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Katie Woolf spoke with Listener Stephen Farrawell on the Karama Malak Community Safety Forum Thursday · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Karama and Malac. Well, there's going to be a community
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  Speaker 1: safety forum. And joining me on the line to talk
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  Speaker 1: more about this and exactly what we can expect is
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  Speaker 1: Stephen Farrewell, one of the organizers. Good morning Stephen, Good
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  Speaker 1: morning Katie Stephen. This is going to be a safety forum,
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  Speaker 1: is it?
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  Speaker 2: What exactly is going to be happening at the event?
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  Speaker 3: Okay, Well, what we've done, We're have invited people to
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  Speaker 3: come along and as you know, the issues around Karama
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  Speaker 3: and Malacca have received a lot of attention. People have
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  Speaker 3: had enough. The problem is that it's where to direct
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  Speaker 3: those concerns. And what we're happing to do from the
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  Speaker 3: forum is that people come and speak up and share
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  Speaker 3: their issues. And I think that's an important activity to
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  Speaker 3: do so that people can actually get up and have
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  Speaker 3: their voice. We've invited some key people from a number
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  Speaker 3: of Agent season organizations to attend, So the first part
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  Speaker 3: of the session will people will be given an opportunity
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  Speaker 3: to get up and say their bit. Then the panel
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  Speaker 3: members will have the opportunity to get up and respond
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  Speaker 3: to to what they've heard.
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  Speaker 2: Who's on the panel.
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  Speaker 3: Well, we've invited Anti Police, Department of Families, Department of housing,
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  Speaker 3: Darwine City Council, the local elected members at local and
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  Speaker 3: territory government level, some key indigenous organizations, so there's a
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  Speaker 3: bit of a cross section. But this is just the
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  Speaker 3: first set because we're still very much in our infancy
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  Speaker 3: stages and this has created a bit of a tidal
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  Speaker 3: wave and courts a bit of guard. But it's great
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  Speaker 3: that there's so much community interest. So what we're happening
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  Speaker 3: we're going to take all these issues on board and
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  Speaker 3: what we want to be able to be for people
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  Speaker 3: is establish a formal channel of communication to take those
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  Speaker 3: issues up with the relevant people and actually keep plugging
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  Speaker 3: away until we see some positive results. So it's not
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  Speaker 3: just about a forum, it's what happens between the forums.
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  Speaker 3: We're going to hold these on a six monthly basis,
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  Speaker 3: so the next one will be what we've achieved since
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  Speaker 3: the last one, what we're proposing to do, and any
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  Speaker 3: other issues that people want to bring up.
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  Speaker 1: Stephen, have you had any feedback from the police, territory, families, housing, etc.
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  Speaker 1: Are they going to attend?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, they are perfect And.
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  Speaker 1: Have you had much feedback from the community. How many
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  Speaker 1: people are you expecting to attend?
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  Speaker 3: Well over one hundred at this stage, the local community
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  Speaker 3: faces pages. We've actually had requests from will Argue residents
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  Speaker 3: to include them as well because they're experiencing the same issues.
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  Speaker 3: But these issues are pretty universal everywhere, and we just started,
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  Speaker 3: you know, the nucleus was we're just sort of doing
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  Speaker 3: something at our local level, but it's growing by the minute,
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  Speaker 3: so because everyone has the same issues, but what's about
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  Speaker 3: them is that it is the challenge. So that's what
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  Speaker 3: we're hoping to take up.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Stephen, What are some of the concerns that
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  Speaker 1: you're hearing from people that you know that live near you,
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  Speaker 1: that live in those suburbs.
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  Speaker 3: Well, it's obviously the break ins and the vandalism. There's
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  Speaker 3: kids out on the streets at night, families that need help,
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  Speaker 3: and it's pretty fairly universally recognized that most of these
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  Speaker 3: problems get back to the family unit and dysfunctional families
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  Speaker 3: probably in at least ninety percent of the cases. And
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  Speaker 3: it's not just it's not a racist thing. It's not
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  Speaker 3: about Indigenous families, it's all families. It's having the appropriate
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  Speaker 3: welfare and support systems in place to help them break
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  Speaker 3: the cycle that they're in. That's really the key underlying issue,
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  Speaker 3: which is a big challenge, and it's not you know,
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  Speaker 3: change isn't going to happen overnight, but there are obvious
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  Speaker 3: breakdowns in some of the services that are being provided.
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  Speaker 3: We want to tap these and broad and highlight them
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  Speaker 3: and work with agencies and NGOs in perhaps fixing some
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  Speaker 3: of those so that we have better systems in place
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  Speaker 3: to the people that need it.
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  Speaker 1: I know that there had been some criticism of the
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  Speaker 1: local member of the last meeting that she'd had at
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  Speaker 1: her office. Is this meeting really aimed at including more
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  Speaker 1: people who actually live in the area.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, there was a bit of that was a bit
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  Speaker 3: unfortunate that meeting. I think everyone and myself included, was
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  Speaker 3: under the impression that it wasn't open for everyone to attend.
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  Speaker 3: But the actual intension was that the local member had
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  Speaker 3: identified a few people in the community who she had
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  Speaker 3: direct contact with, and it wasn't just about expressing concern
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  Speaker 3: about the issues, that people who actually wanted to do something,
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  Speaker 3: and it was the doers that she invited to get
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  Speaker 3: together to try and work out a way forward to
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  Speaker 3: address these issues.
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  Speaker 2: So so sorry, were you Were you one of those people?
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  Speaker 3: Yes? I ye, So this forum is open for everyone
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  Speaker 3: to attend, and hopefully that those that couldn't attend the
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  Speaker 3: initial meeting will turn up at this one and share their.
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  Speaker 1: Can Yeah, I guess the big you know, the big
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  Speaker 1: concern out of any meeting like this, and I know
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  Speaker 1: I've been to a few to report on them myself
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  Speaker 1: as well, is that, you know, sometimes these meetings are
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  Speaker 1: held and the decision makers are in the room, they
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  Speaker 1: say the right things, but they're nothing really changes. How
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  Speaker 1: are you how do you foresee getting past that?
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  Speaker 3: Well, that's our challenge to establishing ourselves as a legitimate
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  Speaker 3: voice to advocate for those changes and just keep hammering
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  Speaker 3: away and say, okay, we've raised these issues, what progress
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  Speaker 3: have you made and what are you going to do?
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  Speaker 3: And just keep plugging and plugging away. I've had a
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  Speaker 3: fair amount of experience with this type of work in
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  Speaker 3: previous jobs I've had, and it does work. It's fine
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  Speaker 3: for everyone to complain, but unless actually someone sits down
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  Speaker 3: and gets the right message to the right people in
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  Speaker 3: in a proper manner, nothing will change.
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  Speaker 1: I hope you're right, Steve, and I know that there's
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  Speaker 1: lots of people in the community who will also be
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  Speaker 1: hoping that you're right. You know, even for us in here,
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  Speaker 1: we've certainly had difficulties with it at different times. We
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  Speaker 1: know the right people and know which areas to go
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  Speaker 1: to as well, but sometimes it can be really tough.
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  Speaker 1: I know that we get a lot of calls to
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  Speaker 1: the show, certainly from people in Karama and Malak who've
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  Speaker 1: got real worries about some of the events that have
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  Speaker 1: been unfolding in recent times. I wish you all the
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  Speaker 1: very best, and I hope that you get a great turnout. Now,
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  Speaker 1: for anybody listening who does live in those areas where
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  Speaker 1: is the event happening, give us a bit further details
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  Speaker 1: so they can make sure that their voices can be heard.
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  Speaker 3: Okay, the meeting is this Thursday day out tomorrow at
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  Speaker 3: kj's at the Malach Shopping Center and it starts at
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  Speaker 3: five pm, so we're having to have it roughly over
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  Speaker 3: two hours. So Thursday the seventeenth, five to seven pm
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  Speaker 3: at kj's at Malact Shopping Center.
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  Speaker 1: Awesome, Well, Stephen, we might try and catch up with
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  Speaker 1: you again on Friday and find out how it's all gone.
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  Speaker 3: Okay, that'd be great, Thank.
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  Speaker 1: You, No worries, all the best, mate, I hope you
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  Speaker 1: get a great turnout and we'll make sure that we
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  Speaker 1: make mention of it again a couple of times so
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  Speaker 1: that people are aware of exactly where they need to.
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  Speaker 2: Go and what's going on.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you so much, no worries.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you, Stephen, We appreciate your time. That's Stephen Farrelwellby
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  Speaker 1: who is one of the organizers for the Karama and
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  Speaker 1: Malac Community Safety Forum that's happening. So it is this Thursday,
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  Speaker 1: the seventeenth of December five until seven pm at kj's
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  Speaker 1: at Malac Shopping Center. It's an opportunity for you to
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  Speaker 1: voice your concerns, share your ideas, to guide a way
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  Speaker 1: forward to make our community a better place.