Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT Property Council of Australia executive director Ruth Palmer will present the NT government with a report, seeking a response to worsening youth crime and unacceptable levels of anti-social behaviour in Alice Springs

Transcript

NT Property Council of Australia executive director Ruth Palmer will present the NT government with a report, seeking a response to worsening youth crime and unacceptable levels of anti-social behaviour in Alice Springs · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now we know that the Northern Territory Industry Group is
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: calling on the Northern Territory Government to appoint an independent
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: commissioner in an effort to assess the resources that are
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: currently available when it comes to youth and youth justice
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: programs in Alice Springs. It is all in response to
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  Speaker 1: the rising issues that they are seeing in Central Australia
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  Speaker 1: right now when it comes to crime, particularly with youth crime.
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  Speaker 1: And joining me on the line is the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: Property Council of Australia's Northern Territory Branch Director Ruth Palmer.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Ruth, I understand we spoke to you last week
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  Speaker 1: obviously when you were in Alice Springs and heard about
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  Speaker 1: some of the concerns that you had upon heading to
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  Speaker 1: Alice speaking to property owners about the issues that they
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  Speaker 1: are facing there when it comes to crime. Now you've
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  Speaker 1: prepared a report which you are going to be presenting
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  Speaker 1: to the Northern Territory Government. Talk us through what you
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  Speaker 1: found or what you've got in that report.
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: Thanks Katie. This was a community led idea basically built
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  Speaker 3: up from the conversations we were having with businesses in
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  Speaker 3: Alice Springs. Myself and my vice president went down last
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  Speaker 3: week and had back to back meetings and from that
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  Speaker 3: we managed to build this idea that we could then
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  Speaker 3: present the government and I have actually sent this off
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  Speaker 3: to the Chief Minister's office yesterday. So I spent the
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  Speaker 3: weekend sort of building this report knowing that we could
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  Speaker 3: get this out asap to get some outcomes for the
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  Speaker 3: people of Alice Springs.
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  Speaker 1: So, Ruth, with that report, what does it show you know,
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  Speaker 1: what exactly are you going to be presenting to the government.
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  Speaker 1: So what we've done, Katie, is we've called for an
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  Speaker 1: independent commissioner to basically conduct a comprehensive evaluation of all
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  Speaker 1: the departmental.
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  Speaker 3: Resources in and around Alic Springs. So that could include education,
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  Speaker 3: families and children, housing, police, BIA, emergency services, domestic violence,
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  Speaker 3: and the law. Basically to sort of see what's working
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  Speaker 3: and what's not when it comes to use so crime,
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  Speaker 3: but also what's happening in communities, because we know a
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  Speaker 3: lot of it starts with education. So from our report,
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  Speaker 3: I researched through a lot of inquiries that have that
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  Speaker 3: have been done over the years and across fifteen communities.
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  Speaker 3: One of the main things that people confided into the
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  Speaker 3: report was that they were having that they didn't know
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  Speaker 3: how to parent propably, they didn't know how to parent
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  Speaker 3: their children, and that they wish they had more support
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  Speaker 3: with that.
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  Speaker 2: And also they.
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  Speaker 3: Couldn't they felt that they couldn't enforce boundaries or rules
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  Speaker 3: on children, and that was highlighted across many reports that
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  Speaker 3: I looked through, which I then included into this report
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  Speaker 3: to then analyze what's working, what's not, and what resources
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  Speaker 3: could be spent more effectively on the things that are working.
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  Speaker 2: So we know that as part of that report as well.
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  Speaker 1: You'd also said that the Northern Territory government had a
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  Speaker 1: Youth Action Plan in twenty nineteen and there were a
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  Speaker 1: number of different objectives in there. You know, according to
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  Speaker 1: the different industry groups and community groups and support groups
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  Speaker 1: that you.
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  Speaker 2: Spoke to, do we all us? Is that plan working?
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  Speaker 1: No?
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  Speaker 3: So what I'm hearing is that it's not. And it's
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  Speaker 3: very similar to Darwin's five point Holistic Plan as well.
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  Speaker 3: So what the Independent Commissioner would look at is okay,
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  Speaker 3: so where were those things that are implemented? Why haven't
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  Speaker 3: they been implemented? Okay? If they are implemented, is it
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  Speaker 3: being successful. If not, why and really put some key
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  Speaker 3: accountability back on where the department or the government as
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  Speaker 3: to where and why the things that were promised or
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  Speaker 3: implemented aren't working the way that they should be and
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  Speaker 3: if they're not working, can they or if they're not required,
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  Speaker 3: could the resources be better utilized in something that is working. So,
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  Speaker 3: you know, we've seen countless reports, We've had a lot
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  Speaker 3: of inquiries, and we've had a lot of programs that
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  Speaker 3: have been emrt to be implemented. So what this Commissioner
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  Speaker 3: will do would look at, Okay, have those recommendations from
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  Speaker 3: the inquiries been implemented or where are they? Where are
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  Speaker 3: they in the timeline? You know, the Royal Commission had
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  Speaker 3: a lot of recommendations, The Sacred Children's had a lot
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  Speaker 3: of recommendations. So basically we were to expect this commission
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  Speaker 3: appointment to actually look at all that and provide a
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  Speaker 3: comprehensive order into where our funds are being spent and
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  Speaker 3: whether they could be used in areas that are actually
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  Speaker 3: going to make a difference.
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  Speaker 1: So ultimately, I guess that is what you're wanting to
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  Speaker 1: see the commissioner looking into, you know, because it does
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  Speaker 1: feel as though an enormous amount of money gets poured
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  Speaker 1: into some of the social issues that we've got in
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  Speaker 1: the Northern territory, but where are those KPIs to actually
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  Speaker 1: determine whether they're working and whether that money is being
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  Speaker 1: spent where it needs to be.
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  Speaker 3: That's right, So there has to be accountability. These programs,
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  Speaker 3: implementation plans have to carry some accountability across them or KPIs,
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  Speaker 3: Otherwise what's the point of having them. So we need
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  Speaker 3: to make sure we've got some real specific targets and
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  Speaker 3: some actual outcomes that are going to be attached to
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  Speaker 3: these things, and I would expect that the Commissioner would
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  Speaker 3: look at that and from there. Also we've called for
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  Speaker 3: a youth summit in our springs. That was another thing
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  Speaker 3: we heard very loud and clear is getting all ground
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  Speaker 3: up ideas, grassroots ideas and especially from the youth as
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  Speaker 3: well youth support services, the police, principles of schools, business owners,
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  Speaker 3: community leaders TOOSD land councils, getting them all together in
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  Speaker 3: a facilitated forum where that built up ideas come from
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  Speaker 3: there and that's where you're going to see your action.
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  Speaker 3: And this is where this report come from from actually
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  Speaker 3: being physically on the ground in Alice Springs last week
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  Speaker 3: talking to the people, listening but actually coming back with
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  Speaker 3: an outcome. So we've said to them we will do
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  Speaker 3: whatever we can and we've absolutely done that. So we
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  Speaker 3: have put this forward to government and I just hope
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  Speaker 3: that in having a new Chief Minister that we can
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  Speaker 3: reset and re establish some priorities around the crime and
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  Speaker 3: unacceptable behavior.
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  Speaker 2: Ruth.
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  Speaker 1: I know that you know in previous weeks and months
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  Speaker 1: we have seen a situation where the likes of Robin Lanley,
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  Speaker 1: the Independent Member for our Law, had indeed called in
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: Parliament for there to be a Parliamentary select committee to
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  Speaker 1: look into this very issue in Alice Springs.
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  Speaker 2: That was knocked back.
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  Speaker 1: We also saw last week the colp in Parliament call
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  Speaker 1: for there to be a select committee across the territory
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  Speaker 1: into crime, into the issues with youth crime and also
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  Speaker 1: into some of the concerns that we've got within the
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  Speaker 1: police force when it comes to mental health and attrition.
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  Speaker 2: That was also knocked back.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think that you're going to wind up in
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  Speaker 1: a situation here where the government actually stands up and
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  Speaker 1: listens or do you think you're just going to be
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  Speaker 1: added to that list of groups and people who've been
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  Speaker 1: knocked back.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I think like we was sort of saying, now
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  Speaker 3: is the time or the government to regain trust and
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  Speaker 3: credibility within the community. So we have an opportunity now
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  Speaker 3: we have a new Chief Minister, we have the Prime
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  Speaker 3: Minister in town today, we've got Barnaby Joyce down in
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  Speaker 3: Alice Springs. This is the time we're going to be
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  Speaker 3: able to make change we are. We're at a situation
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  Speaker 3: now where it's not getting better. So the first step
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  Speaker 3: is acknowledging that there is a problem and that there
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  Speaker 3: is a solution to be able to work forward. And
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  Speaker 3: the framework we're putting forward can be part of that solution.
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  Speaker 3: So it's a step.
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  Speaker 2: So and here at the.
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  Speaker 3: Property Council, we've always been solutions focused, so we can
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  Speaker 3: talk about issues, we can talk about problems, but we're
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  Speaker 3: always going to come back with an idea or a
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  Speaker 3: plan or a solution as the waves that we can
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  Speaker 3: make the territory better for everyone. We want to increase
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  Speaker 3: the population, we want to grow tourism, we want to
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  Speaker 3: have workforce attraction. None of that's going to happen unless
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  Speaker 3: this court issue is targeted. At first, it has to
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  Speaker 3: be at the forefront of the policies that the government
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  Speaker 3: looks at immediately.
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  Speaker 1: Ruth, based on those conversations in that you have with
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  Speaker 1: property owners, with business owners, with the residents of Alice
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  Speaker 1: Springs last week, how important is it.
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  Speaker 2: Do you think that this actually happens, well.
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  Speaker 3: Kar Katie, Well, doubt the moment. They've got violent assaults
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  Speaker 3: down there on people. So these are people who are
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  Speaker 3: going day to day, going to their jobs getting pinned
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  Speaker 3: down or assaulted while their business premises gets ransacked and
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  Speaker 3: their cars stolen.
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  Speaker 2: Not only does this cause.
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  Speaker 3: Fear of safety, but it's the cost of right, cost
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  Speaker 3: of rising insurances, it's the cost of replacing everything, and
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  Speaker 3: it's just that, oh, here we go again, kind of
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  Speaker 3: feeling like the people in our springs are so resilient
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  Speaker 3: I could have. You know, I'm amazed at their strengths,
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  Speaker 3: their determination, and that they were absolutely screaming for support.
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  Speaker 3: And we had so much support while we were down there,
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  Speaker 3: and people just wanting to meet with us. So we
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  Speaker 3: were back to back from you know, from morning till afternoons,
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  Speaker 3: back to back meeting. People were keen round tables with counsel.
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  Speaker 3: You know, it is a real concern people aren't able
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  Speaker 3: to get staff, people are having staff leaves because they
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  Speaker 3: don't want to say because they fear for their lives there.
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  Speaker 3: It's tourists as well, So if that fundamental issue doesn't
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  Speaker 3: change first, and the rest of the things that make
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  Speaker 3: sounds great aren't going to happen. Tourism, the economy, population community,
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  Speaker 3: none of that's going to work unless this is addressed immediately.
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  Speaker 2: Well.
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  Speaker 1: Ruth Palmer, the Northern Territory Property Council of Australia's executive
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  Speaker 1: director for the Northern Territory, we really appreciate your time
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  Speaker 1: this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Let us know whether you do.
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  Speaker 1: Hear back from the government and we'll certainly be asking
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  Speaker 1: them about it as well.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie finger Crossed, Thank you.