Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Darwin Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis says he is unaware of jellyfish being present in Lake Alexander after reports of a a stinging attack

Transcript

Darwin Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis says he is unaware of jellyfish being present in Lake Alexander after reports of a a stinging attack · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining us in the studio right now is the Lord
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Mayor of Darwin convat Scarlets.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you Khan, Good morning.
• 0:05
  Speaker 3: And I think the dry is nearly here.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Well I thought that on Monday when I went for
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: a long run out there at East Point, but then
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: bye today it's telling me on the news or on
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: the weather that we might have a slight chance of
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: a shower.
• 0:18
  Speaker 4: Well wet in Juneau. Come on, but it looks like
• 0:21
  Speaker 4: it's here. Let's getting better.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, let's hope.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: So it is lovely weather now, conn We know that
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Darwin oldhaman Justine Glover has obviously resigned from council just
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: eight months after being re elected to that role. It
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: is going to trigger, as I understand, a municipal by election,
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: and comes in the aftermath of some senior staff leaving council.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: We caught up with Justin Glover on the show yesterday.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: She said that it was a really tough decision for her,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: but cited that need to get some work life balance
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: back into her life. Are you disappointed to see her go?
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: Yes, I am disappointed. Just In wrung me and told
• 0:56
  Speaker 4: me he had decision and I fully understand. She explained, to me,
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: there isn't kind it. And look, I can tell you
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: it is really hard sometimes trying to manage your personal life,
• 1:06
  Speaker 4: your elected member's life and job. And you know just
• 1:08
  Speaker 4: seems working in a very serious senior job in the
• 1:11
  Speaker 4: Palmerston Hostel. She's got her own family life and I
• 1:15
  Speaker 4: would like to thank her personally and publicly for all
• 1:18
  Speaker 4: the worker has is done for. I know her for
• 1:20
  Speaker 4: two terms, the previous term and this term. I understand
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: she was before then and she was always coming up
• 1:26
  Speaker 4: with ideas. I mean, one of her great ideas which
• 1:28
  Speaker 4: actually became a reality was the community garden in Kroma.
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: Another thing I have to say is when I was.
• 1:36
  Speaker 4: Elected and I realized that for a long time the
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: northern suburb was neglected, and I put forward that normal
• 1:43
  Speaker 4: money for the CBD or not the money we used
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: to spend the CBD. It's time to spend money in
• 1:48
  Speaker 4: northern suburbs. She was a great supporter of that one.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: So corn it does mean that there's going to be
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: a by election trigger in.
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: The new Act within four months. We have to have
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: by elections. Now. I saw the comments in some media outlets.
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: Now about the senior staff living well I'm looking around
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: my office.
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: I haven't lost anything your.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: Stuff, but I've lost to explain and I.
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: Know very well why he left.
• 2:12
  Speaker 4: I mean, when you've got a family in Queensland and
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: you're here and your family needs you, I mean you
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: will leave. Other people live because they got better opportunities.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: And top of you seeing your staff obviously Scott Waters
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: and also and.
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: Josh went and he got a really big job down
• 2:29
  Speaker 4: in your southwest, close to his family.
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: Again, it was a combination of promotion.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: And one thing, I will no issue within the Darwin
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: City Council of any kind of toxic toxic culture.
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: Of course not, and if there was one, I'll make
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: sure that they click resolved very quickly. One thing I
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: take pride is people leave in my organization to go
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: to promotion, not living, to go anywhere.
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: Because they want to live.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: So maybe not any kind of toxic culture within the staff.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Is there any within the Alderman.
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: No, No, I don't think so.
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: Actually, we've got a seven or previous now six with
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: justin living and six new ones and in the past
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: that much will be working very very well. And if
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: you see what's happening around town, things are happening the
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: thing is not neglected. We've got the trip planning operators
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: going ahead the suburbs now they're getting significant amount of
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: money per world to be spent there, and we're working
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: very very well.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: But you have I mean, there has been quite a
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: number of staff leave from your council ranks. There has
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: obviously been the CEO, there has been the head of
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: the Smart Cities. I believe you also have Melissa Ryder
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: leave and another staff member whose name escapes me.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: But you have had a big staff turnout.
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: I've got three hundred and three hundred and fifty.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: People, but four times leadership projects.
• 3:38
  Speaker 4: Becluding four people is not a big number. But again
• 3:41
  Speaker 4: I said to you before, most of these people that
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: went to a better job and a bigger job, that
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: didn't go to anywhere just to live city.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: So from your perspective, there is absolutely no issue with
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: the culture within the town city.
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: Count With all my senior people, I'll talk to them
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: regularly if there was anything, and they're all very well.
• 3:57
  Speaker 4: My daughter's always open. They come in and they tell me.
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: And certainly I've been discussing that with the CEO of
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: the at the time and would resolve it.
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: On the other hand.
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: Actually, we had this significant change on the structure, and
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: what happened with the structured changes some people didn't like
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: the role that was allocate to them and they decided
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: to go somewhere else.
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: I can understand that one.
• 4:18
  Speaker 4: But my intention is how this council can work efficiently
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: and effectively for the rate payers.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: All right, So you are obviously in the process. So
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: I'm assuming of recruiting a numbers next week.
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: We've we had fifty one applications. Now, you don't get
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: fist for the CEO job. You don't get fifty one
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: applications if people realize that the situation is not good
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: in City of Doubt. We had applications from as far
• 4:42
  Speaker 4: as Queensland, tas Mania, Western Australia, and some of them
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: overseas from Dubai and India.
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: So fifty one applications. What are you expecting to make
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: an announcement?
• 4:51
  Speaker 4: Well, we're having the interviews next week and after that
• 4:55
  Speaker 4: we have to do all the searches and everything else,
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: you know, the use of stuff, and we have an
• 4:59
  Speaker 4: announcement soon as practically possible.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: So well, hopefully over the coming weeks I'm sure have
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: some some further informing guys.
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: So when are you.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: Expecting any idea what day you're going to have the
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: by election for that state as well.
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: We have to discuss with the department.
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: We have to officially notify the department, which I believe
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: my acting he always already done, and then we'll discuss
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: the department to see when we do the but it
• 5:21
  Speaker 4: has to be within.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: Four months now con a few questions.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: Can I say something before you continue?
• 5:26
  Speaker 4: I would like to pay tribute to Dorothy Fox, a
• 5:28
  Speaker 4: long standing councilor who unfortunately passed away.
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: I saw the death notice today. Dorothy loved down.
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: Dorothy was one of these mixed heritage Filipino Indigenous person.
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: She served as a counselor from nineteen ninety six to
• 5:42
  Speaker 4: two thousand and eight. Then he was a public seven
• 5:44
  Speaker 4: for thirty years. Dorothy, since your condolences to your family.
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: You're a great counselor. You're a great person. I knew
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: you personally. We didn't agree to everything all the time,
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: but she was a lovely woman and I'm very very
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: sad to arak.
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: What was she counselor for years?
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: Well, from nineteen ninety six to two thousand and eight.
• 6:03
  Speaker 4: She was really really good Kia elder and a member
• 6:06
  Speaker 4: of the Kubilo Fabria.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: Our hearts go out to her family and friends. That
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: is very sad news, the passing of Dorothy Fox. Let's
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: talk about Yeah, no, I've got another question. This one.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: Well, I've got some from our listeners which I'll get
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: to very shortly, but I've got one now.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: Yesterday we spoke on the show to Saint John's Craig Garaway.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: He confirmed that a person had been stung by a
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: jellyfish at Lake Alexander on the weekend.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Has the council looked into this.
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: Well, this is the first time I hear about that.
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: Then surprises me because the filtration system we've got in
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: Lake Alexander, it filters out even the eggs of the
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: jellyfish are very very fine filter So I don't know
• 6:41
  Speaker 4: how this got in. I will suddenly when I go
• 6:44
  Speaker 4: back to the officer six more information, find out where
• 6:47
  Speaker 4: it happened, how it happened, and try to find out
• 6:50
  Speaker 4: what's happened.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: Ye, because it's a bit of a memory. Then if
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: there's people in there all weekend after, you know.
• 6:56
  Speaker 4: After this is the first time I hear about stung
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: by jellyfision like Alexander be here for thirty years. So
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: I've got a suspicious mind, and I wonder if it's
• 7:04
  Speaker 4: a prank or something. We had two big fish, yeah,
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: but certainly I'll be looking into it to find out ways.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: So what do you reckon someone's purposely dropping things into
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: like Alexander.
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: Sometimes nothing amazed me.
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: I mean we had a big milk fish and we
• 7:19
  Speaker 4: had a big barrow Monday where they don't live.
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: In Lake Alexander.
• 7:23
  Speaker 4: Unless somebody fist it caught it, I don't know what
• 7:27
  Speaker 4: to do with it.
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: Oh, look leg there and near the worry is and
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: that we know that, like Alexander is the location where
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: lots of people take their children, families sit over the.
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: Course of the weekend.
• 7:38
  Speaker 4: It might be fine at the time after a few beers,
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: but think about other people and their children.
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: So it is something that the Council's going on forward.
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: To it and I'll find out and I will let
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: you know.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: Because I mean the info there came from Saint John's
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: and we know that. You know, they've seen plenty of
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: different things. They know and they know when they see
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: a jellyfish.
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: Find out the day at the time and everything else.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that'll be good. Now Corn, a few questions coming through.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: There's one here.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: Please ask Lord Mayor for better street lighting at daily
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: straight and min Street intersection, the main intersection before getting
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: into the city. Big lights poll that's never worked in
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: A couple of lights that were taken out after a
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: car crash and never replaced.
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: This big light police owned by the government. It's a dipple.
• 8:17
  Speaker 4: The bundary FRAS and planning. We notify them about. We'll
• 8:20
  Speaker 4: be talking to them nearly every six months about it.
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: They finally admitted that actually can't be fixed, has to
• 8:26
  Speaker 4: be completely replaced, and they will proceed to replace Corn.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: Another one here, please ask on about the velodrome contract
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: with j TEX. Now. I had said that there had
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: been some reporting on this that it had happened, and
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: there hadn't been. Was there actually a public tender document
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: for this?
• 8:41
  Speaker 4: Of course it was. It was a public tender. Two
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: companies applied for the tender. JTX was the cheapest and
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: the best price.
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: They got the job. Asked for the secret contract.
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: Well, the banners were up velodrome for four weeks before
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: they start to work. I don't know how you keep
• 8:55
  Speaker 4: a secret when you put the banners of the company
• 8:58
  Speaker 4: in the side where they're going to fix, and.
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: So there was a normal, full transparent process.
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: Technically, we look council was.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: Not only speculation and there wasn't.
• 9:09
  Speaker 4: Well they better go and check their facts because she
• 9:12
  Speaker 4: verages to write in a website stories phips.
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: Rather it's difficult to check the chat the fact.
• 9:19
  Speaker 4: The reality is there was a public tender and if
• 9:21
  Speaker 4: they look at it, they will find that it was advertised.
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: We had two companies applied. J Tex was the best
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: price and the best value. Jack Tex got it.
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: How much is that tender worth two point five million dollars?
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: Five million dollars and that's obviously going to see exactly
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: what work in there.
• 9:35
  Speaker 4: Going to do the surface, We're going to do the
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: balustrach or the area, the spectator settings, We're going to
• 9:43
  Speaker 4: do the lights and the electrical faults and everything else.
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: So it's going to be actually significantly upgraded with these
• 9:49
  Speaker 4: twenty half million dollars, which part of the territory government,
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: part of federal government, part of the council.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: Colin there was a few people asking it soccer the
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: other morning down there at bag it Oval.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: How about some more shade down there wondering.
• 10:00
  Speaker 4: Well, there were some big mahogany trees that came down,
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: so we replanted a lot of them. Unfortunately we have
• 10:06
  Speaker 4: to wait for a while for the trees to grow.
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: I can't get instant growth trees from bannings.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: I love that. Nothing no other sort of options.
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: Well, we used to bring our own umbrellas. We used
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: to bring shelters. You know, you can go and buy
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: a shelter.
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: Now.
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: There's plenty of first said in one side of soka.
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: I understand.
• 10:24
  Speaker 4: I spent years there in the middle of the day
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: having my brain cooked by the sun, and I fully
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: understand what you say.
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: But again, unfortunately trees came down.
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: We had to take some down because there were dangerous
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: for our own kids who play soka there.
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: My suggestion is that if the new trees grow up,
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: be innovative, bring your umbrellas, bring yourselt as.
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: You can buy from bannings against sorry bannings about the
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: advertsment and the other sorts are there?
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: Get good tues from now con.
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: I know that there's a lot on this weekend, including
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: speaking of trees. Isn't there a bit of a give
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: away from other's tide?
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: Would you like a tree, Well, look, I'm not.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Very good at keeping them alive if.
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: I've got two thousand giveaway, So if you get a few,
• 11:03
  Speaker 4: you actually managed to maintain them just at water. Now,
• 11:08
  Speaker 4: we're giving away two thousand trees this day at the
• 11:11
  Speaker 4: East Point and would love you to come there on Saturday,
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: seventh of May, because we're going to plant another three
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: thousand trees there.
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: We already dug the holes, we already put the articulation
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: in place.
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: I drove the other day and I saw the trees
• 11:23
  Speaker 4: we planted it last year, and I could not believe
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: that some of them are nearly two meters tall, how
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: quickly they grow. So if you want to actually help
• 11:30
  Speaker 4: green our city on Saturday seventh of May, come along.
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: Put a few trees.
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: If every person puts ten trees down, we only need
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: about three hundred people, but if you put twenty, we
• 11:40
  Speaker 4: need one hundred fifty people.
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: Plus we'll give you some trees away, two thousand trees
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: for you to take home and.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: Con There is also some other work that's set to
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: get under wire as well. I believe that there's going
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: to be some roads that are getting some significant work.
• 11:52
  Speaker 4: Leap Point application were already starting the duplication of Leap
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: Point that will start from Ash Street to Darvada Terrace
• 11:59
  Speaker 4: two lanes.
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: It's direction.
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: Four million dollars is going to be spent money from
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: the con government and the council to upgrade that area,
• 12:06
  Speaker 4: considering now that near head has grown so much, which
• 12:10
  Speaker 4: is actually incredible, and the other thing that we interested
• 12:13
  Speaker 4: most people do like fishing. The Buffalo Cree boat ramp
• 12:17
  Speaker 4: final is going to be upgraded.
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: We got all the clears from the Aboriginal Lens Protection Authority.
• 12:22
  Speaker 4: It is a seven hundred and fifty thousand project fifteen
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: weeks to complete and we will spend extending the road
• 12:28
  Speaker 4: meter and a half either side and the big turning
• 12:32
  Speaker 4: area will be improved.
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: Greek Boat ramp is upgrade.
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: When's that going to get onto y Con?
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: I think it's already happening as we say.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: Fantastic. So is it a fairly popular boat ramp?
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: You know pople lasting the boat is going to be upgraded.
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: Council on Behoris has been asking nearly every week about it,
• 12:52
  Speaker 4: and we had to wait to get the clears from
• 12:54
  Speaker 4: the Aboriginal Lands Authority.
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: We did that one, so it works. Other way well.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: Convat Scarls, the Lord Mayor of Darwin Lot's happening today.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: We always appreciate your time. Thank you very much for coming.
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: In Duson fishing is always popular.
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: Thank you. Thanks Con