Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro says it’s frustrating and disappointing the Labor government blocked debate on its bail bill pushing for a position of no bail for weapon offences

Transcript

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro says it’s frustrating and disappointing the Labor government blocked debate on its bail bill pushing for a position of no bail for weapon offences · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And as we know, Parliament's still sitting in the Northern
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Territory today and if you are hoping for changes to
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: the baril laws in parliament yesterday, well you'll be feeling
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: a bit let down this morning. The CLP's attempt to
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: bring these new bar laws to Parliament on urgency was
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: shut down by Labour's majority. As you've just heard then
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: from the Minister for Small Business and also Veterans' Affairs,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Paul Kirby, he said that there is a specific process
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: where that bill has to be introduced if it is
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: going to be on urgency. Well I don't know exactly
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: what the process is, but according to him, the COLP
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: didn't get it right. And joining me on the line
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: right now is the Opposition leader Leah Fanocchiaro.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Leah, Good morning Katie in to
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: your listeners.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Leah, did you get it wrong yesterday?
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: Oh Katie, this is just so frustrating and disappointing. This
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: is a government trying to cover up its tracks and
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: muddy the waters. The CLP did not get anything wrong
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: in parliament yesterday. It is perfect, straightforward what we did.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: It is within the rules of the Parliament. It is
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: process that the government itself like to use when it
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: wants to get something through quickly. And so this is
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: all just a great exercise in distraction. It's disingenuous and
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: it's not true. If they don't want to have bail reform,
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: they'd be big enough to come out and say no,
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: we don't want it go away. But to pretend like
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: we got it wrong is just a cover up.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: I mean, they're saying that you got it wrong with
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: the fuel legislation that you talked about a while back
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: as well, and you did the same thing yesterday. Have
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: you got the I mean, have you got the process
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: wrong here? Shouldn't you have done a different way?
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: This is a tactic, This is this is a deliberate tactic.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Yesterday in Parliament was a disgrace. You should have seen it.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: They shut me down within forty seven seconds of speaking, Katie,
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: forty seven seconds, and then while we were having the
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: vote on that decision to shut me down, they were
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: all jeering and carrying on about how we've gotten it
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: wrong and you couldn't even do that. It's just not true.
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: That is absolutely the process. This is a government that
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: doesn't stand by its convictions any day of the Week, Katie.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: It could bring in legislation to make our community safer
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: and it doesn't. The colp are the ones trying to
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: push forward with reform that meets community expectation and delivers
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: consequences for offenders. And this government is so focused on
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: playing silly political games to try and tease me or
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: make it look like I don't know what I'm doing.
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: But Territorians know very well that it is labor who
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: have no idea what they're doing and are totally out
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: of touch.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: Look, it's certainly not lost on me that what you
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: are pushing for does seem to be something that members
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: of the community are also pushing for. But I guess
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: some might be questioning this morning, based on what the
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: government is saying, that you made a wrong step by
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: not allowing the government to see a copy of that
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: legislation or to have a briefing. Do you think that
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: would have made any difference?
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: Absolutely not, Katie. And again this is a government full
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: of excuses, all talk, no action. What we were trying
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: to pass yesterday was exactly the same as the amendment
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: we tried to pass last sittings, so they have seen it.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: It doesn't require a briefing because it is so unbelievably simple.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: It's less than one page. It just means that anyone
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: who is a serious violent offender has a presumption against bail.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: It means they start with a position of nobao. There
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: is nothing to brief Katie. It is just that simple.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: This is a government that has an entire department legal
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: team that it could ask if it needed an explanation.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: It's something we debated last sittings and tried to pass
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: last sittings again. This is a government desperate to cover up,
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: to throw mud and distract and try and talk down
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: the colp and what we're trying to do. But territories
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: see through this charade least it is not true.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Why do you think that this legislation is so important?
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: Because I think that people are probably going to be
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: feeling a bit confused this morning, thinking to themselves, we'll
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: hang on. We've got the government saying that they've got
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: this body of work that they are working on right
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: now into bail reform. You know, they are saying that
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: they've made changes to the presumption of bail when it
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: comes to weapons. But then you are saying it doesn't
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: go far enough. Why do you think that this legislation
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: is so important.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: It's so important because it's the start of fixing the
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: imbalance of people's rights. What we have at the moment
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: is a lawless society where the rights of the offender
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: is above the rights of people to be safe. And
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: by amending bowl legislation, it means when people do the
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: wrong thing, they should be facing court on the back foot.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: And that's exactly what the seal people leave in. But
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: what is happening right now is that people are getting
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: to the court to have that discussion around whether they're bailed,
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: and they're on the front foot. Why should people who've
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: done the wrong thing have that leg up in life?
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: That is just not okay. So by amending bail for
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: any serious violent offender, it means it doesn't matter if
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: you have a specific type of weapon like a nigh
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: for whatever government believe is a weapon. If you have
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: a rock, if you use your fist, if you use
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: a car, if you pick up a pole, if you
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: kick someone in the head, these are all things that
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: should be captured to send a message to people doing
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: the wrong thing that we will not be giving you
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: endless liberty, that we will be making sure the rights
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: of people to be safe comes first, and that's why
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: this is so important, Leah.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: I know you are pressed for time this morning, but
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: a couple of things I still want to ask. The
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: government was really hammering you yesterday in Parliament. They were
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: saying that you're a one trick pony and all you
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: talk about is crime. You want to talk tough on crime,
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: and you're not prepared to listen to the experts. They
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: again said that you're talking the territory down.
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: Is that the case again? This is a government who
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: is unable to listen to the community. We have had
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: three rallies on the steps of Parliament House where thousands
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: and thousands of territories are calling for change and action.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: Three and a half thousand people gathered in Alice Springs
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: to do the same thing. This is a government who
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: spends all of its time talking about me and talking
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: about the CLP. Katie. Literally in question time the day
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: before yesterday, they asked each other questions. I heard it
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: about the CELP. No, I heard it extraordinary, wild. I've
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: never seen that before.
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I thought it was very bizarre, don't worry. I
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: was watching and did think it was quite bizarre. I
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: also watched you know what it unfolded yesterday as you
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: tried to obviously push that will attempt to bring in
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: those new bail laws. So I am seeing it and
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: I know that a lot of our listeners are listening
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: to it as well. I think that a lot of
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: people are more politically astute and more switched on than
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: what the government's giving them credit for at this point.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: But I want to ask, we know that Yinya Guayula also,
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: as I understand it, moved emotion yesterday that the Assembly
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: refers to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee for inquiry
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: and report back to the Assembly by May next year
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: a process to review bills introduced into the Assembly for
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: their impact on First Nations territories. Lea, is this like
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: a second voice to Parliament or a voice to Parliament
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: from the northern territory level, and then we're going to
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: have a second voice to Parliament on the federal level.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: I don't think Yuinia sees it that way, but I
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: don't want to verbal him. I haven't had a discussion
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: with him, so I won't comment on that. But it
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: is important and members of Parliament are able to put
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: forward whatever it is they believe in, and we fundamentally
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: will always support that. So the fact that it's been
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: referred to a committee of the Parliament to explore is
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: just a fundamental part of democracy. So we do support that.
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: We will actively and properly and professionally take part in
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: that committee process, and depending on where it goes and
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: what the outcome is, will either support the recommendations made
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: by the committee or will prepare a dissenting report. But
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: we will participate in good faith because that's what democracy
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: is about.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: If it's very true, it is what democracy is about. Well,
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: Lea Finocchio, we'll see if we can get on to
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: Yna Gayula at some point next week. I reckon to
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: have a chat to him about exactly what it is
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: all about. We appreciate your time this morning, and no
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: doubt be another interesting day in parliament.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: Yes, well I hope it's better than yesterday. But if
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: this government keep talking about the COLP, well we're only
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: talking about territorians, I think people we'll see right through
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: what this game is all about.
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: Thank you for your time this morning, Lea