Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / General Manager of Cazalys Palmerston Club chats youth crime on 360 with Katie Woolf

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General Manager of Cazalys Palmerston Club chats youth crime on 360 with Katie Woolf · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Mix one oh four point nine one.
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: Hundred thirteen minutes after eleven o'clock and well, you may
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: be aware that there has been some issues out in Palmerston,
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: as we've discussed and we did see on nine News
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  Speaker 2: Darwin actually last night as well in Palmerston when it
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: comes to youth crime and some fairly ordinary situations. I think,
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: to put it lightly that business people are going through
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  Speaker 2: out there in Palmerston. Now joining me on the line
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: to talk about the situation from Kazales. Matt Huer, who's
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: the general manager out at Kazales.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning to you, Matt.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning Katie. How are you? Jane?
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  Speaker 3: Not too bad now?
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  Speaker 2: Matt, I understand that you guys have had a few
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  Speaker 2: pretty bloody ordinary situations that you've gone through over the.
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  Speaker 3: Last few weeks. Can you talk us through what's gone on?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, the first occasion happened on Father's Day, so this
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  Speaker 1: behave is really only sort of started in the last
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: three weeks. I guess that you can only really be
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: described you saw the vision on Channel nine last night,
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  Speaker 1: the CCTV footage. It can only be really described as
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  Speaker 1: these kids basically storming the venue. They're coming in in
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  Speaker 1: groups of anywhere between three, six, seven eight people, and
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  Speaker 1: they're just storming the place, running around, terrorizing the customers,
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  Speaker 1: screaming at the top of their voices, and trying to
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  Speaker 1: take charity money boxes off the bar that are chained
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: to the bar, obviously, and things like that. I'm just
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  Speaker 1: really behaving poorly, Katie. The way to describe it, and
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  Speaker 1: to be quite honest, last Friday, when the last occasion happened,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, in the middle of the day on a Friday,
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  Speaker 1: our restaurant was full and mainly you know, a lot
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  Speaker 1: of our clients tell us senior people and they definitely
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: don't need that sort of stuff.
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  Speaker 3: It must be frightening for them.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I think so, yeah. It's not something that's going
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  Speaker 1: to make you make your lunch happy experience.
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  Speaker 3: And it's frustrating for you. Guys. You're trying to run
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  Speaker 3: your business.
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  Speaker 2: You're doing a great job at running that business, and
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  Speaker 2: then you know you've got these teenagers running through and
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  Speaker 2: running a mark.
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  Speaker 1: Well some of them are even teenagers, Katie. Like I said,
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  Speaker 1: I think the youngest one. We actually bailed them up
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  Speaker 1: and stopped three of them from exiting last Friday, and
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  Speaker 1: I think the youngest one was only eleven years old,
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  Speaker 1: So what on earth a kid that age is doing
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  Speaker 1: out on the streets in the middle of the day
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  Speaker 1: on a Friday when they should be at schools beyond me, So, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: it's crazy. And when we did bail them up, one
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  Speaker 1: of them grabbed the glass and went to attack the
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: staff member with the glass. So fortunately we're able to
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: get that glass out of that child's hand before he
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: stuck it into the side of the staff member. But again,
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: it's poor behavior and it's quite disturbing to see it
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  Speaker 1: going on a crazingly with kids this young.
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  Speaker 2: It's unbelievable, Like, that's a horrifying situation to have unfolding
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  Speaker 2: in the middle of the day on a Friday, when
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  Speaker 2: you've got people there just trying to enjoy their lunch.
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  Speaker 3: I know that you've had.
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  Speaker 2: To take now different measures to you know, to try
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  Speaker 2: and well to keep yourselves and to keep your patrons safe.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: And that's exactly right. So generally we have security on
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: from six o'clock at night. Now we've basically changed it
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  Speaker 1: so we've got security on from well during the day now,
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: so basically from when we open till women close. So
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  Speaker 1: obviously that does come at a significant extra cost. But
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  Speaker 1: this is what we've got to do.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, but Matt, it's pretty ordinary that you've got to
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  Speaker 2: do that. I mean, honestly, to have kids storming your
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: restaurant and storming the storming the place Friday when they
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: should be at school is quite unbelievable.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: Of course it is. It's very ordinary.
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  Speaker 2: You know. Well, I was thinking exactly the same, Matt,
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  Speaker 2: and I was struggling to find my work. It's because
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: the words that I was looking for were probably a
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: bit more colorful, to be honest with you. But yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it's also a real hindrance on a business. And I
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  Speaker 2: know that for you guys, it is like you're a
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  Speaker 2: not for profit community club, so there's no doubt that
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  Speaker 2: this impacts the bottom line.
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  Speaker 1: That's just taking money out of the I mean, we've
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  Speaker 1: got twenty four different sporting clubs that we support around
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  Speaker 1: the Darwin and Parmer scenario, so it's just taking money
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  Speaker 1: out of their pockets basically. And you know, I should
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  Speaker 1: also add that it wasn't It's not only us that
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  Speaker 1: are getting affected in Parmestan. I'm not sure if you
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  Speaker 1: saw the vision on Facebook over the weekend on the
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  Speaker 1: various crime watch pages. But you know there's other shops
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  Speaker 1: and cafes around the Palmerston area that are getting targeted
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  Speaker 1: by these uths as well, So we're certainly not our
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  Speaker 1: own Matt.
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  Speaker 2: What is your message, you know, for the government. I
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  Speaker 2: know that Parliament is sitting this week, and you know,
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  Speaker 2: some people feel as though when we talk about this
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  Speaker 2: stuff that it's like a political thing and that the
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  Speaker 2: CLP is slinging.
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: At the ALP.
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  Speaker 2: I feel as though, you know, we've got to forget
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  Speaker 2: our political lines to some degree for a while here,
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  Speaker 2: and they've got to work something out because right now
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  Speaker 2: it's the community and business people like yourself who are
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  Speaker 2: hurting listen.
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  Speaker 1: To be honest, I try to stay out of the
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  Speaker 1: political type of stuff, and I don't believe I'm really
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  Speaker 1: qualified to make, you know, opinions or whatever in that space.
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  Speaker 1: But my personal opinion is just lock them up, That's
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  Speaker 1: what I've got to say.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, and that's how people are feeling. You know,
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  Speaker 2: people are incredibly frustrated, and you know, you want to
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  Speaker 2: make sure that these kids aren't doing this kind of
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  Speaker 2: stuff and aren't engaging in this kind of behavior.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, obviously, and I think I'm not on my
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  Speaker 1: own here, but a lot of the feedback or so
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  Speaker 1: is you know, where are their parents during all this?
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I couldn't imagine as an eleven twelve year
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  Speaker 1: old when I was growing up sort of carrying on
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  Speaker 1: like that. And the parents have got a lot to
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: answer for. But I think we've we've heard all that before, Katie.
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  Speaker 3: Nothing, No, it's not.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, this is where I suppose I'm feeling
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  Speaker 2: a bit frustrated too, Matt. Is you know, you think
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  Speaker 2: I want to make sure that people like yourself and
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  Speaker 2: and you know, those businesses out in the community who
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: are being impacted, that your voices are heard and I
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  Speaker 2: and you know, I hope that that somebody sits up
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  Speaker 2: and listens and realizes that this is just not something
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: that we can continue to have happening around the place.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: Well, I agree with you one hundred and scent.
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  Speaker 2: Kat Yeah, Matt, thank you so much for having a
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: chat with us this morning. All the best and keep
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: in contact let us know how things are going.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: Thanks. Thanks a lot, Katie. You have a great day,
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: you too.