Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro says the CLP will push for tougher law reforms that see offenders start with no bail for serious offences in NT parliament next week

Transcript

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro says the CLP will push for tougher law reforms that see offenders start with no bail for serious offences in NT parliament next week · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line is the opposition leader
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Leah fanocchi Airo. Good morning to you, Leah.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie and to your listeners. And you're absolutely right.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: It is heart wrenching.
• 0:09
  Speaker 3: It's heart wrenching stuff.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously, we just heard from the Chief Minister, Natasha Files
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  Speaker 1: and we know that there are indeed calls for stronger
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: community safety legislation following the death of Saifat last week
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: and another stabbing of course on the weekend. Leah, you
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: attended the prayer service yesterday or the service yesterday. It
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: is it's devastating stuff. I can't imagine how people were
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: feeling yesterday.
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  Speaker 2: This has rocked people to their core, Katie, and for
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  Speaker 2: good reason, because if you can't be peacefully asleep at
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  Speaker 2: home in your bed and be safe, where can you be.
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  Speaker 2: And this has just reached a new level for the
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  Speaker 2: crime across the territory. It now absolutely, without question, represents
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  Speaker 2: a threat to life in the everyday ordinary sense. People
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: are already changing their behavior and the way they go
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: to the shops, where they go and how they make
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  Speaker 2: decisions about their lives. But this is something that impacts
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  Speaker 2: every single person every single day. It is an emergency,
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  Speaker 2: and it requires an emergency response and the budget being
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: handed down in twenty six minutes time. Katie needs to
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  Speaker 2: deliver first and foremost on community safety because we cannot
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  Speaker 2: have strong economy, a vibrant community if we do not
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  Speaker 2: have the basic fundamentals of a society that abides by
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  Speaker 2: the law and is safe.
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  Speaker 1: Well, look, maybe I'm reading it wrong, and I'm more
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  Speaker 1: than happy for people to get in contact with me
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  Speaker 1: and tell me if I am. But I think by
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  Speaker 1: and large, a lot of people, you know, they know
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  Speaker 1: that the budget spaning handed down in the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: today at ten o'clock. They know the federal budget spaning
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  Speaker 1: handed down tonight, but they're more concerned about public safety,
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  Speaker 1: and they're more concerned at this point in time about
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  Speaker 1: making sure that you know that you're able to go
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  Speaker 1: about your daily business and sleeping your own home and
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  Speaker 1: feel safe at night. And right now a lot of
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  Speaker 1: people are feeling that they're not Leah.
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  Speaker 3: You know, this.
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  Speaker 1: Also isn't the first time that the Northern Territories felt
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  Speaker 1: heartbroken this year, and people are upset and they're seriously
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  Speaker 1: angry that the government is not taking more urgent action.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: What did you make of the Chief Finister's comments around
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: the bail review.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, the time for reviews is well and truly over.
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  Speaker 2: People are dying, Katie. This is not a time to
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  Speaker 2: sit around and naval gaze. This is a time for
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  Speaker 2: immediate action. How many more people, innocent Territorians have to
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  Speaker 2: die for Natasha Philes to do something differently? That is
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  Speaker 2: the harsh but true question that people have on their minds.
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  Speaker 2: This is a two weeks sitting of parliament, Katie. There
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  Speaker 2: is ample opportunity to strengthen the laws, give more power
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  Speaker 2: to police, put the rights of people to be safe
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  Speaker 2: above the rights of offenders, and we should be focusing
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  Speaker 2: all of our energy on that. The budget today should
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  Speaker 2: deliver for our police, It should deliver for the community
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  Speaker 2: when it comes to community safety. But we've heard nothing
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  Speaker 2: from the government indicating that that is going to be
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  Speaker 2: the case. We're not going to wait the government to
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  Speaker 2: certainly wake up.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, what would you really because this is the
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  Speaker 1: thing A lot of people listening are going to be
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  Speaker 1: thinking to themselves. You know, it's all fine to throw stones,
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  Speaker 1: but what would you do?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, So next week in Parliament we are going to
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: move legislation which deals with bail. When Deklan passed away,
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  Speaker 2: the government eventually brought forward some bow legislation which did
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  Speaker 2: not go far enough. It targeted a very narrow window
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  Speaker 2: of weapons. We believe that any serious violent offender should
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  Speaker 2: start with a position of no bail, whether they have
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  Speaker 2: a weapon or not. This puts the focus back on
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  Speaker 2: community safety and the right for people to be safe.
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  Speaker 2: But there needs to be so much more. We've clearly
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  Speaker 2: got ram raid legislation that we're preparing, but this means
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: be about resourcing our police and understanding the crisis within
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: it so that we can support them. We need to
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  Speaker 2: make sure there is an emergency response where every available
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  Speaker 2: resource of the government is put to making our community safe.
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  Speaker 2: I mean we talk about the impact of things like
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  Speaker 2: safety on public transport for example. Ye and this is
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  Speaker 2: something the international students have raised a lot over the
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  Speaker 2: last week, is that you can't even catch a bus
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  Speaker 2: and be safe. And so this is something that requires
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  Speaker 2: an urgent response from the government with all available resources
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  Speaker 2: being poured into it.
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  Speaker 1: Lea just on the legislation that you are going to
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  Speaker 1: move which deals with fail how come that's not happening
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  Speaker 1: until next week.
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  Speaker 2: So we as an opposition only get a very small
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  Speaker 2: opportunity to run our own business. We get four hours
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  Speaker 2: every Wednesday and that's it. And so it's going to
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  Speaker 2: have to go into next week unless the Government was
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  Speaker 2: miraculously to support us to do it on their time, Katie,
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  Speaker 2: which I'm not holding my breath about, but hope.
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  Speaker 3: So what are you doing tomorrow?
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  Speaker 1: I guess people are going to be wondering rather than
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  Speaker 1: this legislation around the bail.
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  Speaker 2: So tomorrow is Robin Lamley, so we see that four
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  Speaker 2: hours with the Independent members, and so Robin Lamley has
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  Speaker 2: a very serious motion on law in order. So Ernie
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  Speaker 2: are all going to be speaking on Laura and Order.
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  Speaker 3: That's fair enough.
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  Speaker 1: I know that, Like I just know that some people
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  Speaker 1: will be thinking, hang on, if this is as important
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  Speaker 1: as what you say it is, why isn't it happening
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  Speaker 1: till next week? So I think it's important that people
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  Speaker 1: understand as well the way in which it needs to happen.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, yes, yes, and but you know we wait. We
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  Speaker 2: are holding our breath for something different in this budget, Katie,
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  Speaker 2: because our community is in despair. People are falling apart
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  Speaker 2: over this. The number of businesses I've been in in
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  Speaker 2: the last week, where they are telling me how they
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  Speaker 2: wake up at all hours of the night incessantly checking
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  Speaker 2: their CCTV to see if there's people in their home.
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  Speaker 2: The people I've talked to who lock their bedroom doors,
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  Speaker 2: the people I've talked to who are now saying that
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  Speaker 2: they're going to sleep with weapons in their bedroom because
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  Speaker 2: they're afraid, which is obviously a terrifying thought. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: this is something that is rocking every territory and it
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  Speaker 2: needs to be addressed. This government can't pretend like what
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  Speaker 2: it's doing is working because things have never have never
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: been worse. People are leaving. We now have this tragedy
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  Speaker 2: being broadcast around the world with the loss of life
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  Speaker 2: of Sefat who is asleep in his bed and brutally
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  Speaker 2: and savagely attacked. This isioustry we know and love.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: It really isn't It is absolutely atrocious. What is going on, Leah.
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  Speaker 1: We're all waiting to see exactly what does get handed
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  Speaker 1: down in the budget today. But I think that you
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  Speaker 1: know a lot of us, for a lot of us,
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  Speaker 1: that safety is.
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  Speaker 3: Our number one priority.
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  Speaker 1: The Chief Finessar had said just a little while ago
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  Speaker 1: that they've invested more money than any other government when
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  Speaker 1: it comes to the police force. You know, if that
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  Speaker 1: is the case, you know, why do you think that
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  Speaker 1: it's not having an impact.
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  Speaker 2: Because the severity of crime is so high that our
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  Speaker 2: poor police who pull on their uniform every day to
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  Speaker 2: go out and protect our families, they cannot keep up
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  Speaker 2: with the escalating level of violence. And this is the
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  Speaker 2: why crime needs to be tackled head on through stronger
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  Speaker 2: laws and stronger power for our police, because they just
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  Speaker 2: can't keep up with the pressure of the number of
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  Speaker 2: crimes that are being committed.
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  Speaker 3: Do you think that the.
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory government should have been lobbying the federal government
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  Speaker 1: ahead of tonight's federal budget for you know, for more
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  Speaker 1: funding around police I know that there has been some
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  Speaker 1: announcements made when it comes to funding police services out
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  Speaker 1: in remote communities, but do you think that there should
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  Speaker 1: have been more of a push for that. The Chief
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  Speaker 1: Minister was talking about needs based funding when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to domestic violence. But what else do you think we
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  Speaker 1: really need from the federal government at this point.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Natasha Files has shown she simply doesn't have the
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  Speaker 2: gunon to negotiate with the federal government. We you know,
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  Speaker 2: the Prime Minister flew into Alice Springs for four hours
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  Speaker 2: months ago and promised two hundred and fifty million dollars
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  Speaker 2: and today we learn that only one hundred and fifty
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  Speaker 2: million of that two point fifty is in tonight's federal budget.
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  Speaker 2: Now that money should have been spent already. It was
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  Speaker 2: pitched to the community as emergency relief measures to tackle
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  Speaker 2: law and order, and yet we're still not going to
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  Speaker 2: see the full two point fifty delivered in this budget.
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  Speaker 2: The community and the colp and anyone who cares about
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  Speaker 2: this issue, which is a lot of people have been
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  Speaker 2: calling for the government to ask the Australian Federal Police
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  Speaker 2: for their support and their help, and yet Natasha Files
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  Speaker 2: can't bring herself to ask the federal government for support
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  Speaker 2: for our police force to maintain basic levels of law
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  Speaker 2: and order across the territory.
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  Speaker 1: Lida, do you think that the Chief Minister's position is
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: sustainable at this point in time?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think it actually reflects worse on her colleagues.
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  Speaker 2: Every single Labor member in that team is a member
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  Speaker 2: of their community and is a representative of their community.
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  Speaker 2: And if they are willing to put the Labor Party
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  Speaker 2: above the demands and the needs and the rights of
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  Speaker 2: people in their community. They do not deserve to have
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  Speaker 2: their job, Katie, and that you know they are making
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  Speaker 2: their own case for change in their electorates. This is
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  Speaker 2: about people standing up for the territories we're elected to represent,
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  Speaker 2: not hiding behind the political party or your affiliation to
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  Speaker 2: Natasha Files. This is about the community and doing what
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  Speaker 2: is right to save the Northern Territory which is under
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  Speaker 2: siege and in a total state of emergency.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, the time for the time for change is now,
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  Speaker 1: as in there needs to be some really serious action
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  Speaker 1: and they need it fast. Leah Finocchiaro, we are going
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  Speaker 1: to have to leave it there unless there's anything that
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  Speaker 1: I should know about very quickly before Parliament gets underway.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: Well, all I can say, Katie is at our hearts
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  Speaker 2: and thoughts and prayers go out to Sefat who will
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  Speaker 2: be starting his journey back to Bangladesh, our prayers with
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: his family and friends.
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: And we can.
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  Speaker 2: Only pray in all honesty, Kati, that at ten o'clock
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  Speaker 2: there is going to be news in this budget that
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: is going to deliver on community safety for the sake
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: of all of us.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Look, we'll try our best to keep an ear
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  Speaker 1: on things. Leah fan Occhiaro, the opposition leader. We appreciate
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: your time
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: Today, Take care, Thank you,