Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Sentinel Property Group CEO Warren Ebert says the company is aware of crime issues at Casuarina Square as the company takes it over, and there are plans to address them

Transcript

Sentinel Property Group CEO Warren Ebert says the company is aware of crime issues at Casuarina Square as the company takes it over, and there are plans to address them · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: But as I mentioned, we know that Casarina Square has
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: indeed changed ownership. It has been taken over by a
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Sentinel Property Group. And the last time we spoke to Sentinel,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: they had some big plans for the shopping center, but
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: we knew that the issue of anti social behavior was
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: also having an impact.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Now joining me to talk more.
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  Speaker 1: About this is the CEO of Sentinel Property Group, Warren Ebert.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Warren.
• 0:24
  Speaker 3: Good morning, Katie. Another beautiful day in Darwin.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: Oh, it's a glorious day today.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: The weather's called down a little bit, which is always nice.
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  Speaker 3: Warren.
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  Speaker 2: I know that you are in town at the moment.
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  Speaker 1: What's been on the agenda for you when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to Casarina Katie?
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  Speaker 3: Putting a list of things together that we want to
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  Speaker 3: achieve in the first twelve months that I as you appreciate,
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  Speaker 3: there's a lot of them for a center that's been
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: around almost fifty years now, yep. So we're starting on
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: the little things that we can achieve, such as cleaning
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: up the car park, repainting that improving side. Each and
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: while the locals don't need any direction on how to
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: get there, visitors the first thing they see is the
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: shell service station, no indication of a shopping center, So
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  Speaker 3: we're just doing some general tidy up to make the
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: place a little bit more inviting it as Stage one.
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  Speaker 1: Well, that is good to hear, and I think that
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  Speaker 1: you know that any of those improvements can obviously be
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: a wonderful thing.
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  Speaker 2: Wlaarren.
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  Speaker 1: I know that last time you and I spoke, we
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: spoke quite quite a bit about some of the anti
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: social issues that have been experienced at Casarina Square. Will
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  Speaker 1: there be discussions over today and over the coming days
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  Speaker 1: about that anti social behavior and some of the work
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  Speaker 1: that can be done in this space, Katie.
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  Speaker 3: There's discussions pretty much daily on any social behavior, and
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  Speaker 3: we have to remember it's not just Catherina Square. You know,
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  Speaker 3: there's a lot of it around Darwin, but because of
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: Catherine Square is such a big place and with a
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: bus in the change, there is a concentration there. The
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: people have to remember we can they do what the
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: laws allow us to do. You know, we can't, as
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  Speaker 3: I've been told, we can't ban people from the center
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  Speaker 3: that can cause a lot of trouble. We's caught them
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: off the premises and they just come in another door.
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  Speaker 3: So you know, we can only do what the laws
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  Speaker 3: allow us to do. Now. We are meeting with the
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  Speaker 3: Chief Minister tomorrow and I was certainly glad to read
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  Speaker 3: in one of her major aims is law in order
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  Speaker 3: to get some of the anti social behavior under control.
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  Speaker 3: Now the antisocial behavior doesn't help anyone the youths who
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  Speaker 3: are doing it, it doesn't help them. So we are
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  Speaker 3: working with government police and when this has developed over
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  Speaker 3: a long time, it's not something that you that you
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  Speaker 3: change overnight. So we are you know, we have started
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  Speaker 3: some canine controls of a night and that certainly has helped,
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  Speaker 3: but we know that there's more to be done and
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  Speaker 3: we don't have a solution. If we had the solution,
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  Speaker 3: we would have implemented it. But we're working with the
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  Speaker 3: government and everyone has the same aim. But we're serious.
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  Speaker 3: We're up here every month. We have seen your people
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  Speaker 3: up here every week to do our best to solve
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  Speaker 3: will certainly reduce the issue.
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  Speaker 1: Well, were you aware of sort of how prevalent you
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: know this issue was before the property had been purchased.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, certainly, Katie, it's something like that. You can't keep
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  Speaker 3: a secret. We were fully aware, but from our point
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  Speaker 3: of view, if there aren't problems, then you can't fix them.
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  Speaker 3: And we at the end of the day, we're in
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  Speaker 3: business to make money because and while people might find
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  Speaker 3: that repulsive, if you don't make money, you don't pay wages,
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  Speaker 3: you don't pay outdomes, you don't pay any such important
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  Speaker 3: that a business makes money and we make our money
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: by improving things. So we look for things that do
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  Speaker 3: our problems and then we work on fixing them. So,
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  Speaker 3: you know, they said has been a little bit neglected
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  Speaker 3: over the last the last few years, and certainly the
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  Speaker 3: COVID didn't help. We have seen your management. The previous
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: owner couldn't get up there. So we're working on all issues.
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  Speaker 3: You know, there's dozens and dozens of issues. So yes,
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  Speaker 3: we are, we were aware of it, and we're yeah,
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  Speaker 3: we really are generally excited to under center now, I know.
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  Speaker 1: You know, yesterday we'd received a statement from the Territory
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  Speaker 1: Police saying that they'd charged two youths in relation to
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  Speaker 1: an aggravated robbery in Casurina. At the shopping center in
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  Speaker 1: Casarina yesterday, two fifteen or well a fifteen year old
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  Speaker 1: and a seventeen year old had allegedly gone into the
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  Speaker 1: shopping center entered a business one of those you'ds allegedly
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  Speaker 1: assaulted an employee with.
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  Speaker 2: A blunt weapon.
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  Speaker 1: Warren, What work is being done to make sure that
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  Speaker 1: the employees at the center, and indeed those that shop there, are.
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  Speaker 2: Safe, O, Katie.
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  Speaker 3: That there's you know, if we want people with one
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  Speaker 3: hundred percent safe, then I suppose they have to stay
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  Speaker 3: at home, which isn't which isn't acceptable. So you know,
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  Speaker 3: we have there's millions of dollars spent every year on security.
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  Speaker 3: But at the end of the day, it is a
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  Speaker 3: diffical issue. You know, people don't like having a lot
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  Speaker 3: of these people who cause problems locked up in jail.
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  Speaker 3: So you know, we've just got to work with the
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  Speaker 3: police and the and the government, and certainly on educating youths.
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  Speaker 3: You know, last time I was up here, someone pointed
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  Speaker 3: out something who's throwing rocks at cars at night? And
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  Speaker 3: they said, yeah, they probably don't even realize you're not
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  Speaker 3: supposed to do that. You know, it's just what they've
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  Speaker 3: seen done. So it is an education thing, and I'm
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  Speaker 3: not trying to sweep it under the carpet and make
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  Speaker 3: out that it's that it's easy. You can't click the
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  Speaker 3: things that have it go away. You know, if people
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  Speaker 3: don't understand what they're doing is not acceptable and it's
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  Speaker 3: not helping them or their family, then you know it's
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  Speaker 3: it's a slow, slow change. But I know things well
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  Speaker 3: from what I've been told. You know, the over recent
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  Speaker 3: years things have got worse. So we're talking with the
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  Speaker 3: banks and some of them are on how we can
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  Speaker 3: make things better for them. And it's a you know
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  Speaker 3: where it's all. It's all a work in progress and
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  Speaker 3: I'm not trying to sweep it under the carpet, Katie.
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  Speaker 3: You know, it is a real issue. But when you
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  Speaker 3: speak to the police, and you know the police have
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  Speaker 3: a budget, they have to work with you. You just
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  Speaker 3: can't say, give us more more police and another beat
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  Speaker 3: there because they have a budget. So if they put
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  Speaker 3: more police there, they taken away from somewhere else. So
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  Speaker 3: we don't have the solution. You know, we are always
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  Speaker 3: happy to talk to anyone who has a who has
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  Speaker 3: a suggestion. You know, while it might be ideal, as
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  Speaker 3: I said, if we have started canine patrols a couple
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  Speaker 3: of nights a week, yep, and that has made a
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  Speaker 3: massive difference, a massive difference.
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  Speaker 1: So well, and so they're obviously they're obviously private patrols.
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  Speaker 1: Warren and uh and they are, you know, they're they're
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  Speaker 1: obviously working.
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  Speaker 2: By the sounds of.
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  Speaker 3: Us, they are. Katie. Yes, we found that one of
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  Speaker 3: the adjoining owners was doing it, so we've tried. We're
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  Speaker 3: happy to try anything that works. You know, you don't
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  Speaker 3: know it doesn't work until you try it. Now, a
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  Speaker 3: lot of people might like it, but you know, I
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  Speaker 3: see someone getting bashed or bashed or robbed it. I
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  Speaker 3: don't think they like that either.
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  Speaker 2: No, well, that's exactly right.
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  Speaker 1: I actually think if you're able to, you know, to
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  Speaker 1: have those canine patrols at night and it's making a difference,
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  Speaker 1: particularly then if you're talking about people shopping in the
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  Speaker 1: center later at night or employees leaving the center later
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  Speaker 1: at night, and it's keeping everybody safer. You know, it
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  Speaker 1: has to be a win win for everybody.
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  Speaker 3: It does KD. So we started, well, we did it
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  Speaker 3: for one night a week for a couple of weeks.
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  Speaker 3: Worked very well. So we've started two nights a week now.
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  Speaker 3: You know, there is the dirty, filthy thing of money
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  Speaker 3: always constrained everything. So there's budgets and we are certainly
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  Speaker 3: working to increase those canine patrols and see if we
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  Speaker 3: can get them every night and work them into the day.
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  Speaker 3: So that's one of the things that we know does work, yep,
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  Speaker 3: and we will gradually influent more of those. But certainly
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  Speaker 3: we do want to work with the police and the
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  Speaker 3: government of the day and city council to make sure
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  Speaker 3: all of our efforts are coordinated. There's no sense or all
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  Speaker 3: of us going spending money in the same areas. So
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  Speaker 3: we will get their ca and I'm happy to talk
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  Speaker 3: on a regular basis and report progress, and people who
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  Speaker 3: have a genuine complaint we are keen to hear from them.
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  Speaker 2: Warren, Well, I'm keen to hear as well.
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  Speaker 1: What else Sentinel is looking at doing with the shopping
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  Speaker 1: center in terms of, you know, some of the like
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  Speaker 1: we've obviously spoken about the anti social issues that we've
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  Speaker 1: you know that you guys are grappling with in some
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  Speaker 1: ways or you know, trying your best to deal with.
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  Speaker 1: But what are some of the other things that you've
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  Speaker 1: got planned for the center. I know that you've had
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  Speaker 1: some you know, some big stores move in recently or
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  Speaker 1: not too long ago, the likes of Mecca. You've had Mimco,
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  Speaker 1: there is no doubt that there's been some real anchors.
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  Speaker 1: I guess you'd say in terms of getting people into
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  Speaker 1: the shopping center.
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  Speaker 2: What is some of that work that's underway.
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  Speaker 3: Well, certainly in the court of the food court, which
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  Speaker 3: hasn't been as successful as previous owners would have liked
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: iven they spent forty five million. We're working with a
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  Speaker 3: couple of different tenants there. We're working on the lighting,
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  Speaker 3: particular lighting that they have. Anyone who goes through, if
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  Speaker 3: they look up the lights that hang down, there's seven
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: hundred dollars each. It's hard to see the value, but
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  Speaker 3: they just don't work because of the humidity up here
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  Speaker 3: in Darwin, they keep blowing. So we've got to change
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  Speaker 3: all of that lighting. We're putting up some railing that
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  Speaker 3: around that the food areas so once again you don't
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  Speaker 3: get anti social behaviors. People sit down have a meal
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  Speaker 3: that someone just walks in an annoys them. So there's
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  Speaker 3: a lot of those things we're working on non retail
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  Speaker 3: tendencies and buildings. We've spoken to the government about some
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  Speaker 3: possibly some age care on site, because one thing that
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: as you get older, you can't drive or catching the
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: bus isn't as convenient. So if you can live near
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: a center like caserin a square that has the cinemas,
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: it has all of the shopping everything you need, has
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: six hectares under six hectares of air conditioned space to
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: walk around in health facility. So we're looking at a
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: lot of areas that are a non retail. We have
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: proc the land there. Yeah, so we're working on a
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: number of things, but at the moment, you know around
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: the country there's a massive shortage of staff and particularly
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: in the construction area, and building materials are just just
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: out of control. And you know with the Russian Ukrainian issue,
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: Russia is one of the largest or maybe the largest
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: exporter of timber in the world. I heard an interesting
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: fact a couple of months ago the twenty five percent
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: of all trees in the world are in Siberia, so,
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: which was a bit of a surprise. So that's put
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: enormous pressure on. So we're working with different types of
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: construction that we can get things done in a roots
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: for short space of time and be cost effective. You've
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: got to do something different.
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  Speaker 2: Just doing it the old ways isn't isn't working. Yeah,
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: well that's it.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: Everyone's having to think outside the box. Hey Warren, I
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: know as well there had been some talk about about
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: a youth shack in Casurina. My understanding is that it's
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: no longer. There is no longer a youth shack in Casurina.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: I know that the Labor government or the federally Labor
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: committed five million dollars for a youth engagement center for
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: the northern suburbs.
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: Has there been any so.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: It would have been moving it from the old Casuarina
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: fire station. Has there been any update from your understanding
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: as to whether there is going to be a new
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: youth hub or where it's going to be, because I
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: guess in some ways that could indeed help as well
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: when it comes to the issues that we've seen with
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: anti social behavior.
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: Thanks Katie. We certainly have discussed this with the territory
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: government and the Lord Mayor of Darwin. I will send
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: our bank account details through Prime Minister to Prime Missus
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: Albanezi today so we can send us that five minion
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: because we've certainly liked to put that to use. We're
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: meeting with the Chief Minister tomorrow to discuss some of
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: those issues. And we have identified an ear where it
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: could go. But that's got to work for everyone. That's
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: got to be funded correctly in man and everything else though.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: So Warren, you're keen to have that any You've got
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: your keen to have it there at the at the
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: center on that land.
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: No, not at the center, but near the center. It's
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: so good trying to put it somewhere that is isolated, Katie,
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: You've got to have it where people are, because if
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: it's just not convenient that people aren't aren't going to
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: go there. So we have had discussions with the Darwin
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: City Council and some people at the territory government and
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: they're certainly very receptive. We're happy to financially participate in
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: it and and try and get some of our retailers
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: encourage them to participate in as well. So it's very
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: easy for people to complain. But when you asked them
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: to contribute to the solution, not everyone well not everyone
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: does have the time and money, but there'd be some
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: some of the larger companies who who I'm quite sure
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: when it's put to them, they will contribute. So we're
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: working on that. I hadn't heard of that particular announcement
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: that you mentioned. But that's great to hear.
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: All right, Well, so there you go.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: I didn't realize that you know that it was something
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: that you guys are at Centinal Property Group could potentially
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: help with that.
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: You may actually have that land for the youth hub.
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: Oh, we're always thinking ahead, Katie. We've mentioned this a
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: few months ago, so maybe someone have passed it on
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: to the Prime Minister. I've got a few more good
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: ideas we can send through.
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: Well, Warren, it sounds like you mean business while you're
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: We really appreciate your time.
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: I know that you know that there's lots of tough
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: questions at the moment when it comes to those anti
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: social behavior issues, but it does sound as though you've
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: already made some immediate moves to try and sort that out.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: So we appreciate you having a chat with us, and
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: no doubt we'll talk again soon.
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: Thanks for your time, Katie, and look forward to catching
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: up soon.
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: Thank you.