Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Sky News Journalist Matt Cunningham provides an update from the scene after six incidents involving weapons at licensed venues in Palmerston

Transcript

Sky News Journalist Matt Cunningham provides an update from the scene after six incidents involving weapons at licensed venues in Palmerston · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now from Palmerston. I
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: believe that he is out at the BWS store, which
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: was indeed targeted overnight on a number of occasions. Matt
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Cunningham from Sky News.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Matt, good a, Katie.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: How are you not too bad? Matt? So much happening
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: overnight in Palmerston. It's pretty horrifying stuff.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: It's remarkable, Katie. You'd have to say. We're looking now
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: at six incidents reported to police over a nine hour
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: period at two bottle shops, first at the Kazalies and
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: then at the BWS in Palmerston. So it all started
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: at about two forty pm yesterday according to police, where
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: a man went into the Kazalie bottle shop and while
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: he was there he threatened, according to police, to split
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: a staff member's throat and then stole a staff member's
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: credit card. Now police say the same man then came
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: to the BWS in Palmerston. That's where I am at
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: the moment, Katie, and he threatened staff there again before
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: stealing alcohol. At five o'clock he came back. Now they're
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: not sure if he actually had a knife on those
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: first two occasions, but he was certainly saying that he did.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: At five o'clock he came back to the BWS and
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: Parmerston and this time he was seen with a large
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: kitchen knife protruding from his shorts. He threatened the staff
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: there again and stole alcohol. Then only half an hour
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: later there was an incident where two more men came
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: back to the same bottle shop to b w ars
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: in Parmerston. One of them threatened staff with a knie
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: well sorry with an axe and got miss occasion, while
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: another person style alcohol. And at nine thirty five pm,
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: so of course this is after the bottle shops closed.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: We know the bwss are all closing at six o'clock
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: at the moment, and this Parmeston one won't open at
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: all today. At nine point thirty five there's an incident
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: where a man comes brandishing a kitchen knife and threatens
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: the security guard. And then at eleven forty there's a
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: sixth incident at the BWS and Palmerston where two men
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: are trying to get the roller door up. They get
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: inside and then they pass alcohol out to some women
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: who are waiting outside. That's at eleven forty ten, so
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: that's over nine hours sixth incidents unbelievable. Those two bottle
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: shops alone, Matt.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: You know, has there ever been a week, realistically where
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: it is more evident that we need some serious change
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory. When you consider what has happened
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: over a five day period, it is appalling.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: Well, I reckon. The saddest thing and one of the
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: most revealing things, Toddie is just talking to people out
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: here on the street and talking to them off camera.
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: You know, I've been talking to a lot of people
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: this morning. Some of them are public servants, so they
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: don't want to speak publicly, but people I reckon, they're
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: beyond angry. I reckon, they've got to the point that
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: they're just sad. I was talking to one woman here
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: this morning and she just said, she said, I feel
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: like we've got to the point where this has just
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: become normal. We've just come to accept it. We expect
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: these things to happen. You know, she said, I wasn't
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: surprised at all when I heard about what had happened
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: to you overnight, because it's just been normalized. You know,
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: there was another guy I was talking to, you know,
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: who works for the government. He just said that it's
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: just absurd. He said, I've had to put cameras up
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: at my house. I've had to put extra security up
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: at my house. I've been breaking into it several times.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: I've got people here talking about just braves and thefts
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: going on where people come into the supermarket or to
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: the bottle shop and they just take stuff and the
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: staff are told not to challenge them, not to confront them, yep,
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: because we're seeing some of the terrible consequences when people do. So. Yeah,
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: it's a pretty sad situation.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: It is. It's sad. It's you know, it has been
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: a terrible week, an absolutely terrible week, and I think
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: that that is why people then felt frustrated. You know,
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: I played a bit of audio from Parliament throughout the
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: week and you hear these lines like, you know, you're
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: talking the territory down. The territory's on its knees right now.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: It's not a matter of talking it down. We're broken.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you're right. And that's the other really
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: sad thing about You're hearing people more and more stories
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: of people saying that they're going to pack up and leave,
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: you know, and that just saddens me even further. You know,
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  Speaker 2: a lot like you. This is the place that I
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: call my home, and you know, I've raised my kids
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: and I want to continue to do that same here.
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: When people pack up and leave, you know, it's just
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: has such a devastating effect, and you know, you lose
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: friends and it just hurts when you see friends pack
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: up and go, and you want to give them every
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: reason to stay, and it's sort of hard to give
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: them that reason when you're seeing this sort of stuff
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: going on.
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: Something has to change, like it dead said, it has
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: to change, and I know that. You know, obviously, throughout
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: the week that was this morning, the Minister has spoken
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: about a number of things that they're doing and you
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: know some of the different different measures that they want
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: to take. But the time for talks over, like the
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: time for reviews are over. The time for beating around
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: the bush is well and truly over. We cannot have
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: a situation where there is six incidents in one night
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: and there is people armed with knives and you know,
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: threatening really really dangerous behavior the same week that we
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: have lost a life at a bottle shop.
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah exactly. I mean, you're not just talking about someone
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: and coming and making a single bottle or something like that.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: When they're actually threatening this sort of violence in the staff.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: I think that's you know, and it's just five days
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: after we've seen a sect and Levity stab to death
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: at a bottle shop. Yeah, same here, And you're right,
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: I think something does need to change. It's interesting we've
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: given no timeline. I don't know whether you've got any
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: more indication. There seems to be no timeline on this review.
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: We don't know who's doing the review. We don't know
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: how long it's going to take. You don't know what, yep,
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: exactly is going to be reviewed or exactly what's going
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: to change, if anything, when that review is done. So now,
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: I think people want to see a little bit more
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: than that at the moment.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: They really do.
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  Speaker 2: There's a lot of sad and angry and frustrated people
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  Speaker 2: out there.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Really is, Matt. I always appreciate your time, mate, Thank
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: you very much for speaking to us this morning. And
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: it sounds like it sounds like it's a pretty busy
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: morning out there. Just tell us, so, how's that sort
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: of looking. We've been told that the BWS wasn't going
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: to reopen today. What are you sort of hearing at
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: this point.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's my information that that BWS won't reopen today.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: So there've been police here this morning, Katie. Police arrived.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: I would say it about just after seven o'clock. I
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: saw the police arrive here. They've actually they've just lifted
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: the roller door at the bottle shop. There's a security
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: guarden presuming it's a staff member there, who were just
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: taking some pictures and just looking around the scene at
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: the moment, and there were police in there taking photographs
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: as well. This morning, I briefly went to Gauzli's bottle
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: Shop and that's obviously closed at the moment too. There
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: were no police there at the time, but they have
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: been police here at THEWS. They've been speaking for management here.
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: There's at least three security guards out the front, sorry,
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: out the back of the bottle shop where I'm standing
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: at the moment. There's another security guard out the front.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: So there's plenty of security here and obviously please investigating
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: and trying to get as much information as they can.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: And I can see there's security cameras everywhere here as well, Cadie,
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: so I'm sure that they'll have plenty of evidence that
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: they're going to gather in the next day or so.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: Without a doubt. Well Matt Cunningham, thank you as always
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: for your time mate, much appreciated
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: No worries, thank you