Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Transport Workers Union secretary Ian Smith has welcomed greater powers granted to Transit Officers but would like to see more safeguards for bus drivers

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Transport Workers Union secretary Ian Smith has welcomed greater powers granted to Transit Officers but would like to see more safeguards for bus drivers · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: You would have heard obviously that I mentioned just a
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: short time ago that those transit offices on the Northern
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Territory buses are now going to have greater powers following
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: legislation legislative changes. These changes do aim to create a
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  Speaker 1: safer and more pleasant to experience for both travelers and
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  Speaker 1: also drivers. Now joining me on the line to tell
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  Speaker 1: us a little bit more about this from a driver's
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  Speaker 1: safety perspective, I think you'd have to say is the
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  Speaker 1: Transport Workers Union Branch Secretary for the Northern Territory, Ian Smith,
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Ian, Hi Catie Hore, you go not too bad.
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  Speaker 1: Ian. You and I spoke less than a week ago
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  Speaker 1: about some of the issues that we're seeing with anti
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  Speaker 1: social behavior on the buses, so I was interested to
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  Speaker 1: see that the Northern Territory government are today. Obviously from
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  Speaker 1: today there's going to be these changes for our transit officers. Ian,
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  Speaker 1: do you think it's going to make much of a difference, Well.
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  Speaker 2: You know there's anything that improves socom and network is
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  Speaker 2: going to make a difference. Look, we know we've got
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: a serious problem in Darwen and we and we know
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  Speaker 2: that we've been calling for more transit officers with more power.
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  Speaker 2: This is an important step to deliver that. But it's
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  Speaker 2: not just in more tsos and tsos have more power,
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  Speaker 2: while we also need is more stuff for the drivers,
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  Speaker 2: like the full driver protection screen, which we know there's
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  Speaker 2: a couple to be installed in the very near future.
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  Speaker 2: That's going to help. The education program is extremely important,
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  Speaker 2: and I know the NT government and the tsos are
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  Speaker 2: working closely with Racy Nation people. All these sort of
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  Speaker 2: things are going to help we need. You know, Dalen
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  Speaker 2: is a sophisticated city regardless of what people seek, and
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  Speaker 2: it needs a great public transport network. And now it's
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  Speaker 2: got a great network. It's just not safe at the moment.
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  Speaker 2: And these measures we hope are going to make a
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  Speaker 2: difference from only time will tell.
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  Speaker 1: So I guess from your perspective, you know, talk us through,
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  Speaker 1: talk us through what you see these changes as being,
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  Speaker 1: and you know how they will help.
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  Speaker 2: Well, well, we'll do once well tsos have a powder
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  Speaker 2: arrests and the big passengers and banded passengers on the
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  Speaker 2: off the network. Now the tsos are floating around and
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  Speaker 2: it's their job, it's not the driver's job to pick
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  Speaker 2: out band passengers and things like that. It is the
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  Speaker 2: TSO's and the police's job. They'll have this. The drivers
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  Speaker 2: will you know, the repeat defenders will know. And if
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  Speaker 2: and it probably gets to the stage you say no,
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  Speaker 2: if they're pulling up the bus stop mostee a refret
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  Speaker 2: pre defender that just won't stop. Now, that's what i'd
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  Speaker 2: the advice I'd do. And like, we don't want to
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  Speaker 2: see situations like I heard last Sunday where Jos the
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  Speaker 2: driver took the drastic act of returning the bus to
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  Speaker 2: the depot. That's just not good enough. So more tsos
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  Speaker 2: actually getting them on the buses, and you know they
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  Speaker 2: can't be on every bus, but on the particular nights
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  Speaker 2: and everything like that gets the tsos on the buses
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  Speaker 2: so that that assists. It's all going to make a difference.
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  Speaker 2: And look, we're working as hard as we can for
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  Speaker 2: the NC government and these measures are going to help.
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  Speaker 2: It's not going to be at all that be a
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  Speaker 2: w land or, but it's a step in the right direction.
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  Speaker 1: So obviously from your perspective, you know, the changes are
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  Speaker 1: a step, like you said, in the right direction. Do
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  Speaker 1: we have enough of those tsos.
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  Speaker 2: No, We've still been calling for more. I know there's
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  Speaker 2: two about the Startment of Near Future, and I look
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  Speaker 2: as with everything as they come out in the pandemic,
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  Speaker 2: you just can't get a fear so off the shelf.
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  Speaker 2: You know, these people have licenses, they take time to
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  Speaker 2: train and all those sort of things, and really see,
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  Speaker 2: the are special people. I know in March when I
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  Speaker 2: spent the evening riding around the network, the job they
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  Speaker 2: do is absolutely sensational. They are great people and they've
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  Speaker 2: got a very difficult job and you know some of them,
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  Speaker 2: you know it is it is hard work. So we're
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  Speaker 2: not thinking them off the shelf. But this is once again,
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  Speaker 2: it's anything that improves safety. We're not going to say
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  Speaker 2: bad things. It's great. So well, we just.
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  Speaker 1: Need more from your perspectives. How exactly will they be
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  Speaker 1: able to ban people like, say, for example, someone's band
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  Speaker 1: because they've been running a mark, you know, at the
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  Speaker 1: at the interchange or on a bus. Everybody knows that
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  Speaker 1: they're sort of you know that they're not doing the
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  Speaker 1: right thing. But how exactly would you ban someone like,
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  Speaker 1: how do you reckon they'd be able to police it?
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  Speaker 2: Well, that's people on the ground, that's the issue. It's
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  Speaker 2: you know, they're not he wouldn't. He would hope there's
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  Speaker 2: not hundreds of people banned. There will just be certain
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  Speaker 2: individuals that are really unwill we and if we can
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  Speaker 2: keep them off the network, maybe it's once again it's
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  Speaker 2: a bit of a consequence for the for those that
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  Speaker 2: are want to misbehave and act in the anti social
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  Speaker 2: behavior that there's a consequence that you know, if you
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  Speaker 2: don't behave, you're going to have to walk basically, and
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  Speaker 2: the TSO's job will be to a minister that not
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  Speaker 2: the drivers. The driver might identify and he can pass
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  Speaker 2: the message on. There's not the driver's job to kick
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  Speaker 2: someone off as a band driver's job will be to
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  Speaker 2: inform that their death that there's a banded passenger tempting
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  Speaker 2: getting on the bus or on the bus, and then
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  Speaker 2: the tsos and the police this job would be too
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  Speaker 2: remove the SO.
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  Speaker 1: From what I can gather, and you know, it sounds
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  Speaker 1: like they're good changes. They're they're welcome by the Transport
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  Speaker 1: Workers Union. But the big concern here is that we've
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  Speaker 1: got to actually make sure we've got enough staff to
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  Speaker 1: be able to police, you know, to be able to
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  Speaker 1: do these jobs that they now have the powers to do.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely Plus we need the full driver protection system. So
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  Speaker 2: the security screen it's a train that gives the drivers
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  Speaker 2: full protection, is maned, is so important because that will
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  Speaker 2: have the driver to do his job. Yeah, if we
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  Speaker 2: can get the driver to do his job and not
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  Speaker 2: have to worry about being hit, stab whatever, which these
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  Speaker 2: screens will do, he can get on his job. If
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  Speaker 2: he's got unruly passengers on the bus, he can contact
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  Speaker 2: the authorities and if there's enough tsos on there, we'll
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  Speaker 2: be able to get them engaged, get them on the
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  Speaker 2: bus and get them get those people off the bus.
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  Speaker 2: And I think once people start the seed as a
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  Speaker 2: consequence to their actions, certainly, certainly you would expect it
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  Speaker 2: with fear change in behavior. And that's what we really want,
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  Speaker 2: we want you know, Darwin is so sophisticated city. It's
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  Speaker 2: got a great public transport system. It's buses is all
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  Speaker 2: you have. It needs to be safe so that people
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  Speaker 2: can have the confidence to ride on it whenever it's running.
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  Speaker 2: And that's what we're aiming to do. And I'm sure
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  Speaker 2: every territorium wants.
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  Speaker 1: That, oh absolutely. And you know it's something that you
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  Speaker 1: and I have spoken about on so many occasions. Ian
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  Speaker 1: last time we spoke, you know, last week we were
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  Speaker 1: discussing the fact that there had been that terrible anti
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  Speaker 1: social behavior incident which saw a bus driver we'll do
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  Speaker 1: something quite unprecedented, and that was to turn a bus
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  Speaker 1: around and take it back to the depot based on
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  Speaker 1: that terrible behavior. Mate, how have things been going over
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  Speaker 1: the last week since we last spoke.
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  Speaker 2: Ah, Well, there's incidents to stay to day, and there's
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  Speaker 2: a couple we've had unconfirmed, but I mean they are
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  Speaker 2: it is a problem. That still is a problem. But
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: and such we're getting announcements that we've had today. So
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  Speaker 2: we're going to continue to work with the government. We're
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  Speaker 2: going to continue to work with the companies, but we
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  Speaker 2: need to see change, and change sometime takes some time.
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  Speaker 2: But the rest assured. For our member's sake, we won't
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  Speaker 2: rest until there's a proper, efficient system in place that
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  Speaker 2: enables the drivers to go to work, through their job
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  Speaker 2: properly and go home safe to their family. And then
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  Speaker 2: by doing that, hopefully then we can get on top
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  Speaker 2: of the behavior that happens on out of the indushoss
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  Speaker 2: and on the buses so that the network comes safe
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  Speaker 2: to the general public. And that's your goal, and we're
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  Speaker 2: working hard to get that. So I've got to say
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  Speaker 2: this is great, this is good news. I'd love to
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  Speaker 2: say it's great news, but it's good news. It's a
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  Speaker 2: good step in the right direction. Let's step behind the
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  Speaker 2: tsos and the general public's got a role to play.
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  Speaker 2: If they see something happening out my neck that they
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  Speaker 2: don't like, bring the ring the authorities. I learned it before,
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  Speaker 2: or the bus drivers get there, and intervention is probably
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  Speaker 2: more important than trying to wait until the actions occur
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  Speaker 2: in the intervene before it happens. With enough tsos on
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  Speaker 2: the ground and security, we're going to make the network
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  Speaker 2: safer and these incidents become very few. That's that's our own.
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  Speaker 1: And obviously not your area of expertise. But do you
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  Speaker 1: have any idea how many of those transport safety officers
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  Speaker 1: there are.
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  Speaker 2: I think there's nineteen and there's another two to come on.
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  Speaker 2: I think that's two to say, going to be twenty one. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: you know, and the problem times necessarily the real problem
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  Speaker 2: times on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sundays are they seen
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  Speaker 2: to be the problem that's when we needed the most.
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  Speaker 2: So that's what we need to work with closely. And
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  Speaker 2: the problem area is, you know, there's lots of things
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  Speaker 2: to be done upgrades and equipment, so it's easy to
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  Speaker 2: identify closer working relationships with everybody in the in the network,
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: from the drivers right through to the companies, to the
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  Speaker 2: police and the tsos. And I know the committing the
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  Speaker 2: Meat's quarterly is working very hard to address those issues.
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  Speaker 2: So we're going to keep pushing, yeah, as pushing as
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  Speaker 2: hard as we can. As I said, this is a
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  Speaker 2: good step. It's not the end of the it's not
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  Speaker 2: the be all of ENDEL, but it's a good step
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  Speaker 2: in the right direction.
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  Speaker 1: Well Ian Smith, the Transport Workers Union Secretary for the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory. I appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: much for having a chat with me.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you.