Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro has criticised the government for not attending a community meeting on crime despite racist comments being made by the organiser

Transcript

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro has criticised the government for not attending a community meeting on crime despite racist comments being made by the organiser · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: But we also know that there was a crime meeting
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  Speaker 1: that was held this morning out in Palmeston. Now the
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  Speaker 1: government questioning why the COLP attended that crime meeting when
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  Speaker 1: the organizer has reportedly made racist comments on social media.
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  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now is the Opposition
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  Speaker 1: leader Leah finocchi are O. Good morning to you, Leah.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie and to your listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Leah, firstly, why did you decide to attend that
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  Speaker 1: community meeting on crime this morning. I know that the
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  Speaker 1: government is now questioning why you were there when the
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  Speaker 1: organizer of that meeting has reportedly made some very racist
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  Speaker 1: comments on social media. I've read them and they are racist.
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  Speaker 1: Why did you decide to still attend?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think the question is why didn't government attend
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  Speaker 2: to listen to thirty or forty businesses who are sick
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  Speaker 2: to death of being broken into and victimized. Ultimately, yes,
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  Speaker 2: and someone made comments that absolutely do not aligned with
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  Speaker 2: our views, but it can't take away from all of
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  Speaker 2: the other people who stood together shoulder to shoulder to
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  Speaker 2: say enough is enough, and all they wanted was for
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  Speaker 2: government to come hear their concerns and explain to them
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  Speaker 2: what the government's going to do to make things different.
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  Speaker 2: But just like you've heard with Zushira, it's not just
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  Speaker 2: business owners, it's territorians, is our seniors. This is having
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  Speaker 2: a profound impact on how people live their lives, and
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  Speaker 2: it's driving people out of the territory. So it's a
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  Speaker 2: critical issue, Lea.
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  Speaker 1: Let's just get to these racist comments very quickly. First,
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  Speaker 1: do you condemn those comments?
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  Speaker 2: They are absolutely not appropriate. You know, there's no room
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  Speaker 2: for racism in our community. But you know, crime is
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  Speaker 2: not an issue of rape. I don't think anyone sees
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  Speaker 2: it that way. This is about you know, you do
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  Speaker 2: the crime, you do the time, It doesn't matter where
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  Speaker 2: you come from or what your background is. And ultimately,
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  Speaker 2: people have had a gut full of the crime stats
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  Speaker 2: speak for themselves, the stories from victims speak for themselves.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, you were just talking abouts. I had
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  Speaker 2: a senior in my community to come to me last
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  Speaker 2: week saying she couldn't even get a minibus on the
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  Speaker 2: weekend because the minibusses are too afraid to pull up
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  Speaker 2: in parts of parmasses to pick people up. Because the
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  Speaker 2: minibuses are getting beaten and the drivers are being assaulted.
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  Speaker 2: So this is profoundly impacting our community.
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  Speaker 1: All right, So Leah, on this meeting that's happened this morning,
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  Speaker 1: what exactly was said. Was there racism at that meeting
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  Speaker 1: this morning?
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  Speaker 2: No, there was no racism at the meeting. There was
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  Speaker 2: thirty or forty odd people there. There were representatives from
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  Speaker 2: police and territory families as well, which was good, and
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  Speaker 2: people just shared their concerns. They shared their stories. We
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  Speaker 2: had an alderman from Litchfield Council speak about Warabinda, the
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  Speaker 2: scout camp area being broken into recently and damage done
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  Speaker 2: and good stolen. People talked about their businesses being broken into,
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  Speaker 2: whether it was Tony out at Nunamad Tavern or the
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  Speaker 2: experience from Various Springs Tavern just a couple of weeks ago,
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  Speaker 2: and people just stood together and solid down already on
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  Speaker 2: this issue to say, you know, these little other human
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  Speaker 2: face of failed policy, they're the ones picking up the pieces.
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  Speaker 2: They're the ones trying to assure their staff that everything's
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  Speaker 2: okay and that they're going to be safe, and they're
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  Speaker 2: the ones trying to get on and employ people and
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  Speaker 2: deliver goods and services to territory. And so it was
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  Speaker 2: an important meeting and I believe Katie that it also
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  Speaker 2: had a very big crowd in Catherine Anne and Alice
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  Speaker 2: Springs today. So it was a really a mark of
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  Speaker 2: solidarity right around the territory to say to the government,
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  Speaker 2: look at us, we're here, We're risking everything to come
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  Speaker 2: out and put our face to this. Please listen to
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  Speaker 2: us and do something. Lea.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think that the government used those comments that
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  Speaker 1: had been made on social media, those racist comments that
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  Speaker 1: had been made on social media, as an excuse to
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  Speaker 1: not attend.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, there's no question government would have found an excuse
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  Speaker 2: no matter what the situation. They were never going to
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  Speaker 2: come in the first place. They're not interested in defending
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  Speaker 2: themselves or explaining their policy direction or listening to people
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  Speaker 2: on the ground. And this is a huge flaw. And
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  Speaker 2: whether it was Michael Gunner and Natasha Files, they're both
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  Speaker 2: the same. They both are burying their head in the sand.
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  Speaker 2: They're both not showing up and listening to people. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: where was the representation anywhere across the territory. How could
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  Speaker 2: sixteen people have miraculously been too busy to attend three
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  Speaker 2: different gatherings around the territory today. It's astonishing the level
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  Speaker 2: of denial therein and in the meantime, it's the community
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  Speaker 2: who suffers, and that's why we were there. We want
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  Speaker 2: to show the community we stand with them, we hear them,
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  Speaker 2: we understand the profound impact, and we're trying to force
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  Speaker 2: this government to understand that they've got to take action.
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  Speaker 2: They're the ones in the driver's seat. I can't do
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  Speaker 2: it from a position. I know we've tried so many time,
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  Speaker 2: Katy with our own legislation, but they have to be
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  Speaker 2: the ones to do it.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's safe to say that you know, everybody's
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  Speaker 1: had enough and it's pretty sad when you hear from
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  Speaker 1: the Council of the Aging this morning that you know
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  Speaker 1: that seeing is are scared to go out and do
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  Speaker 1: the things that they should be able to enjoy. Lea.
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  Speaker 1: I do want to move along because there is the
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  Speaker 1: other very There is issue right now of the code
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  Speaker 1: yellows that are in place at both Royal dal And
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  Speaker 1: Hospital and also the Palmeston Regional Hospital. Do you feel
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  Speaker 1: as though the government is doing enough right now to
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  Speaker 1: not only lift those code yellows, but to ensure that
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  Speaker 1: we've got adequate staffing levels across the board when it
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  Speaker 1: comes to healthcare and the territory.
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  Speaker 2: Well, clearly not. I mean I nearly fell off my
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  Speaker 2: chair Katie last night when I watched the news and
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  Speaker 2: saw Natasha Fars say that we had no credibility on health.
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  Speaker 2: I mean goodness, this is the same Chief Minister who
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  Speaker 2: has been the Health Minister for six years and presided
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  Speaker 2: over six code yellows in eighteen months and three this week.
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  Speaker 2: I mean they are completely dropping the ball when it
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  Speaker 2: comes to health delivery. We've had fourteen hundred health professionals
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  Speaker 2: leave the department over the last twelve months. You know
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  Speaker 2: this is crisis point. The number of elective surgeries that
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  Speaker 2: have continuously been canceled, the uncertainty around healthcare, the pressure
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  Speaker 2: on our nursing and doctor and other staff in our
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  Speaker 2: hospital has been profound over time, is through the roof.
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  Speaker 2: And yet they're just telling us everything's okay and don't worry,
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  Speaker 2: We've got this. Well. I don't think people believe them anymore, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: Something urgently needs to be done.
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  Speaker 1: Leah the AMA. The Australian Medical Association's Northern Territory branch president,
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  Speaker 1: doctor Robert Parker, joined us on the show a bit
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  Speaker 1: earlier this morning. He had said, you know that this
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  Speaker 1: is something that he had written all the way back
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  Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen to the then federal Health Minister Greg
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  Speaker 1: Hunt about that there does need to be further funding
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  Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory. We know that we've got
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  Speaker 1: a situation where where we do, unfortunately have a population
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  Speaker 1: that is unewell. We seem to have more presentations to
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  Speaker 1: the hospital. There's a number of different factors behind that.
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  Speaker 1: But you know, on this one, it does really seem
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  Speaker 1: as though the government, no matter what your stripes, we've
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  Speaker 1: all got to get together and sort this out. We've
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  Speaker 1: got some serious issues in the territory around health.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, we absolutely do. I mean, we've got to get
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  Speaker 2: on top of alcohol fueled harm and violence. We know
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  Speaker 2: that represents a lot of traffic coming through the emergency department.
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  Speaker 2: We also know that age care needs to be looked.
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  Speaker 2: Got to mean, this again is a federal issue for sure,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, I'm looking to the Labor government to
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  Speaker 2: see if there'll be any movement there. But we've got
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  Speaker 2: seventy five seniors in our hospital systems who should have
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  Speaker 2: other dignified care, not be sitting in a hospital bed.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, these are critical issues. But ultimately we've got
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  Speaker 2: staff leaving in droves because they're overworked, they're not being supported,
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  Speaker 2: they've had the pay frees hanging over their heads. And
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  Speaker 2: crime is as much an issue to a nurse or
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  Speaker 2: a doctor as it is to anyone out in the community.
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  Speaker 2: So these are issues that are affecting people's ability to
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  Speaker 2: stay and live in the territory and the government has
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  Speaker 2: to recognize that and come to the table and understand.
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  Speaker 2: The employment piece needs to be there, but so does
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  Speaker 2: lifestyle lea.
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  Speaker 1: We are fast running out of time. But I know
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  Speaker 1: that you had made claims yesterday. The opposition of mad
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  Speaker 1: claim yesterday that the lifting of the alcohol ban has
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  Speaker 1: added extra pressure on the health system. Doctor Robert Parker
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  Speaker 1: said that that is a fact of certainty and that
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  Speaker 1: it is contributing. Do you have any evidence though that
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  Speaker 1: does really you know, that does actually support those claims
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  Speaker 1: that that alcohol legislation's made a difference.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, you just have to look at the crimes. That's Katie,
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  Speaker 2: and it shows that. I mean, ultimately, you speak to
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  Speaker 2: belief speak to you.
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  Speaker 1: No, I mean in terms of sorry, I mean in
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  Speaker 1: terms of the code yellow.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, Katie, code yellows mean that there's too much pressure
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  Speaker 2: on the system and they need to cut elective surgeries
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  Speaker 2: and they don't have the staff and the beds to
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  Speaker 2: deal with the crisis. So obviously that there means any
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  Speaker 2: presentations to hospital become too many and they have to
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  Speaker 2: triage it to only the most serious serious care. What
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  Speaker 2: we's name is is the Code yellow might not have
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  Speaker 2: necessarily been triggered by alcohol, but it's a huge part
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  Speaker 2: of what our nursing staff and our doctors have to
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  Speaker 2: deal with. If you took away even half of the
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  Speaker 2: aco whole related health concerns out of our hospital networks,
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  Speaker 2: I think you'd find we'd be in Code yellower a
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  Speaker 2: far lot less. And ultimately the ending of that stronger
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  Speaker 2: future legislation has had detrimental and terrible impacts on the
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  Speaker 2: ground and Alice Springs. You know, retailers, we're saying that
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  Speaker 2: very next day that alcohol sales were up three hundred percent.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, it's eye watering stuff, Katie. We know alcohol
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  Speaker 2: is the root of many problems here in the territory
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  Speaker 2: and it's something we have to get on top of it.
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  Speaker 2: And that is why we're so certain about needing different
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  Speaker 2: types of therapeutic support. There needs to be to some
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  Speaker 2: extent a point where if someone is literally killing themselves
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  Speaker 2: on grog, that we have to intervene and say you
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  Speaker 2: need support and you are going to go into a
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  Speaker 2: treatment facility. I think this government's approach of volunteer therapy
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  Speaker 2: is really not targeting those most chronically affected by drinks.
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  Speaker 1: Well. Lea Finocchiaro, the opposition later, I appreciate your time
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  Speaker 1: this morning. We'll talk to you again very soon.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, take care everyone.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you,