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Katie Woolf spoke with Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis on the EScooters · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie wolf on Mixed one oh four
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  Speaker 1: point nine thanks to Joyce Main Darwin. There's been quite
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  Speaker 1: a bit of discussion about these e scooters and some
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  Speaker 1: statistics have come out and really given us a bit
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  Speaker 1: of a better idea as to what the most frequent
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  Speaker 1: injury times are, the most frequent injury days and months,
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  Speaker 1: and it looks as though the most frequent injury times
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  Speaker 1: between eleven pm at night will eleven pm at night sorry,
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  Speaker 1: and then three am to five am and eight pm
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  Speaker 1: until four Now joining us on the line right now
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  Speaker 1: is the Lord Mayor of Darwin convat Scarlets. Good morning Corn.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. And the statistics actually confirm my fears
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  Speaker 2: that actually alcohol is involved and people you miss using
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  Speaker 2: the scooters when they shouldn't be doing so. So what
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  Speaker 2: do you reckon?
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  Speaker 1: We need to do?
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  Speaker 2: Conn Well, look, first of all, I want to get
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  Speaker 2: the full statistics, not rather than just a picture. Find
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  Speaker 2: out from the introduction of the scooters, if there's an
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  Speaker 2: increase on the injuries, what kind of injuries and of
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  Speaker 2: course the timing of the injuries, and then to actually
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  Speaker 2: discuss the company going to address the problem. The issue
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  Speaker 2: we've got here is that every time you hire a school,
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  Speaker 2: you ender the contract with the company and you're supposed
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  Speaker 2: to comply with the rules the company has set up.
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  Speaker 2: And I have seen that one you're not supposed to
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  Speaker 2: drink and write, you're you're supposed not to use the helmets.
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  Speaker 2: But obviously people that don't do that one. So we've
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  Speaker 2: got two things. One is the people not obeying the rules,
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  Speaker 2: and the other, of course, the company. He has to
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  Speaker 2: actually find a way to reduce the number of accidents.
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  Speaker 2: Are the best way to do it is like stop
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  Speaker 2: using you can't use the scooters after a certain period
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  Speaker 2: of time in certain areas of our municipality.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's such a hard This is such a
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  Speaker 1: difficult one because you know, right at the start, I
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  Speaker 1: guess we were, you know, I was a bit skeptical, thinking, oh,
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  Speaker 1: how are they going to go? You know, people going
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  Speaker 1: to want to wear the helmets when others wearing them
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  Speaker 1: and things like that. But the scooters have actually been
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  Speaker 1: an enormously successful implementation into Darwin City and a little
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  Speaker 1: bit further around. I see people sort of you know,
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  Speaker 1: scooting home from work. I see lots of families out
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  Speaker 1: there on these scooters and there's something that we're all
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  Speaker 1: really enjoying. But it does seem as though, you know,
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  Speaker 1: there's a small portion of people who aren't using them
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  Speaker 1: in the way that they should, i e. Not getting
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  Speaker 1: behind the wheel of these scooters after they've had a
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  Speaker 1: few drinks, and it's then going to really impact all
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  Speaker 1: of us.
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  Speaker 2: Katie, it's always the same thing if you ruin it
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  Speaker 2: for the whole community. And yes, I do love people
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  Speaker 2: using the scooter, especially young people. Yes, I like families
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  Speaker 2: using the scooter, but not the whole family. And one scooter.
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  Speaker 2: You're not supposed to be riding with somebody as in
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  Speaker 2: a scooter, but I've seen quite a few people riding
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  Speaker 2: two of them in a scudder. It's also the community
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  Speaker 2: here to take some responsibility, it's special responsibility as well
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  Speaker 2: us find the measures to stop it. The scooter is
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  Speaker 2: becoming an instrument of injury. I don't want people to
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  Speaker 2: smash their faces or their hands, elbows, legs. I want
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  Speaker 2: people to have fun using the scooters, and certainly we'll
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  Speaker 2: be discussed with the company to find ways how to
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  Speaker 2: eliminate the temptation to use the scooters after hours or
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  Speaker 2: after you had a few drinks. Because you can't use
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  Speaker 2: your car. So let's throw a scooter and hoops. We're
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  Speaker 2: finished in the first in the majesty department.
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  Speaker 1: So what do you reckon here, Connie, Is that you know,
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  Speaker 1: the council need to meet and sort of look at
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  Speaker 1: whether you do shut them off for certain periods of
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  Speaker 1: time and what would those times be.
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  Speaker 2: Council is not the owner of the scooters. Council does
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  Speaker 2: not run the scooters. The only thing we have in
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  Speaker 2: agreement with the scooters for them to use our footpath.
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  Speaker 2: It is also the government is the one who grants
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  Speaker 2: the permission for the scooters to be operated here. So
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  Speaker 2: we'll be talking to the government and said that we'll
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  Speaker 2: be talking to the company to find ways to reduce
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  Speaker 2: the trauma by reducing accessibility in certain areas or after
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  Speaker 2: a certain period of time.
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  Speaker 1: So it's not governments or it's not council's decision. It's
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  Speaker 1: actually going to be one made by government.
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  Speaker 2: That's right. Everybody says, oh, council, Council, Well sorry, Council
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  Speaker 2: does not make the regulations give the permission. Is the
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  Speaker 2: minister who actually gives the permission. The only thing we
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  Speaker 2: consent for the permission if we agree. We didn't agree.
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  Speaker 2: We would say so because we have to agree for
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  Speaker 2: them to use our football.
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  Speaker 1: Well just sames old though. I mean when the scooters
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  Speaker 1: were introduced, obviously the council was there and you know
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  Speaker 1: it was a positive news story for the council. So
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  Speaker 1: I guess most people would assume that it is council
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  Speaker 1: responsibility to some degree.
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  Speaker 2: The people think so, but actually this is actually under
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  Speaker 2: a special legislation, that's government legislation of council as a
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  Speaker 2: the year before. Is irrespective who is responsible. My interust
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  Speaker 2: is to reduce trauma. I don't want our sitters to
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  Speaker 2: get hurt. I want our citizens to comply to the
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  Speaker 2: rules and regulation. I want our citizens not to drink
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  Speaker 2: and ride. I want our citizens to wear the helmets.
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  Speaker 2: Please do not do stubid things that are there for fun,
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  Speaker 2: not to actually be sorry after that.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a really hard on.
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  Speaker 2: You know.
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  Speaker 1: The messages that we're getting this morning is you know,
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  Speaker 1: people saying that they enjoy the scooters, they love taking
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  Speaker 1: you know, taking them out and taking their kids as well.
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  Speaker 1: But the problem is the drunks that ride them. Well,
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  Speaker 1: the cost of putting them away is so high due
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  Speaker 1: to the time of night and the amount of scooters.
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  Speaker 1: So it's obviously, you know, it is something that people
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  Speaker 1: don't want to see sort of entirely changed or gotten
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  Speaker 1: rid of. They want to be able to keep those
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  Speaker 1: scooters going. But like you said, you want to reduce
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  Speaker 1: that trauma as well.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, we love this goodness. They're good fun. The tourtis
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  Speaker 2: are use them and they're very easy way to go
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  Speaker 2: around there when start inside the CBD. But let's not
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  Speaker 2: let this small minority so they don't give a hood
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  Speaker 2: about it to ruin it for everybody.
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  Speaker 1: Hey, con, I want to just ask you there is
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  Speaker 1: a listener got in contact with us about a story
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  Speaker 1: on news dot Com today and on the Gold Coast.
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  Speaker 1: The Gold Coast Mayor Tom Taate in a bid to
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  Speaker 1: reinvigorate the hard hit tourism sector amid the coronavirus pandemic,
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  Speaker 1: the mayor is planning to establish beach bars at select
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  Speaker 1: locations along the region's fifty five kilometers of sandy coastline.
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  Speaker 1: So these bars, while only in the development stage, they
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  Speaker 1: would allow beach goers to have a drink and a
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  Speaker 1: light snack without having to walk off the sand to
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  Speaker 1: a nearby bar or club. It's a concept that is
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  Speaker 1: already working in places like Adelaide. It's a European inspired
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  Speaker 1: beach club, sort of right on the beach. Do you
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  Speaker 1: reckon We could do something like that at Mindle.
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  Speaker 2: Look if somebody was to come to us and put
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  Speaker 2: a proposal, we said, and look at it. I've seen
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  Speaker 2: them in Greece, I've seen them in Europe, I've seen
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  Speaker 2: them down south. The only problem here is most people
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  Speaker 2: that don't even consider it because they're used to the
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  Speaker 2: idea of nothing happens in the beach, and I want
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  Speaker 2: to change that attitude. Everything would be happening in our
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  Speaker 2: beaches without friding other people's right to enjoy it. Quite night,
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  Speaker 2: there certain areas where the young people frequent. If somebody
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  Speaker 2: comes to us, certainly will consider it.
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  Speaker 1: Oh well, so it is something that you think could
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  Speaker 1: be an idea similar Like you said, you know you've
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  Speaker 1: seen it in Greece and other locations, but a bit
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  Speaker 1: of a beach bar.
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  Speaker 2: I don't want to see them every ten meters in
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  Speaker 2: a certain areas where young people can go and have
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  Speaker 2: a reasonable and responsible outing. It can be done if
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  Speaker 2: we will set out the parameters and people have to
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  Speaker 2: comply with them, and it can be done. When I
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  Speaker 2: talked about outdoor eating and outdoor entertainment areas, everybody just
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  Speaker 2: can be done. Should be done too difficult. Not here.
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  Speaker 2: Now we've got areas that are open for outdoor entertainment
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  Speaker 2: and dinners and everybody loves them.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Contact Scarlets, It's always good to catch up with you.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you very much for your time this morning.
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  Speaker 2: My pleasure, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you