Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT Airports' Ross Baynes says extra security measures including dog patrols will be introduced after cars were damaged and stolen from the airport's secure car park

Transcript

NT Airports' Ross Baynes says extra security measures including dog patrols will be introduced after cars were damaged and stolen from the airport's secure car park · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now what we do know. You've just heard from Ian
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: a short time ago who came back after working five
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: fo over the last few days, came back yesterday to
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: find that his vehicle had been damaged extensively after just
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: purchasing at brand new, just purchasing it, and it was
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: parked at the airport's secure car park. Now joining us
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: on the line to tell us a little bit more
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: about what the situation is with that car park is
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Anti Airport's executive general Manager of Property and Terminal, Ross Baines.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Ross, Good morning Katie.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: How are you not too bad? Now? Ross? Obviously we'd
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: heard from Ian just a short time ago about his
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: vehicle being damaged in that car park, in the Long
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Stay car park. We also had it confirmed by the
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory Police a bit earlier this morning that two
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: cars were stolen from there overnight, one of them then
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: used in a ram raid out at Nunamar. Ross. Has
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: this been an issue for the airport for a little
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: while now?
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: Oh, look, it has escalated unfortunately, Katie. We're gravely concerned
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: is an organization about the damage and theft of vehicles
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: from the airport's car park. It's becoming quite apparent the
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: vandalism and theft is coordinated and brazen.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: How many vehicles have you had damaged? Oh?
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: Look, look recently, we've had a handful of vehicles.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: It used to be by exception over an extended period
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: of time, but it has unfortunately escalated over the last
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: few months to the point where we have security and
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: we have CCTV, but we're going to significantly increase security
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: with additional foot vehicle and dog patrols and upgrade and
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: expand our CCTV network across the airport.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: Right, So has that decision just been made today, Ross?
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Or when was that decision made?
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: It was in train, but it's been brought forward, Katie,
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: because look at how we can improve customer service and
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: customer safety. So we review not only security but all
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: aspects of the passenger journey to see how we can
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: improve it. So this was in train, but it's definitely
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: been brought to the front burner to the point where
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: we were moving as quickly as we can and talking
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: security companies, CCTV providers, etc.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: I mean, you must be pretty annoyed, to put it lightly,
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: about what has happened last night with those two cars.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: Stolen. Oh, look, we look first of all us and
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: see thoughts go out to the people whose cars have
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: been damaged or stolen recently. As I said, I want
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: to be insured public, the traveling public that we have
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: security in place. It's not going to have to be
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: ramped up because of this. It's becoming an escalating concern
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: in our car parks.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I know there'd be people listening thinking how
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: effective is that security given the fact that the vehicles
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: have been damaged and stolen.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: Yes, look, we've had We've always had mobile patrols, and
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: I won't go into I'm not going to educate those
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: people that might be listening that have the wrong ideas
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: about what they want to do in the evenings. But
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: we've always had security in place. We're just going to
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: amplify it significantly. As I said, I want to stress
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: all we ow additional foot vehicle and dog patrols and
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: every car park across our airport at Darwin Ross.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: How quickly do you anticipate that those increased patrols, including
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: the dog dog patrols, are going to get under a There'll.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: Be tonight, possibly not the doctor tolls tonight, But we
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: have had static guards in our car parks. They're going
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: to be across all our car parks, and but they'll
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: they'll increase from tonight. You don't plug in a CCTV overnight.
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: But that's as I said in train and I'm very
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: very high priority. And the dog patrols will start in
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: the next few days.
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: And I mean, obviously this is going to be a
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: costly exercise. Do you have any idea how much it's
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: actually going to cost to put on this additional security.
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: Look, it is unfortunately costly exercise. Will significantly increase our
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: operating costs and to partially, let me be very clear,
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: partially offset these we're going to bring in a temporary
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: security serve charges two dollars per.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: Day, right, So the cost is going up as a
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: result of that additional security that's required. I mean, it
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: does sound like it's a small amount, but I guess
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: depending on how long you've got your car there for,
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: it can still be quite expensive.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, existing discounts will still apply, so online booking
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: and advanced booking where it will still apply across the
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: board and family discounts. But you know, these charges that
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: aren't having a person standing are a number of people
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: plus dogs, plus cars, vehicles, et ce. It is a charge.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: We're not passing all the charge on. It is very
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: clear to the traveling public runing partially, we're absorbing a
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: large amount of it ourselves as an organization.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: Ross, you know, the airport organization. You guys must be
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: pretty upset and frustrated that this is happening on the
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: airport land at the airport.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: Car park there.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: How long has it been that you've been sort of
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: seeing this increase in crime and criminal behavior on the
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: grounds there at the airport, Because I know it's not
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: simply just sort of the terminal in the car parks,
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: but you've got a lot of that bushland area nearby
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: as well.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: Look, it has ramped up significantly only recently. We have
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: seen slider increases over the last twelve months, but over
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: the last few months it seems to have ramped up
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: quite significantly.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: And do you have any idea why, Look.
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: We don't. What we do is we work proactively with
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: law on forward law enforcement agencies to ensure our customer's vehicles,
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: I say, while they're on our airport precincts.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: Well, Ross, I appreciate your time this morning. I know
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: I do just want to go back to that call.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: I had a bit earlier from Ian, one of the
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: listeners who'd spoken to us, who arrived yesterday and came
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: back to find his vehicle had been damaged, the windows smashed,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: no ignition, barrel of you know, some serious issues obviously
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: with that car and the damage that had been caused.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: I know he's trying to get, you know, information from
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: the police, and they've told him that he needs to
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: contact the management of the car park there. He's sort
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: of stuck in the middle of a rock and a
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: hard place. By the sounds of things, are the airport
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: management working with people like him who who've had their
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: cars damaged through no fault of their own.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: Oh look absolutely, if he's not getting a response, please Katie,
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: you have my email details, Please tell them to contact
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: me directly, all right. We want these people that you know,
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: will try and alleviate the pain that they're game for
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: as much as we can.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Ross, I appreciate you having a chat to us
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: this morning on very short notice. Thank you very much
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: for speaking with me.
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: My pleasure. Thank you