Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT Police Association President Paul McCue says a quarter of the police force responded to the its latest satisfaction survey in 24 hours, expressing their frustrations

Transcript

NT Police Association President Paul McCue says a quarter of the police force responded to the its latest satisfaction survey in 24 hours, expressing their frustrations · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: A lot of different reactions to the government's announcement on
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Monday about alcohol restrictions across the Northern Territory and the
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: three hundred million dollars which is set to be invested
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: on various programs in.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: The Red Center.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: That is the two point fifty that was announced earlier
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: in the week and an additional forty eight million dollars
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: which had been announced last year. Now joining me on
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: the show is the Police Association President Paul McHugh.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you.
• 0:25
  Speaker 3: Paul, Good morning Katie.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Paul.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: What was your.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Reaction to the announcement earlier in the week when the
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory government sort of finally came forward and said
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: that as of Tuesday next week they're going to be
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: introducing that legislation to Parliament and there will be blanket
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: bans on alcohol again. Yeah.
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: Obviously we've been calling for these types of restrictions to
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: return up, certainly on the back of the statistics that
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: blew out in the latter part of last year, and
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: certainly the feedback from our members is the cessation of
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: that Stronger Futures legislation led to an enormous amount or
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: volumes of alcohol in our community. So certainly we welcome
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: the announcement around the return of those restrictions. Obviously that
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: legislation going through Parliament, hopefully in the coming sittings, and
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: then we'll see what that looks like. But certainly the
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: feedback from our members is they're pleas without announcement, albeit
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: albeit it took a long time to get there.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: Those statistics, you know, they were shocking what you see
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: in the Darrell Anderson report. I'm sure that you've had
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: a look through it, Paul, and I'm sure that probably
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: a lot of those stats to the Northern Territories police
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: officers are unsurprising.
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: No, they're not. And of course the impact of some
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: of those statistics, I mean they're enormous figures when you
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: talk about you know, in the twelve months to the
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: end of last year, nearly twenty three percent of the
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: population of our springs had been subjected to an assault,
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: in an alcohol related assault, domestic violence or sexual assault.
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: I mean, they are huge numbers, nearly six thousand people
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: subject of a crime, and of course the flow on
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: of that is the impact of policing and other frontline services.
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: But our members have, you know, the workload for them
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: has just simply went through the roof lash year to
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: unsustainable levels. So terrible statistics and no doubt the catalyst
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: for some change now, Paul.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: From what you are being told by officers on the
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: ground when it comes now to resourcing, because you know,
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: obviously you and I spoke last week as well about
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: the resourcing in Central Australia. There is that additional surge
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: of police there, the Chief Ministers making it very clear
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: she wants that surge to stay in the Red Center.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: But what do you think that's going to mean for
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: the rest of the Northern Territory.
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: Well, without recruiting the additional people, of course, it leave
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: shortfalls in other key areas, and of course we know
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: our Springs has been the focus, but we know, you know,
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: there's certainly other areas within the territory that flare up
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: from time to time, and there's also just the standard
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: requirements to service the community of the Northern Territory, both
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: Darwin and other regional remote areas. You know, without recruiting
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: those additional numbers to cover off on that statement from
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: the Chief Minister that those people, those additional members will remain,
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: you are essentially robbing paid to pay Paul, and it's
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: not sustainable. And I think the other thing, Katie, through
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: these announcements, through the two hundred and fifty million that
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: was announced, very little in there for policing from what
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: we can see, and of course the forteen the four
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: aene point two million that was announced earlier. We talks
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: about how visibility police and law enforcement operations, but we
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: don't really know what that actually means. They also talk
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: about liqual licensing compliance inspectors. Now we don't even know
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: how many of those you know, there are out there
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: alone what that means for policing, So very little money
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: for police by the look of it.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that was going to be my next question because
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: obviously we'd seen that there has been this major funding
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: announcement two hundred and fifty million dollars announced earlier in
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: the week, on top of funding which had already been
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: promised to Central Australia.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: So Paul, has any of that been earmarked.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: For additional police or for resourcing for the Northern Territory
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: police from what you can gather.
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: No, No, nothing at all as far as we can gather.
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: I think it's purely to keep those numbers down there
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: in Alice Springs. We understand through till somewhere in April
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: to get through that busy summer period, and of course
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: that comes at a cost, so no doubt there'll be
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: some money channeled into that resource requirement. But of course
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: when you're looking longer term and you're looking at if
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: we need forty extra police there for that many months
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: of the year, well clearly we're under strength there and
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: that investment has to come through the NT government in
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: the upcoming budget. I mean, you can't expect police to
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: live away from their families for three or four months
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: of the year down there in Alice when simply they
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: just need to recruit more police. It's quite as simple
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: as that.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: Paul. Let's talk about that budget because we know that
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: the last time you and I spoke was around this time,
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: actually last week, and at the time the Northern Territory
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: Police Minister had been photographed holding a budget paper for consideration,
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: is what she'd said. I don't think you'd seen that
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: fight at that point in time. I'm assuming that you
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: have since then. Have you had discussions with the police
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: minister since then? And is the police force looking like
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: it's going to get a budget cut?
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: Look, I have spoken with the Minister. Obviously, you know
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: she advises that obviously they review documents from various departments
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: from time to time. That one sent shivers through the
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: spines of our members. I can tell you when you're
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: talking about reducing frontline services when they are already you know,
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: bare bones as we speak. You know, we're struggling to
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: fill the numbers now. So but we are assured that
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: that did not proceed. We are assured there'll be no
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: no cuts in the coming year or two. But of course,
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: with the pressure on the budget, you know, we never
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: know what's around the corner. But certainly our understanding is
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: there will not be cuts to the front line.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: Paul, I know that the Northern Territory Police Association. I've
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: actually obtained a copy of a survey that is currently
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: being conducted by the association.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: Now my understanding is that it is in.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: Relation to the wage freeze or the pay for our
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory police.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: There's five questions in there.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: One of them do you believe there are enough police
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: to do what is being asked of you? The next
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: one is how do you rate the current morale? The
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: third one how do you feel or do you feel
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: supported by the Northern Territory government in your role as
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory Police Officer? The fourth, do you support
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: a work to rule approach in support of our campaign
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: for a new consent agreement? And the fifth have you
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: considered an exit strategy from the Northern Territory Police Force
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: at any time in the last six to twelve months now?
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: I'm assuming that this has gone out to all of
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: the Association members, is that correct?
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's right, Katie. That was distributed yesterday. And know,
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: certainly on the back of those two reasons essentially for
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: pushing out that survey, and one we did undertake a
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: survey last year as you know, and a couple of
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: those questions you've just mentioned appear from that survey last year,
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: so it's important to get on the back of that
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: increased workload, on the back of some of the comments
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: made recently in the public. You know, we have a
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: lot of feedback on those issues and it's important to
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: get up to day data on those statistics. And then
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: the other ones, of course relate to the frustration our
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: members are feeling and the feeling of lack of support
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: from government when they haven't come to the table with
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: a pay deal yet that we find satisfactory for the
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: work that they've done on behalf of the government the
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: community in the last few years. So they're frustrated. And
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: quite clearly, we've had nelly quarter of the entire police
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: force respond to that survey in less than twenty four hours.
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: And yet we've had well over four hundred responses to
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: that survey and we only pushed it out a midday yesterday,
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: So more.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: Than four hundred sponsors in that period of time.
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think we're three hundred in the first three hours.
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: So you can sense the frustration of our membership. And
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: whilst I won't go into specific results to ship because
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: obviously the survey is still open, certainly the trends are
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: damning and you know the government will need to listen
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: to some of the results of this survey because our
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: members are fed up with waiting.
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: Goodness, mate, So well over four hundred responses in that
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: period of time, Paul, are you getting a bit of
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: a feel for how police officers are feeling very frustrated.
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: I mean they have been waiting patiently, we're negotiations for
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: over twelve months. They haven't had a pay rise for
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: eighteen months, all at a time when they continually turn
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: up to work under resourced, they do whatever they need
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: to do on behalf of the government. They pack up
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: stumps at short notice, move to Alice Springs, they are
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: deployed across the entire territory and yet there's no recognition
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: in a payoffer yet that warrants that extra workload. And
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: I mean they are frustrated. The senses that they are
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: frustrated and they are ready to take action.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: Paul. One of the things that is asked in that
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: survey that I do you may not be prepared to
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: give me any further involve at this point, but one
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: of those questions is has you have you considered an
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: exit strategy from the Northern Territory Police Force at any
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: time in the last six to twelve months. Do you
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: look are you able to tell us whether there has
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: been much feedback from that question as to whether.
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: People are.
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: I think you know certainly your feedback even before the surveys,
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: there are a lot of people that have been considering
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: their options around their career with the NT Police and
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: I think you look at the attrition rate that has
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: been sitting over ten percent for the last two or
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: three years, certainly one of the highest in the country.
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: So it was really important for us to understand, you know,
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: whilst those people have already exited, it's actually really important
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: to understand just how many are still in the job
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: who are considering leaving and what we can do to
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: maybe change out. And we've said for a long time
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: the investment has to be with the current members and
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: trying to keep those members. Now that question is really important,
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: and certainly indications earlier that there are a large portion
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: of people that have considered that exit strategy, but we're
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: obviously still waiting for those stats to coming in.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Paul, when are you expecting that you're going to
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: have those final numbers and all of those stats gathered
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: and what's the plan with them? Yeah.
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: Look, obviously the surveys home for two weeks open yesterday
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: and so it'll be a fortnight from now that we'll
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: have some concrete results. But certainly that will dictate the
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: next phase of our campaign in relation to the pay deal.
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: We're certainly hoping and obviously no one wants to see
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: police take action, work to rule and those sorts of things,
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: but certainly the message is coming through loud and clear
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: that our members are prepared to do that.
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: Wow.
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: I mean that's a pretty big call, and I think
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: the people would be really quite worried if we're in
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: a situation where that had to happen. Yeah.
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: Look, and you certainly want to reassure the public and
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: this is the case in any of these sorts of actions.
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: You know that there will still be a response and
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: police will still be there to help them in their
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: time of need. But you know, it's certainly quite clear
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: that our members are sick of waiting and they've done
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: enough for this government and they want to see a
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: deal on the table that's worth considering.
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: Well.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: Police Association President Paul mchue appreciate your time this morning.
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: As always, no doubt we'll talk once that two weeks
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: is up to find out a little bit more detail
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: about the survey results.
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: Absolutely, Katie, no problem.
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: Thank you, thanks very much for your time this morning.
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: Good one itch is