coast. So it's going to
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: create enormous problems. Obviously, the practicality of it, it's challenging,
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: will understand, it's very challenging, and we certainly don't want
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: to COVID to spread through these communities. But practically, you know,
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: we need to remember there are other jobs to do
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: and there are people's livelihoods at stakes. So certainly, the
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: feedback we've had so far is is there an enormous
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: amount of concern around this issue?
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Well, what will happen if there isn't some kind of
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: exemption or exemption granted, I should say for Northern Territory Police.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: Well, I guess as it stands, they'll have to comply
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: with the requirements as they've been outlined. But we've got
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: no doubt many of our senior executive would be working
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: through this issue at the moment. Of course, it doesn't
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: just affect us, it affects you know. We know the
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: Cattleman's Association have come out against this, We know the
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: Isolated Children's Parenting Association, we know as many others, teachers, health.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: I mean, these communities need these people in there to
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: make sure the community is safe and healthy, and we
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: can't have such difficult restrictions in place when we're talking
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: about people that have to move in and out of
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: these communities as part of their role. Remembering many of
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: our offices, many of our members are actually you know,
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: they're told to go and work there. They don't do
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: it by choice, they're actually told to go there, and
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: of course we need to make sure they can do
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: that practically.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it is, I would you know, I would suspect
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: it's going to have a huge mental impact on a
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: lot of people, you know, whether you're talking about those
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: essential workers, whether you're talking about people who maybe work
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: on quite you know, remote sort of mind sights and
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: various other industries, and I think that these change come
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: December twenty. It just sort of caught a lot of
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: as off guard.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: I think it did. And as I said, I know,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: this is a very difficult situation for everyone to manage.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: And I mean we've never had to, you know, embark
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: on this journey before and hopefully we never have to again.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: But what it does mean is we've got lots of questions.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: We haven't got a lot of answers at the moment,
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: and obviously this announcement around the twentieth of December has
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: caused a lot of concern for our central workers and
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: their families and many people that work outside of those
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: three major centers that they're saying you have to remain
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: in for fourteen days once you come back, so practically
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: from a health perspective, of course, we understand and why
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: they're trying to do it. Practically, it just simply won't work,
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: and we need to come down and urgently and sit
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: down get given. It's impending. We're nearly halfway through decemb already,
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: and you know, we need to have some answers for
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  Speaker 2: our officers and their families, because it's important when they
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: take this time off it's with their family and they
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: shall be able to return with their family.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: Stepping away from that just slightly and taking a look
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: at how this is all going to be managed as
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: well when it comes to you to making sure that
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: people are doing the right thing right around the Northern
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: Territory with these new changes that are going to be
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: implemented from December twenty, is that going to also have
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: an impact on police in the sense that they'll have
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: to police it well.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: Without a doubt. I mean, we've seen throughout this pandemic
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: they are to go to agency when it comes to
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: enforcement around the chow directions and the requirements for people
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: in the community, and so there's no doubt that'll be
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: the case. But simply don't have the numbers to do that,
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: so it will be challenging. They will no doubt be
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: relying on many people to just simply do the right
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  Speaker 2: thing and if, obviously if they get caught and not
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: doing the right thing, there'll be ramifications. But of course
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: we don't have one or two hundred police just sitting
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: there waiting to roll out for further further checks on people,
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: so it'll be a very much a self policing environment.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, Paul Mcue, we will catch up with you
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: again very soon. We've run out of time. We're so
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: backed up this morning with whiskeys coming on. We will
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: talk to you again very soon. I really appreciate your
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: time this morning. Thank you.