Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Head of AFL NT Sam Gibson is calling for an urgent summit to ensure the community footy comp still goes ahead in Alice Springs

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Head of AFL NT Sam Gibson is calling for an urgent summit to ensure the community footy comp still goes ahead in Alice Springs · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I would have heard of speaking last week about the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: decision by the Allice Springstown Council will to not allow
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: those football games to be happening on their fields. So
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: essentially they had said that they no longer support the
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Central Australian Football League being played on the fields that
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: they usually would be played on due to the issues
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: that they've had in the town with crime and anti
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: social behavior. Now they were saying, and they'd said on
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: the show, the counselor had said on the show that
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: they just needed a bit of respite. Joining me on
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: the line right now is Sam Gibson, who is the
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: head of AFL here in the Northern Territory.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Sam.
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: Morning Katy, Thanks having me on.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks so much for your time.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Sam. What's the current situation when it comes to the
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: footy being played in Central Australia.
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah, look, obviously the decision of the our Springstown Council
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: last week, well first it's not one that you know,
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: we're all that through week and certainly don't support the decision.
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: I mean, as it stands now their support for the
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: community competition in Central Australia has been withdrawn, which would
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: not allow us access to obles to be able to
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: play that competition that's been played down there for many years.
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: And you know where we're sort of working with key stakeholders,
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: hopefully with the intent of commencing some pretty urgent discussions
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: around how to ensure that you know, we're not taking
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: football away from the young men and women of Central Australia.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: And so Sam, I know that afl NT have said
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: that realistically you would like to call for an urgent
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: summit to take place to discuss some of the options
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: that might be available so that so that people can
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: still play footing.
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's that's our intended next step. And you know
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: we've we've had a lot of discussion and there's been
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: a lot of feedback come to us from the community,
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  Speaker 3: you know, in the last week or so, you know,
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: around ensuring that you know that we're looking at a
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: way forward. You know, there's a lot of stakeholders in
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: Central Australia and you know a lot of them are
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: on the same page in terms of the role football
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: does play in the community and the good that it brings,
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: you know, the people who engage with it. So you know,
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: that's that's what we're calling for. And and you know,
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: hopefully we can bring stakeholders to the table and work
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: something out.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: Sam, what do you make of, you know, of the
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: comments that had been made by Michael Little, who is
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: indeed the Alla Springstown counselor, when he brought Ford that
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: motion saying that you know that they that they need
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: that respite and that they want to pause they want
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: to put that pause on the competition for one year
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: because of the current crime crisis that he's engulfing the town.
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: Well, look, firstly, we certainly understand what Alice Springs and
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: and the people of our Springs are going through at
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: the moment. And we've got long ties with the town
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: and Central AUSTRAINMA broadly. You know, we've got eight staff
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  Speaker 3: there in our Springs, and you know, and football's a
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: really important part of it, and we see the football
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: needs to player a proactive and a positive role. I
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: guess the challenge we've got with it is, you know,
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: there's no real evidence to support the fact that you know,
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: the community competition adds to to crime in our springs.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: We haven't seen any of that evidence. When we're talking
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: about a competition which runs over eleven weeks and that
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: includes finals you know, and hasn't been played since the
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: late August last year. So there's a few things that,
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: you know, that we just can't get our head around,
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: and we've we've asked for that evidence, and we've we've
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: sort of asked for a really proactive discussion around how
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: football can be used to have a really positive impact
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: on the community, because we see that across the tear
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: and then that's where we're sort of hoping that the
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: conversation goes, how can we sort of work collaboratively to
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: address some of those issues and move forward.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and look, this is a tough one.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: I can sort of see things, I suppose, from both
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: sides of the fence, in the sense that you know,
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  Speaker 1: I think sport is a phenomenal way to get people
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: engaged in the community in a positive way, and I
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: think we see it time and time again, not only
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: in the AFL, but in so many different kinds of sports,
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: particularly for young people. But then I can also see,
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: you know, from the other side of the fence that
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: obviously there has been some really bad issues in Alice
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: Springs and my take from what one of the counselors,
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: Mark Coffee, was telling us on the show last week
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: is that they just sort of need that bit of
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: respite and they feel a bit concerned by people coming
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: in from various different communities. You know, not so much
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: the players, but I guess everybody that comes to watch
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: that it might cause some additional worries for one.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: Look at and I understand that side of it. I
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: think some of the numbers that that I've heard reported
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: around how many people that do come in for the
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: football have been exaggerated a little bit. But that's that's okay.
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: We're going to We do understand the sentiment coming from
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  Speaker 3: from counselors, you know. I guess for us, you know,
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  Speaker 3: it is about ensuring that the focus is on the
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: role of the sport and ANFL in this case can
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  Speaker 3: play a lot. We went we kind of took a
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: lot of changes in delivering the competition last year and
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: we reduced the number of matches in our springs by
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: about thirty percent. We removed the under eight in competition
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: to ensure that young people in communities are staying communities
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: and in schools and things like that. And trust, it
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: wasn't that wasn't a popular decision with with the communities.
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  Speaker 3: In fact, they're wanting it back. We took on, you know,
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: some some new by laws around rewarding good behavior on
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: and off the field through through Premiership points, did a
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: whole heap of community education around that competition, and you
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: know what we saw. We saw seventy percent reduction in
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: reports and we had we had very few issues with
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: that competition last year compared to you know, other competitions
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: that we run. So I guess that's that's where we're at.
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  Speaker 3: You know, we'd love to we'd love to be having
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: a more proactive conversation and how we can sort of
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: continue that sort of work. And I think the key,
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: the key here as it relates to the medium to
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: long term is you know a lot of stakeholders think,
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: including us, we'd love to see you know, the majority
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: of this football return in a sustainable way to communities.
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: But you know, there's this significant infrastructure there for the
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: deficit that we need to address, and you know, we've
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: been having conversations with with stakeholders for the last twelve
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: to twenty four months about what that looks like to
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: sure that you know, we've got facilities in these communities
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: that can host football umpires, changer and change rooms, and
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: safe fields and you know, when we're playing there we
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: can access health services and drinking water, all sorts of things.
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  Speaker 3: There's a massive deficit there that we need to see
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: addressed to enable this to happen sustainably.
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: So Sam justin you know, on the fact that in
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: the past you have done things like you know, reducing
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: the tournament by thirty percent, and you know, and even
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: not having different games due to some of the issues
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: that you've seen in the communities. Where is AFL and
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: TE at now in terms of those talks or those
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: potential talks with the Alla Springstown Council and would you
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: be prepared to sort of do things a little bit
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: differently if it meant that those games could still go ahead.
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: Yeah, look at we're an open book on what can
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: be done differently. I mean, I think those changes we
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: went through last year sort of support that. You know,
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: we run a lot of competitions, Caddie, and you know
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: everyone looks slightly different and it's all to suit, you know,
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: the setting in the communities in which we play in.
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: So that's that's where we're we'd love to sort of
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: explore and discuss around what that looks like and the
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: role football can play. And you know, we're going back
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: twelve months ago having a conversation with different stakeholders down there.
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: How can we how can we support you know, people
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  Speaker 3: returning to country following football, How can we support that,
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: you know that proactive education, all those sorts of things
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: that we can be party to throughout the season and
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: then the lead up to the season, and then moving forward,
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: how can we bring stakeholders together to make sure that
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: there is a plan that's put in place to build
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: a community capacity and and you know that's that includes
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: running umpire programs out in communities and mental programs, all
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: these sorts of things which which in addition to that
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: infrastructure piece I touched on, can can enable us to
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: do this in a sustainable and safe and appropriate manner.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Sam, has there been any confirmation with the Allastown Council
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: or anybody else about a meeting with a fl NT
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: where you know, where is this going to go?
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: Where are we where are we at? What's next? Basically, Yeah,
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: it's a good question.
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: It's one we're getting asked a lot. I mean, I
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: think we're hoping to get that confirmation earlier this week
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: around coming back to the table and hopefully that includes
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: a few other stakeholders. You know, we've we've had a
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: lot of compact in the last week from you know,
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: from other local government authorities and land councils and you know,
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: various other football and non football stakeholders around how to
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: progress this. So hopefully we can concern you know, coming
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: together of different stakeholders in the next couple of days
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: and and then and then we can all put our
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: heads together and work on an appropriate solution.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: Sam, before I let you go finals footy of course
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: here and in the top end, it is well and
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: truly underway.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: How'd it go on the weekend?
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah, big weekend, that's how I stadium. You know, Warri
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: Tarft going through in the men's and women's and they're
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: very impressive in both. You'd have to say their Premiership
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: favorites too across both of those competitions. And you know
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: we've got the Premium finals this weekend to see who
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: you know, we'll meet more Tara in the following weekend.
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: So look great, great crowds are really high standard of football.
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: You know, we have two weekends left, so it's it's
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: pretty exciting time to be in the top end. And
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: you know, hopefully see some good weather and big crowds
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: over the next couple of weekends.
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: Oh absolutely well, Sam Gibson, it is always good to
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: catch up with you the head of AFL here in
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory. Please do keep us up to date
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: and let us know how things are tracking when it
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: comes to Central Australia as well.
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: Thanks Katie, thank you,