Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Alice Springs Mayor Matt Patterson says patrols have ramped up in the town with lighting being installed to help reduce crime

Transcript

Alice Springs Mayor Matt Patterson says patrols have ramped up in the town with lighting being installed to help reduce crime · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: We have spoken at length on the show about some
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: of the issues being experienced in Central Australia in Alice
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Springs when it comes to crime and anti social behavior.
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  Speaker 1: Now my understanding is that yesterday the sort the new Well,
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  Speaker 1: the new team, the Social Order Response team that they
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  Speaker 1: had met for the second time and joining me on
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  Speaker 1: the line to tell us a little bit more about
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  Speaker 1: how things went is the Mayor of Alice Springs and
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  Speaker 1: also the chair of Well of that sort it is
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  Speaker 1: Matt Patterson. Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Katie, Good morning listeners. Matt.
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  Speaker 1: How did it go yesterday?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, it was good. They're always robust discussions, so
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  Speaker 2: it's something that you know, as the mayor, I look
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  Speaker 2: forward to sitting on and it's really about the immediate
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  Speaker 2: stuff that we can do on the ground here to
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  Speaker 2: try to address some issues. You know, one of the
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  Speaker 2: things that has been flagged in the report is the
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  Speaker 2: patrollers group. So we've just got a collaboration of everyone
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  Speaker 2: doing patrol, collaborating and integrating the system so they're not
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  Speaker 2: doing the same thing, so we're not having four or
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  Speaker 2: five different patrol groups go down one street. I know
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  Speaker 2: it sounds simple, but it's obviously welcome. And people are
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  Speaker 2: seeing those patrols out on the street and therefore, you know,
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  Speaker 2: a bit more passive surveillance. Everyone's feeling a little bit safer.
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  Speaker 1: Well, that is good, that's certainly a good thing to hear.
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  Speaker 1: Has there been much more discussion about whether you know
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  Speaker 1: whether the patrol dogs are going to be part of
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  Speaker 1: it in any way or no one asked you about
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  Speaker 1: this last week as well?
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  Speaker 2: Well, we've seen the police dog, the police dogs out
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  Speaker 2: which they're training on the council lawns and we did
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  Speaker 2: have an incident on Tuesday night where the police dog
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  Speaker 2: was called. So you know, we're seeing the police dogs out.
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  Speaker 2: I'm not sure if the government have the private security
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  Speaker 2: with the dogs is still on their agenda. But look,
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  Speaker 2: as I said, we just want more patrols and we're
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  Speaker 2: getting that at the moment.
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  Speaker 1: And have you seen with those more patrols, have you
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  Speaker 1: seen a decrease in the number of incidents that you
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  Speaker 1: had been seeing on the streets? Hi?
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  Speaker 2: Look, yes, but at the moment it's hard to get
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  Speaker 2: those raw numbers, kdie just because it's sort of not
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  Speaker 2: done in real time. But as I'll say that the
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  Speaker 2: feedback from some businesses within the CBD is that they
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  Speaker 2: are welcoming to see the patrols. Another thing that we'll do,
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  Speaker 2: we'll try to do immediately is lighting and it'll be
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  Speaker 2: temporary floodlights to get it up while we go out
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  Speaker 2: to tender to get the lighting completed in Alice Springs
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  Speaker 2: in the CBD. So obviously the scepted report has been
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  Speaker 2: done and governments sort of said on that for a
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  Speaker 2: little while, but now we want to get to the
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  Speaker 2: next stage and start seeing lights and crime prevention implemented.
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  Speaker 1: Matt, have you had like, has it been a good
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  Speaker 1: week in Alice Springs? Are you sort of you know,
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  Speaker 1: has it been as much crime like anecdotally sort of
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  Speaker 1: you know, reported, or have you noticed things have calmed
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  Speaker 1: down a little bit as a result of some of
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  Speaker 1: these changes.
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  Speaker 2: It's hard, I mean maybe in the CBD, yes, But
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  Speaker 2: we had on radio down here yesterday you heard a
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  Speaker 2: lady talking about an eighty four year old mother who's
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  Speaker 2: getting broken into every day and she's scared to be there.
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  Speaker 2: So you know, that's still raw in the minds of
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  Speaker 2: other springs. And you know, at the end of the day,
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  Speaker 2: I've said it multiple times, Katie, people will always sometimes
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  Speaker 2: feel unsafe in walking from like the restaurant to the
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  Speaker 2: car or whatever it may be. But when you start
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  Speaker 2: feeling unsafe in your own home, it's really hard to
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  Speaker 2: come back from that. And we're seeing that, whether it
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  Speaker 2: be young women because their partner's working remotely, or elderly
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  Speaker 2: people as well. So we need to address those concerns
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  Speaker 2: pretty quickly.
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  Speaker 1: One hundred percent. You have to feel safe in your
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  Speaker 1: own home, and if you don't feel safe in your
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  Speaker 1: own home, well it makes your question you know whether
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  Speaker 1: you can live somewhere and whether you know whether it's
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  Speaker 1: a viable long term option, Matt. Any movement though, when
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  Speaker 1: we talk about this location, the government had said that
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  Speaker 1: they've identified two different locations where they may be able
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  Speaker 1: to have youth go out and stay at night if
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  Speaker 1: they're roaming the streets. Any update on that.
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  Speaker 2: The Chief Minister did speak about it this morning and
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  Speaker 2: they're looking at sights. So my ears are certainly peeled
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  Speaker 2: with that, and you know, I've got an open phone
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  Speaker 2: line to the Chief so when hopefully those progress, we'll
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  Speaker 2: be in the discussion. But it's certainly something that I
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  Speaker 2: welcome and I know it's certainly something that the community
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  Speaker 2: down here is welcoming as well. You know, we've got
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  Speaker 2: these kids a safer on the street than at home,
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  Speaker 2: and that's the problem.
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  Speaker 1: It's a massive problem. It's quite unbelievable to think that
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  Speaker 1: that's the case. And so then really, if they've got
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  Speaker 1: nowhere safe to go, there needs to be one found.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, correct, absolutely, and hopefully if that's done by Christmas,
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  Speaker 2: I think that'll be welcomed.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Matt, are you concerned about Christmas and that Christmas
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  Speaker 1: holiday period if something isn't sorted out.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think everyone's pretty anxious about Christmas. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: summertime there's always a peak period for us. But in
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  Speaker 2: saying that hasn't really let up this year. So hopefully
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  Speaker 2: we can see you know, those changes and any ideas
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  Speaker 2: that are put forward. You know, we certainly table because
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  Speaker 2: it's everyone just wants to feel safe, and I don't
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  Speaker 2: think that's too much to us.
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  Speaker 1: No, I don't think it is either. Hey, before I
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  Speaker 1: let you go the Aboriginal Art Gallery, we know that
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  Speaker 1: there was a substantial amount of funding in the federal government.
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  Speaker 1: How's that progressing.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, So, I mean there's obviously no building there yet,
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  Speaker 2: and I don't think there will be. They'll start for
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  Speaker 2: probably twelve months or so. The land has been acquired,
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  Speaker 2: with still in that negotiation phase within the sixty days
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  Speaker 2: about the money that we get from government. So that
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  Speaker 2: was a commitment obviously from the FEDS that we welcome
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  Speaker 2: part of one hundred and seventy five million dollar package
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  Speaker 2: for oil the spring. So look, I think that it
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  Speaker 2: will be a game changer, but it's probably been a
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  Speaker 2: little bit tarnished of how we've got there in the end.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, it's been a long time coming, hasn't it. Oh goodness,
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  Speaker 1: taken the real long road, taking the real long road
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  Speaker 1: to get there.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that there'll be a lessons learned from
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  Speaker 2: a lot of people about how to do consultation and
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  Speaker 2: know how to deliver a project. I think people like
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  Speaker 2: to see things on paper for your vision before it happens.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, there's a whole lot of concern about
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  Speaker 2: the over getting taken and X y Z, and once
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  Speaker 2: people have that in their minds might not be fact,
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  Speaker 2: but it's really hard to change people's minds if they
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  Speaker 2: can't see the project.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, are you confident that the community is on board
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  Speaker 1: now that everybody's positive and on board with it now.
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  Speaker 2: I think there will be parts of the community that
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  Speaker 2: will always be supportive, and there'll be parts of the
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  Speaker 2: community that will never be supportive of it. But I
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  Speaker 2: think that's just like anything in general. But I think,
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  Speaker 2: you know, the feeling is people are sort of just
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  Speaker 2: over it now and just want it to be built,
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  Speaker 2: sort of what I'm picking up.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, fair enough. Well, Matt Patterson, the mayor of
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  Speaker 1: Vellae Springs. Always good to catch up. Thanks for your
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  Speaker 1: time this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks, thank you.