Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Tourism Central Australia Chair Karl Bajzik says he was punched twice while trying to help a woman at a local supermarket

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Tourism Central Australia Chair Karl Bajzik says he was punched twice while trying to help a woman at a local supermarket · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now, yesterday I had unfortunately started to hear this well,
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: a territory business person had been punched while at Cole's
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: supermarket in Alice Springs. Now joining me on the line
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  Speaker 1: to tell us a little bit more about what exactly
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: unfolded is Carl b Isaac, who is indeed Tourism Central
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  Speaker 1: Australia's chair and also business owner in Central Australia. Good
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  Speaker 1: morning to you, Carl, Hi Katie, how are you not
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: too bad?
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  Speaker 2: Carl?
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  Speaker 1: You and I spoke about this time a week ago
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  Speaker 1: about the various issues that are being experienced in Alice Springs,
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  Speaker 1: and unfortunately things have taken a turn for the worse
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  Speaker 1: for you personally. Tell me what happened yesterday morning.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, look, first of all, let's say personally, it's
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  Speaker 2: certainly the first time I've been physically assaulted. But in
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  Speaker 2: saying that this is yet another crime statistic in centralist Ralia,
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  Speaker 2: I certainly appreciate the media attention that I've received, but
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  Speaker 2: I do also appreciate that this is an everyday occurrence
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  Speaker 2: for visitors and residents and business owners here. I am
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: getting some attention, obviously, but that's very much to do
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  Speaker 2: with my high profile as a chair of TCA. But
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  Speaker 2: regardless of that, I appreciate all the well wishes. What
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: happened yesterday morning my general morning routine, I pull uped Coals,
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: get some supplies for my business for the day, milk
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  Speaker 2: and bread essentially. As I pulled into the car park
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: get the cold complex in Alice Springs, I know, just
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  Speaker 2: two young coal employees being having breakfast just before their
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  Speaker 2: shifts or on break approached by a very tall man.
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  Speaker 2: I could clearly see they were stepping back and weren't
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  Speaker 2: comfortable with the situation. I got out of my car.
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  Speaker 2: As I was doing so, customer, an old lady had
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  Speaker 2: just come out of Cole's and had approached the man.
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  Speaker 2: He then turned to her and started invading her space.
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  Speaker 2: She was clearly concerned. I started walking over to the situation,
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  Speaker 2: and she actually at that point beckoned for me to
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  Speaker 2: come and offer some assistance. So I approached the situation. Now,
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  Speaker 2: let me make it clear, in my entire life, i've
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  Speaker 2: threaten I am six foot eight, that's two meters tall.
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  Speaker 2: I generally do not feel and at that point I
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  Speaker 2: did not feel like I was putting myself in a situation.
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  Speaker 2: I'm fairly good at calming situations down and just having
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  Speaker 2: a circuit breaker. So I approached the man, ask him
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  Speaker 2: if these bluddies don't want him that obviously a bit scared,
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  Speaker 2: you just need to leave them alone. And suddenly, before
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  Speaker 2: I knew that my sonnies were knocked off my head,
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  Speaker 2: saw some stars, dropped my phone and I just been hit,
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  Speaker 2: punched in the side of the head by this individual.
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  Speaker 2: I wouldn't say I had provoked the situation at all.
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  Speaker 2: I gathered my foot thoughts. He went around a corner.
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  Speaker 2: I assumed that he was fleeing the scene. I walked
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: around the corner. He was there waiting again. He hit
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  Speaker 2: there again, very hard on the forehead, and then he
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  Speaker 2: made his escape.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: So, oh my goodness.
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: Yep. Yeah, But as let me emphasize, this happens to
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  Speaker 2: people every day in Ellice Springs. We hear the statistics.
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  Speaker 2: This is now my personal experience. So this is where
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  Speaker 2: the town is and remains to be.
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  Speaker 1: Carl, Are you okay?
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  Speaker 2: Oh look, I'm rattled. I think anybody in those situations
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  Speaker 2: certainly gets shaken up physically. Look, I've got a bit
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: of whiplash of a nice bigger bruised left ear. But
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  Speaker 2: Apart from that, I'm physically okay. But in saying that,
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  Speaker 2: as I said, thing the height I am, I don't
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  Speaker 2: generally feel intimidator. I don't assess a situation where, you know,
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  Speaker 2: jumping out at nine am to use an ATM. It's
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  Speaker 2: just I guess they refer to it as male people.
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  Speaker 2: It just doesn't come into my thinking. But then later
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  Speaker 2: on that evening I went to my local idea on
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  Speaker 2: East Side and there was about twenty very intoxicated people
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  Speaker 2: gathered out there. For the first time in my life,
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  Speaker 2: I actually assessed the situation thought is it worthwhile going
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  Speaker 2: for one ear of I did, But this has now
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  Speaker 2: changed my thinking of my movements and crowd situations.
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  Speaker 1: And Karlov, no doubt that you know, as you've pointed out,
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  Speaker 1: you obviously don't usually feel threatened or you know, you
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  Speaker 1: don't usually worry about that kind of thing too much.
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  Speaker 1: But it's something that's becoming a very regular occurrence in
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  Speaker 1: our springs.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and the situation is becoming more dire I think.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, this happened, This was not a late night
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  Speaker 2: incident by any measure, with eight o'clock in the morning,
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  Speaker 2: so it's just building on the general pattern of behavior
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  Speaker 2: in our springs where chrime and a social behavior is
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  Speaker 2: happening at every point, in every situation, every location in
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  Speaker 2: our springs.
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  Speaker 1: Carl, can I ask you? Know you and I were
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  Speaker 1: talking about this very you know, this very situation last week.
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  Speaker 1: You know you had said to me, and I remember
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  Speaker 1: it very distinctly, that what you're concerned about is that
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  Speaker 1: there were situations where tourists were being spat on. There
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  Speaker 1: had been a woman who had been assaulted in the
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  Speaker 1: Visitor and Information Center, various other incidents, break ins. You know,
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  Speaker 1: you and I spoke about that last week. Now to
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  Speaker 1: hear of what's going on yesterday, and I know that
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  Speaker 1: you've certainly said that, you know, this is the type
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  Speaker 1: of thing that other people have dealt with before. But mate,
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  Speaker 1: how like, how are you sort of feeling today in
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  Speaker 1: the aftermath when you think about what's going on?
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  Speaker 2: Well, look at the assessing the situation obviously, but my
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  Speaker 2: job as the chair of TEXCA is to continue to
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  Speaker 2: ask government and now demand of government a satisfactory and
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  Speaker 2: reasonable response to the situation. It's just galvanized that I've
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  Speaker 2: got an important job to do. The members are screaming
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  Speaker 2: out the residents are screaming out, the tourists are screaming out.
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  Speaker 2: We need the town to have control and at our
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  Speaker 2: currenturrent situation, there's no control in our springs the town.
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  Speaker 2: The government needs to take control of the town. We've
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  Speaker 2: had Daniel Radcliff, the CEO of Tourism Central Israelia, and
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  Speaker 2: I have had and will continue to have meetings. Our
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  Speaker 2: message is still the same. The government does not have
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  Speaker 2: control of the streets of our springs. Now those incidents
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  Speaker 2: you decide from our last conversation that was the week
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  Speaker 2: leading up to that interview in that space. Okay, another business,
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  Speaker 2: Ripcurl in Todd Street Mall is closing their doors. That's
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  Speaker 2: the third business in two weeks I have been informed
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  Speaker 2: who are closing their doors due to this behavior. There
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  Speaker 2: was a severe assault by fourteen or fifteen News on
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  Speaker 2: an individual in Concrete Mall on Saturday night, requiring hospitalizer.
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  Speaker 2: So again we're having the conversations, but we're not seeing
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  Speaker 2: that the action that is required. We keep on pointing
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  Speaker 2: it out. Now all this governments has prooved that it
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  Speaker 2: can respond respond to crisis. They demonstrate that with COVID
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  Speaker 2: they made decisions that were in the public best interest. Yes,
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  Speaker 2: they weren't decisions that were popular across the board by
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  Speaker 2: any measure, but the decisions were made in the best
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  Speaker 2: overall interests. We need this government to start making such
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  Speaker 2: decisions when it comes to crime and safety in our springs,
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  Speaker 2: in the Berkley and in Darwin carl On.
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  Speaker 1: The assault, have you reported it to police and has
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  Speaker 1: there been you know, are you aware of where that
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  Speaker 1: offender is at at this point in time?
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  Speaker 2: No, No, of the police came and interviewed me. I
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  Speaker 2: made the report. There are a number of witnesses. Obviously
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: they followed up, they were intacted. At this point, I've
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: heard nothing back whether the individual has been apprehended. So yes,
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  Speaker 2: I'm still waiting to see what results happened.
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  Speaker 1: Honestly, Like when you think about what has happened to
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  Speaker 1: you yesterday morning, eight o'clock in the morning, you know,
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  Speaker 1: for you to be punched in the face, let's call
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  Speaker 1: it like it is king hit you know, in the
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  Speaker 1: face while you're they're trying to just go and check
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  Speaker 1: that you know that these two employees and that the
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  Speaker 1: older woman were okay. It's disgusting like that is absolutely
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  Speaker 1: disgusting behavior. And I know that you are certainly at
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  Speaker 1: pains to say that you're not alone in having to
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  Speaker 1: deal with that. But it's unacceptable that you've had to
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  Speaker 1: go through that. It's totally unacceptable that anybody has to
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  Speaker 1: go through that. But when you think of that happening
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  Speaker 1: in broad daylight at eight o'clock in the morning.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, but that's where we are, Katie. Unfortunately, that is
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  Speaker 2: asolutely where we are. It's crisis time in our springs
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  Speaker 2: and the Barkley. It's essentially a war zone.
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  Speaker 1: Carl, I don't even know what to say. I feel
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  Speaker 1: really sorry for you that you've gone through that. I
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  Speaker 1: feel really, you know, devastated the situations like that are
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  Speaker 1: unfolding in Olice Springs and I just don't know what
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  Speaker 1: else I can say, what else you can say, what
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  Speaker 1: else anybody in the community can say at this point
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  Speaker 1: to get the government to listen.
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  Speaker 2: And that's exactly the point it's being said. It's being
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  Speaker 2: said louder and stronger. But we need action by government
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  Speaker 2: that there's no and again we work with government every opportunity,
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  Speaker 2: every measure they employed we have supported. But we need
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  Speaker 2: a circuit bake breaker, we need a task force on
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  Speaker 2: the ground. We need police offer is now. I have
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  Speaker 2: quite a number of members who operate out of Todd
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  Speaker 2: Street Mall, although they are diminishing as we speak. You know,
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  Speaker 2: we put to the Police Minister in our meeting a
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  Speaker 2: few weeks ago we need more full controls physically police
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  Speaker 2: on the beach and this has been proven to be
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  Speaker 2: highly successful in New York and London where that police presence,
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  Speaker 2: physical police presence have turned crime areas right around now.
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  Speaker 2: Our response now, my feedback from members on the all,
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  Speaker 2: my eyes and ears in the All have said they
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  Speaker 2: have noticed no increased police presence. We now have the
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  Speaker 2: mobile police unit. There are van but to date I
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  Speaker 2: have yet to see a staff. It's just parked there. Well,
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  Speaker 2: it might be a presence, but actually it won't make
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  Speaker 2: a difference until we actually get the officers on the
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  Speaker 2: ground and walking the beach day and night. Kyl.
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  Speaker 1: If the government doesn't respond and doesn't respond quickly, what
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  Speaker 1: do you fear is going to happen in Alice Springs? Well,
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  Speaker 1: what my.
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  Speaker 2: Fear in Alice? Essentially where we're heading. Alice Springs is
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  Speaker 2: and has always been essentially a service town and tourism
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  Speaker 2: has been secondary to that. But a vital part of
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  Speaker 2: our economy. We will lose our industry. Okay. People are
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  Speaker 2: already bypassing getting their supplies, they're getting mechanical airs, they're
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  Speaker 2: heading out of town. The rate we're going, Alice Springs
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  Speaker 2: will be nothing other than a service center for police,
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  Speaker 2: teachers and medical staff, maybe service stations for people passing
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  Speaker 2: through the town is in crisis. The industry is in crisis,
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  Speaker 2: and the people and visitors to our spring deserve better
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  Speaker 2: and demand better.
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  Speaker 1: Carl Winn, are your next you to catch up with
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  Speaker 1: the police minister or are you due to have a
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  Speaker 1: meeting with the police minister at this point in time
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  Speaker 1: as anyone from government reached out.
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  Speaker 2: To you, and not since my incident. But I do
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  Speaker 2: acknowledge and thanks the members for breitling. Josh Berger and
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  Speaker 2: he popped by yesterday just see how I was going.
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  Speaker 2: I've got nothing in line with the Police Minister. I've
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  Speaker 2: got a number of engagements. I'll be up in Darwen
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  Speaker 2: next week. I did say the Minister will make time
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  Speaker 2: to sit with us again. I've got the opposition leaders
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  Speaker 2: for a meeting and I have just received an invitation
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  Speaker 2: to meet with the Chief Minister's person in our Springs.
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  Speaker 2: So again we will meet, we will talk, our argument
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  Speaker 2: remains the same, and we'll see what the outcomes. A
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: conversations are necessary, but there is a time when we
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  Speaker 2: need to see the action.
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  Speaker 1: Carl, your spot on, honestly, your spot on with what
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  Speaker 1: you're saying, and I think that they need to listen.
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  Speaker 1: The community is screaming out, not just in Elie Springs,
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  Speaker 1: they're screaming out up here as well. And at this
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  Speaker 1: point in time, we're getting more and more of the
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  Speaker 1: same answers each and every day. That has to change.
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  Speaker 1: There's got to be some action in this space, Carl,
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  Speaker 1: I really for sure. Yeah, mate, I really appreciate your
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  Speaker 1: time this morning and for you having a chat with us.
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  Speaker 2: Again.
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  Speaker 1: I feel really bad for what you've gone through, and
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  Speaker 1: I know that you've pointed out that others in the
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: community have gone through the same, but it just shouldn't
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  Speaker 1: be happening.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, And look, it's about we keep our focus and
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: it's getting the word out through your station and various
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: other means. We will keep on and our mantra remains
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: the same, make our town safe again for everybody, for
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: absolutely everybody.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: Carl Bazac, the chair of Tourism Central Australia. Thank you
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: for your time.
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you