Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Lia Finocchiaro was on 360 this morning and discussed calls for the federal police to support NT police as well as the situation with the NT Police Commissioner
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Position leader, the Federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton. We know
- 0:03Speaker 1: that he's in Alice Springs and he has said what
- 0:05Speaker 1: I know some Territorians have been questioning for a little while.
- 0:08Speaker 2: Now, do the FEDS need to step.
- 0:10Speaker 1: In and help sort the issues that the Northern Territory's
- 0:13Speaker 1: facing with crime?
- 0:14Speaker 2: Now?
- 0:14Speaker 1: Mister Dutton says that the Australian Federal Police should be
- 0:18Speaker 1: deployed to address what he's described as the Northern Territory's
- 0:22Speaker 1: law and order crisis. He held a press conference yesterday
- 0:26Speaker 1: with Senator just Enter Price and said that the issues
- 0:28Speaker 1: in Alice Springs were beyond the capacity of the Northern
- 0:32Speaker 1: Territory government and required federal resources. Now joining me in
- 0:36Speaker 1: the studio is the Northern Territory Opposition leader Lea Fanocchiaro.
- 0:40Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Lea.
- 0:41Speaker 3: Good morning Katie. In to your listeners, Leah, do the
- 0:44Speaker 3: FEDS need to step in?
- 0:45Speaker 2: Look?
- 0:46Speaker 4: I don't want to see the FED stepping in, but
- 0:47Speaker 4: they can certainly cough up. We had a Prime minister
- 0:50Speaker 4: fly to Alice Springs for four or five hours to
- 0:53Speaker 4: save face admitted crisis. He promised two hundred and fifty
- 0:56Speaker 4: million dollars to that community and not a single cent
- 0:59Speaker 4: has been spent. We've had this colp and the community
- 1:03Speaker 4: calling for Australian Federal Police to be flooded into Alice
- 1:06Speaker 4: Springs for months and months and months, and Federal Labor
- 1:10Speaker 4: has done nothing. So we don't want them coming in
- 1:13Speaker 4: and taking control. But if they delivered the two fifty
- 1:15Speaker 4: mil they promised, that would be a good start, and
- 1:18Speaker 4: if they deliver some police on the ground, that would
- 1:20Speaker 4: be amazing.
- 1:20Speaker 1: So you do think that the Federal police need to
- 1:23Speaker 1: step in and assist the Northern Territory Police at this point.
- 1:27Speaker 3: Absolutely.
- 1:27Speaker 4: It's something we've been calling for for months now, Katie,
- 1:31Speaker 4: amid the fact that the Tasha Philes scrapped stronger futures
- 1:34Speaker 4: and didn't have any plans for alcohol in Central Australia.
- 1:38Speaker 4: We recognize our territory police are incredibly under resourced and
- 1:42Speaker 4: so we felt it was appropriate then for the Australian
- 1:45Speaker 4: Federal Police to be able to provide that support and
- 1:48Speaker 4: backfill for Territory police and ensure that a community like
- 1:51Speaker 4: Alice Springs who were terribly suffering and crying out for support,
- 1:56Speaker 4: actually get that boots on the ground that they need
- 1:59Speaker 4: to feel the prey.
- 2:00Speaker 1: We did it during COVID, right there was a situation
- 2:02Speaker 1: where we had that support during COVID.
- 2:04Speaker 2: So I mean, is that what is needed right now?
- 2:07Speaker 1: And do you think that it would diminish in any
- 2:09Speaker 1: way the hard work of the Northern Territory Police.
- 2:11Speaker 3: No way.
- 2:12Speaker 4: I think our Territory police are doing the most incredible
- 2:15Speaker 4: job despite all of the adversity they are facing. And
- 2:18Speaker 4: we know police are in a state of crisis, and
- 2:20Speaker 4: certainly the CLP has tried six times in Parliament to
- 2:24Speaker 4: get that looked at. But ultimately the Australian Federal Police
- 2:27Speaker 4: can provide an opportunity not just respite, but also if
- 2:30Speaker 4: they could perform tasks that mean that Territory Police can
- 2:34Speaker 4: be out dealing with those more serious crimes, able to
- 2:37Speaker 4: do the proactive policing.
- 2:39Speaker 3: I think that's a good thing.
- 2:40Speaker 4: And in a town like Alice Springs, sending an Australian
- 2:43Speaker 4: Federal Police would have a big impact because it's a
- 2:45Speaker 4: small area. You would really be able to either perform
- 2:49Speaker 4: tasks like locking down the city, having that really public
- 2:52Speaker 4: visual presence or whatever the operational requirements might be. I
- 2:57Speaker 4: think it's a no brainer to send AF and we've
- 3:00Speaker 4: been calling for that for months.
- 3:02Speaker 1: My understanding is that it is actually the Police Commissioner
- 3:05Speaker 1: who has to seek that support from the Fed Australian
- 3:10Speaker 1: Federal Police Commissioner, who incidentally used to be the Northern
- 3:13Speaker 1: Territory Police Commissioner rhes Kershaw. So how do you sort
- 3:17Speaker 1: of get to the point do you think where that
- 3:19Speaker 1: is happening, does it need to be a directive or
- 3:21Speaker 1: do you think it needs to be a directive firstly
- 3:23Speaker 1: from the Northern Territory government or could we have a
- 3:25Speaker 1: situation here where the police actually say themselves, do you
- 3:28Speaker 1: know what we need that bit of additional support.
- 3:30Speaker 4: Well, I think Natasha Files as the Chief Minister, needs
- 3:33Speaker 4: to show leadership on laur and order, which she continues
- 3:36Speaker 4: to fail to do. If she believed that crime was
- 3:40Speaker 4: something that she was actually going to care about, she
- 3:42Speaker 4: would be picking up the phone to the Prime Minister
- 3:45Speaker 4: and saying Albo, we need your help. And what we've
- 3:48Speaker 4: seen this year is on two occasions the Prime Minister
- 3:51Speaker 4: have to haul her in and tell her how to
- 3:53Speaker 4: do her job, and ultimately it just shows that this
- 3:57Speaker 4: is all about politics. It's not about people, both federal
- 4:00Speaker 4: and Territory labor are managing an optics issue rather than
- 4:04Speaker 4: delivering boots on the ground, which is what is actually
- 4:06Speaker 4: needed in towns like Alice Springs.
- 4:08Speaker 2: I guess.
- 4:08Speaker 1: On the other hand, though some are saying that Peter
- 4:11Speaker 1: Dutton is playing politics right now around the Voice by
- 4:15Speaker 1: using Alice Springs as you know, as his tool to
- 4:19Speaker 1: make the Voice seem as though it's not going to
- 4:20Speaker 1: work well.
- 4:21Speaker 4: I think what the Federal Opposition leader is highlighting is
- 4:24Speaker 4: that the severity of the issues happening in Alice Springs
- 4:28Speaker 4: and right across the territory is not going to be
- 4:30Speaker 4: resolved by twenty odd people pulled from the rest of
- 4:33Speaker 4: the country. And that's something we've been really strong on advocating,
- 4:38Speaker 4: is that if this Voice gets up, what is the
- 4:41Speaker 4: territory representation going to be. We really need to be
- 4:45Speaker 4: making sure and fighting for maximum representation if the Voice
- 4:49Speaker 4: is successful, because you know, we have significant challenges across
- 4:53Speaker 4: the territory that need to be resolved and they cannot
- 4:55Speaker 4: be resolved by people living in Sydney and Melbourne.
- 4:58Speaker 1: Any update from the colp's parliamentary wing at this point
- 5:01Speaker 1: in time as to whether you do or do not
- 5:03Speaker 1: support the Voice Obviously Peter Dutton has been out and
- 5:06Speaker 1: said that he doesn't. So where's your stance.
- 5:09Speaker 4: Yeah, our position is the same, Katie. We want more
- 5:12Speaker 4: information for Territorians. We know that right our electric span
- 5:17Speaker 4: from Alice Springs right up the center and into Darwin
- 5:19Speaker 4: and everyone is telling us they don't understand what it
- 5:22Speaker 4: is and they want more detail, and so that is.
- 5:24Speaker 3: What we have been pushing for.
- 5:25Speaker 4: We want to see significant consultation into the territory with
- 5:29Speaker 4: impartial information so that people can make up their own mind.
- 5:33Speaker 4: And we don't feel like it's a role for us
- 5:36Speaker 4: as members of Parliament to tell Territorians how to vote.
- 5:39Speaker 4: We know they'll make up their own mind and we
- 5:41Speaker 4: have one vote in this referendum, just like everyone else.
- 5:44Speaker 2: All right, Well, look on the voice.
- 5:45Speaker 1: I think that we're going to have so much more
- 5:47Speaker 1: discussion about this before we get to the point where
- 5:50Speaker 1: we actually go to vote, and every Territorian will have
- 5:53Speaker 1: the right to make that vote themselves and determine how
- 5:56Speaker 1: they want to vote. But what we do know in
- 5:58Speaker 1: the territory right now is that crime and the issue
- 6:01Speaker 1: of lawlessness is well and truly on the agenda now.
- 6:04Speaker 2: The Chief Minister had told us on the show yesterday.
- 6:07Speaker 1: That we need needs based funding from the feeds. Do
- 6:12Speaker 1: you think that we're still at that point of pushing
- 6:14Speaker 1: for that or realistically, you know, should the Northern Territory
- 6:18Speaker 1: Bement government be going a bit further and I mean,
- 6:21Speaker 1: are we still sort of their cap in hand? What
- 6:24Speaker 1: do you think needs to happen?
- 6:25Speaker 4: Look, money from the federal government is always great, but
- 6:28Speaker 4: as I said earlier, we had the Prime Minister promised
- 6:30Speaker 4: two hundred and fifty million dollars months ago and not
- 6:33Speaker 4: a single dollar has been spent in our springs. So
- 6:36Speaker 4: we can't sit around and wait for the Abanese government
- 6:39Speaker 4: to care about the territory. What we know is that
- 6:41Speaker 4: Natasha Files has all of the resources of government, all
- 6:45Speaker 4: of the ability to make laws that could protect our community,
- 6:48Speaker 4: and time and time again she fails to seize those opportunities.
- 6:52Speaker 4: Just a couple of weeks ago, off the back of course,
- 6:55Speaker 4: of the tragic killing of Declan Lavity, we saw Natasha
- 6:58Speaker 4: Files two weeks later finally propose some small bail reform.
- 7:03Speaker 4: It absolutely did not go far enough, and even the
- 7:06Speaker 4: criminals know that it didn't go far enough, which is
- 7:09Speaker 4: why we've continued to see brazen levels of offending over
- 7:12Speaker 4: the last few weeks, and it's because the consequences are
- 7:16Speaker 4: not there for people doing the wrong thing under Natasha
- 7:18Speaker 4: Files's government.
- 7:19Speaker 2: On that we also saw last night on Channel nine.
- 7:23Speaker 1: I'm not sure whether you have seen the vision or
- 7:24Speaker 1: not terror, but young people who've dubbed themselves the bon
- 7:27Speaker 1: Jovie Boys stealing cars, posting videos on social media.
- 7:32Speaker 2: So you've seen those videos.
- 7:33Speaker 3: Have It's horrific.
- 7:34Speaker 4: And I've spoken to a constituent whose vehicle was stolen
- 7:39Speaker 4: by that group. I mean, it's and you just hear
- 7:42Speaker 4: the stories constantly. It just shows you how brazen criminals are.
- 7:46Speaker 4: They know that even if they video themselves committing crimes,
- 7:50Speaker 4: that nothing is going to happen to them. I mean, Katie,
- 7:53Speaker 4: there was a time when CCTV was so effective everyone
- 7:57Speaker 4: would think, yep, I'm putting cameras up, I'll get a
- 7:59Speaker 4: footage of the criminal and the cops will be able
- 8:01Speaker 4: to get them.
- 8:02Speaker 3: Well, now the crims are doing their own.
- 8:04Speaker 4: CCTV, broadcasting it live to the universe, and nothing's happening
- 8:08Speaker 4: to them because the laws don't promote consequences for offending.
- 8:13Speaker 1: Look, it's hard to argue with you, because you know,
- 8:16Speaker 1: I see that vision and I just think, goodness me,
- 8:18Speaker 1: we've reached a point where these kids just have not
- 8:21Speaker 1: a care in the world welfare of being caught. Now,
- 8:23Speaker 1: I've spoken about it before, but I'll say it again.
- 8:26Speaker 1: I know that in Queensland they strengthen the laws so
- 8:28Speaker 1: that if you do actually share any of your crimes
- 8:31Speaker 1: on social media, there is greater punishment or certainly you
- 8:35Speaker 1: know there is further sentencing options.
- 8:38Speaker 2: Is that the path we should be going.
- 8:40Speaker 4: Down, without question, It's something we've certainly talked about as
- 8:43Speaker 4: a parliamentary team. The fact that you are have that
- 8:47Speaker 4: level of criminality where you are so emboldened, so lawless,
- 8:52Speaker 4: that you are happy to post videos of yourself committing crimes.
- 8:55Speaker 3: Shows that there is no remorse, shows that there.
- 8:58Speaker 4: Is no care for the community safety and it needs
- 9:01Speaker 4: to be dealt with accordingly. But of course we still
- 9:04Speaker 4: have a government that doesn't want to hold young people
- 9:06Speaker 4: accountable for their offending. Is the revolving door of bail
- 9:11Speaker 4: is alive and well in the Northern Territory and so
- 9:13Speaker 4: ultimately we continue to see criminals left on our streets
- 9:17Speaker 4: to cause further carnage.
- 9:18Speaker 3: And destruction to our community.
- 9:20Speaker 2: Leah, all of.
- 9:21Speaker 1: These serious issues continued to rage on. There is no
- 9:24Speaker 1: doubt about that. But then we've also got this side
- 9:26Speaker 1: show where the Chief Minister refuses to say if she's
- 9:29Speaker 1: got confidence in the Police Commissioner. The Police Commissioner's legal
- 9:33Speaker 1: representation issuing a statement proposing that mediation take place between
- 9:37Speaker 1: the legal representatives of the Northern Territory Government and the
- 9:41Speaker 1: legal representatives of the Commissioner, to be cheered by an
- 9:45Speaker 1: eminent retired judge from an interstate jurisdiction.
- 9:49Speaker 2: It is the.
- 9:49Speaker 1: Desire of the Commissioner that this mediation take place as
- 9:52Speaker 1: a matter of urgency, Leah, do you think that that
- 9:56Speaker 1: is what needs to happen here?
- 9:57Speaker 3: This needs to be urgently resolved.
- 9:59Speaker 4: This mess Natasha Files has created is causing mass destabilization
- 10:05Speaker 4: across our police force. You know, she can't say what
- 10:08Speaker 4: the future holds for the Police Commissioner or the future
- 10:12Speaker 4: and ultimately our police need that guidance. Without having a
- 10:16Speaker 4: clear leadership structure of who the police commissioner is means
- 10:19Speaker 4: they're effectively rudderless. They're in a holding pattern and at
- 10:23Speaker 4: a time when we have a crime crisis and a
- 10:25Speaker 4: police crisis. Let's not forget the low levels of morale,
- 10:29Speaker 4: the low resourcing, the fact that ninety seven percent of
- 10:32Speaker 4: our police don't think the government support them. You know,
- 10:35Speaker 4: this is an absolute recipe for disaster. And while Natasha
- 10:38Speaker 4: Files is fighting with Jamie Chalk at territories want to
- 10:41Speaker 4: know who at the highest levels of government is fighting
- 10:44Speaker 4: for safest streets. You know, our police are out there
- 10:46Speaker 4: fighting every day, but they can't do this alone. They
- 10:49Speaker 4: need to know that this government has their back and
- 10:52Speaker 4: that this government is focused on community safety.
- 10:54Speaker 2: I guess this is where the discussion has now turned to.
- 10:57Speaker 1: And obviously Peter Dutton out yesterday saying this, you know
- 11:01Speaker 1: that the FEDS do need to step in and help
- 11:02Speaker 1: sort the issues that we're facing in the territory.
- 11:04Speaker 2: Now, I know he's talking.
- 11:05Speaker 1: About obviously the federal police, but this is where the
- 11:08Speaker 1: discussion is getting to for a lot of Territorians. Right now,
- 11:11Speaker 1: we're there thinking, well, hang on a sec we don't
- 11:13Speaker 1: seem to be getting listened to. The crime continues to
- 11:17Speaker 1: Ray John, We've got the side show that is the
- 11:20Speaker 1: situation with the Police commissioner. People are feeling very disillusioned
- 11:25Speaker 1: and helpless.
- 11:27Speaker 4: And they should, because that is exactly the situation that's happening.
- 11:30Speaker 4: We are just completely devoid of leadership at the top,
- 11:34Speaker 4: and the government isn't listening. I mean, we had five
- 11:36Speaker 4: thousand people on the steps of Parliament House a few
- 11:38Speaker 4: weeks ago. There's another community crime rally happening this Saturday.
- 11:42Speaker 4: I'll be there, Katie, listening to people. Even last night
- 11:45Speaker 4: I stood at the end of a cul de sack
- 11:48Speaker 4: of people in Malac. They'd asked, they'd had so much
- 11:50Speaker 4: trouble with crime, they said, can you come and speak
- 11:52Speaker 4: to us? I went and stood with them for an hour, Katie,
- 11:55Speaker 4: just hearing the exasperation and heartbreak in their stories and
- 11:59Speaker 4: labour need to be out there doing the same thing.
- 12:01Speaker 4: They are so removed from the community at the moment.
- 12:05Speaker 3: They are just deaf to the people's concerns.
- 12:08Speaker 4: They are showing no indications at all that they're actually
- 12:12Speaker 4: going to do anything different on crime.
- 12:14Speaker 1: We'll go to from here because the way that a
- 12:17Speaker 1: lot of people are feeling right now is we've still
- 12:20Speaker 1: got sort of sixteen months to an election.
- 12:22Speaker 2: You know, you're saying all.
- 12:23Speaker 1: The right things that people sort of want to hear
- 12:25Speaker 1: when it comes to crime, but you're not the leader.
- 12:28Speaker 1: You know, you're the opposition leader. The government are obviously floundering,
- 12:33Speaker 1: I think, to put it mildly, with how they deal
- 12:35Speaker 1: with this situation with crime, but people are also sort
- 12:38Speaker 1: of fed up with you in some ways, where they're saying, well,
- 12:40Speaker 1: we don't want to hear an opposing voice. We actually
- 12:43Speaker 1: want to hear the government and the opposition sought this
- 12:48Speaker 1: bloody mess out and where.
- 12:50Speaker 4: Is exasperated as the community, Katie. I mean, we have
- 12:53Speaker 4: a wide range of solutions. We even just a couple
- 12:55Speaker 4: of weeks ago in Parliament. You know, we asked Natasha
- 12:58Speaker 4: fars twice in question time will you work with the
- 13:01Speaker 4: CLP on BAO reform to strengthen BOW And she laughed
- 13:04Speaker 4: in our face and said absolutely not. I'll never take
- 13:07Speaker 4: my advice from the CLP. I mean, we have tried
- 13:10Speaker 4: so many times to work in a bipartisan way. Now,
- 13:13Speaker 4: obviously being in opposition, I'm not the Chief Minister. I
- 13:16Speaker 4: don't have that decision making capability. But we bring the
- 13:19Speaker 4: voice of the community to the parliament. We bring the alternatives.
- 13:22Speaker 4: Two years ago we tried to strengthen BOW laws. Natasha
- 13:25Speaker 4: Farles voted it down and here we are two years
- 13:27Speaker 4: later with a chronic situation and still in those couple
- 13:31Speaker 4: of weeks ago.
- 13:32Speaker 3: They didn't strengthen them enough.
- 13:33Speaker 4: I mean, we've tried six times to have an inquiry
- 13:36Speaker 4: into our police crisis.
- 13:37Speaker 3: This government does not want to work with ours for the.
- 13:40Speaker 4: Betterment of our community or to deal with community safety,
- 13:44Speaker 4: and it's a time of great despair for our community.
- 13:47Speaker 3: We share in that feeling and sentiment with you, Lea.
- 13:50Speaker 1: Before I let you go, we spoke to the Chief
- 13:53Speaker 1: Minister yesterday and asked about the Center for National Resilience,
- 13:56Speaker 1: asked about whether there has been extensive damage out there.
- 14:00Speaker 1: That is absolutely not the case. The damage that is
- 14:03Speaker 1: out there is just wear and tear, regular wear and tear.
- 14:06Speaker 1: This is something that the opposition has been pushing. Have
- 14:09Speaker 1: you got any evidence to support it?
- 14:11Speaker 4: Look, we haven't, but we are hearing a lot of information.
- 14:15Speaker 4: I mean I just literally was grabbing a sandwich at
- 14:17Speaker 4: a shop the other day and had three trades dash
- 14:20Speaker 4: up to me and say this is what's happening out
- 14:23Speaker 4: there and describing total destruction of facilities. I think time
- 14:28Speaker 4: has come, you know, the rumors are swelling so strong
- 14:31Speaker 4: it's not enough for Natasha Files to say no, no,
- 14:33Speaker 4: it's only wear and tear. She's got to put up
- 14:36Speaker 4: the evidence that she has because for so many quarters
- 14:40Speaker 4: of our community to be talking about the damage in
- 14:42Speaker 4: that facility, something has to be you know, where there's smoke,
- 14:46Speaker 4: this fire, Katie, and this is a billowing fire of
- 14:49Speaker 4: epic proportions. So the government needs to put up and
- 14:52Speaker 4: explain how much they're spending on these so called general
- 14:55Speaker 4: repairs and what form they take, because we're hearing extensive damage,
- 14:59Speaker 4: broken windows, you know, you name it.
- 15:01Speaker 1: Look, I've heard the same I've certainly had people message
- 15:04Speaker 1: us here at the station and say exactly the same thing.
- 15:07Speaker 1: But I guess without any evidence, there'll be some people
- 15:10Speaker 1: listening this morning saying.
- 15:11Speaker 2: Leah, you know, are you just sort of sure? Yep?
- 15:14Speaker 2: Gossip young grand basically, And that's.
- 15:16Speaker 4: Fair, and we wouldn't normally operate on these types of things.
- 15:19Speaker 4: But when you hear it several times a day, every
- 15:21Speaker 4: single day, there's got to be something in it. And equally,
- 15:24Speaker 4: I think it just reinforces how scared people are of
- 15:26Speaker 4: retribution if there are traders out there fixing panels or windows,
- 15:31Speaker 4: whatever it might be. They're probably afraid that if they
- 15:35Speaker 4: put their name to it, they're not going to get
- 15:37Speaker 4: future government contracts or government work. And I think we've
- 15:40Speaker 4: seen this right across the community, where people are genuinely
- 15:43Speaker 4: afraid to come forward with information.
- 15:45Speaker 1: This is not a situation from you and from the
- 15:47Speaker 1: COLP where you're just political game plan.
- 15:50Speaker 3: I'm not making this up.
- 15:51Speaker 4: Like I said, I went to buy a sandwich the
- 15:53Speaker 4: other day and three trades bound up to me and
- 15:56Speaker 4: we're telling me.
- 15:57Speaker 3: All sorts of stories.
- 15:59Speaker 4: So you know where hearing it loud and clear from
- 16:01Speaker 4: people on the ground. It's just our ability to have
- 16:04Speaker 4: someone brave enough to come forward with something concrete is challenging,
- 16:08Speaker 4: and we respect people's fear because this is a very
- 16:12Speaker 4: malicious government who are desperate to work in secrecy.
- 16:15Speaker 2: Well look, I said it yesterday.
- 16:17Speaker 1: If there is anybody out there that wants to anonymously
- 16:19Speaker 1: send us something, I'd be more than happy to have
- 16:23Speaker 1: that emailed through three sixty at Mix one O four
- 16:25Speaker 1: nine dot com dot au Leafanocchio opposition leader.
- 16:30Speaker 2: Thank you very much for your time this morning.
- 16:31Speaker 3: Wonderful to chat to you all. Take care,