Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Chamber of Commerce CEO Greg Ireland is calling for clarity on how the NT Government’s new crime and safety measurements will be implemented

Transcript

Chamber of Commerce CEO Greg Ireland is calling for clarity on how the NT Government’s new crime and safety measurements will be implemented · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, we know the Northern Territory government this morning announcing
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: what they have said is a raft of changes, immediate
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: measures they're saying in relation to bail laws and also
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: when it comes to improved support and safety for retail
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: workers and increase police presence, a number of different measures
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: that they have announced this morning that I think it's
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: safe to say the community has been screaming out for
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: for quite some time. But joining me on the line
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: now to talk a little bit more about the situation
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: and how these measures will help, but also a bit
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  Speaker 1: more about how businesses are feeling in the wake of
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: the tragedy which occurred earlier this week. It is the
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  Speaker 1: Chamber of Commerce CEO Greg Island.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 3: Greg, Good morning Katie.
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: Greg.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: The situation that unfolded earlier in the week, I think
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: it is safe to say has absolutely shocked the Northern Territory.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: How is the business community feeling at this point?
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  Speaker 3: I look at everyone I speak who is absolutely devastated
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: for young declan Katie. It's hit very hard and we
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: saw that in the video this morning. Alex Bruce was
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: very emotional and I think that's carried through to a
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  Speaker 3: lot of businesses. In the community. It really has been
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: a game changing event, I think, and marks a real
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: shift and an escalation in the activities and as well
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: as what is needed from a response perspective.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, now let's talk about that response. The Northern Territory
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: government out this morning making a number of announcements.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Greg. Do you think that they're going to help.
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: I think they can't hurt, Katie. It's certainly something that's
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: you know, I think frustrates people from the perspective as
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: why has this taken so long to get to this point,
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  Speaker 3: And we certainly understand, and that's frustration. I think the
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: government is clearly on notice from the court of public opinion.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: At this point in time, we're still sort of twelve
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: months or so away from an election that people have
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: got memories and if this is going to be not
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: a successful outcome, then it's going to hurt considerably at
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  Speaker 3: the polls, I would expect. So it's an important situation
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: for everybody and one that we don't want to politicize,
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: but certainly want to get viable outcomes. So I think
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  Speaker 3: they're a step in the right direction. Will be interesting
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: to see how long some of them take and how
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: clear and how much clarity they do provide, but clearly
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  Speaker 3: something needs to change.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you're right.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: There's definitely people that are not wanting to politicize this situation,
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: but the fact is that everybody's sort of tried in
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: a positive way or in a straightforward way to get
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: some change and it hasn't happened up until today.
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's taken this drastic and horrible event to
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: trigger that, and it's frustrating for everybody. I'm sure it's
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: certain us for the business community. Ultimately, clarity is what
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: we need. The business community needs to understand what it
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: has to do. Safety for its workers is top of
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: the list. It absolutely has to provide a safe work environment.
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  Speaker 3: If police aren't sure how they can proceed under certain circumstances,
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  Speaker 3: Clarity is certainly the key, and the community in general
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: needs to know that that's having an impact and producing
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: a more livable environment, because it's getting to the point
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: where it's people are leaving town and that's hurting us
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: at multiple levels.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Greg, How is that you know that lack of clarity
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: for businesses impacting them at the moment, Because like we've
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: even seen a situation where some people have said do
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: not approach people if they're steering.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: Sorry, I'm just choking there, mate.
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah, well answer the question why you're chokating. It's it's
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  Speaker 3: critical that the business has a clear understanding of what
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: its employees need to do under those circumstances. And that's
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: perhaps where there's been some confusion in the past and
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  Speaker 3: that type of thing, and we've seen people take advantage
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  Speaker 3: of that, people walking out of supermarkets with trolleys full
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  Speaker 3: of food and just saying stop me if you're there.
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  Speaker 3: It's just not a good situation that we find ourselves in.
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: And certainly some of the measures that we've heard about
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: this morning are going to have an immediate impact on that.
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: But ultimately the hardening and the increased security of these
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  Speaker 3: contact points is expensive for business, and those costs are
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: simply going to be passed on. And are they taking
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  Speaker 3: away all of the risks? I don't think it completely
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  Speaker 3: eliminates it. The business needs to understand exactly what it
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: has to achieve to avoid the risk of further implications,
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: both legally and on the future of their staff. I'll
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: be feeling better in our case.
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  Speaker 2: I think I've recovered. I think I've recovered. Thank you. Now,
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  Speaker 2: just in relation to so.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: Legally, as you've just touched on there, what are some
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  Speaker 1: of the worries from businesses Because the fact is here
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  Speaker 1: you would have to think that things like industrial manslaughter
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  Speaker 1: are concerns for businesses.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, it's something that we're exploring internally with our workplace
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  Speaker 3: relations team. It is a risk. Business has to provide
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  Speaker 3: a safe environment. So you know, what we're dealing with
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  Speaker 3: here is wasn't an accident, but it's been very, very
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  Speaker 3: difficult to predict. But that same circumstances can manifest itself
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  Speaker 3: again into the future and that potentially that business is
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  Speaker 3: exposed to innustrial manslaughter if it hasn't done enough. So
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  Speaker 3: getting clarity on what is enough and where that line
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  Speaker 3: can be drawn in a realistic level is critical for business,
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  Speaker 3: and we have to make sure that we provide an
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  Speaker 3: operating environment it is safe and functional, but the business
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  Speaker 3: still has to be viable, so you know, there's a
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  Speaker 3: balancing act there. It's very unclear at this point.
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  Speaker 2: Greg.
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  Speaker 1: Also, with this announcement that was made this morning, a
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: lot of these changes or a lot of these measures
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  Speaker 1: seem to be for businesses that you know that sell alcohol,
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  Speaker 1: But the fact is you know, all you've got to
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  Speaker 1: do is go for a walk through a shopping center
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  Speaker 1: and speak to some of the employees and you hear
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  Speaker 1: that you know, they've been threatened with scissors, there's been
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: various violent situations that they've had to endure. So how
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: do we make sure that you know that businesses like
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  Speaker 1: that are kept safe as well?
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, Katie, that's a very pertinent point. And you know,
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  Speaker 3: whilst alcohol is a strong focus around the activity of
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: this event and others in the past, your spot on
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  Speaker 3: it can occur literally anywhere anywhere there's an asset that
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: is themed desirable and food and late nine outlets for
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  Speaker 3: supporting people are always in the firing line there as well,
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  Speaker 3: So it has to be across multiple industries. It has
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: to be something that translates into that broader context. Locking
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: up the alcohol we just won't fix the problem either.
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  Speaker 3: So we're certainly cognizant of the fact that people need
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: to be more aware of how they can participate in
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  Speaker 3: the installation process. We fully support that training environment. Having
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: some short term stop caps to allow some time for
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  Speaker 3: that to take place makes sense. So, you know, let's
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: get on with that. But we would like to see
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: more consequences for people involved in these activities. And I
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: don't think there's really any excuse for taking out an
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  Speaker 3: edge weapon and using it against somebody. It's just abhorrent
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  Speaker 3: and we certainly want police and the courts and everyone
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  Speaker 3: involved in that to active accordingly.
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, all you've got to do is, you know,
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  Speaker 1: I'm not sure if you saw it last night on
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  Speaker 1: nine News Darwin, but that situation where you've got two
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: teenagers in a corner store, you know, armed with knives
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: threatening a young bloke. That's the corner store that I
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: go to, and you know, looking at that young fella
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: having to deal with these two people then threatening him,
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  Speaker 1: it is just unbelievable. And unfortunately it's just it is
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  Speaker 1: not isolated, as we've spoken about time and time again.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely the case Katie, my young fellas twenty and has
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  Speaker 3: a job and you get scared about all of the
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: potential consequences that could occur. It used to be worried
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: about car accidents, and now you're worried about this. It's
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  Speaker 3: just growing all the time, and we certainly don't condone
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  Speaker 3: the activities that are happening at the moment. Noting that
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  Speaker 3: He's a trend outside the territory as well. We're seeing
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  Speaker 3: this throughout Queenslane and other jurisdictions in the country. More
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  Speaker 3: needs to be done around the root causes. That will
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  Speaker 3: take time. Let's welcome. I guess the steps in the
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: process of the moment, and really I think we need
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  Speaker 3: to be seeing at a bail and a sentencing level
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: some more activity there. I mean, I think there's opportunities
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: to free up some of the places in our prisons
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  Speaker 3: by introducing some work camps around the place that give
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  Speaker 3: people an opportunity to build some discipline and develop some responsibility,
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  Speaker 3: because it just seems that's lacking at the moment some
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: of the community.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Greg Island, I always appreciate your time. Thanks so
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: much for having a chat with us this morning and
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: for helping me out there as I was choking. Mate.
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: Thank you, no problem at all, Katie.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: Thanks