Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with NO MORE Campaign founder Charlie King about the issue of domestic violence

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Katie Woolf spoke with NO MORE Campaign founder Charlie King about the issue of domestic violence · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Tragically, I think you'd have to say. Earlier this morning
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: we did find out through the Northern Territory Police that
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: they've now charged a fifty year old man in relation
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: to a woman's death in Coconut Grove on the weekend.
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  Speaker 1: The man was apprehended without incident yesterday and charged with
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  Speaker 1: murder and domestic violence related offenses last night.
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  Speaker 2: He was remanded to.
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  Speaker 1: Appear in the Darwin Local Court today. And it's it
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  Speaker 1: is a tragedy and I say it again, it's quite
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  Speaker 1: unbelievable when you see this type of information come through
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  Speaker 1: from the Northern Territory Police that very sadly another life
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  Speaker 1: has been lost at the hands of domestic violence allegedly. Now,
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  Speaker 1: one person who does a lot of work to try
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  Speaker 1: and really campaign against domestic violence with his No More
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  Speaker 1: campaign is Charlie King. He's a very well known broadcaster
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  Speaker 1: and very well known Territory and joins me in the
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  Speaker 1: studio right now. Good morning to you, Charlie.
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  Speaker 3: Oh Okati, thanks for having me on you.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for joining us this morning. Charlie.
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  Speaker 2: I know that this is something.
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  Speaker 1: That you've been campaigning against for such a long period
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  Speaker 1: of time with the No More campaign. It must break
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  Speaker 1: your heart when you hear reports like the one this
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  Speaker 1: morning about another life lost allegedly at the hands of
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  Speaker 1: domestic violence.
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  Speaker 4: And break your heart is exactly what it does. And
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  Speaker 4: I mean you become frustrated and tired and weary, and
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  Speaker 4: every time you have to sort of make a few
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  Speaker 4: steps forward, you then have to step back once.
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  Speaker 3: So I've got to tell you.
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  Speaker 4: On Saturday night, I was invited by the Islamic Society
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  Speaker 4: of Darwin to their domestic violence forum that they had
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  Speaker 4: in So I went along to it and I was
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  Speaker 4: a speaker along with the acting Assistant Police Commissioner. So
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  Speaker 4: I got up and they did my talk and I
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  Speaker 4: said to them, you know, this is a problem for
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  Speaker 4: everyone that knows no ethnic boundary. You know, we all
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  Speaker 4: need to be doing more. Some people can't do it,
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  Speaker 4: everybody can, you know. We've just got to accept that.
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  Speaker 4: And so my message was strong and I was getting
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  Speaker 4: acknowledgment from the floor. There are one hundred and twenty
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  Speaker 4: people there and I was getting acknowledgement from the floor
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  Speaker 4: and felt good about it. Then after me, the assistant
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  Speaker 4: Acting Assistant Police Commissioner, Martin Dole, got up and talked
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  Speaker 4: and he got up and he said, he said, ladies
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  Speaker 4: and gentlemen, I have to tell you that there was
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  Speaker 4: a murder in Darwin yesterday, and I've got to tell
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  Speaker 4: you that it's alleged that it was a domestic violence
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  Speaker 4: issue that caused it, and that just done everybody, including me,
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  Speaker 4: we just sat there, you know, mouth open, you know,
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  Speaker 4: looking at him, thinking and here it is laid bare
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  Speaker 4: in front of us yet again, that women aren't safe.
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  Speaker 4: You know, women aren't safe, and so much more has
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  Speaker 4: to be done. We need to get a lot more
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  Speaker 4: people standing up against against family violence because it's a
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  Speaker 4: crime and it is unacceptable. And my heart breaks for
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  Speaker 4: those women who become victims one a minute in our country,
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  Speaker 4: one a minute, do you know? And Katie, I wish
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  Speaker 4: we'd stop hiding behind this thing about this is the
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  Speaker 4: lucky country, you know what, it's lucky, but it's not
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  Speaker 4: lucky for everybody, and so that sort of lucky country
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  Speaker 4: thing just doesn't cut it with me. I think it's not.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, the numbers are too great.
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  Speaker 1: They are, it's like it's almost unbelievable because I think
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  Speaker 1: if you if you're fortunate enough to be in a
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  Speaker 1: family where you haven't had to deal with this type
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  Speaker 1: of thing, and you haven't been the victim of domestic violence,
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  Speaker 1: you maybe really just have no comprehension of what it's
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  Speaker 1: like for other people. But your heart breaks when you
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  Speaker 1: see these kinds of like these kinds of press releases
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  Speaker 1: come through with information about this type of thing happening
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  Speaker 1: on the weekend in our like in our.
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  Speaker 2: City here in Darwin, right here in Darwin.
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  Speaker 1: And you know, we sometimes as well, I think we
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  Speaker 1: almost sort of step over it in terms of in
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  Speaker 1: the media not reporting it maybe as extensively as what
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  Speaker 1: we should be so that everybody is aware that it's happening.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely right, you know.
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  Speaker 4: And the acting Police Commissioner as Deputy Police comm Commissioners
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  Speaker 4: said that there was a thirty six percent increase in
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  Speaker 4: reports of family violence. So that's a horrible thing, but
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  Speaker 4: in some ways it's a good thing because it means
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  Speaker 4: more people are now aware of it. And so the
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  Speaker 4: no More campaign was all about raising awareness about it.
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  Speaker 4: We weren't saying we have a solution to the problem.
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  Speaker 4: We're saying it's unacceptable, listen more to what it is,
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  Speaker 4: you know. So when we talk to people about family violence.
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  Speaker 4: They look at us and they shake their heads and say,
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  Speaker 4: this is terrible, you know, And it is, but you know,
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  Speaker 4: I think there's something we need to be taken a
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  Speaker 4: closer look at. I'm seeing in the work we do
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  Speaker 4: some connection between racism and family violence. There's some loose
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  Speaker 4: connection there somewhere. I'm not sure what it is, but
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  Speaker 4: I do know the effects of racism because it makes
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  Speaker 4: people feel frustrated and angry, and there's no that what
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  Speaker 4: can you do if someone's attacking you because of the
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  Speaker 4: color of your skin, that sort of thing. So I'm
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  Speaker 4: thinking we need to do more investigation around that whole
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  Speaker 4: issue and see whether that's there and what I'm calling
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  Speaker 4: for and I'm asking people of color in Australia to
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  Speaker 4: join with Aboriginal people. There's a million Aboriginal people in
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  Speaker 4: Australia and there's all these other people with dark colored skin,
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  Speaker 4: and I think if we had a coalition of people
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  Speaker 4: of color that could get together and put their heads
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  Speaker 4: together and discuss the issue of racism as it might
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  Speaker 4: relate to family violence, so that there's two things to
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  Speaker 4: look at, and I think we'll find something in there
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  Speaker 4: that will give us a bit of an idea about
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  Speaker 4: how we can do something to change what's going on,
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  Speaker 4: because an attitudinal change has to happen, and it's got
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  Speaker 4: to happen in great numbers. And it's disappointing when there's
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  Speaker 4: an Aboriginal victim of family violence because normally then most
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  Speaker 4: people who are not Aboriginal people would look at it
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  Speaker 4: and think, well, you know, it's bad in the Aboriginal
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  Speaker 4: Aboriginal community, but you know what, it's bad everywhere. Yeh,
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  Speaker 4: it's bad everywhere. It's not just it's not unique to
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  Speaker 4: original people. It's a problem for all of us.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, And it's something that crosses every barrier, you know,
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  Speaker 1: every race. Domestic violence is something that we all need
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  Speaker 1: to be concerned with.
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  Speaker 2: Charlie.
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  Speaker 1: I caught up with the Minister for Families a little
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  Speaker 1: bit earlier and Rusten, and she'd spoken about a summit
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  Speaker 1: that they're having sort of virtually over the next next
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  Speaker 1: few days into this very space and into women's safety.
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  Speaker 2: How do you think that we.
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  Speaker 1: As a nation sort of you know, try to I guess,
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  Speaker 1: you know, try to do what you've just mentioned there
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  Speaker 1: and have this coalition of colored people where they can
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  Speaker 1: be really heavily involved in any moves forward to try
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  Speaker 1: and combat domestic violence.
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  Speaker 4: We I mean, I know Averiginal people have been speaking
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  Speaker 4: about it for so long, you know, wanting to raise
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  Speaker 4: the awareness around it. But if you build the army
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  Speaker 4: and you get the big numbers and it becomes a
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  Speaker 4: big group of people, the voices are going to be heard,
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  Speaker 4: you know, all different me will pick it up and
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  Speaker 4: do more with it.
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  Speaker 3: Schools need to be doing.
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  Speaker 4: More about it, learning, you know, learning and understanding what
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  Speaker 4: it's all what it's all about. So I'm calling it,
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  Speaker 4: you know, a coalition of people of color or something
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  Speaker 4: you know like that. So it's just just an idea.
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  Speaker 4: If we can get them together, then the voices will
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  Speaker 4: be heard. It's not something that you listen to and
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  Speaker 4: then you walk away and forget, because we know that happens.
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  Speaker 4: You can talk to a group of people, you walk
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  Speaker 4: away and send ten seconds lay they've forgotten all about it,
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  Speaker 4: but they're listening to you when you're telling them. They're
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  Speaker 4: worried about it, but they don't think it's their responsibility.
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  Speaker 4: And it is everybody's responsibility to say no to family
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  Speaker 4: violence and to do whatever they can to stop it happening.
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  Speaker 4: And it's a crime, pick up the phone and report
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  Speaker 4: it to the police. That's what we need to.
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  Speaker 3: Be doing more on.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and really, Charlie, you know, if the loss of
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  Speaker 1: a life over the weekend right here in Darwin isn't
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  Speaker 1: enough to give people a bit of a you know,
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  Speaker 1: a bit of a wake up call, and I'm not
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  Speaker 1: too sure what it is.
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  Speaker 4: What's going to work? Yeah, yeah, absolutely right. Yes, let's
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  Speaker 4: not sit back and think it's got nothing to do
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  Speaker 4: with us. It's got something to do with all of us.
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  Speaker 4: Maybe you've got children. Maybe your children are going to
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  Speaker 4: grow up and get married and get in relationships. What
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  Speaker 4: happens if they land in that space, you know, like
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  Speaker 4: that's that's where the connection can be. For people who
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  Speaker 4: don't see it happening on their doorstep, their children might
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  Speaker 4: witness the chances are that would happen anyway. So there's
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  Speaker 4: so much more to be done.
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  Speaker 2: Well, how do you reckon?
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  Speaker 1: You know? How are you sort of planning I guess Charlie,
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  Speaker 1: to maybe get this coalition started?
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  Speaker 2: How can we help you raise you raise the awareness?
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  Speaker 4: I guess this is the first time I've done it publicly.
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  Speaker 4: I mean I spoke to that group, the Islamic Society
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  Speaker 4: had I spoke to them about it because a lot
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  Speaker 4: of people of color in there, and so this is
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  Speaker 4: the first time I've done it in the media as
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  Speaker 4: I've come on your program and I know that people
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  Speaker 4: are listening and they may be people of color and
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  Speaker 4: they want to get involved. I can't even tell you
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  Speaker 4: how to contact who you need to contact. I just
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  Speaker 4: want to put it out there and say, let's start
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  Speaker 4: thinking about that and see whether there's something there that
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  Speaker 4: we can do that might make a bit of a
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  Speaker 4: difference with this horrible problem that we've learned to live with.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, we've got a lot of Indigenous people
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  Speaker 1: who listened to the show and people of color who
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  Speaker 1: listened to the show. So I think this is, like
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  Speaker 1: you said, it's getting that conversation started. You know, if
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  Speaker 1: they do want to contact us, they can contact us
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  Speaker 1: here at the station and we can let you know
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  Speaker 1: about it.
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  Speaker 2: But we've got to do something. We've got to you know, try.
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  Speaker 4: Can I just tell you I saw a doctor the
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  Speaker 4: other day. He's a free Lankan doctor, and we talked,
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  Speaker 4: had my discussion with him and last about ten minutes,
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  Speaker 4: and then for the next fifteen minutes he talked about racism.
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  Speaker 4: He talked about how he, this is a three lanking doctor,
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  Speaker 4: has to deal with it with a patient who was
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  Speaker 4: being racist towards him, and he said to the patient,
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  Speaker 4: you know, if you continue to make racist comments about me,
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  Speaker 4: I'll refuse to see you. And the guy said to him, well,
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  Speaker 4: that's unlawful, because if I come to seek medical help,
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  Speaker 4: I'm entitled to it. And he said, well you're not.
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  Speaker 4: You can go some where else. You won't anyway, said
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  Speaker 4: went on a bit long, and then he banned him.
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  Speaker 4: He said, oh, well, now you're not welcome at this
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  Speaker 4: surgery anymore.
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  Speaker 3: Gent I mean.
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  Speaker 4: And so I'm thinking this strong man, he's a doctor,
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  Speaker 4: you know, and here he is on the end of
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  Speaker 4: racism like its leads you frustrated, and it leads you angry,
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  Speaker 4: and people walking around with hurt and anger because they've
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: been racially vilified. Look that it did to Adam Goods,
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  Speaker 4: Look at it did to Eddie Betts and these footballers.
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  Speaker 4: You know, it's a horrible thing. And so there's something there, Katie,
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  Speaker 4: There's something that I suspect there's something there. If we
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  Speaker 4: can look at it more closely, I think we're going
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  Speaker 4: to find something that will give us a bit of
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  Speaker 4: an idea about how we can address it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Charlie King, I always really appreciate you coming into
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  Speaker 1: the studio on having a chat with us. Is there
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  Speaker 1: anything else you reckon we need to be aware of.
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  Speaker 1: I know that you do a lot of work with
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: you No More campaign. You're always busy with that, but
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: no doubt you're still working hard behind the scenes on
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: plenty of other things.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: Well, we have a thing called a domestic violence action plan,
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: and I can tell you here on your probe that
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: impects that huge gas and you know, mining organization have
• 11:06
  Speaker 4: written their own domestic violence action plan and are working
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: with us to actually instill that within there. I think
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: they have nine hundred workers or something, you know. I mean,
• 11:16
  Speaker 4: they're going to do it all there. They're going to
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: put signs up around you know, where they are, you know,
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: all those sorts of things. They're keen to do it,
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: you know. And the dentists across the road here, just
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  Speaker 4: across they're going to put up a sign in their
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  Speaker 4: waiting room that says this stental practice stands against family violence.
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  Speaker 4: Say no more to fan signage. Put it up every
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  Speaker 4: weak Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I agree. We have to We've got to say no more.
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  Speaker 4: Too, and we and we have a we have a
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: proposal before council. We're waiting for the new election to
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: come and saying we want to put up a sign
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: that when you enter the top end, there's a sign
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: on the side of the road that says you are
• 11:48
  Speaker 4: entering Darwin and Palmerston, we say no to family violence,
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  Speaker 4: welcome or something, you know, something that reminds people when
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: they come to town. So lots of things happening in
• 11:58
  Speaker 4: the scenes, and you know, if you try everything, it's
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: like fishing. You throw the line in hope you catch something.
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  Speaker 1: Well. It is really important work in my opinion. Charlie King,
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  Speaker 1: I always appreciate your time. Thank you so much for
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: coming in this morning.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks Katie, thank you