Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro says it’s extraordinary the NT Government is recruiting for a Director to oversee repairs at Howard Springs

Transcript

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro says it’s extraordinary the NT Government is recruiting for a Director to oversee repairs at Howard Springs · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: As I've been saying.
• 0:00
  Speaker 2: We know that Parliament is resuming this morning and the
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: CLP say that they're planning to focus on bail laws
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: and their strengthening. Now, on the week that was, we
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: heard from the Shadow Attorney General Steve Edgington. He's called
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: on Labor to back the CLP's bail laws on urgency
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: this week. He says that Labour's bail review isn't well,
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: we haven't seen the light of day, and that those
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: bail changes proposed a little more than window dressing. The
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: CLP reckons that their bail laws will see all violent
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: offenders start with a position of no bail. The opposition
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: leader Leofanocchiaro joins me on the show. Now, good morning
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: to you.
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: Leah, Good morning Katie and to your listeners Lea.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: The CLP wants to see all violent offenders start with
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: a position of no bail. How are you going to
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: make this happen? From Opposition?
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: So is baile is something we've talked about for a
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: very long time, Katie. Two years ago we tried to
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: strengthen bail here in the territory and Natasha Files and
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: Labor voted it down. Of course we saw deck and
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: Lavity lose his life. And then finally the government said
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: they were going to strength and bail, which they did
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: ever so slightly, and the community, along with the opposition,
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: believe that it doesn't go far enough. And so tomorrow
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: we intend to try and pass that legislation urgently through
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: the Parliament so that it's done and dusted tomorrow night.
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: And we require the support of Natasha Philes and her
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: government to do that. And if that happens, it means
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: any serious violent offender, that means with or without a weapon,
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: we'll start with a position of no bail.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: I mean, is it realistic though, to expect that from
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: opposition you're going to be able to make this happen.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: You've not been in.
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: A situation at all where the government's really been on
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: board with any of the different changes that you've proposed
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: in the past.
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: We have to keep fighting. Natasha Philes and her government
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: are turning their back on the community. Every time they
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: knock us down. They come into Parliament and think it's
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: a game. They can tease me and tease the CLP
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: and pretend and you know, on a show. But every
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: time they vote down legislation that is going to put
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: the lives and safety of territorians first. Is not them
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: voting against me personally, Katie. It's them turning their back
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: on Territorians who want law and order and community safety restored.
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: And we will not stop fighting just because they are
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: tone deaf and out of touch with our community. We
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: will keep putting up positive solutions that are going to
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: make the lives of our community better.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Leah, we've got questions or messages, i should say, coming
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: through this morning. Someone's message through and said the bail
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: laws will be overridden by a judge anyway.
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: No, they can't be. So the legislature or the Parliament
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: are the ones who set the laws. If we had
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: stronger laws, then we wouldn't see judges being able to
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: constantly let people off the hook. And so that's why
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: we're always fighting for tougher laws, stronger laws in parliament,
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: because we want to make sure that the judiciary is
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: delivering the sentences that people expect in the community. But ultimately,
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: the files government have weakened laws police power and we're
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: seeing total lawlessness as a result of that.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: So tomorrow that is going to You're obviously going to
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: introduce that how exactly is it going to work. I'm
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: assuming that everybody's going to have the opportunity to speak
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: on this.
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: Yeah, well, we certainly hope. So if Natasha Philes doesn't
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: shut us down, so I'll stand up right after question
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: time at three o'clock, I'll seek permission of the Parliament
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: that all stages of the bill be done and dusted
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: tomorrow night. And so that requires Natasha Philes and her
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: government to agree that we should debate the legislation in
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: full tomorrow. If she agrees, then a debate will go
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: on and it'll be put to a vote, and then
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: ultimately will be decided what happened.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: So there's actually a very real possibility here that she's
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: going to shut it down before you even get the
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: opportunity to debate this. Like you've gone through the whole
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: process of having this legislation drafted and everything, haven't you.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's exactly right. We've been through Parliamentary Council. It's
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: what we put up last time. So after Deckl and
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: Lavity passed away and the government brought in their Bow Reform,
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: which was limited to very very small list of weapons,
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: we had this legislation drafted. We tried to pass it
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: last time and they rejected us, so it's not new
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: to government. But yes, absolutely we could get to three o'clock.
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: I could try and get the support of the Parliament
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: to have the debate today, and she can simply stand
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: up and shut us down. But I can't. You know,
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: we can't stop fighting for the Communicati. If I stopped
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: doing what I'm doing because Natasha Philes wants to shut
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: us down, we'd never get anything done. We just have
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: to keep standing back up, putting forward measures that are
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: going to make people safe. And you know it's Natasha
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: Philes is going to wear the consequences if she keeps iking.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: Well, and I think it's fair enough.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: I mean, at the end of the day, you cop
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: criticism for not coming forward with solutions. So this is
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: a situation where the COLP have got a different option.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: People can make of that what they will.
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: But if you're in a situation where the government just
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: shuts it down again, it's getting increasingly frustrating for Terra
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: to Marians who want to see action and want to
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: see serious action when it comes to crime.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Leah, what else is on.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: The agenda from the colp's perspective today In Parliament when
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: it resumes.
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: So we've put forward a matter of public importance that
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: would be debated this evening, and that's around integrity and government.
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: We are increasingly seeing an integrity crisis in this government
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: when you look at the cover up of the damage
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: to the Howard Springs facility and the fact that the
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: Chief Minister continued to say it was just wear and
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: tear and try and cover up the millions of dollars
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: in extensive damage out at that facility. We then saw
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: the bungled handling of the exit of former Police Commissioner
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: Jamie Chalker, and of course the saga that ensued around that.
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: We've now got these questions around the Children's Commissioner and
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: a number of other issues where people are really questioning
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: the integrity of this government to lead the territory. Of course,
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: I don't even have to mention crime as being one
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: of the number one issue people are concerned about, and
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: yet this government continues to say that they've never invested
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: more into police, never had more consequences, which is just
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: no one is buying that, Katie, No one.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: See on the issue of Howard Springs.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: I do just want to take you across to another
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  Speaker 2: tender or another tender which has been put out by
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: the look of it, or it's actually for a job
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: I should say, not a tender for a senior administration
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: officer to renumeration package between one hundred and sixty five
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: to one hundred and seventy nine thousand dollars and it
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: is for maintenance infrastructure.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: Well, it's sorry.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: It's for the work unit of Maintenance Infrastructure, Investment and
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: Contracts based out in Palmerston. It's a full time job
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  Speaker 2: and it is well to provide high level advice to
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: executive management, government and agencies on the management of the
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: Howard Springs accommodation facility infrastructure, as well as represent the
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: agency to oversee the management and coordination of pairs, maintenance,
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: capital works and daily operation of that facility and provide
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: leadership and executive management to a multidiscipline team. Now I
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: get that obviously you need somebody to be you know,
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: to be running the show out there, but you know,
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: coordinating repairs and maintenance. I guess that you know, it
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: does go to show you that there is more going
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: on out there. I'm assuming when you look at some
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: of the damage and what needs to be managed than
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: what the government's sort of first alluded to.
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: It's extraordinary cadid that now we need a Director of Infrastructure,
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: a permanent job on one hundred and eighty thousand dollars
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: a year out there to repair and sort out the
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: infrastructure at Howard Springs. And even just last week Natasha
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: Files was still saying it was wear and tear. Of course,
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: she told Territories there was only twelve windows and one
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: domestic violence incident out there, when we know it's an
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: excess of six hundred and seventy windows. There's been a
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: tender for one hundred thousand dollars in mattresses. Her Infrastructure
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: minister said there would be five to six tradees out
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: there for three weeks assessing the damage. I mean there's
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: prisoners out there, is my understanding, trying to help sort
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: out the damage. This is just a cover up in
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: a proportion we haven't seen before, Catie.
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: And so this is why I'm assuming you've got this MPI,
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: this matter of public importance today on integrity in government LEA.
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: Really what is the aim of that? Is it just
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: about trying to have a discussion about some of the
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: concerns that community members have got when it comes to
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: the integrity in government, because I guess a lot of
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: people are wondering at this point in time as they're
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: listening what's it going to mean to the everyday territory
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  Speaker 2: in this MPI.
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  Speaker 3: So what the MPI means is that the Parliament is
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: forced to debate this, so it's not something the government
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: can gag, and it means that the independent and opposition
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: members can get on the record and put to government
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: how this behavior is unacceptable, get into the detail of
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: what is damage, what the spend is why they tried
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: to cover it up and really force the government to
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: have to respond and provide information back to the community. Now,
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: whether government do that is a matter for them, and
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: old habits die hard, Katie. They're not ones for transparency
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: and scrutiny. But that's exactly why we're doing this, because
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: we will not let this bad behavior of labor go unchecked.
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: We will continue to test and push them and make
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: sure that the voices of people in the community are
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: being heard by this government who would rather just keep
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: their earmuffs on and bury their head in the sand.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: All right, Leah.
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: One of the issues that people are really very concerned
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: with after mt Cogso made the revelation on the show
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: with Us yesterday morning, is these changes to school counselors
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: at our government schools. Now there are plans to move
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: school counselors to a regional office and it's really been
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: met with backlash from senior students as well as school counsels.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: Yesterday we spoke to Tabby Fudge from nt CONSO, but
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: we also spoke to school captains from Casuarina senior colleague
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: who articulated why this is such a concern. But we
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: also understand we're going to go from nineteen school counselors
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: down to three.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: What do you make of this situation?
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: This is a disaster, Katie, and my understanding is that
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: students will be on waiting lists for months. I mean,
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: how can you have three school counselors servicing dozens of
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: schools right across the top end, hundreds thousands of students
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: who might need support. You know, we talk about health
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: and well being, We talk about supporting kids to stay
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: in school, get through difficult periods of their life, but
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: stay engaged to the education system. And that's exactly what
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: school counselors do. They provide a technical, professional service that's
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: more than what a teacher can provide, because obviously teachers
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: are in our classrooms delivering curriculum. Counselors have a very
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: different role to play and it's not something that the
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: teachers can deal with. You know, it's really is quite specific,
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: thick and separate, and yet this government has completely turned
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: their back on them. And I think part of this, Katie,
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: has to be that they can't attract counselors to the
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: territory because people feel like it's too unsafe to live
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: here and to stick them then in the Mitchell Center
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: in Darlin. I mean, how out of touch is that?
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: What student is going to book an appointment with a
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: school counselor and come into town to have their you know,
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: their appointment which is probably months after the fact that
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: well they really need it.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: Leah, we are getting a lot of messages on this topic.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of parents that are incredibly concerned, parents
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: that do have children that have needed the support of
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: those school counselors. Yesterday we heard from the captains from
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: Casarina Senior College who really articulated so well why this
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: is a concern for students and you know, when you
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: talk about the fact then that by the sounds of it,
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: and we are going to catch up with the department
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: in a couple of minutes time, but that students would
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: then have to be making an appointment to see a
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: school counselor you know, sometimes that extra hurdle means that
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: it's something that you're not actually going to go and do.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: And exactly, we've got to make sure that our children
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: have that support.
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: I couldn't agree with you more, Katie. And what's even
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: worse is we've had the government stand up in parliament.
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: Natasha Philes has stood up in Parliament and said last
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: week school kids don't commit crimes. You know, when kids
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: are in school, they're not out committing crimes. And yet
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: here we are taking away this vital service that supports
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: kids to staying in school, connected with their educational opportunities,
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: working through those really difficult times and making sure that
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: kids come out the other side. And it's just the
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: wrong direction. I can't understand why they're going down this road.
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: And I can't understand why this has been Department of
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: Education spokespeople running this. Where is evil law? Where is
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: Natasha files? This is their policies, their failures, their cuts.
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: Why don't they put their faith to this disaster which
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: is going to impact thousands of lives of students and
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: families and teachers right across the territory.
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: Leah, a question from a listener on the prisons and
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: on the but no bail. This person says, where do
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: you put these no bail people?
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Aren't our prisons full?
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: Well, our prisons are full, yet we've got more crime
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: than ever before on our streets. And I do not
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: subscribe to the labor theory which is prisons are full
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: that means leave the bad guys out on the street.
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: I mean, we just can't do it. We have to
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: find ways around it. This government has known the prisons
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: are full for a long time. It needs alternatives. But
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: we can't just leave criminals on the street to re
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: offend and destroy people's lives because this government can't get
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: us act together and find somewhere to put them.
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: Leah Finocchio, the opposition leader, we are going to have
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: to leave it there. I'll be fascinated watching parliament as always.
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for your time.
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: Take care everyone.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: Thank you