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Katie Woolf spoke with Alice Springs Mayor Damien Ryan · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf. Join the conversation with Katie Wolf.
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  Speaker 1: You are our Eyes and Ears in the Territory Mixed
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  Speaker 1: one oh four point nine.
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  Speaker 2: It's just on twenty minutes after ten o'clock. Now, there
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  Speaker 2: has been so much discussion about crime, not only in
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  Speaker 2: recent months but on this show. You'd have to say
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  Speaker 2: for the last couple of years, the community has been
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  Speaker 2: screaming out for change, and on the face of it,
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  Speaker 2: it does seem as though the government has really, I
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  Speaker 2: think you'd have to say, been embarrassed into listening, you know,
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  Speaker 2: following on from that terrible vision that was on a
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  Speaker 2: Current Affair last week. Now, if you missed the police
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  Speaker 2: Minister Nicole Madison on the show earlier this morning, you
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  Speaker 2: can hear that interview in full online, but take a
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  Speaker 2: listen to a small part of that interview. This week
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  Speaker 2: in Alice, more police have had to be sent down.
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  Speaker 2: There was more horrible assaults on innocent people. Do you
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  Speaker 2: con see that you've let territorians down in this space?
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  Speaker 3: Well, this was there's I think you saw the Assistant
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  Speaker 3: commissioner stay very random event. We had four people, three
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  Speaker 3: of them adults, one of seventeen year old is what
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  Speaker 3: I understand that went and assaulted about three or four
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  Speaker 3: different groups on Saturday night. That behavior is completely unacceptable.
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  Speaker 2: Why has it taken a national disgrace for our government
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  Speaker 2: to actually have some gumption to do something here?
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  Speaker 3: Oh rubbish, Katie, there was already a whole bunch of
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  Speaker 3: work that was happening.
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  Speaker 2: Honestly, the community has been screaming out for such a
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  Speaker 2: long time. I think the community has been screaming out
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  Speaker 2: for such a long time. I just cannot understand why
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  Speaker 2: it's taken so long to change something.
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  Speaker 4: Katie.
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  Speaker 3: There has been a huge raft work over the last
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  Speaker 3: four years.
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  Speaker 2: So that is just a small expert of what the
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  Speaker 2: minister had to say this morning. Now, joining us live
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  Speaker 2: on the line is the mayor of Alice Springs, Damien Ryan.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Damien, Good morning, Katy mate. How are you
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  Speaker 2: guys feeling this morning. We know that the government's obviously
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  Speaker 2: announced a raft of changes.
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  Speaker 1: Does it go far enough?
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  Speaker 4: I think, Look, any changes that are suggested, of course,
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  Speaker 4: will be welcome by the community. But I go back
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  Speaker 4: to my call out from two weeks ago. I think
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  Speaker 4: one of the major issues is we don't have We've
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  Speaker 4: never had done a community Safety Order. Now the Chiefment
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  Speaker 4: has to blocked me on this every day last week
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  Speaker 4: in the day and press, in the papers and so forth.
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  Speaker 4: I'm worried that he's concerned something. You'll come out of it,
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  Speaker 4: I say, employee of pre eminent Territory and go out
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  Speaker 4: and do an audit of all the services in Central
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  Speaker 4: Australia so as we understand who's doing what. I'm not
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  Speaker 4: complaining against what operations are doing. I'm complaining that we
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  Speaker 4: don't know as a community what he's been done. Now
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  Speaker 4: we've got some new points raised this morning, and I
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  Speaker 4: do think your interview is correct. Where Governor has been
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  Speaker 4: embarrassed into doing is when your three local MLAs have
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  Speaker 4: been calling for this since Parliament sat in September or
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  Speaker 4: started in September last year. The different organizations in our
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  Speaker 4: queen have been calling out for it. Only last week
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  Speaker 4: one hundred Tourism operated at a general meeting. They are furious.
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  Speaker 4: They want something done, and you know we're starting to
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  Speaker 4: see something. But I'll go back to my original request.
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  Speaker 4: Please Chief Minister, let's find out what every silo is doing.
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  Speaker 4: Let's have an independent community safety order, just to pacify
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  Speaker 4: the members of our community. Who are very concerned about
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  Speaker 4: their safety. Look at the instance last Saturday night. Don't
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  Speaker 4: tell me it's okay because they were one offs. This
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  Speaker 4: is just not acceptable, Damien.
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  Speaker 2: Are these situations that are unfolding one offs?
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  Speaker 1: As the minister keeps saying.
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  Speaker 4: I don't think they should be rated on a number.
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  Speaker 4: That's why I say, what about our safety? Yeah? What
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  Speaker 4: about everybody in the community. I don't care what age,
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  Speaker 4: but there is an understanding that some people have taken
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  Speaker 4: over the town after dark, so we need to do
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  Speaker 4: something about it. We can only do that with legislation
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  Speaker 4: from the Northern Territory government. We can only do that
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  Speaker 4: if we sit down and find out exactly what all
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  Speaker 4: those parts are.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and we've got a situation now.
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  Speaker 2: We had the Lord Mayor of Darwin combat Scalis on
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  Speaker 2: the show this morning.
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  Speaker 1: We're speaking to you.
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  Speaker 2: The Mayor of Man and Greeta is in the Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory News today. As I understand it, the mayor of
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  Speaker 2: Tenant Creek has also called out, you know, for.
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  Speaker 1: Help in this space.
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  Speaker 2: We've got a real issue here and I will give
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  Speaker 2: credit where it's due. The government does seem to be
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  Speaker 2: listening now, but these changes aren't going to come into
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  Speaker 2: play that they're talking about these legislative changes until May.
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  Speaker 1: It's going to go into Parliament and.
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  Speaker 4: Without any scrutiny because of the way that Parliament's changed
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  Speaker 4: and everything else. Look, the Lord Mayor last week, you know,
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  Speaker 4: his opinion piece was quite correct and he mentions that,
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  Speaker 4: you know, some months ago the Chief Minister had the
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  Speaker 4: audascity to send a letter out and publicly say that,
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  Speaker 4: you know, the Council's responsibility. That's what the Lord Mayor's
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  Speaker 4: up in arms about. That's what the Mayor of the
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  Speaker 4: Bastery's up in arms about. Chief Minister, do your job.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, are we all just piling on here? Do
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  Speaker 1: you reckon? Damien? Could we be you know, being a
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  Speaker 1: bit more constructive about this. I know that you guys
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  Speaker 1: are trying.
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  Speaker 4: Well. I will go back to the original part. The
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  Speaker 4: Chief Minister has failed to meet with our counsel. So
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  Speaker 4: it was a comment last night in our council forums.
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  Speaker 4: He you know, through another spokesperson said last week he
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  Speaker 4: is looking to come to Alice Springs. But my counsel
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  Speaker 4: would like to sit down with the Chief Minister and
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  Speaker 4: discuss the whole last of things. Let's not hold our
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  Speaker 4: town to ransom over his location or his selection for
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  Speaker 4: the National Average and Art Gallery. Let's take into account
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  Speaker 4: we've probably missed a boat on all of the half
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  Speaker 4: priced airfares because of the story last week. This shouldn't
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  Speaker 4: have happened. I heard the Chief Minister in the last
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  Speaker 4: election round talk about being tougher on crime, and then
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  Speaker 4: that was forgotten u being reelected.
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  Speaker 1: It's such you know.
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  Speaker 2: For me, I've found the whole situation so disappointing because
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  Speaker 2: I think to myself, you know, I don't make up
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  Speaker 2: these issues with crime.
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  Speaker 1: I've said it on air over and over again.
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  Speaker 2: I have hardly been impacted by crime myself as an individual.
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  Speaker 1: But you know, in my job here on the radio station, I.
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  Speaker 2: Get called about this on numerous occasions every single day.
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  Speaker 2: The community is crying out for help, you know, and
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  Speaker 2: they've been crying out for such a long period of time.
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  Speaker 2: Now they're waiting until May obviously for this legislation to change.
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  Speaker 2: And as you've just pointed out, you know it's without
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  Speaker 2: screen Riutney as well.
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  Speaker 1: So is it going to be exactly what we need.
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  Speaker 4: In my town? Two nights ago, I get an email
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  Speaker 4: from a long term resident on the east side. Five
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  Speaker 4: people in the house wake up in the morning, a
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  Speaker 4: whole lot of things are stolen from beside their bedheads
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  Speaker 4: as well, So they go to the CCTV in the house.
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  Speaker 4: Here free youths, one standing out guard on the street,
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  Speaker 4: two of them with their faces covered in T shirts.
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  Speaker 4: Rent sapping in a house with five feeople asleep. What
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  Speaker 4: happens if somebody wakes up? Then yesterday I get a
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  Speaker 4: call from another person who's had a whole of solar
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  Speaker 4: panels just smashed. Wanton vandalism, you know this is. And
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  Speaker 4: then you've got solar panels smashed on the reptile center
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  Speaker 4: and I've heard them on radio this morning. Fact the
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  Speaker 4: twenty thousand dollars repair bill.
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  Speaker 1: It's unbelievable.
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  Speaker 2: It's actually, you know it's and it's really upsetting for
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  Speaker 2: every day Torrians who are being impacted by this. And
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  Speaker 2: we all understand it's a complex issue, but you know,
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  Speaker 2: something's got to change, and it's got to change immediately.
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  Speaker 4: I'd rather be doing the work of local government instead
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  Speaker 4: of going on about this week in week out. So
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  Speaker 4: we're going to have some new answers go to Parliament.
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  Speaker 4: No scrutiny I go back to where I started this conversation.
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  Speaker 4: Put somebody out their chief minister who can actually compile this,
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  Speaker 4: can can scrutiny, can scrutinize what the community is saying
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  Speaker 4: is happening.
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  Speaker 2: Well, a mayor of Alice Springs, Damian Ryan, we are
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  Speaker 2: going to have to leave it there. I really appreciate
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  Speaker 2: your time this morning.
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  Speaker 4: Mate.
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  Speaker 2: Just very quickly, how's that. How's the rainfall in Alice.
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  Speaker 1: At the moment.
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  Speaker 4: Fantastic, Absolutely fantastic. There's little creeks running, there's bees are
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  Speaker 4: out buzzing around flowers. It's great and it was such
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  Speaker 4: soaking rain. It wasn't destructive. Rame. We were very very lucky.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I'm pleased to hear that there's a bit of
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  Speaker 2: positive news in that space. Damian Ryan, good to speak
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  Speaker 2: with you this morning. I appreciate it.
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  Speaker 4: Thanks Katie, thank you.
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  Speaker 1: And well, I mean, there you have it.
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  Speaker 2: That's the mayor of Alice Springs, obviously talking about the
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  Speaker 2: issues that they have got in Alice. We spoke to
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  Speaker 2: the Lord Mayor of Darwin convat Scalis just a few
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  Speaker 2: moments ago. I'm just going to take a very quick
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  Speaker 2: look in the Northern Territory News right now where we
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  Speaker 2: also have Man and Greta leaders. They're pleading for a
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  Speaker 2: greater police presence in the community to overcome and out
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  Speaker 2: of control youth crime crisis. The West Arna Mayor Matthew
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  Speaker 2: Ryan has said that Man and Greta was at breaking
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  Speaker 2: point with residents now leaving town due to that crime.
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  Speaker 1: You know, look, I really.
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  Speaker 2: Want to be positive about the situation now with the
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  Speaker 2: government coming out this morning and making these changes saying
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  Speaker 2: that they're going to take these changes to Parliament and
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  Speaker 2: that it's going to go through in May.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, it cannot come soon enough.
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  Speaker 2: It cannot come soon enough that we see some change
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  Speaker 2: in this space.
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  Speaker 1: We have been banging on about it for
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  Speaker 2: Such a long period of time and you know, we
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  Speaker 2: need to see this change for the community.