Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Erina Early on the damning claims against Jamie Chalker and his lack of support for firefighters

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Erina Early on the damning claims against Jamie Chalker and his lack of support for firefighters · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now, some pretty serious claims made over the weekend. In
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: a report by the NT Independent claims that the Northern
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Territory Commissioner for Police Foreign Emergency Services allegedly told new
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  Speaker 1: recruits on their second day of training that all firefighters
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  Speaker 1: are greedy and it was and that he was coming
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  Speaker 1: after one senior fire officer who is a union delegate. Now,
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  Speaker 1: the report claims that mister Chalker, who's also the police
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  Speaker 1: Commissioner and the head of NT Emergency Services, allegedly made
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  Speaker 1: the statement to about twelve NT fire recruits.
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  Speaker 2: This was back in April.
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  Speaker 1: When they were well, when there was roughly twenty people
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  Speaker 1: in the room. Now, it's one of those things, I
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  Speaker 1: guess where unless you've heard it yourself, I'm not one
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  Speaker 1: hundred percent sure exactly what was said in that room.
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  Speaker 1: But the union head, Erina Early, has backed the claims,
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  Speaker 1: doubling down and saying that they're getting sick of the
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  Speaker 1: commissioner disrespecting our firefighters and making derogatory comments which have
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  Speaker 1: no substance. United Workers Union NTE secretary Erina Early joins.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: Me on the line. Now, good morning to you, Erina.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 2: How are you not too bad?
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  Speaker 1: Now?
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  Speaker 2: These are some pretty big claims.
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  Speaker 1: What exactly is the commissioner being accused of saying to
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  Speaker 1: these new recruits?
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  Speaker 3: Thanks, Katie. So yeah, on the second day, as you stated,
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  Speaker 3: of the recruit squad training, that was the twentieth of April,
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  Speaker 3: is the CEO for the fire Service, Jamie Chalker, was
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  Speaker 3: invited to make him the address to the new recruits.
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  Speaker 3: During his address, he said that the union was a bully.
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  Speaker 3: He's not going to tolerate bullying behavior within his fire service,
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  Speaker 3: and that there's a senior fire officer who's also a
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  Speaker 3: union delegate, and that he was coming after after him.
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  Speaker 2: Goodness, sorry, Erona, you go on.
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  Speaker 3: Right, yeah, and then he then started talking about there's
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  Speaker 3: a lot of overtime in the fire service and that
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  Speaker 3: firefighters are greedy. He's said that don't follow that same
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  Speaker 3: pathway with the greedy firefighters continuing pathway.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Eroni, you weren't there, were you?
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  Speaker 1: So obviously this has been relayed to you by people
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  Speaker 1: who were there.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, I mean, do you They are such big claims.
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  Speaker 1: I guess some will be wondering how you can substantiate
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  Speaker 1: them when you weren't there.
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  Speaker 3: Now, that's a good point, Katie, well, you've got these
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  Speaker 3: new recruits who said it's a second day of their job.
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  Speaker 3: They're the ones who've come forward, so they're putting you know,
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  Speaker 3: they're putting their neck on the line. There were other
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  Speaker 3: people present in the room as well who backed up
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  Speaker 3: the claims. It was it's quite extraordinary that there's well
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: over fifteen people who've got the same story.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, is this the only thing that's happened that has
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  Speaker 1: made the firies feel disrespected by the commissioner.
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: No, Look, they've been ongoing stuff and Katie. People may
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  Speaker 3: think they're small, but it does really impact fieries how
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  Speaker 3: they feel valued and respected by the commissioner. For example,
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  Speaker 3: when it's budget time, the fire service doesn't hardly get
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  Speaker 3: a look in at the budget. You've got appliances which
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  Speaker 3: are well like well over being replaced, they never get
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  Speaker 3: put into the budget. The Commissioner has made derogative comments before.
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  Speaker 3: This is not the first time in a recruit squad
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  Speaker 3: that has made comments about fireies. When he appears at
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  Speaker 3: fiery events, he's in a police uniform. He should actually
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  Speaker 3: not be dressed as a police commissioner. He's there as
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  Speaker 3: the CEO of fire. All of those things really send
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  Speaker 3: a message to firefighters that he is the police Commissioner,
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  Speaker 3: not the CEO of fire Erina.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: Look, is this a smear campaign against the commissioner due
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: to the current pay dispute with the fires?
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  Speaker 3: Oh? Look, absolutely not the police Jamie Chalk, who doesn't
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  Speaker 3: have a say over the wage increase that comes out
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  Speaker 3: from government that's with their wage policy and the Commissioner
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  Speaker 3: for Public Employment. This is not a smear campaign against him.
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  Speaker 3: I've been quite vocal about the fire service should be
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  Speaker 3: not part of the police. But this is an ongoing
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  Speaker 3: issue that the CEO has had with our firing and
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  Speaker 3: these accusations that he's made. Is the firing have had enough?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: It's like I said, it's a really big call, you know,
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  Speaker 1: for these people to step forward and obviously approach you
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  Speaker 1: as as the head of the union to say that
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  Speaker 1: they've had enough, and you know, others coming forward, particularly
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  Speaker 1: as new recruits. So on this particular occasion on the
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  Speaker 1: twentieth of April, I think it was how many of
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  Speaker 1: them have now approached you erinor and really raised these worries.
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  Speaker 3: We've had roughly about fifteen people have come forward and
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  Speaker 3: confirmed that this had occurred. There were other people present,
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  Speaker 3: but we're not expecting them to come forward. So you
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  Speaker 3: had the CEO himself, you had the Chief Fire Officer,
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  Speaker 3: you had the assistant Chief Fire officer and their media
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  Speaker 3: person or present and it was videotaped.
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  Speaker 2: Wow. So is that video out there?
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  Speaker 3: We haven't got a copy of it, but we are
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  Speaker 3: aware there is a video recording.
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  Speaker 2: Erina, what do you think needs to happen here?
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  Speaker 3: I really or I'm of the personal view based on
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  Speaker 3: the instructions from my members is they want the CEO
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  Speaker 3: to be made it accountable for his actions. They have
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  Speaker 3: lost all respect and basically they don't find him as
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  Speaker 3: their leader of their fire service. Something needs to be
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  Speaker 3: drastically done for mister Chalker to regain his leadership and
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  Speaker 3: trust or the fire service, or he needs to step
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  Speaker 3: down as a CEO of fire.
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  Speaker 1: So you think that that realistically, they are the only
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  Speaker 1: options there? Yes, Erin, I know that you have also
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  Speaker 1: made public comments saying that you do feel as though
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  Speaker 1: the fire is need to be separated from the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory Police as it currently stands. Obviously, the Police Commissioner
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  Speaker 1: is also the CEO for the fire and also emergency services.
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  Speaker 1: You feel as though that needs to be separated.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, do, Katie. So we've been asking for this for
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  Speaker 3: quite a while. So police is such a specialized area
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  Speaker 3: and a lot of resources and budget needs to go
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  Speaker 3: towards police. So ware of the view that basic police
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: have there been their own separate department, and then you'd
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  Speaker 3: have an emergency service agency which would fire would come
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  Speaker 3: under Emergency Service bush fire, the ant and ambulance where
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  Speaker 3: we finally win a campaign to bring ambulets back to government.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: Well, I'll tell you what this is a I think
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  Speaker 1: this is an incredibly interesting story.
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  Speaker 2: Like I said earlier, there are big claims being made.
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  Speaker 1: But you've said there are fifteen people who've come forward
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  Speaker 1: and you know, have said that the police commissioner or
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  Speaker 1: the commissioner has made these comments. We have been in
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  Speaker 1: contact with the Northern Territory Police to see if we
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  Speaker 1: can get a response.
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  Speaker 2: At this stage we've not been able to.
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  Speaker 1: But Erin, I mean, this is a concern and this
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  Speaker 1: is a story which is going to, you know, to
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  Speaker 1: make a lot of people feel quite worried.
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  Speaker 2: I think.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely absolutely, Catie.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, thank you very much for your time this morning.
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  Speaker 1: Before I let you go, I did just catch up
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  Speaker 1: with the new Northern Territory Attorney General and Minister for
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: just Chancey Paig. We spoke about that report into the
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: prison right which happens. Well, it's a couple of years
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: ago now causing around thirty million dollars worth of damage
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  Speaker 1: erin how are things going from our prison officers perspective?
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  Speaker 1: Are they feeling safe in their jobs?
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  Speaker 3: Are they still feeling unsafe? Katie. We haven't heard from
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  Speaker 3: the new minister yet, but we're hoping the offers would
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: reach out, but looks like we'll have to reach out first.
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: We would love a copy of this payment review. I
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: think everyone should have a copy of this review. Its
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  Speaker 3: tax pays money. It's a safety of the prisoners, it's
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  Speaker 3: safety of our officers and it's safety of territories. It
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  Speaker 3: shouldn't be a confidential document.
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  Speaker 1: And do you reckon that there is going to be
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  Speaker 1: recommendations or information in there which is required and that
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  Speaker 1: needs to mean that there is change within the correction system.
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  Speaker 3: Well, that's what when you hide something, people always assume
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  Speaker 3: that there's something in there that so you know, there's
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  Speaker 3: a big idea, a lot of money has to be
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  Speaker 3: put into something. So the longer. It's kept confidential. People
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  Speaker 3: are just going to keep assuming.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that is what happens. Well, Erina Early.
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  Speaker 1: We always appreciate your time. Thank you very much for
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  Speaker 1: having a chat with us this morning.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks Katie, I have a great day you too.
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: Thank you