Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Member for Solomon Luke Gosling on the alleged drug scandal with one of his staffers, and national security as the Ukraine situation escalates

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Member for Solomon Luke Gosling on the alleged drug scandal with one of his staffers, and national security as the Ukraine situation escalates · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now we know that. Last week it was reported there's
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: a member of Luke Gosling's staff and the president of
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Territory Labour's youth wing, resigned from his job after a
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: social media video surfaced showing him allegedly snorting a white substance. Now,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: the video was reportedly posted to Snapchat last October and
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: shows the Northern Territory Young Labor president with this substance
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  Speaker 1: on a table and then well appearing to snort it
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: through a fifty dollars zero. Now joining me on the
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: show is the member for Solomon, Luke Gosling. Good morning
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: to you, Luke.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Now, Luke, it is understood that this video was shot
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: in October twenty twenty two months after the election, but
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: it was shared on this social media a year later.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: At what point did you become aware that your staff
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: member was in this video allegedly with drugs?
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: When my chief of staff contacted me and said, well,
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: I was down in Canberra for sittings for the last
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: two weeks and said this had happened. But I want
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: to thank you Katie for not mentioning this young fellow's name.
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: I think he's already been dragged through the media enough
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  Speaker 3: he offered me, apologized to me that this had sort
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: of happened, and offered to resign, and I accepted that resignation.
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: But I've been checking in with him to see if
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  Speaker 3: he's a right caught up with him last night, and
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  Speaker 3: you know, I think he's going to learn a lot
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: from these lessons and he needs to.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: So, I mean, what was your reaction when you found out.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: I would imagine that you were pretty disappointed.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, well, of course, you know, he's a very intelligent
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  Speaker 3: and talented young man and he will go a long
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  Speaker 3: way if he learns these lessons. And obviously it's disappointing
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: when a member of your staff in the media for
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: all the wrong reasons, when we're trying to talk about
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: all our positive plans for the future, and we had
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: elbow here on the weekend, We've there's been election commitments.
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: We've obviously trying to put a spotlight so that territory
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  Speaker 3: ends can see what sort of what sort of wedging
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: sort of tactics that the federal government use in that
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  Speaker 3: they announce a lot of stuff, never follow through and
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: then try and find ways to sort of divide and
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: split the community. So there's I've got some big responsibility.
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  Speaker 3: So I was obviously a distraction and glad it's behind
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: us now.
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  Speaker 1: So I just want to ask, is he still the
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  Speaker 1: president of the Young Labor Party.
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  Speaker 3: I don't know the answer to that question, Katie. I
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  Speaker 3: don't get involved in the party issues to that extent,
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  Speaker 3: as you would have heard other MPs say, we're incredibly
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  Speaker 3: busy doing our job, which is to make sure that
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  Speaker 3: the territory gets the best possible deal from from.
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  Speaker 2: From Canberra and from from politics.
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  Speaker 1: I guess, you know. I guess the thing is people
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: will be wondering, if he's no longer working in your office,
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  Speaker 1: should he still be the president of Young Labor And
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  Speaker 1: is it really you know, the what Young Labor wants
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  Speaker 1: to present.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, and the party's working through that and their questions
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  Speaker 3: you can put to them now.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: You mentioned that obviously you met with him last night.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: How is he going?
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I know he's going all right.
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: I think it's been a difficult time for him, but
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: you know, they're the consequences of his actions. He's got
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: to learn those lessons. And yeah, I think there's much
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: bigger things that we need to be talking about because
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  Speaker 3: our country faces enormous challenges. Our economy faces enormous challenges.
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  Speaker 3: We just had the Chamber of Commerce on talking about
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  Speaker 3: jobs and need for jobs and need for investment. So
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: that's where my focus is and needs to be, and
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: the party will look after its own processes.
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: Luke, have you had to have a further look into
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  Speaker 1: the way that you recruit staff for or you know,
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: how your starf for operate following on from this incident.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, obviously there's.
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  Speaker 3: Reflection on when things like this happened about you know
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: what could have been us. But you know, when you
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  Speaker 3: when you have someone who's highly recommended and obviously highly capable,
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: and you've been recommended by people that you that you respect,
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  Speaker 3: and then something else comes out of the blue from
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  Speaker 3: when someone was very young. We must also say not
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: to excuse the behavior, but all of these things just
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: come together into what has been a disappointment, but something
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  Speaker 3: we're definitely moving on from because we've got a big job.
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  Speaker 3: We've got a federal election coming up. The territory needs
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: more serious investment, not just more announcements by the government
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  Speaker 3: that are never followed through on.
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  Speaker 1: Well, look, Luke, I can tell I know that you're
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: obviously keen to talk about other things, but I do
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  Speaker 1: want to ask, and I know that this is something
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  Speaker 1: that the CLP has been questioning over the last couple
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: of weeks. Does the Labor Party have an issue with drugs? No, none, whatsoever.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: No, Katie.
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  Speaker 3: And obviously tomorrow there might be, you know, because someone
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: out there that wants to do the Chief Minister harm
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  Speaker 3: has got another photo. But from what I know, from
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  Speaker 3: what I've seen of the conduct of people in the party,
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  Speaker 3: you've just got people who want to working people to
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: have a better deal. They want good health services, they
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: want jobs. You know, jobs is where it's at. And
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  Speaker 3: I'll leave all the other politics and carry on to
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: others because I'm cracking on with the job, all right.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: I do want to talk to you about an issue
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: which has certainly sort of you know, made headlines for
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: us over the last couple of weeks, and that is
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: some of the staffing concerns and also pressures on the
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: Northern territories hospitals. I know that last week obviously both
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader we're in Darwin.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: They're answering questions on the show about some of those issues. Look,
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: do we need additional funding for the Northern Territories hospitals
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  Speaker 1: or do you think what we've got at the moment
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  Speaker 1: is enough.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, the hospital is under pressure. Obviously we've had the
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: added difficulties that have come with with COVID, and you
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: know we need it to open up. And now that
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: we have, obviously there are people who are getting unwell.
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: Generally people aren't getting too unwell, which is obviously fantastic
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  Speaker 3: and thanks to all the Territorians out there and the
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  Speaker 3: health workers that have just done a sterling effort. You know,
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: if you're ever getting cranky about having a mask on
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: and it is annoying, but if you do get cranky
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  Speaker 3: about that, just remember all those health professionals have had
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: all this ppe on and been wearing it for just
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: years now. So I want to give them a big
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  Speaker 3: shout out. And yes, we do need more funding in
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  Speaker 3: our health services and federal labor.
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  Speaker 2: As everyone would know.
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  Speaker 3: Not only do we back Medicare and stop it from
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: being torn down by the Tories by the Coalition, but
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: we haven't been Obviously, nine years we've been out of
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: office and there has been cuts to Medicare, but we'll
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: always protect Medicare, will make sure that our health and
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  Speaker 3: hospitals system is funded. You'd remember, Caddy that I personally
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: got next to extra seventy million dollars for the Parmesan Hospital.
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  Speaker 3: Kevin Rudd's government gave us a GP superclinic ad in
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  Speaker 3: Parmeston and we're making sure there's good health services for
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  Speaker 3: Aboriginal Territorians, Aboriginal medical services to make sure that they're
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: healthy and well and out of the hospital system.
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: Can we expect any further commitments from.
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  Speaker 3: And that lead up to the election, Absolutely, there'll be
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: more to say. We've got to remember there's it's three
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: months until the election.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: Well do we even have a date yet? Look clear
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  Speaker 1: about it.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, we're in this pseudo campaign phase at the moment
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  Speaker 3: where you know the Prime Minister Scott Morrison really has
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: failed on quarantine, failed on vaccines, failed on rats and
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  Speaker 3: basically has meant that our community and I'm talking around
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  Speaker 3: us Australia has been shut down. It's an enormous damage
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: to business as it's really hit the tourism ministry hard.
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  Speaker 3: But now what he figures is if he pushes out
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  Speaker 3: to the last possible minute he can call an election.
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  Speaker 3: Something might happen in the meantime like a conflict or something.
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  Speaker 3: You can well and see him ramping up the talk
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  Speaker 3: about conflicts.
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  Speaker 2: But what they do is they wedge.
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  Speaker 3: They just find ways to divide people and that is
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  Speaker 3: not leadership.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we will wait and see exactly what data that
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  Speaker 1: election is called Luke. Obviously all eyes are on Russia
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: and the Ukraine at the moment. National security it is
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  Speaker 1: something that is it seems to be at the four
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  Speaker 1: in Australia right now. We know over the weekend obviously
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  Speaker 1: it was reported the Chinese Navy used a military grade
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: laser to attack a Royal Australian Air Force plane. Looke.
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  Speaker 1: How do you see Darwin in all of this uncertainty.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think that there is as much uncertainty or
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  Speaker 1: do you feel as though it is something that's just
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  Speaker 1: being ramped up by the PM.
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: Of course, there is great uncertainty in the world at
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  Speaker 3: the moment. You've got two big powers, Russia and China,
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  Speaker 3: who are more aggressive in their foreign policy than they
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  Speaker 3: have been in terms of crimea and concerns about the
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: future of security in the South China Sea. I think
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: what I'm really impressed by is the way that we've
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: continued to and I'm talking about the heads of our
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: national security agencies continue to say to politicians and directly
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: to the Prime Minister, let's not split on national security
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  Speaker 3: because the only people that that helps is our adversaries
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: or our potential adversaries. We need to be united as
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: a country because we do face big challenges and that
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: is why the Defense Force is separate from politics. They
• 9:52
  Speaker 3: do their job for Australia. So Elbows made that clear
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: when he was up here on the weekend. He actually
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: turned up to eightieth anniversary memorial services to the Peri,
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: unlike the Prime Minister. But I'm not going to get
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: focused on that. What I want the Prime Minister to
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  Speaker 3: do is to probably for once in his career, lead
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: to show leadership instead of dividing the country and on
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  Speaker 3: national security. The labor will always stand up for our
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: principles and our values and we'll make sure the Defense
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: Force has got enough budget and wherewithal to do its
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: job properly. But at the moment, Katie, we haven't got
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  Speaker 3: submarines in ten years time and that's a disgrace.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: Well, Luke Gosling, you can certainly tell there is an
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: election not too far away. Always good to catch up
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: with you. I really appreciate your time this morning.
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks Katie. Look forward to talking about other issues
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: another time.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: Thank you.