Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Member for Braitling Joshua Burgoyne says it’s a sad day when police are advising people to avoid the Alice Springs CBD leaving him calling for tougher penalties for offenders

Transcript

Member for Braitling Joshua Burgoyne says it’s a sad day when police are advising people to avoid the Alice Springs CBD leaving him calling for tougher penalties for offenders · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now is a member
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: for Braklan, Joshua Burgoing good morning to you.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Josh, Good morning, can Josh.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: How are people in Ellice Springs feeling this morning?
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, just sat up Coty. I think everyone in the
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: community has had enough. I've spent my entime morning basically
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: just walking around either speaking with people or speaking to media.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: In regards to what occurred last night, I think I
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: think it all really happened obviously, when we got a
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: report this morning from police that there was a vehicle
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: driving dangerously in our CBD last night. It was targeting
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: some of the marked police vehicles, so driving at them
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: head on, and police then basically issued a directive to
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: the public to avoid the CBD in the early hours
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: of this morning. So very very sad day for Olers
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: Springs when you know, people are basically told to stay
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: away from the CBD because it's too dangerous. And I
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: think that really just highlights the position we're now in
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: where our CBD at night is not safe for the
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: public and police police are basically advising people of that.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, and we did speak to Martin Dole a
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: little while ago, the Assistant Commissioner for the Southern region,
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: and he had said that there are enough police. I'd
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: ask whether there'd be a surge to the workforce or
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: whether there was going to be the terg or anybody
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: sent to Central Australia. He said that there wouldn't be.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Do you think that's good enough, Josh.
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: Well, let's be really clear here. The police are doing
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: their absolute best, but they're also in a tough position
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: where their boss is the minister. You know, they have
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: to answer to them at the end of the day
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: when there's a situation where kids are stealing vehicles and
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: driving them around our CBD, and the police are having
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: a pullback for their own safety and for the community
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: safety because if one of those vehicles was to plow
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: into a group of people or to crash whilst it
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: was being pursued by a police vehicle, those classes are
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: death in custody. So we definitely need more resources down
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: here to ensure the police are being properly resourced and supported.
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: But it's more than that. You spoke about the justice
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: system and how it's just failing as well. Right now.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: Five of those young people that were driving dangerously around
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: the CBD last night, three of them were returned home.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: Now that's police that are telling us that three will
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: return home after driving a car radically around the CBD
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: last night. Now those three could go out again tonight
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: and nick another vehicle for all window. And that maybe
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: what's been occurring all this week with the amount of
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: vehicles red seen stolen. And I don't know whether you
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: spoke to anyone after we had five vehicles stolen from Daffa,
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: our drug and Alcohol services down here, but this week
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: has really just been a tipping point where the Minister
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: for Territory, Families and Police has to choose is she
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: going to support our police or is she going to
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: support these young criminals and allow them to get away
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: with this absolutely consequence free, Because that's what's happening right now.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: Josh. We asked Tourism Central Australia this earlier this morning.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Is Ellie Springs in a state of emergency?
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: Well, that's exactly what I'm calling it. You know, we've
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: known this has been a crisis for a long time.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: But when now at a point we've had someone killed
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: in our community already from a stolen motor vehicle, it's
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: not a matter of if that happens again it's a
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: matter of when and when we have these events occurring
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: nightly in our community where police are having to pull
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: back and allow young offenders to drive vehicles dangerously around
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: our CBD. I just don't know where this ends, Katie.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: I do not know where this ends. And we need
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: to take control of our streets. We've heard Tourism Central
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: Australia say that on many occasions the government, the Labor government,
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: lost control of the streets of Alice Springs and I
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: think when we look at the videos that are posted
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: online and we see everything that's happening, it really just
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: leaves everyone in this town feeling sick because where does
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: it end? Where does it end? And meanwhile, I haven't
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: heard boo from the Territory Families and police Minister. I
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: don't know. I think you had the Chief Ministry this morning.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: But it's the same line, old lines every time. People
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: know our springs are sick of it and we need
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: something to happen.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Well, it's not only the people of Alice Springs, people
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: right across the board are sick of it. But you
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: know you've also like we'd also spoken yesterday to a
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: tourism operator Patrick who told us about how, you know,
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: driving the bus back into Alice Springs and having those
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: those rocks hurled at the bus while there's tourists still inside.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: We've then spoken to Sushira from Kota who told us
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: that seniors don't feel safe not only in Alice but
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: in the top end as well.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: Enough enough, absolutely enough enough. And I visited one of
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: those elderly people who's been mentioned in the media recently.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: I went around and sat with her so she could
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: feel safe enough just to go outside and listen to
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: the radio and enjoy your guarden, which is something that
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: you know she used to do every day. And she's
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: felt extremely unsafe recently because of repeated unlawful entries into
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: our own home. So this is what communities dealing with
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: we need. We just need a response from this government,
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: you know, absolutely. I think you even said before we
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: need additional police resources. You spoke about the TIG. That's
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: just an additional police resource. We need this to be
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: treated like a COVID response. They pulled out all the
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: stops when COVID came. Well, right now, this is an
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: emergency as well, and we need a response. Just ignoring
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: it and hoping it's going to go away is not
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: working down here in our springs, and I often talk
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: about the resourcing. When I walk around Darwin late at night,
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: I see a golf buggy with security being driven around constantly.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: We know about the security patrols out in Malac and Grama.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: At the end of the day, I would really just
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: love to see increase police resources because I think police
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: are the best placed organization and people to deal with this.
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: They just need to back up from the government and
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: the youth justice space.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: And the tough part is, you know, it feels as though,
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: and please correct me if I'm wrong, but it feels
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: as though Ella Springs at the moment, even if you
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: had additional security around the place. You know, if you've
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: got kids that are then allegedly trying to ram a
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: marked police car, what are they going to do to security?
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: Well, this is exactly right, and I think we need
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: to realize a lot of these young people are getting
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: off when they do go before court because the prosecutors
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: cannot prove that they knew what they were doing wrong
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: was wrong. What's happened in our Springs is that our
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: local radio station was targeted a few nights ago. An
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: alarm went off and the offenders left. They've now gone
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: back to the same premises, smashed the alarm so it
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: stopped going off, broken in, stolen a vehicle and driven
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: around dangerously. These young people know exactly what they're doing
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: and they're doing it repeatedly. And that's what I'm really
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: really worried about, is that we have young people now,
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: because there have been no consequences, think they can act
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: with impunity. That's where we need to really be driving
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: this message home to the government is that the current
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: youth justice space, which they made huge changes to in
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: twenty nineteen, is failing our community. They need to seriously
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: look at that and look at rolling back some of
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: the changes they've made so that police have the necessary
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: laws in place to back them up, because they're arresting
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: in a lot of these cases in young offenders, but
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: they're getting away scot free.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: Before I let you go, Josh, ten vehicles over the
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: weekend stolen in Alice is what Martin Dole had told us.
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: Three of those overnight. Have you spoken to any of
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: those people who had their cars stolen? I mean, what
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: are they saying to you right now?
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, obviously when you speak to the CEO of DASA
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: here in Ala Springs, and I just absolutely absolutely gutted
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: because they provide a sobering up shelter as well as
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: outreach services. Their community barbecue was attached to one of
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: the vehicles that was stolen, and I don't know whether
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: that's still outstanding. It was at the time when I
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: last doneheard from Mellowy's page there at Data. So this
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: is these are community organization that have just been absolutely
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: gutted by the fact that they've rocked up in the morning.
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: Their workplaces have been trashed and the vehicles that they
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: rely on to do their jobs have been basically stolen,
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: you know. And I went past MPT Fleet here in
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: Other Springs this morning just to have a look over
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: the fence. It's carnage. There are RFDS cars, there's vehicles
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: that look like they've been involved with the tire spikes
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: and it's got tires missing. It's just absolute carnage. And
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: you're right, like ten vehicles over the weekend, but over
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: a longer period of time we've had our local anglic
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: care off. It's broken into and a large number of
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: vehicles stolen from there in one night. So this is
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: this is a game for these kids, and we need
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: to really make sure that the message is loud and clear.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: This sort of behavior is not okay, and there will
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: be consequences when you steal, when you break in and
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: drive recklessly throughout our CBD and our town.
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: Josh Burgoyne, I appreciate your time, are really honestly, I
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: don't even know what to say. I really hope that
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: we're going to see some change in Alice Springs because
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: what's going on is just it's unacceptable.
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: Exactly right now, I hear the government are coming down
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: near to Alice Springs, and I'll be really interested to
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: find out who they do meet with, because if it's
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: the same, the same people they meet with every time,
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: they need to get out of their comfort. So I
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: need to stand in the CBD and really hear what
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: people have got to say because it breaks my heart.
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: But every day I walk down the street, people are
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: packing up, they're leaving, they've had enough. You know, this
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: is the town I've grown up in. I don't want
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: to see it continue down this this way. And the
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: labor government has got a lot to answer answer for
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: when it comes to turning this all around.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: Josh Bergoin. Thank you as always for having a chat
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: with us this morning.
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: Thank you for the opportunity Ken, Thank you