Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We know that rail freight is now able to move
into Darwin after a horizon made repairs to a stretch
of the rail line that was extensively damaged between Catherine
and Tenant Creek, but main roads are still cut and
damaged from the Northern Territory to the West Australian border
following heavy rain and flooding from that monsoon and tropical
low Joining us in the studio for an update on
(00:23):
the situation though, is the Infrastructure Minister Joel Bowden. Good
morning to you.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Joel, Good morning Katie.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Thanks so much for your time this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
It's a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Now tell us which highways remain closed following the recent
severe flooding.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Yeah, so, of course everyone knows there's been flooding and
as you saw yesterday you might have been taking your
kids to school. There was a terrential now, law I
was at Milner Primary School visiting the local school and
it was just crazy and out of control. But let
me give you a quick update. Obviously the Stuart Highways
open but still with caution. There's a lot of water
around Barkley Highway caution. We have got a couple that
(00:59):
are closed. The Daily River Roads closed large man who's closed.
The Tantamite is actually impassible, so the water went that
way out west, so it's impossible.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
The Victoria Highways closed.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
From the buntin In to Wa border, so out west,
but the Bunty Highway is open, but it's only for
a maximum of seven axle vehicles and weight restrictions apply.
And the Buccanans closed seventy kilometers west of top Spring.
So there's still a lot of water around, especially out
west and the Vic River you reach its peak in history.
(01:31):
I think it got to twenty four meters, which just
means there's an avalanche of water through our system and
through our road system, our rail system.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
As you said, the rails back up, which is great.
That's I think earlier than we expected. So road rail up.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
And down the territory is up and going again. But
out west a lot of our roads are still being
impacted like they were here locally yesterday with that terrentium.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Absolutely, and I mean, like we all understand that this
time of the year it does get really difficult with
all that wet weather and what we're experiencing or what
we've seen experienced across the border in Queensland as well
as still wreaking some havoc, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
It is that cyclone curialy that came in.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
I think it hit a couple of days ago, and
this is the second event that Queensland have had just
in the last few weeks. So they are they're really
getting hit hard and we're getting some of those byproducts
you might say where the systems are around, and it's
really it's really part of our environment now where we're
seeing changes in theroment, heavier rainfall, more often weather events.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Now, Minister, we did get a message from Ben yesterday.
He wanted to know any chance you can try and
gain some information on access to Kannannara via Timber Creek.
It's very hard to understand how long it's going to
be down and we're looking at pushing stock.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
What I'll do is take that on notice, might get
his number and then we can get back to him,
because I don't want to say something on radio that's
also someone's stranded.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
What we'll do is we'll get his numb and we
can get in contact absolutely now.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Any other areas of concern or any other areas that
are cut off at the moment that are a bit
of a concern, not.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
To my knowledge. Obviously, the rain and the weather systems
are still moving around.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
So it's a watch and watch and sea, a wait
and see, ye leeze anyone who's driving, anyone who's having
to proceed with caution, even here in dawhen you stay
you know, I was driving to school in the morning,
Just go a bit slower, put your lights on, take
your time.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Arriving ten minutes late is okay.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
When there's a weather event, you'd rather be ten minutes
late than have an accident.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Or some particularly around the schools and that kind of
thing as well. Absolutely, Hey, what impact is it having
on freight at the moment? We know that we I
mean we could see it just a couple of weeks
ago or a week ago when you walked into the
supermarket you could see that the shelves were bare in
some instances. Are things getting back on track though, now
with that rail line reopening here.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
A fantastic job by all the workers or the frontline
workers who've got the Stuart Highway back up running really
really quickly. People are just creatures of habit. We knew
that there was a flood, We knew, we heard that
the roads might have been cut off and everyone went
to the supermarket and stocked up.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
I was actually there on the Friday after work.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
It was about six thirty and the lady who was
serving me, she said, oh my god, it's so busy
and I said, oh, what do you think.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
She said, oh, it's the floods. Of course, like she knew,
and everyone was talking about it. I did see a
guy walking.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Out with a massive pack of toilet paper and I said, well,
he's here for one thing.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
It's a docking's toilet.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
It was within two or three days that the shells
were restocked and we saw the trucks coming back up.
The rail freight got transferred onto the trucks. They had
to go slowly. There was a stretch of road just
let's call it, just south of Daily Waters that have
been damaged, so they were pulled.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Through there for safety. The shells are restocked. I was
just back at the supermarket last night.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
It looks normal, It looked calm, and I think everything's
back under control. We will see the rail come back
online and they'll change the distribution of f There'll probably
be less trucks.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, but that's good.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Thanks to Arizon and thanks to all the teams you've
got there, because I saw some pictures and it was
severely damaged.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
So to do that work in two weeks is a
phenomenal effort.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Well, let's talk about the damage, but to the roads.
You know, how extensive is some of that damage? And
when's the work going to get away get underway when
we're talking about the highways.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
First off, yeah, it's always happening, So this is this
is a always evolving, changing program, just depending on the
weather systems. That stretched just south of Daily Waters was
being repaired and upgraded. I've driven that road a couple
of times this year and there's been a detour through
that area that unfortunately wasn't sealed before the downpour and
(05:39):
so it got some extra damage.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
They'll repair that.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I think we've spent one hundred and fifty million since
twenty twenty one, and on the Stuart Highway we've got
another two hundred plus million in the program, which is
what we'll spend in the future.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
And it's just a rolling program.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So is there any work that needs to happen quite
immediately though in terms of the flood damage that's.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Happened, we have to do the immediate repairs.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Yes, and then as you loicated the weather events, we
only can get a good you know, look at it
for maybe six or seven months of the year. So
they'll be planning now, they'll be making sure any repairs
that need to be done are done, and then they'll
be planning the program and they have to work at
a high efficiency during that say, six or seven months.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Of the year to get it all done.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And we're even seeing you know, south further south Al
Springs Tenant Creek where the weather systems are coming through
and damaging the road. So it's a really big program
and it's a really tight fit in those six or
seven months of the year that they can get the
work done.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
And so do I mean, do we need to be
looking at things any differently in terms of the fact
that we you know, we do actually see some of
these roads flood every year, and I know we can't
control the weather, but is there any way that we
can look at things differently when it comes to infrastructure.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Absolutely, And so you know, raising the level of the road,
I mean even the houses out in Pigeonhole, and large
amounto the new houses that were built out, they were
raised up on some higher pads. Thinking about where all
the electricity points were. They're higher in the wall so
that those flooding events happen. Just like the roads, they
need to be raised up a bit higher. But there's
(07:08):
a huge issue south of the territory border. And I
drove it this year on the way down to Adelaide,
you know, through Pimber and around Lake Heart and that
area where that is like where the water pools in Australia.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
You know, there's probably going to be a.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Big pull of water in Lake Air upcoming because of
the amount of water that's come down.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
So Lake Air lake hard all through there and there.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Is one stretch that actually goes through the salt lake
there and that's where it got cut off two years ago.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
So we have to look for innovative ideas.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
We have to look for new efficiency and we have
to look for options that mean that we can have
surety in our rail surety in our roads, and that
means freight.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Quick one have the flood water's gone down much in
Timber Creek or how things looking around the air.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
They've dropped, but they're still high. And again, as I said,
proceed with caution, please just be careful. Proceed with caution
and don't take any unnecessary risks.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Now, the issue that caused a lot of concern yesterday morning, Yes,
we had a massive downpour, but potholes on Tiger Brennan
caused a number of cars to wind up damage.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
What was the situation, Yeah, so just.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
A few meters past the overpass there near Barham A Road,
a pothole emerge. Unfortunately it emerged, couldn't be seen because
of the amount of water on the road. And I
think there's ten or more cars that have sustained flat
tire from that or some type of damage and they've
had to pull over. And what a pain in the ass,
you know, torrential downpour, you hit a pothole and you
have to pull over. It was cordoned off and then
(08:38):
the Dipple team got down there and fixed it already.
But just on my way here, Katie, there's still potholes
in the roads around this morning, and there's potholes in
the road, so again, be careful. I did see a
team just down in lud Miller on the way here
who are fixing another area on the road that needs
to be fixed. They'll be working feverishly now, but please
(08:59):
proceed with and we're really really.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Appreciative of the work that the team did to fix it.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
But we're apologetic because a big pothole on a major
road is a real pain.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
They ask for people well, and it can be incredibly dangerous.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
So who sort of takes responsibility now, I suppose for
the damage to those vehicles.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
Yeah, we'll work through that. I'll have to get some
further advice. That's probably a legal question. But at the
same time, I know that AA and T were there
of service. I've heard anecdotes of friends coming out to
help other friends who weren't able to get to work
or weren't able to get their tires fixed quickly because
AA and T were so busy.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
So thank you to everyone who did that, who you know,
chipped in, because what a pain.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Back it would be an absolute time. That's exactly right.
But so no word I suppose at this stage or
nobody's contacted the government saying, hey, you guys need to
pay for my damaged car.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
We're going to look into that, and of course we
don't know the extent of the damage at this point
in time. That the reports have been flat tires, but
you know, with let's say ten or more cars pulled over.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
You never know.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
If it was a small lower to the ground car,
maybe there might be some damage.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
We'll look into that.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
But those potholes aren't now fixed, and I guess steople
working around the clock really to try and make sure
that they're rectifying lots of different areas of road that
have been damaged because of that extensive wet weather.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Yep, they'll be working around the clock. It looks like
there's not going to be too much rain this morning,
you know. I checked the radar now religiously it's that
time of the year, so that's a good opportunity, but
we never know, right the weather forecast is generally now
at the moment there's going to be storms in the afternoon,
so the team will work when they can.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
They'll get the repairs done where they can. I think
they'll target the.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Most impactful areas, so any pothole that's big and deep
and dangerous, they'll be on to it.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
So that's the plan at the moment. Now, I want
to just switch to tourism.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
We've been contacted by business owners in the Darwin Mall
saying that cruise ship passengers are being warned by their
captain to not venture into the city because nothing's open
and it's not safe.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Are you aware of this? No, not aware of it, Kadian.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
And just before Christmas, I toured one of the cruise
ships that was in town and unberknownst to me was
that not only are they passengers disembarked, but also the crew.
So this Tuesday coming there'll be another cruise ship in town.
There's about two and a half Foulsand passengers who will
be asked to disembark, but there'll also be a large
(11:23):
number of crew.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
You know, there'll be five hundred dollars.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
You worried that they're being told that our city is
not a safe place or that it's not inviting.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
That's not the information that we've got.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
And again when we were touring the cruise ship, there
were a few people who stayed back.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Some people have got mobility issues.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
There are a couple of people who are just taking
the opportunity have some downtime by themselves. The information we've
got is that cruise ships are telling their passengers to
disimbank and also the crew members to disembark. So hopefully
on Tuesday there's a three thousand people throughout Darwin. I
think their cruise ship arrives about six thirty in the morning,
so by mid the Smith Street Mall should be bustling.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Because I have got an email from one business owner
who said, I just wanted to voice my concerns regarding
the feedback being given to people on cruise ships from
their captain. I've got a retail shop in the mall
and have had so for many years. I must point
out this is certainly not the first time I've heard this,
but they are being told don't bother going into the
city because nothing's opened and you're not safe. And this
(12:24):
retailer says, really, how can we be taken seriously? Just
have a look at the place. Our beautiful Darwin is
being allowed.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
To be destroyed.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
I mean, it is a worry if people are being
told there's nothing to see and that it's not a
safe environment. And that's not the only like, that's not
the only contact that we had. That was from one
business owner. We also had a lady that works in
the city callers yesterday. She said that she'd spoken to
two women who were off the cruise ship and they
(12:53):
had ventured out. They had ventured into the CBD and
gone to Woolworths, but they had told her that they
were told of very similar story.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Yeah, Katie.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Over the next twelve months, we're going to have one
hundred cruise ships in town and that's going to be
over sixty thousand passengers. A lot of these people who
are taking cruise ships are high wealth individuals, and I
know from the feedback directory back when we toured the ship,
there were passengers taking helicopter flights to Kaikadou. They were
going out to some of our more prominent areas. So
(13:24):
there's a crew that can travel quickly on helicopters, or
they can you know, they can go and do sight
seeing troops, high wealth individuals. There's a large number who
are going to go through our city. Hopefully what that
means and if they're arriving early in the morning the
mall is bustling. That those retailers are getting more and
more customers and making more and more money, which means
we'll see some of the shops open up for longer
(13:44):
often new way.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
I guess what I'm getting at is what's the government
doing to make sure it's a safe and inviting place.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Absolutely, and we're working with our retailers.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
I think what you can see in the mall and
around the city is an opportunity that if we can
grow this cruise ship industry, if we can get them
in at the right times and six thirty am landing
means are going to be getting off, they're going to
be going up.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
That can all help retailers.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
You know. Suppose we can also see is that there
is you know, like that there's people who are intoxicated,
and that there's behavior going on in the city that
you don't actually want tourists to have to encounter or
to you know, to be gyeldat, or to see somebody
getting in a fight. And that's what people are concerned about,
particularly those retailers and particularly locals who are very much
(14:32):
reliant on that tourism dollar. And I would suspect that you,
as a tourism minister, are also concerned about that.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Yeah, And we're working with retails.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
We're also working with the cruise ships about the timing
of when they arrive so that we can alleviate some
of those issues. We're also trying to foster businesses so
that they can continue to grow. There are a few
vacant shops in them that we all know. That's because
what we would like is to see more offerings in
them all. We'd like to see more offerings around town
so that we can grow business, we can grow business confidence,
(15:00):
we can have more people in there.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Because you concern though, as a tourism minister that people
are going to get off that cruise ship and think, goodness, may.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Well what's going on.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Well, it's something that we need to address and we
are doing that, but it's also something that we need
to think about and plan those cruise ships arrivals, the timings,
and then the tourism operators who go down and we've
got a wealth of opportunities just in the Darwin area
for let's say two and a half thousand people to see.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
You don't have to get on a helicopter to go
and see something great now, Yeah, absolutely, we just have
to get.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Those operators and we're working closely with the tourism operators,
tourism top end around making sure we've got those offerings
ready for the people who are coming on.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
The part of it is the retailers, of course, but
a huge part of it is the government making sure
that Darwin and the Northern Territories a safe place to
be and I mean we've already suffered reputational dammage in
Alla Springs, so we've got to make sure that we
get on top of this. I mean, nobody wants to
be in a situation here in the territory. We're not thriving.
We want things to be on the up, you know.
(16:05):
We want tourists coming here and telling their friends to
come back.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Absolutely, and we need to tell a really good story.
The other part we need is those who come here
to be advocates for the Northern Territory. A Cruz passenger
hopefully can go back to their origin and tell a
good story about their troop and factor in something that
they can remember from the Northern Territory that was fantastic.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
We want to get advocates well.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Joel A. Bouden, the Minister for various portfolios Tourism, infrastructure
and plenty of other things, thank you so much for
your time this morning.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Really appreciate it. Thanks Codie, Thank you
We know that rail freight is now able to move
into Darwin after a horizon made repairs to a stretch
of the rail line that was extensively damaged between Catherine
and Tenant Creek, but main roads are still cut and
damaged from the Northern Territory to the West Australian border
following heavy rain and flooding from that monsoon and tropical
low Joining us in the studio for an update on
(00:23):
the situation though, is the Infrastructure Minister Joel Bowden. Good
morning to you.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Joel, Good morning Katie.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Thanks so much for your time this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
It's a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Now tell us which highways remain closed following the recent
severe flooding.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Yeah, so, of course everyone knows there's been flooding and
as you saw yesterday you might have been taking your
kids to school. There was a terrential now, law I
was at Milner Primary School visiting the local school and
it was just crazy and out of control. But let
me give you a quick update. Obviously the Stuart Highways
open but still with caution. There's a lot of water
around Barkley Highway caution. We have got a couple that
(00:59):
are closed. The Daily River Roads closed large man who's closed.
The Tantamite is actually impassible, so the water went that
way out west, so it's impossible.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
The Victoria Highways closed.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
From the buntin In to Wa border, so out west,
but the Bunty Highway is open, but it's only for
a maximum of seven axle vehicles and weight restrictions apply.
And the Buccanans closed seventy kilometers west of top Spring.
So there's still a lot of water around, especially out
west and the Vic River you reach its peak in history.
(01:31):
I think it got to twenty four meters, which just
means there's an avalanche of water through our system and
through our road system, our rail system.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
As you said, the rails back up, which is great.
That's I think earlier than we expected. So road rail up.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
And down the territory is up and going again. But
out west a lot of our roads are still being
impacted like they were here locally yesterday with that terrentium.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Absolutely, and I mean, like we all understand that this
time of the year it does get really difficult with
all that wet weather and what we're experiencing or what
we've seen experienced across the border in Queensland as well
as still wreaking some havoc, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
It is that cyclone curialy that came in.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
I think it hit a couple of days ago, and
this is the second event that Queensland have had just
in the last few weeks. So they are they're really
getting hit hard and we're getting some of those byproducts
you might say where the systems are around, and it's
really it's really part of our environment now where we're
seeing changes in theroment, heavier rainfall, more often weather events.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Now, Minister, we did get a message from Ben yesterday.
He wanted to know any chance you can try and
gain some information on access to Kannannara via Timber Creek.
It's very hard to understand how long it's going to
be down and we're looking at pushing stock.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
What I'll do is take that on notice, might get
his number and then we can get back to him,
because I don't want to say something on radio that's
also someone's stranded.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
What we'll do is we'll get his numb and we
can get in contact absolutely now.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Any other areas of concern or any other areas that
are cut off at the moment that are a bit
of a concern, not.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
To my knowledge. Obviously, the rain and the weather systems
are still moving around.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
So it's a watch and watch and sea, a wait
and see, ye leeze anyone who's driving, anyone who's having
to proceed with caution, even here in dawhen you stay
you know, I was driving to school in the morning,
Just go a bit slower, put your lights on, take
your time.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Arriving ten minutes late is okay.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
When there's a weather event, you'd rather be ten minutes
late than have an accident.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Or some particularly around the schools and that kind of
thing as well. Absolutely, Hey, what impact is it having
on freight at the moment? We know that we I
mean we could see it just a couple of weeks
ago or a week ago when you walked into the
supermarket you could see that the shelves were bare in
some instances. Are things getting back on track though, now
with that rail line reopening here.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
A fantastic job by all the workers or the frontline
workers who've got the Stuart Highway back up running really
really quickly. People are just creatures of habit. We knew
that there was a flood, We knew, we heard that
the roads might have been cut off and everyone went
to the supermarket and stocked up.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
I was actually there on the Friday after work.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
It was about six thirty and the lady who was
serving me, she said, oh my god, it's so busy
and I said, oh, what do you think.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
She said, oh, it's the floods. Of course, like she knew,
and everyone was talking about it. I did see a
guy walking.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Out with a massive pack of toilet paper and I said, well,
he's here for one thing.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
It's a docking's toilet.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
It was within two or three days that the shells
were restocked and we saw the trucks coming back up.
The rail freight got transferred onto the trucks. They had
to go slowly. There was a stretch of road just
let's call it, just south of Daily Waters that have
been damaged, so they were pulled.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Through there for safety. The shells are restocked. I was
just back at the supermarket last night.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
It looks normal, It looked calm, and I think everything's
back under control. We will see the rail come back
online and they'll change the distribution of f There'll probably
be less trucks.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, but that's good.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Thanks to Arizon and thanks to all the teams you've
got there, because I saw some pictures and it was
severely damaged.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
So to do that work in two weeks is a
phenomenal effort.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Well, let's talk about the damage, but to the roads.
You know, how extensive is some of that damage? And
when's the work going to get away get underway when
we're talking about the highways.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
First off, yeah, it's always happening, So this is this
is a always evolving, changing program, just depending on the
weather systems. That stretched just south of Daily Waters was
being repaired and upgraded. I've driven that road a couple
of times this year and there's been a detour through
that area that unfortunately wasn't sealed before the downpour and
(05:39):
so it got some extra damage.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
They'll repair that.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I think we've spent one hundred and fifty million since
twenty twenty one, and on the Stuart Highway we've got
another two hundred plus million in the program, which is
what we'll spend in the future.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
And it's just a rolling program.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So is there any work that needs to happen quite
immediately though in terms of the flood damage that's.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Happened, we have to do the immediate repairs.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Yes, and then as you loicated the weather events, we
only can get a good you know, look at it
for maybe six or seven months of the year. So
they'll be planning now, they'll be making sure any repairs
that need to be done are done, and then they'll
be planning the program and they have to work at
a high efficiency during that say, six or seven months.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Of the year to get it all done.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And we're even seeing you know, south further south Al
Springs Tenant Creek where the weather systems are coming through
and damaging the road. So it's a really big program
and it's a really tight fit in those six or
seven months of the year that they can get the
work done.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
And so do I mean, do we need to be
looking at things any differently in terms of the fact
that we you know, we do actually see some of
these roads flood every year, and I know we can't
control the weather, but is there any way that we
can look at things differently when it comes to infrastructure.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Absolutely, And so you know, raising the level of the road,
I mean even the houses out in Pigeonhole, and large
amounto the new houses that were built out, they were
raised up on some higher pads. Thinking about where all
the electricity points were. They're higher in the wall so
that those flooding events happen. Just like the roads, they
need to be raised up a bit higher. But there's
(07:08):
a huge issue south of the territory border. And I
drove it this year on the way down to Adelaide,
you know, through Pimber and around Lake Heart and that
area where that is like where the water pools in Australia.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
You know, there's probably going to be a.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Big pull of water in Lake Air upcoming because of
the amount of water that's come down.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
So Lake Air lake hard all through there and there.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Is one stretch that actually goes through the salt lake
there and that's where it got cut off two years ago.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
So we have to look for innovative ideas.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
We have to look for new efficiency and we have
to look for options that mean that we can have
surety in our rail surety in our roads, and that
means freight.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Quick one have the flood water's gone down much in
Timber Creek or how things looking around the air.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
They've dropped, but they're still high. And again, as I said,
proceed with caution, please just be careful. Proceed with caution
and don't take any unnecessary risks.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Now, the issue that caused a lot of concern yesterday morning, Yes,
we had a massive downpour, but potholes on Tiger Brennan
caused a number of cars to wind up damage.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
What was the situation, Yeah, so just.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
A few meters past the overpass there near Barham A Road,
a pothole emerge. Unfortunately it emerged, couldn't be seen because
of the amount of water on the road. And I
think there's ten or more cars that have sustained flat
tire from that or some type of damage and they've
had to pull over. And what a pain in the ass,
you know, torrential downpour, you hit a pothole and you
have to pull over. It was cordoned off and then
(08:38):
the Dipple team got down there and fixed it already.
But just on my way here, Katie, there's still potholes
in the roads around this morning, and there's potholes in
the road, so again, be careful. I did see a
team just down in lud Miller on the way here
who are fixing another area on the road that needs
to be fixed. They'll be working feverishly now, but please
(08:59):
proceed with and we're really really.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Appreciative of the work that the team did to fix it.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
But we're apologetic because a big pothole on a major
road is a real pain.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
They ask for people well, and it can be incredibly dangerous.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
So who sort of takes responsibility now, I suppose for
the damage to those vehicles.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
Yeah, we'll work through that. I'll have to get some
further advice. That's probably a legal question. But at the
same time, I know that AA and T were there
of service. I've heard anecdotes of friends coming out to
help other friends who weren't able to get to work
or weren't able to get their tires fixed quickly because
AA and T were so busy.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
So thank you to everyone who did that, who you know,
chipped in, because what a pain.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Back it would be an absolute time. That's exactly right.
But so no word I suppose at this stage or
nobody's contacted the government saying, hey, you guys need to
pay for my damaged car.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
We're going to look into that, and of course we
don't know the extent of the damage at this point
in time. That the reports have been flat tires, but
you know, with let's say ten or more cars pulled over.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
You never know.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
If it was a small lower to the ground car,
maybe there might be some damage.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
We'll look into that.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
But those potholes aren't now fixed, and I guess steople
working around the clock really to try and make sure
that they're rectifying lots of different areas of road that
have been damaged because of that extensive wet weather.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Yep, they'll be working around the clock. It looks like
there's not going to be too much rain this morning,
you know. I checked the radar now religiously it's that
time of the year, so that's a good opportunity, but
we never know, right the weather forecast is generally now
at the moment there's going to be storms in the afternoon,
so the team will work when they can.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
They'll get the repairs done where they can. I think
they'll target the.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Most impactful areas, so any pothole that's big and deep
and dangerous, they'll be on to it.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
So that's the plan at the moment. Now, I want
to just switch to tourism.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
We've been contacted by business owners in the Darwin Mall
saying that cruise ship passengers are being warned by their
captain to not venture into the city because nothing's open
and it's not safe.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Are you aware of this? No, not aware of it, Kadian.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
And just before Christmas, I toured one of the cruise
ships that was in town and unberknownst to me was
that not only are they passengers disembarked, but also the crew.
So this Tuesday coming there'll be another cruise ship in town.
There's about two and a half Foulsand passengers who will
be asked to disembark, but there'll also be a large
(11:23):
number of crew.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
You know, there'll be five hundred dollars.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
You worried that they're being told that our city is
not a safe place or that it's not inviting.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
That's not the information that we've got.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
And again when we were touring the cruise ship, there
were a few people who stayed back.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Some people have got mobility issues.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
There are a couple of people who are just taking
the opportunity have some downtime by themselves. The information we've
got is that cruise ships are telling their passengers to
disimbank and also the crew members to disembark. So hopefully
on Tuesday there's a three thousand people throughout Darwin. I
think their cruise ship arrives about six thirty in the morning,
so by mid the Smith Street Mall should be bustling.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Because I have got an email from one business owner
who said, I just wanted to voice my concerns regarding
the feedback being given to people on cruise ships from
their captain. I've got a retail shop in the mall
and have had so for many years. I must point
out this is certainly not the first time I've heard this,
but they are being told don't bother going into the
city because nothing's opened and you're not safe. And this
(12:24):
retailer says, really, how can we be taken seriously? Just
have a look at the place. Our beautiful Darwin is
being allowed.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
To be destroyed.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
I mean, it is a worry if people are being
told there's nothing to see and that it's not a
safe environment. And that's not the only like, that's not
the only contact that we had. That was from one
business owner. We also had a lady that works in
the city callers yesterday. She said that she'd spoken to
two women who were off the cruise ship and they
(12:53):
had ventured out. They had ventured into the CBD and
gone to Woolworths, but they had told her that they
were told of very similar story.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Yeah, Katie.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Over the next twelve months, we're going to have one
hundred cruise ships in town and that's going to be
over sixty thousand passengers. A lot of these people who
are taking cruise ships are high wealth individuals, and I
know from the feedback directory back when we toured the ship,
there were passengers taking helicopter flights to Kaikadou. They were
going out to some of our more prominent areas. So
(13:24):
there's a crew that can travel quickly on helicopters, or
they can you know, they can go and do sight
seeing troops, high wealth individuals. There's a large number who
are going to go through our city. Hopefully what that
means and if they're arriving early in the morning the
mall is bustling. That those retailers are getting more and
more customers and making more and more money, which means
we'll see some of the shops open up for longer
(13:44):
often new way.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
I guess what I'm getting at is what's the government
doing to make sure it's a safe and inviting place.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Absolutely, and we're working with our retailers.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
I think what you can see in the mall and
around the city is an opportunity that if we can
grow this cruise ship industry, if we can get them
in at the right times and six thirty am landing
means are going to be getting off, they're going to
be going up.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
That can all help retailers.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
You know. Suppose we can also see is that there
is you know, like that there's people who are intoxicated,
and that there's behavior going on in the city that
you don't actually want tourists to have to encounter or
to you know, to be gyeldat, or to see somebody
getting in a fight. And that's what people are concerned about,
particularly those retailers and particularly locals who are very much
(14:32):
reliant on that tourism dollar. And I would suspect that you,
as a tourism minister, are also concerned about that.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Yeah, And we're working with retails.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
We're also working with the cruise ships about the timing
of when they arrive so that we can alleviate some
of those issues. We're also trying to foster businesses so
that they can continue to grow. There are a few
vacant shops in them that we all know. That's because
what we would like is to see more offerings in
them all. We'd like to see more offerings around town
so that we can grow business, we can grow business confidence,
(15:00):
we can have more people in there.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Because you concern though, as a tourism minister that people
are going to get off that cruise ship and think, goodness, may.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Well what's going on.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Well, it's something that we need to address and we
are doing that, but it's also something that we need
to think about and plan those cruise ships arrivals, the timings,
and then the tourism operators who go down and we've
got a wealth of opportunities just in the Darwin area
for let's say two and a half thousand people to see.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
You don't have to get on a helicopter to go
and see something great now, Yeah, absolutely, we just have
to get.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Those operators and we're working closely with the tourism operators,
tourism top end around making sure we've got those offerings
ready for the people who are coming on.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
The part of it is the retailers, of course, but
a huge part of it is the government making sure
that Darwin and the Northern Territories a safe place to
be and I mean we've already suffered reputational dammage in
Alla Springs, so we've got to make sure that we
get on top of this. I mean, nobody wants to
be in a situation here in the territory. We're not thriving.
We want things to be on the up, you know.
(16:05):
We want tourists coming here and telling their friends to
come back.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Absolutely, and we need to tell a really good story.
The other part we need is those who come here
to be advocates for the Northern Territory. A Cruz passenger
hopefully can go back to their origin and tell a
good story about their troop and factor in something that
they can remember from the Northern Territory that was fantastic.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
We want to get advocates well.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Joel A. Bouden, the Minister for various portfolios Tourism, infrastructure
and plenty of other things, thank you so much for
your time this morning.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Really appreciate it. Thanks Codie, Thank you
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