Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis says money taken from city parking and put toward funding the MyDarwin scheme was money well spent, with millions in revenue raised

Transcript

Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis says money taken from city parking and put toward funding the MyDarwin scheme was money well spent, with millions in revenue raised · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And joining me in the studio right now is the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Lord Mayor of Darwin convat Scarlets.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: Good morning to Yukon.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning, and unfortunately I filled my car two days ago,
• 0:08
  Speaker 3: so I'll miss out. But I'm looking forward to the
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  Speaker 3: next six months. And as you said, the budget was
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  Speaker 3: released yesterday. See it's a pre election budget, you can,
• 0:17
  Speaker 3: but this is what happens when elections.
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  Speaker 2: Are Yeah, that's exactly right.
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  Speaker 1: Well, there seems to be quite a bit in ITAs
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  Speaker 1: for the Northern territory, but corn nothing from what I
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  Speaker 1: could see, for the Lamaru Baths proposal or the Waterfront
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  Speaker 1: Stage two.
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  Speaker 3: First of all, we haven't put any request of the
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  Speaker 3: government yet for the lamar U bads.
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  Speaker 4: Second, I don't expect anything.
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  Speaker 3: To be in the budget for the proposal for the
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  Speaker 3: Stage two of the waterfront. This most likely it would
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  Speaker 3: be a pre election commitment and I'm waiting for it
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  Speaker 3: because it's a big, iconic project and I'm pretty sure
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  Speaker 3: that the both parties will promise something about.
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  Speaker 1: All right, so you weren't surprised that it wasn't in
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  Speaker 1: the budget. You're expecting it to be a pre election sweetener.
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  Speaker 1: If it happens.
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  Speaker 3: Most likely would be because you want to get back
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  Speaker 3: for your money, you know, publicity, and what better standing
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  Speaker 3: in front of the waterfront announcing other party we're going
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  Speaker 3: to put so much money we have another waterfront.
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  Speaker 4: That's how it happens and something I've done.
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  Speaker 1: That so Corn, not yeah, you have, that's right now.
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  Speaker 1: But so no request as yet for the Lamary Bards proposals.
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  Speaker 3: Haven't put any request the government. What we want to do,
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  Speaker 3: actually we want to talk to the private sector. Myself
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  Speaker 3: and one other councilor council Parma. We want to actually
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  Speaker 3: go and talk to other people that we know that
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  Speaker 3: they've done walk here in the territory. Before we had
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  Speaker 3: already piped from the private sector expressing interest and suddenly
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  Speaker 3: first thing we're going to do talk to private sector
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  Speaker 3: and then we talked to the government.
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  Speaker 1: All right, fair enough, Corn, let's talk about the my
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  Speaker 1: Darwin vouchers.
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  Speaker 2: Have they all been used? Now?
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  Speaker 4: All gone?
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  Speaker 3: Sunday morning, it's just disappeared. Six hundred thousand dollars we spent, well,
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  Speaker 3: spent three hundred and four business in Darwen. Who benefits
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  Speaker 3: from that one? This time was the biggest spending by
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  Speaker 3: sixteen and a half thousand.
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  Speaker 4: Down people which was really good.
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  Speaker 3: Three hundred and eighty four thousand dollars was spent in retail,
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  Speaker 3: you know the things that you're going buy shoes, explose
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  Speaker 3: and everything else. And two hundred and eleven thousand dollars
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  Speaker 3: in hospitality restaurants, cafes and everything else.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, really good split.
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  Speaker 3: I'm really happy about it because this time was six
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  Speaker 3: hundred thousand dollars. That means time seven would be four
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  Speaker 3: point three million dollars in the local economy. Overall, the
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  Speaker 3: city of Darwin put one point three million dollars in
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  Speaker 3: the my down vaucher, so we generated about seven million,
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  Speaker 3: eight million dollars turnover. And when the government, if you
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  Speaker 3: had the money from the government, I reckon week ceded
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  Speaker 3: twelve million to thirteen million dollars turnover in the past
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  Speaker 3: two years. I know some people say, oh, my money.
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  Speaker 3: Actually it was actually the money you spent when you
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  Speaker 3: park in the city. We recycle this money. They're from
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  Speaker 3: the parking takings and we put back to the economy,
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  Speaker 3: attracting more people in the city and helping the lost.
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  Speaker 2: So it comes from your perspective money well spent.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, Listen, I've seen what happens in other cities. I
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  Speaker 3: met with the Lord Mayor of Sydney last week when
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  Speaker 3: I was down in Sydney. She was telling me they
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  Speaker 3: had the wars two years because nobody would go to CBD.
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  Speaker 3: All the shops in CBD closed down. If you don't
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  Speaker 3: get officers to go to the cafe to buy lunch,
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  Speaker 3: to buy food, they no operations. So they closed down
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  Speaker 3: empty shops in the middle of Sydney, which I've never
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  Speaker 3: seen before, and people are still reluctant to go back
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  Speaker 3: in Sydney. This time, Sydney was much much quieter, both
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  Speaker 3: in traffic and crowds, and I've seen it before.
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  Speaker 1: So anyway, well, so we know that that my Darwin
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  Speaker 1: vouchers now totally utilized, and it does look as though
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  Speaker 1: it's been a benefit for three hundred and four territory
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  Speaker 1: businesses or down businesses.
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  Speaker 3: Digitsign now every other city and no partners too did
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  Speaker 3: it Still alis Spring is still going. So it helped
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  Speaker 3: really our local businesses and that's the important thing.
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  Speaker 4: The local business.
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  Speaker 3: Day want that moms and dad's running, the ones that
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  Speaker 3: employ your kids, the ones you sponsor, your sporting club,
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  Speaker 3: your soccer club, your cricket club. These are the people we.
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  Speaker 1: Helped con One of the things that's has not been
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  Speaker 1: helping some of our smaller businesses is some of the
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  Speaker 1: terrible public drunkenness that we've been seeing on the streets
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  Speaker 1: and itinerant behavior that we've been seeing on the streets.
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  Speaker 1: You and I have spoken about this on numerous occasions,
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  Speaker 1: but we now know that the Chief Minister confirmed on
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  Speaker 1: the show on Monday morning, four hundred people returned home
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  Speaker 1: through the Larakie Return to Country program this month alone.
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  Speaker 1: The three months prior there really had been not too
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  Speaker 1: many heading home for various reasons, concerned about COVID, etc.
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  Speaker 1: Are you noticing a difference?
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  Speaker 3: I do as I told you before, because I came
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  Speaker 3: to your program a couple of weeks ago and I
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  Speaker 3: really had.
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  Speaker 4: A big, big spill about the situation.
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  Speaker 3: We had four thousand people in Darwin, and these four
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  Speaker 3: thousand people were living rough, slipping rough in the parks
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  Speaker 3: and this point down Mandila, bits and everywhere else.
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  Speaker 2: Do you that was four thousand That actually.
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  Speaker 3: The figure came from people that know very well come
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  Speaker 3: and they were here, and of course I had a fit,
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  Speaker 3: so I really put my foot down. I have to say,
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  Speaker 3: I walk very closely with the police behind the scenes.
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  Speaker 3: I have to say now that they've met with the
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  Speaker 3: police superintendent irresponsible for Darwin, they now established again permanently
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  Speaker 3: the Segway patrols and I saw them on Sunday in
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  Speaker 3: action that was brilliant. And also he told me he's
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  Speaker 3: got now car patrols in Darwin and he wants to
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  Speaker 3: increase it. They're doing their best and now that the
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  Speaker 3: COVID situation finished, people now they have their leaves and
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  Speaker 3: they're coming back to the police and they continue to
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  Speaker 3: deploy more people in the streets. The other positive thing
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  Speaker 3: is the goavern puts someone to return to country and
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  Speaker 3: we see a significant number of people going back to
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  Speaker 3: the communities.
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  Speaker 4: Now they were something that weren't locked out of the community.
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  Speaker 3: Let's be fair here, the common Worth imposed some restrictions.
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  Speaker 4: They were locked out.
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  Speaker 3: Now they're going back and we've seen now less people
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  Speaker 3: in the community, but still more work to be done.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, with some of those different areas, so that had
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  Speaker 1: been quite bad in terms of rubbish left behind, et cetera.
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  Speaker 1: I know that one of those was a lot Stuart Highway.
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  Speaker 1: Has there been a change now, yes, it has.
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  Speaker 3: It's been cleaned by us. After we send the bill
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  Speaker 3: to the owners. They decided you have to do something
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  Speaker 3: about it that you want to pay us all the time.
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  Speaker 4: I don't mind.
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  Speaker 3: I get paid, but I don't like the rubbish, especially
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  Speaker 3: in a place like a rabbit like Stuar Park.
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  Speaker 4: Now they fenced it.
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  Speaker 3: My understanding is very soon will be demolition and two
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  Speaker 3: new premises. One is a petrol station and another franchise
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  Speaker 3: foot premises, which I'm looking forward to it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it'll be good once it is developed. Motions for us.
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  Speaker 3: I mean there are places to put the car, yachts
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  Speaker 3: and probably ste a highway.
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  Speaker 4: The old days was.
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  Speaker 3: Good, but now they can be put something different to
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  Speaker 3: actually beautify it and bring more people in the city,
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  Speaker 3: especially if you put food premises.
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  Speaker 2: Can I ask them?
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  Speaker 1: I know that there's a few other things that are
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  Speaker 1: about to get on the way. One of those is
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  Speaker 1: another plant give away. When's that happening?
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  Speaker 3: Starting on the ninth of April, We're giving two thousand
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  Speaker 3: native trees to anybody who is a resident of Darwin.
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  Speaker 3: And you have to be a resident of Darwin. Sorry,
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  Speaker 3: people from Palmerston and Littsville. You have to go to
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  Speaker 3: your own councils. We had people turning up from parmers
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  Speaker 3: and says, can I give a plan? And we said no,
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  Speaker 3: you can't go away. So we're giving two thousand plans.
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  Speaker 2: Should we let them have one as well?
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  Speaker 1: No?
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  Speaker 3: Yes, But the thing again is our red pair space
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  Speaker 3: rates Darwin. So they're getting something for their raids. So
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  Speaker 3: we're going to give total nine thousand plans. That's on
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  Speaker 3: top of what we gave last year, and on top
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  Speaker 3: of the other trees we keep landing. And if you
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  Speaker 3: notice up in Casarina, if you go to Brownshaw Terrace
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  Speaker 3: near the new McDonald's, you find out a complete reformation
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  Speaker 3: of the whole middle Island it's taking place.
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  Speaker 4: It's going to be another beautiful garden there.
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  Speaker 2: Good stuff that is good to hear.
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  Speaker 1: Hi with these nine thousand plants, why aren't they being
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  Speaker 1: given a Why what died?
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  Speaker 2: Is that happening?
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  Speaker 3: The first one will be on the ninth of April
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  Speaker 3: at the Tilly All And if you want to know
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  Speaker 3: whether the next is just listen to Katie.
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  Speaker 4: Of the Tell.
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  Speaker 2: We'll tell you next time.
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  Speaker 1: Just lastly, I know there's quite a bit going on,
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  Speaker 1: but the rainbow crossing in this city are you going
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  Speaker 1: to be repainting it.
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  Speaker 2: What's going on with the rainbow crossing?
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, we're going to do it. That one's been a
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  Speaker 3: bit old now a bit faded. So we're actually using
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  Speaker 3: a new technique, a new way of doing it that
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  Speaker 3: will last for seven years. Being told by the peop
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  Speaker 3: they're going to apply it. It's going to cost seventeen
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  Speaker 3: thousand dollars and will last for seven to ten years.
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  Speaker 2: Seventeen grand.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's not really a lot of money, especially with
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  Speaker 3: a high traffic area.
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  Speaker 4: If it lasts for seven.
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  Speaker 1: To ten years, well, I was gonna say, given the
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  Speaker 1: fact that the longevity over it is good, that's obviously
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  Speaker 1: a good thing. It seems like a lot of money
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  Speaker 1: to paint a zebra crossing.
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  Speaker 4: What was the last time you did the zebra cver?
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  Speaker 2: So what do I know?
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  Speaker 3: It costs money if you want to put something because
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: it's not only putting the paint on the ground, it's
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: actually traffic control and everything else. So it's not just
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  Speaker 3: a paind the ground. I can go to Bannings and
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: get some pain and do it myself. Yeah, but everything
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  Speaker 3: else last, it will not last.
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  Speaker 4: But don't forget.
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  Speaker 3: We also got the Rainbow Garden at the end of
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: the Daily Street at the esplant.
• 8:58
  Speaker 4: That's going on very very well and beautiful.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: Well combat scarlets. We are going to have to leave
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  Speaker 1: it there. The Lord Mayor of Darwin always good to
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: catch up with you. Thank you for your time this morning.
• 9:06
  Speaker 4: You very welcome. Only today's today weekend.
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: I know, always good when you get to Wednesday. Good
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: on your con Thank you.