Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Member for Araluen Robyn Lambley says the government’s bail reforms for weapon crimes don’t go far enough, suggesting rocks should also be included after a trucky was injured by rocks in Alice

Transcript

Member for Araluen Robyn Lambley says the government’s bail reforms for weapon crimes don’t go far enough, suggesting rocks should also be included after a trucky was injured by rocks in Alice · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line right now is the
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  Speaker 1: Independent Member for Ara lun Robin Lambley.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to.
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  Speaker 3: You, Robin, Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Robin, we just heard from the Attorney General about
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  Speaker 1: the changes that are set to come into Parliament this morning.
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  Speaker 1: What was your reaction to yesterday's announcement.
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  Speaker 3: Well, another day, another backslip, But I guess this one's
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  Speaker 3: a good backslip. This is well over due. We've been
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  Speaker 3: calling for changes to the Bail Act for a long time.
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  Speaker 3: Over the duration of this Northern Territory Labor government, we've
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  Speaker 3: seen as softening on crime, a softening on legislation like this.
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  Speaker 3: So this is a good thing. But the most popular
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  Speaker 3: weapon of choice in a place like Alice Springs is
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  Speaker 3: the rock and this doesn't include rock. And I think
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  Speaker 3: that that's a big deficit or shortcoming of these amendments.
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  Speaker 3: Rocks caused so much damage in our town. A rock
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  Speaker 3: took out the eye of a local chap a couple
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  Speaker 3: of weeks ago. I think this is an opportunity to
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  Speaker 3: include damage caused by serious damage caused by rocks.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a point not lost on me, Robin, and
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  Speaker 1: it is something that I'd raised with the Attorney General
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  Speaker 1: a few minutes ago he said that at this point
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  Speaker 1: in time, it's going to be those prescribed weapons. You know,
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  Speaker 1: our listeners before I even got on air this morning,
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  Speaker 1: we're already messaging through to say what about rocks, what
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  Speaker 1: about star pickens, you know, what about bottles, all those
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  Speaker 1: types of things, but rocks, as you've just pointed out,
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  Speaker 1: you know, we've seen some really serious harm in Central
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  Speaker 1: Australia with rocks.
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  Speaker 3: Every day there's an incident involving rock throwing in Alice Springs.
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  Speaker 3: That's just that's just how we live, that's how we roll.
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  Speaker 3: And rocks cause serious, serious damage and they have for
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  Speaker 3: a very long time. There's been multiple incidentss of people
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  Speaker 3: being seriously by rock throwing. So this comes as no surprise.
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  Speaker 3: So it's a lost opportunity I think. I guess we
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  Speaker 3: have to be thankful for anything we get from this
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  Speaker 3: government when it comes to sensible legislation, and this is
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  Speaker 3: a piece of sensible legislation, I won't be I'll be
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  Speaker 3: supporting it without doubt that it could have gone a
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  Speaker 3: lot further.
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  Speaker 2: Now they've got this review underway.
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  Speaker 1: It's continuing as well, Robin, it's not going to be
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  Speaker 1: made public. He said that it's something that the you know,
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  Speaker 1: that the department or are going through. It's not sort
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  Speaker 1: of a line by line review that's going to be
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  Speaker 1: made public.
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  Speaker 3: You know.
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  Speaker 1: Do you accept that because I sort of think to myself,
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  Speaker 1: up until this far, they've really not been listening to
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  Speaker 1: the community and the concerns from the community. And let's
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  Speaker 1: be frank, you know, had these changes been made a
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  Speaker 1: couple of years ago, we may not be in the
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  Speaker 1: situation that we're in.
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  Speaker 3: Exactly. Look, my take on the government at the moment
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  Speaker 3: is that they are completely conflicted. They they've been trying
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  Speaker 3: to please certain groups in the community, Aboriginal welfare and
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  Speaker 3: human rights and justice groups for many, many years. They've
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  Speaker 3: taken the Royal Commission into Juvenile Justice and Child Protection
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  Speaker 3: recommendations very seriously. But what it's proven over the last
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  Speaker 3: five years is taking this really soft approach towards crime
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  Speaker 3: just doesn't work. So now you've got a government that
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  Speaker 3: is completely conflicted because all their supporters are driving the
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  Speaker 3: agenda of giving kids more opportunity and cutting them flack
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  Speaker 3: around even committing heinous and horrible and violent crimes. Now
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  Speaker 3: they're under so much pressure and so they should be
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  Speaker 3: from the vast majority of the territory public to turn
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  Speaker 3: this around. They are so conflicted because are jails areful.
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  Speaker 3: There is no capacity at all to take on more prisoners.
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  Speaker 3: We've heard over the last month or so how congested
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  Speaker 3: our prisoners are, to the extent that you've got present
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  Speaker 3: prisoners being reminded in our watchhouses in Darwin and Alice Springs.
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  Speaker 3: So they've packed to the rafters. They're going to turn
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  Speaker 3: this legislation on within days of it going through Parliament,
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  Speaker 3: where we're going to put all these people. So this
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  Speaker 3: government is under enormous pressure, completely through their own making,
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  Speaker 3: through their inaction and inability to balance the needs and
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  Speaker 3: requirements of yes, the disadvantaged, disengaged youth and people in
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  Speaker 3: our community that have had a tough life with the
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  Speaker 3: rest of us who just want to have a peaceful,
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  Speaker 3: happy existence. So you know, they've bordered on themselves because
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  Speaker 3: they have been inactive in this space. They've missed managed
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  Speaker 3: the whole thing. They've been unable to balance the needs
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  Speaker 3: and the rights of all Territorians. And here we are,
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  Speaker 3: well and the thing's going to close the door on
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  Speaker 3: a consultation process, on a reform process. They don't want
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  Speaker 3: anyone to see the mess that they are in, even
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  Speaker 3: though it's plain and clear to all of us. So yeah, yeah,
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  Speaker 3: they did, and they're in a real pickle.
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  Speaker 1: And the thing is, Robin, nobody is suggesting that we
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  Speaker 1: do not have programs to try to reform people. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: the very opposite. There needs to be those programs. There
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  Speaker 1: absolutely needs to be early intervention. But you cannot have
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  Speaker 1: a situation where people are committing serious crimes and are
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  Speaker 1: on bail and able to commit another serious crime.
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  Speaker 3: It's all about balance, and it's all about plain old
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  Speaker 3: common sense, Katie. And that's what our Attorney General lacks
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  Speaker 3: and our chief minister lack. They don't have an ability
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  Speaker 3: to see things in a balanced way. They are narrow minded,
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  Speaker 3: one eyed, and quite frankly, not smart enough to be
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  Speaker 3: in the positions that they're holding.
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  Speaker 1: Robin, can I ask how are things going in Alice Springs,
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  Speaker 1: Because we did get some information this morning from well
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  Speaker 1: out of the out of Alice Springs from the hospital
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  Speaker 1: data showing that there's been massive drops in alcohol related
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  Speaker 1: crime as well as admissions as soon as those well
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  Speaker 1: reinstated grog bands came into the town camps just a
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  Speaker 1: little while back. It shows also that those numbers went
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  Speaker 1: right up after the bands were lifted last July, so
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  Speaker 1: after stronger futures ended.
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  Speaker 2: But since these bands that you've got in.
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  Speaker 1: Place right now came into play, it shows that those
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  Speaker 1: hospital emissions admissions have gone down drastically.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, the emergency department at the Ala Springs Hospital
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  Speaker 3: has always been the barometer of time in Central Australia,
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  Speaker 3: so exactly what you describe has happened time and time again.
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  Speaker 3: Turn on the grog, they're inundated with people with alcohol
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  Speaker 3: related injuries and illness. Turn off the grog and it drops.
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  Speaker 3: That's the way it's always been in Alice Springs. So
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  Speaker 3: if you ever want to know what's going on, go
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  Speaker 3: and talk to the staff at the emergency department, who
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  Speaker 3: work incredibly hard, and I might add our acutely short
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  Speaker 3: of staff. So you know, the fact that Chancey Paik
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  Speaker 3: advocated at the end of last year and even into
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  Speaker 3: this year that alcohol restrictions on those hundreds of Aboriginal
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  Speaker 3: living areas in town camps were race based policies and
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  Speaker 3: should not exist, was just the most destructive thing I
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  Speaker 3: have ever seen happen in the Northern Territory, the single
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  Speaker 3: most destructive policy, and those people were looking at the
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  Speaker 3: emergency department at the Alice Springs Hospital can vouch for that.
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  Speaker 3: The damage, the harm, the destruction, the hurt that women
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  Speaker 3: and children suffered for those seven months the Chancey Paig
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  Speaker 3: and the Chief Minister advocated for those restrictions to be
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  Speaker 3: lifted is inexcusable. It is just beyond belief that they
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  Speaker 3: could have sat back and watched that. So, you know,
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  Speaker 3: I will never forgive them for what they did to
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  Speaker 3: those people and the people throughout the Central Australia during
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  Speaker 3: that period. It was just beyond comprehension how they could
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  Speaker 3: have justified that. And then you see them walk into
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  Speaker 3: Parliament and talk about how they care about children and
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  Speaker 3: how they're great advocates of domestic violence. They are too
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  Speaker 3: stupid to work out that what they did was probably
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  Speaker 3: the single most destructive thing to women, Aboriginal women and
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  Speaker 3: children we've seen for many, many years. So yeah, Katie,
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  Speaker 3: I could go on about distinction.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, and you're passionate about it, You're angry about it, because,
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  Speaker 1: let's be honest, things in Ellice Springs. You know, while
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  Speaker 1: the Hospital of Missions may have gone down, you're still
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  Speaker 1: facing very serious issues. We saw that on the weekend.
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  Speaker 1: We saw a number of There was bushfires. There was
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  Speaker 1: also a couple of house fires. There was also cars
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  Speaker 1: that had been lit on fire, and various other issues
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  Speaker 1: going on with crime, all the while the Attorney General
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  Speaker 1: was campaigning for the Labor Party in Sydney. It's been
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  Speaker 1: likened by our listeners to Scott Morrison being on holidays
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  Speaker 1: in Hawaii while bushfires burned.
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  Speaker 2: What did you make of it?
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  Speaker 3: The room, Well read the room. One thing that you
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  Speaker 3: don't see from our Attorney General is him taking any
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  Speaker 3: responsibility for anything. I call him the Peter Pan of
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  Speaker 3: Northern Territory politics. He flits around, no responsibility, no care,
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  Speaker 3: lots of words, but no real understanding and compassion around
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  Speaker 3: what he's acted and decisions. Mean, given what happened last
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  Speaker 3: week in the Northern Territory, no one went on leave
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  Speaker 3: over the weekend. They might have gone home, they might
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  Speaker 3: have done personal things of course around their families and
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  Speaker 3: you know, just whatever. But I don't think anyone apart
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  Speaker 3: from Chancey Peg would have considered running off and campaigning
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  Speaker 3: for the New South Wales Labor party on the weekend.
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  Speaker 3: He got caught out. I mean, Linda Burney posted that Facebook,
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  Speaker 3: that photo of him on Facebook, and he got caught
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  Speaker 3: out big time unintentionally. I don't think she probably meant
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  Speaker 3: to cause as much.
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  Speaker 2: I just wonder.
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  Speaker 1: I wonder while he was talking to Linda Bernie whether
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  Speaker 1: he'd raised any of the issues that Alice Springs was
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  Speaker 1: facing on the weekend, or whether he spoke to her
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  Speaker 1: about any of the issues that are incredibly serious that
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  Speaker 1: we're facing here in the Northern Territory right now. Because
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  Speaker 1: if not, then why the heck are you opposing with?
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  Speaker 2: Why are there?
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  Speaker 1: You know, like, we have honestly gone through such an
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  Speaker 1: incredibly tough time.
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  Speaker 2: This year, and not just this year.
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  Speaker 1: You know how many times have you and I spoken
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  Speaker 1: Robin about the issues in Alice Springs.
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  Speaker 3: Countless times. Look, don't forget Linda Bernie and the Prime
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  Speaker 3: Minister were forced to come to Alice Springs on the
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  Speaker 3: twenty fifth of January to sort out the problems made
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  Speaker 3: by Chancey Paik and the Chief Minister, So I don't
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  Speaker 3: know what their conversations would have been. Like, I'm sure
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  Speaker 3: she's found him charming and chance he is a charming,
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  Speaker 3: good sort of bloke, but as a politician, he's useless
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  Speaker 3: and he doesn't really understand the impact of his decision.
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  Speaker 3: So I hope that Linda Bernie used the opportunity to
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  Speaker 3: explain a few truths to him that he is in
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  Speaker 3: a position of significant power. He's the most underqualified Attorney
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  Speaker 3: General that Australia has ever seen. He has no qualifications
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  Speaker 3: at all to be in a position like that, nothing
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  Speaker 3: close to what would be any sort of reasonable threshold
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  Speaker 3: of qualifications, education, experience, and he's misusing his power. He's
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  Speaker 3: causing more trouble than good.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Robin Lanley, we are going to have to leave
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  Speaker 1: it there. You'll be supporting this legislation today. I know
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  Speaker 1: that you would like to see some further well weapons
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  Speaker 1: added to that list, but nonetheless you will be supporting it.
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  Speaker 1: Let's hope it makes a bit of a difference.
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  Speaker 3: Well, yes, and they've assured me that it will go
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  Speaker 3: through very very quickly, within days of passing, so that
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  Speaker 3: will be interesting. Where are they going to all these
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  Speaker 3: people that were given bail under the existing legislation, they
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  Speaker 3: will be incarcerated. Where are they going to be put?
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  Speaker 3: Good question, They're going to find the beds to put
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  Speaker 3: all these people that will no longer be eligible for mail.
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  Speaker 3: This is a mess that's getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
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  Speaker 1: Katie, Robin Lamley always appreciate your time. Thank you very
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  Speaker 1: much for having a chat with me today.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you,