Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Darwin's Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis says new measures are in the works to tackle anti-social behaviour

Transcript

Darwin's Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis says new measures are in the works to tackle anti-social behaviour · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The Lord Mayor of Darwin convat Scarlets. Good morning to you, Corn.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: Good morning and how are you today? Oh?
• 0:06
  Speaker 3: Well, very well.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: I did choke when I was opening the show this morning,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: couldn't stop coughing.
• 0:10
  Speaker 3: But I've recovered corn and I'm ready to goe.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: Well, quite a few people out there with the flu.
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: I don't have that, and some of them with COVID
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: councilors they didn't come yet.
• 0:20
  Speaker 3: Well I'm fortunate that I don't have either of those.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: But good.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: I do think that the dry weather and the fire
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: is about it just plying up.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: But the good thing is the weather still holding me exactly.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: It's really good.
• 0:31
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Before you ask me a question, I just would say
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: something the bridge in Rapid Creek that there has been
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: an issue believed or not. We had somebody with the
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: ankle grinder cutting off the locks and everything else. I mean,
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: I don't know what. People doesn't understand that the bridge
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: actually has some serious damage that's been identified by the engineers.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: But the council are working very quickly to fix it.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: The problem we've got is we have to deal with
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: it because the very environmental sensitive area, whether they not
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: the territory government or resources. They have to do an investigation,
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: they have to provide an assessment to us about environmental impact.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: At the same time, we've got an engineer looking at
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: the bridge and providing solutions with three Within three weeks
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: we know exactly if this bridge can be rescued or
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: has to be dismalked, taken away and you want to put.
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: Back, we all to build another one.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: Look this, it's a very interesting environment. That bridge comes
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: underwater regularly during the wet so the impact of the
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: salt on the still is enoms. But we also trying
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: to find out if it needs to be fixed, how
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: long will take and if it takes too long, can
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: we put a temporary bridge there. So countries working actively
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: to over the problem. But guys, we live in a
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: very interesting environment, very interesting climating environment. It's not everything
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: stairs the same. Have we had a big bridge over
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: Adelaide River had to be completely done, if you remember,
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: and people have to divert to Marakai, So be passions
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: for a few days. We'll come back to you and
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: give you a final answer very.
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: Very well, so you reckon.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Very soon we'll know whether that bridge needs to be
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: replaced or.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: Whether we have the full assessment.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: Okay, three weeks time, all right, because I know that
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: it's obviously one that gets used very frequently, because we
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: have had a lot of people contact us about it
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: and unhappy that they're not able to continue using it.
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: But counsels onto it. It's going to be a few.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: Weeks, okay, So do we actually what council does. Last
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: week we gave five hundred plans in Leania, and we
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: have more plans to give this Wednesday, twenty fourth of August.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: If you're interested, we're going We've got fifteen hundred plans
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: to give out. And if you're interested old macmilland Parks,
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: we're actually going to be there and we're going to
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: give plans to plant in your gardens and your verges everything.
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: Else, good stuff. Well, con I do want to ask you.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: Obviously, you and I have been talking for weeks and
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: weeks about the situation with anti social behavior. I understand
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: that you've now had a meeting with the Chief Minister.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, the good news is actually people start returning
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: to their country, and we had another reduction of people
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: going back to country. The other good news is I
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: found out the other day that the policy that was
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: in place for all new graduates from the college to
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: go down south outside of Darwin has been now reversed.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: New graduates will be staying and be trained in Darwin.
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: So it's not happening anymore.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: They're not the big changed which actually appreciate that one.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: The Commissioner, Toll said, stated that publicly the other day
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: when I was in Money Greed and he was there,
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: and I'm really appreciative. That means quite a few people
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: will be on the streets of Darwin, and I expect
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: that to happen. The other good news is the Chief
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: Minister is quite aware of the situation. She's quite alarmed.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: She also understands the impact that this enormous presence got
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: on our city. So I asked the previous Chief Minister,
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: Michael Ganner, to give me money to create a clean
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: army to actually clean the city. He was very positive
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: on that one. But we have another solution now, similar
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: to the ones that have got in Alice Springs. They
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: will be using work groups from the prison that they
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: would be going out and do the clean up. So
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: that what the Chief Minister advised me yesterday, and Chief
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: Minister's keeping your world. That one. In other Springs. They've
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: got a new arrangement and an MoU signed with the
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: council there, and I expect the same thing to happen.
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: So there's going to be work groups from the prison
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: cleaning up different areas of the city.
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: How soon is that going to get underway?
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Well, as soon as we signed the MoU. I mean
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: that has to be drafted and it's not going to
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: be difficult. If there is one with Alice Springs Street Council.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: I can't see why we can't use that template to
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: do it here.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: So con when you look at the anti social behavior,
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: do you think that there's been improvement over the last
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: week or se No.
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: I think we've still got problems. I mean it's even
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: the police themselves that tell me. They tell me they've
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: got problems. We've got the combined situation of people coming
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: out from communities. Then you've got the young kids run
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: a mac And I hate to be controversial here because
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: I know there's a call of lifting the edge of
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: responsibility because the kids are too young and they don't
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: know what they're doing. Well, if there is putting the
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: T shirts over their faces too so they are not recognized,
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: there must be no they know they're doing something that's wrong.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: So it's a dispute there. But one thing I wouldn't
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: dispute is you don't put ten year old kids in prison.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: That's a no no, This is not the place for
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: them to be. The interesting thing when I was in
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: money Grida and talking to the Money Grida mayor there,
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: he suggested, why wouldn't establish some work camps in communities
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: and these youth offenders can be there. They can be
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: supervised by the police and people in the communities, and
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: they can be used to clean the communities or do
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: some work around the community.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: Get the kids out working as we absolutely I think
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: many you can't get.
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: Them to go to school, though, how are you going
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: to get them to go to work?
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: If they get an incentive life, you've got five four
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: month sentence. If you actually do that one, you get
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: a discount on your sidence. I think some of them
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: smart enough to realize, well, if I can spend so
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: much time there, I can get out quicker. The other thing,
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: of course, is it's not down dale, it's not a condition.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: It's not television. Get bored. He's actually doing something. He
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: might click that, Oh do I want to be here again.
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: Well they got it.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: Look, they're certainly different kind of suggestions. But I suppose
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: it's going to come down to the the government wants
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: to do the more nors.
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: Everybody comes with problems. Yeah, can somebody come with some solutions.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: I mean, my other solution is get them to school.
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: Tell them you've got five months sentence if you finish
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: your school or certificate one of the school, read and
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: write and everything else in foremosts you get out. I
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: think kids are pretty smart. Very quickly. We realize if
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: I and then if they can learn read and write,
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: if they get something, if they get a trade, learn
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: the trade. I think that will be a benefit to
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: them and to the community.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: Can you know one of the things that council has
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: obviously got that control over though, is some of the lighting.
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: Have you had a bit of a closer look at
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: the moment.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: Look, we have to put lights on streets that comply
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: with the Australian standards. We can't go lower. But at
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: the same time, now let's find out if the lights
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: we put in some parks are obstructed by vegetation. Can
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: we trim the trees, can we actually put them higher?
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: Can put with a different locations. Currently we're undertaking an
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: examination of the park trees, park lights, like the complaint
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: we had from John John the lights in Tamari Park,
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: and very soon will know if they are efficient, if
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: they work. Interestingly, we change the lighting at the mall.
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: Before we had it from the ground up, they used
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: to cut them. Now we actually put them up two
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: meters two months now. They haven't been touched, but the
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: mall is fully illuminated and you I'll walk on nighttime
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: of the mall and they're not referuffing and.
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: So conn is the So there's going to be a
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: bit of a review of some of those lights in
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: the parks and things to make sure that they're not
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: being obscured in any way.
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: Currently are reviewed, okay, ask all.
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: Right, Well let us know the outcome of that.
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: Hey, con I've got a message year from one of
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: our listeners and it says.
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: Hey, Katie love your show.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: Could you please ask Corn how we can get a
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: painted keep clear area at the intersection where Manda Road
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: joins the Stuart Highway. I don't know exactly where that is.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: There are accidents almost every afternoon. It's almost impossible to
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: get out of Manda Road. After work.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: I'll find out because way it's actually Northern Territory gam
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: the responsibility. But I'll find out if we can actually
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: talk to Dipple to do do that one.
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, let us know how you go. Yes,
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: we want to know a bit more about the cyclone cleanup.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: I know lots of people wondering when it's happening.
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: We've got a lot of new people in Dowin. So
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: if you're new every precycling season, we actually got a
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: cyclone cleanup with our trucks and are people. We'll go
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: around and pick up rabbish that you put out. And
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: I'm talking about not rubbish every day rabbish the things
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: you've got loose in your yard. And if there's a cyclone,
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: it's going to be a missile landing probably somebody lunch
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: room or bedroom. So if you've got these kind of
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: things bike frames, cabets and everything else, put them in
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: your words, neatly, nicely, no fuel, no painting, not solvents,
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: not de just goods. But and will come and pick
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: them up a.
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  Speaker 1: Grain whis they can't.
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: You can't do that one. We will not pick them up.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: The only one will start collecting from the fifth of September.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: That means from the northern suburbs, Rapid Creek and Brinking
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: and all these not and Cararama Northern Suburbs and from
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: the twenty sixth September all the rest of Darwin. Please
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: do it because it's free, free service. We do it
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: for you. The other thing we do, if you got
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: something that's actually usable, put it aside, because we try
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: not to put them on in the same truck. We
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: keep them aside and we pick them up and we
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: return them to HPA, and then that can be actually recycled.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: And I'll tell you what, if you go there, you
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: can find some really good bargains. I went the other
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: day to announce the precycling cleanup and I found a
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: brilliant set of speakers form my computer that you buy
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: about three hundred dollars in the shop. I picked them
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: up for fifty bucks and I worked there absolutely absolutely,
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: and the house is booming really really good. So you
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: can find some really good stuff in HPA. But the
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: important thing cycling cleanup that all bike sitting in your yard,
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: you don't want it in your launch room.
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: No, that's exactly right.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: If a cyclone should arrive, so corne If people do
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: want a little bit more info about where those cyclone
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: what areas are being done.
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: Website everything there.
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: And since we're talking about clean ups and everything else,
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: I would like to tell you that we are starting
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: beautifying the Goida Road, the Goida Road in front of
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: the MVR. Oh yes, yes, gravel Yeah, we just put
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: the tunneling underneath to put the water and the power
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: and we'll start working very very soon to actually modified
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: planned it and converted from a gravel pit to very sea.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: Well, that'll looks fantastic because it is very arrod and
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: like a gravel pit there, it doesn't look good.
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: I also know that brink and well, they're going to
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: be well.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: Their residents are being invited to share their ideas of
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: how Early Park could become a better asset to the community,
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: so people know what you wants.
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: Previous spent a lot in the CBD. Since I became
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: the mayor, I said that enough, we spent what we
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: have to spend the CBD, but we have to spend
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: the suburbs have been neglected in the past few years.
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: Early Park is one of these places that had nothing.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: Let's do something nice. Let's put something for the young
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: residents and says they have put something for the families
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: to bring their kids there. So if you live around
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: bringing have a go, tell us what you want, tell
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: us how you want it, and we can walk together
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: to beautify.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: And so you've already got planned the outdoor gym equipment yep,
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: that's in one Guri, upgrades to the Bradshaw Terra streetscape
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: in Casuarina and digital speed check signage in Castle in
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: one of those school areas.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: Amazing, what difference it makes. I hear people telling me
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: they don't realize that near school until the lights start flashing,
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: so they slow down straight away. It's our kids. Yeah,
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: so take care I said to you before. People in
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: Karama and one Guri and brinking and not pay rates
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: like everybody else. They deserve to get some value for
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: their money. And that's exactly what we're doing.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: Well, convat Scarlets, the Lord Mayor of Darwin, it's always
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: good to catch up with you. We appreciate your time
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: this morning, and we'll talk to you again next week.
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: And don't forget to vote in the by election in
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: Funny Bay, and then don't forget to vote all the
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: by elections in the council. Well, I don't either area.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: I don't live in either of the areas, but I'm
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: happy to go on voage but in.
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: Read vote here otherwise you might have problems with it.
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: What do you think about that? Fine though only twenty
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: five but if you don't turn.
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: Up to devote, but it's not the fine people have
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: voted the first one to complain about it.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: If you don't, Yeah, that's exactly right. Combat Scarlets, thanks
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: for your time this morning. The day you too,