Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Johnn Johnn’s Ice cream store owner John Koenig says he’s decided to shut shop until next week with staff fearing for their safety amid ongoing crime

Transcript

Johnn Johnn’s Ice cream store owner John Koenig says he’s decided to shut shop until next week with staff fearing for their safety amid ongoing crime · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: And you may have seen on social media overnight that
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  Speaker 1: unfortunately one of Darwin's much loved ice cream businesses, John John's,
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  Speaker 1: is in a situation where they're going to be closed
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  Speaker 1: until Monday due to crime and anti social behavior that
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: they have experienced. Now joining me on the line right
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  Speaker 1: now is the owner of John John's, John Coney. Good
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  Speaker 1: morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: John. Hey, how are you thank the cole?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah? Really well, John tell us we saw everybody seen
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  Speaker 1: on social media. I've been tagged a number of times
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  Speaker 1: overnight to let me know that you guys are going
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  Speaker 1: to be closed until monday. What's going on?
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  Speaker 2: So long story, shure, We've all seen what's been happening lately,
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  Speaker 2: and it's just got to a point where my FAF
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  Speaker 2: has sort of just kept saying like comments here and there,
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  Speaker 2: like you know, in terms of safety, there's a little
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  Speaker 2: bit of incidences here and now. The other day we
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  Speaker 2: had the staff we're leaving here about ninety flock at
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  Speaker 2: night after we've closed, and there was a suspicious man
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  Speaker 2: at the back of our shop and we've got it
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  Speaker 2: all find stuff with the temporary of fencing and it's
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  Speaker 2: higher so no one should be in there. And then
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  Speaker 2: the staff have walked out, they can find that they
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  Speaker 2: got to call me, you know, and then you're going
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  Speaker 2: to de escalate it. The guy just wanted water, but
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  Speaker 2: then it tends to get aggressive and it's all fund stuff.
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  Speaker 2: We shouldn't have to deal with it. We're constantly dealing
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  Speaker 2: with a day to day people walking past, people screaming,
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  Speaker 2: people yelling at us, the constant abuse. So just in
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  Speaker 2: terms of my staff's mental health and everything that's going on,
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  Speaker 2: I just thought, give them a break, give them some
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  Speaker 2: downtime just to enjoy life before we get stuck into
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  Speaker 2: the dry season. And then it just gives me a
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  Speaker 2: lot of time to sit down and think as well
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  Speaker 2: about how to make the business safer and what I
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  Speaker 2: can do to put things in place.
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  Speaker 1: John, it must be getting to the point of pretty frustrating.
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  Speaker 1: You're having to think of different ways to try to
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  Speaker 1: keep the business safe when all you want to do
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  Speaker 1: is to be able to operate.
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  Speaker 2: Your business one hundred percent. I was fortunate enough to
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  Speaker 2: go on holidays to Adelaide for ten days to go
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  Speaker 2: down to the footy, and you know, when you go
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  Speaker 2: into state, you really get to see every city has
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  Speaker 2: issues and you know the homelessness or whether or not
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  Speaker 2: there's you know that's like junkies on the street and stuff.
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  Speaker 2: So it is confronting, but then coming back with different
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  Speaker 2: perspective from different cities, and then coming back it's just
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  Speaker 2: like groundhog Day here every single day and I'm speaking
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  Speaker 2: to the same people every single day, getting like abused
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  Speaker 2: every single day by the same people. And it's like
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  Speaker 2: it's it takes its toll, like my mental health is.
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  Speaker 2: But you know, as a business owner, you just got
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  Speaker 2: to put up with it. But the constant abuse is
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  Speaker 2: you just don't need it, and none of them, no
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  Speaker 2: one to go on needs it anymore. We all everyone's
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  Speaker 2: over having the same conversation. I go out in public,
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  Speaker 2: everyone talks to me about the same thing. You know,
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  Speaker 2: what can we do as a as a community to
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  Speaker 2: make this it's better? And it's just like, well, we
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  Speaker 2: can only do so much. It's the people who are
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  Speaker 2: in in power are the ones who are here to
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  Speaker 2: protect us. And while I was away in Adelaide, I
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  Speaker 2: was watching the footy and I get a message saying
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  Speaker 2: that there was a stabbing on the Espanat and it's
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  Speaker 2: just like, what's going on? And I've got to message
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  Speaker 2: my staff is everyone safe? Is ityone? Okay? Then I
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  Speaker 2: come back apparently there was another stabbing in Casirina with
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  Speaker 2: a couple at the shopping centers. Like, this is not
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  Speaker 2: normal behavior. This is not the town that I grew
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  Speaker 2: up in. I've spent thirty years of my life here
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  Speaker 2: and it's just deteriorating to a point where the locals
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  Speaker 2: are looking at it and it's just like, this is
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  Speaker 2: not okay, this is not where we want to live.
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  Speaker 2: It's just not safe.
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  Speaker 1: John, You've hit the nail on the head in so
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  Speaker 1: many ways. And the thing is, I'm hearing this time
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  Speaker 1: and time again from really great, wonderful territories. You know,
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  Speaker 1: people that are really trying to make a go of it,
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  Speaker 1: like yourself, people who want to stay living here. None
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  Speaker 1: of us are trying to pack up and leave, but
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  Speaker 1: we just want this situation sorted. And you know, we
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  Speaker 1: hear it time and time again from our politicians that
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  Speaker 1: the issues are complex. We get that, but what is
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  Speaker 1: happening right now is not okay. It's actually criminal behavior.
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  Speaker 1: What we are seeing at different times, and stabbings and
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  Speaker 1: violent offending is not something that you guys, you know,
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  Speaker 1: at an ice cream shop, a wonderful ice cream shop
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  Speaker 1: should have to deal with.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree, it's and then your staff are having it.
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  Speaker 2: You know, now we're getting into the busy season and
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  Speaker 2: you've got backpackers and more people wanting to work. But
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  Speaker 2: then do you need to vet them and say, like
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  Speaker 2: are you okay with handling like anti social behavior? How
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  Speaker 2: can you de escalate? They're going to train them on
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  Speaker 2: things you shouldn't have to train on. And I've got
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  Speaker 2: young staff as well that we've got to like not
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  Speaker 2: coach them, but train and make sure that they're always
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  Speaker 2: on with someone else. And then while they're on, you're
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  Speaker 2: always worrying whether or not that's going to be the
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  Speaker 2: time that something bad's going to happen. And my other
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  Speaker 2: friend who owns a business at Nyclist, he had a
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  Speaker 2: seventeen year old girl working like in between her school
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  Speaker 2: shifts and she had to stop because that's her job
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  Speaker 2: became unsafe for she felt unsafe. And that's already at
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  Speaker 2: a young age. And then you're hearing it so often,
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  Speaker 2: like my friends who've got young children or their children
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  Speaker 2: in high school, and what they're seeing and what they're witnessing,
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  Speaker 2: and then they don't want to go to the city,
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  Speaker 2: they go to Casuing, then what's the point of living
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  Speaker 2: in tent you can't go to the spots there that
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  Speaker 2: you enjoy.
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  Speaker 1: Yep, it's enough. Everybody's had enough. We've had an absolute
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  Speaker 1: gutful of it. I mean, you and I have spoken
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  Speaker 1: about it before. Unfortunately on a few occasions, you know,
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  Speaker 1: and it doesn't seem to be getting better. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: over recent months it has become worse. That level of
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  Speaker 1: violent crime that we've seen has become worse. And we've
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  Speaker 1: all tried our best to raise our voice to the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory government to let them know how we're feeling.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know what it's going to take for them
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  Speaker 1: to really take some very serious action.
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  Speaker 2: I agree. It's just you know, when you travel into
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  Speaker 2: stat or you travel overseas, it's all about perspective and
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  Speaker 2: what's okay and what's not okay. I understand it's a
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  Speaker 2: complex issue. The prisons are full, the court system is backlog.
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  Speaker 2: I get that, and you just come to a realization
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  Speaker 2: and you accept it for what it is and understanding
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  Speaker 2: that it may or may not change. But until then,
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  Speaker 2: all I can do is protect my staff, protect my business,
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  Speaker 2: and my friends and family, and just do what I
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  Speaker 2: can to make sure that I'm creating a safe environment
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  Speaker 2: for my staff and my customers, and then just I
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  Speaker 2: guess right away from him and just hopefully it changes.
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  Speaker 2: But until it does, just do what we can control,
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  Speaker 2: and that's the only thing we can do. We can
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  Speaker 2: control ourselves.
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  Speaker 1: Well, make good on you for doing what you can
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  Speaker 1: do to keep your staff safe and being a supportive boss.
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  Speaker 1: I think that that's a really important thing to do,
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  Speaker 1: particularly when you do have young people working with you.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I've been in there plenty of times with
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  Speaker 1: my kids for an ice cream. You guys do a
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  Speaker 1: phenomenal job, and I know that staff for lovely people,
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  Speaker 1: and you want to make sure that they are safe.
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  Speaker 1: So I think it's a really good thing that you've
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  Speaker 1: taken this stance. I hope that the government gets in
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  Speaker 1: contact with you. I did raise this issue with the
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  Speaker 1: Minister for Small Business, Paul Kirby. He said that he
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  Speaker 1: was going to reach out to you. I hope that
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  Speaker 1: he does, and I really hope that your concerns are heard.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you very much, and thank you for all the support.
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  Speaker 2: And on a positive note to own, I am very optimistic. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: Darwin has so much potential. There are so many good
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  Speaker 2: things about Dylan. It's a beautiful place. The weather we're
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  Speaker 2: coming into is amazing. Like life is good. Life is
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  Speaker 2: what you make of it, and we're just here for
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  Speaker 2: a good time and I'm just trying to have it go.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, good on you, John. I appreciate that. I appreciate
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  Speaker 1: those words.
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  Speaker 2: Mate.
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  Speaker 1: We'll talk to you very soon. All the best and
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  Speaker 1: we'll be in for an ice cream soon.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks mate,