Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, it has been a busy time as we know
over the new year period when it comes to managing
the jails and also the courts. Now, towards the end
of last year we spoke a lot about those jails
being overrun. We know that law changes then indeed came
into place at the beginning of the year, making it
harder for repeat offenders to be granted bail. So how
are things tracking well. Joining me on the line live
(00:23):
from Alice Springs for the first time for twenty twenty five,
the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Lea fanocchi Aro.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Good morning Leah, Good morning Katie and to your listeners.
It's wonderful to be back. Happy New Year to you
and your family and your listeners you too.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
And happy first day of school for most of the
Northern Territory kids as well.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I know my little one was off today so unfortunately
I wasn't there being Mother of the Year again that
alank that my hobby took care of it.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Well, look, you've got to do what you got to
do when you're the Chief Minister, and I'm sure she
was fine. Now, Chief, we know that the ABC was
last night reporting that have once again reached record highs
how many people have we got our jails at the.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Moment, So as of Monday, we had about two thousand,
six hundred and fifty just short of that. So it's
extremely high numbers, but we're really proud to be delivering
space the streets and reducing crime. Ultimately, what's happened is
since the August election, we've got an additional four hundred
and eight people incarcerated. Now, it's never a good thing
(01:30):
to have people in prison, but people have to remember
what that means is there were four hundred people out
on the streets who shouldn't have been and our reducing
crime package has delivered a better outcome for our police
to be able to undertake more arrest and put the
safety of people first. So it's a good result. And
now what we've got to do is use that opportunity
(01:51):
in prison to turn people's life around and deal with
those root causes of crime.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Now, in terms of the changes to the law in
the Northern Territory and some of those different changes that
we've seen making it more difficult for people to be bailed,
I mean, what impact do you think that that is
having on our corrections facilities at this point, and do
you have a better understanding at this point of really
just how many people have gone to jail rather than
(02:16):
being bailed again.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
I don't have the separate bowl numbers on me, Katie,
but that's something I'm very happy to provide. What we
know is Declan's Law was a signature election commitment, and
of course we still with Samara Laviny and said enough
is enough, just like thousands of other Territorians. And so
it's all making an impact. There's much more work to
do and I don't want any of your listeners to
(02:40):
think that our reducing crime package in October last year
was the end. It's really important people understand this is
just the beginning for us. But undoubtedly it is putting
pressure on our correction system and that's why our Corrections
master Plan is so important. So we were able to
put online forty eight more beds over the weekend. There'll
(03:01):
be another ninety six by the end of the week.
We're on track to hit that milestone. So the plan
is working. And we've also got a record number of
corrections recruits who've just gone into their training on Monday,
and that'll see about thirty two corrections officers go through
their training and be out on the ground from April.
(03:22):
So lots of work to do. But the plan is
coming together and we've got to stay the course if
we want to reduce crime right across the territory.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Well, I mean, at the end of the day, people
don't want violent offenders on the street. You know, it's
not ideal that our jails are overflowing. From what the
ABC News reported last night, up to sixteen prisoners per cell,
is that the case, And from your perspective, is it appropriate?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
So I don't want people to picture, you know, in
the movies, perhaps it's really not like that at all.
Our watchhouses and our prisons have different sized cells with
different categories of prisoners, and so some of them are large. Now,
I'm not trying to sugarcoat that it's cozy in there,
and nor should it be. You know, these are prisons
at the end of the day for criminals. It's not
(04:13):
luxury hotels for people going on a holiday. So I'm
not going to make excuses. It's not ideal and we
accept that fully. But I'll tell you what, Katie, our
police and our corrections officers are just going above and beyond.
We can't thank them enough, and on behalf of our
entire community who are starting to feel that different as
(04:34):
we move towards this disuit of law and order above
everything else. You know, I just thank them for the
work they're doing. It's just incredible.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Now, Leah, the Police Association has made some claims that
officers have been given an instruction that non urgent arrests
are to be avoided if possible. Is that the case.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
No, and the Police Commissioner came out yesterday and clarified
all of It's certainly not something I've heard, Katie, and
I wouldn't like to see happening. We've got to continue
policing duties and that's been made really, really clear across
the board. Obviously, we've got those acute pressures from time
to time in our correction system, but we've hit a
(05:18):
magical point where with those forty eight beds in Darwin
and the ninety six, you know, hours away from being
ready to go in Alice Springs, we know we're going
to create that little bit of reprieve we need to
get through. And let's not forget our design work on
the women's prison, the changes inside Holts and the new
(05:38):
workers camp for men. That's all happening as well. So
our corrections plan is something that doesn't happen like a domino.
It's happening. Everything has to start at once so that
we meet all of our deadlines and milestones of the
plan to make sure we've got that space in the system.
And of course we're operating up the back of it
of Labour's legacy, which was not to find corrections properly,
(06:01):
not to invest in the infrastructure we need. So we're
playing catch up. But that catch up will not come
at the expense of community safety. I can guarantee that.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Well, it was the number one issue for Territorians at
the election. Now part of the bigger puzzle I guess
is those changes that have been announced as well to
try and speed things up through the courts. I know
that there were new judges appointed over the Christmas and
New Year period. Is that having a positive impact in
terms of things moving along more.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Quickly, Yeah, it is, but it's still not enough. And
so there are really three pillars to reduce in crime.
One is police and police are doing really really well.
Corrections is obviously struggling because there's a lack of infrastructure,
and our court is struggling. I mean something like sixty
seven percent of our sorry, not sixty seven percent, that's
(06:52):
the dB numbers. What I'm meant to say was around
forty seven percent of all people in custody are on remark,
which means they haven't been sentenced by the court yet.
So our focus is to clear that backlog that's been
handed to us by the previous government and make sure
we have enough judges. We've obviously done all of the
(07:13):
work pouring millions of dollars additional money into legal aid
and all of those other areas so that the justice
system works. But it's not just a situation where you
can give police more powers. You've got to be sorting
out the mess in the courts and also sorting out corrections.
So we continue to work as fast as we can
(07:33):
to get that moving.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Now, Chief Finister, you are indeed in Alice Springs today,
and we know that Alice has continued to have some
issues when it comes to crime, well quite a few
issues really when it comes to crime. You're there at
the moment. It's just sixth trip as I understand, as
what exactly is on the agenda this time round YEP.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
So I have made a number of visits to Alice Springs,
as you said, because this town really needs support, and
we stood up Approach and Ludlow and it's had really
good results. We've seen three hundred and thirty four arrests
since it was stood up, and our Fugitive Task Force,
which was targeting those high harm, high risk offenders, they
(08:13):
had a total of sixty two arrest which is amazing.
So it's made an impact. Now what we've got to
do is transition into that stabilizing phase for Alice Springs,
and it's important to us we have a comprehensive and
consistent approach. So today I'll be meeting with the mayor,
Matt Patterson. Of course, as the mayor, he's acutely aware
(08:35):
of the law and order issues and so Deputy Commissioner
Martin Dole and I will meet with him. I'll also
be meeting with federal opposition leader Peter Dunton, expressing our
desire to see a bipartisan or a commitment around our
seven items that we put to the federal government.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
So is he is he in Alie today?
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Yes, he'll be in Alice Springs today. So I'm looking
forward to meeting with him about those issues. For example,
we'd really like to see Centralink payments aligning with alcohol
free days in our springs. We want to see work
people having to work, people who are on siniling having
to work, Royalties not being distributed in our springs being
(09:17):
distributed out in communities, so number of matters there. I
acknowledge the federal government has come on board with kassa
exemption so our police can use their drones, which has
been great, and I'd like to see bipartisan commitment on
that because Katie, I'm trying to secure the best deal
for the territory no matter what happens at the federal election.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Absolutely absolutely, and I guess we still don't have a
clearer date of exactly when that federal election is going
to happen, but it's meant to happen, as I understand it,
before May. So really, you know, we need a commitment
from the current the current Prime Minister and the possible
Prime Minister in Peter Dutton to know exactly where they
(09:56):
stand when it comes to the Northern Territory, particularly when
it comes to pulling some of these levers around crime.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
On Katie, I couldn't be a more furious agreement with you.
So you know today I'm also catching up with frontline police.
I want to go out tonight again and see how
drone operations are going because that increased capacity has allowed
us to engage better in car pursuit, stolen vehicles breaking
into it. It's been really positive. So yeah, lots on
(10:27):
the agenda today. I'll be holding a mobile office, which
I always do when I'm in Alice, so that every
day Alice brings residents can come past and have a
chat about what's important to them. So yeah, busy days
and looking forward to it now.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Lea just on you know the fact that you had
met with the Prime Minister over the Christmas period and
you discuss those center link payments and income management. Was
there any movement from the Prime Minister and from the
federal Labor government in that area.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Yeah, Look, I have to be fair. I've met with
the Prime Minister and I've also met with Minister Rishworth.
I've met with Minister McCartney, I've met with Marian Scrimjaw,
so I have been engaging on those issues. There's less
appetite for some of them, so but they have made
a very strong indication that if the territory was to
(11:17):
expand its referral pathways for income management to the Commonwealth,
that they would be very receptive to accepting those referrals.
So I'm very pleased about that. We're working really hard
to do that. So, for example, currently it's quite limited
to if a parent is neglecting a child, they can
be referred for income management. We'd like to expand that
(11:40):
to look at where parents are willfully withdrawing their children
from school, where their children are use criminals, for example.
So we're doing that work now, and we're also they're
also rolling out a work program for people on SENTI length.
But I've asked very specifically for there to be a
(12:01):
cap so a target for Alice springs in Central Australia.
I want to quarantine some of those jobs to the
territory so that I can hold them to account on
whether or not local territorians are getting those jobs. So
I haven't secured that yet, but that work is being
done in good faith and I'm very hopeful they come
on board.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Well, I'll be keen to get an update when you
do know more, Chief Minister. I want to ask you
about a couple of things that sort of fall into
the federal realm, but I think they're very much worth
us taking a closer look at because Territorians are pretty
worried about them at the moment. One of those is
this private health fund issue. Now, there's been concerns that
the dispute between the country's only private hospital, sorry between
(12:42):
well the only private hospital operation and healthcare provider health Scope,
and the two major private health insurers is well, it's
causing concern for locals. We caught up with a few
locals yesterday health Scope announcing those plans to cancel contracts
of course with Booper effective February and the Australian Health
Services Alliance from March. Now, as I said, we caught
(13:05):
up with a couple of territories about this yesterday and
then we continue to sort of get calls and messages
about this when we got off air. It is I mean,
it is a concern and it is something that potentially
has the risk of causing additional pressure on our public
health system if people are no longer able to go
through the private hospital. Are you aware of this issue
(13:27):
and is it something that you are prepared to maybe
try and reach out to the federal government about.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Yeah, we are aware of this issue, and Steve Edgington
as Health Minister, is taking the lead. It's something that's
impacting you know, hundreds, if not thousands of people, myself
included Katie, right, And so it's a big issue for people.
We're hoping it resolves. But I think even the greater
I mean that is a big enough concern as it is,
(13:54):
Make no mistake, The bigger concern for me is we're
starting to see that's pull out from the territory, and
that's off the back of years of economic decline, population,
you know, people leaving the territory and lack of confidence
about the future. And so even though it might seem
like a hard link to make it matters like Virgin
(14:16):
pulling flights out or Hellescope pulling out, sense of even
stronger message to me and our government that we must
do everything it takes to get the territory back on
the right footing and back on track. We have no
time to lose because if we continue on this decline,
we will see more services decline also, so we must
(14:37):
be strong to be able to deliver the best opportunities
and options for Territorians, and so this just strengthens my
resolve to make sure we're growing our economy, we're reducing crime,
and we're rebuilding that important territory lifestyle.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Oh and you've touched on it there. I mean these
Virgin flights they're cutting their direct Owen Adelaide route well
for so for at least a period of time. But
it's just another kick in the guts when it comes
to connectivity for Territorians. And I mean someone's message through
before and said, you know, Katie, how do they expect
their planes to be full? If you go one day
(15:14):
it's six hundred bucks one way to fly somewhere and
then it's one hundred and eighty the next day. And
this is the thing. We've been treated like mugs.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Yeah we are. I mean we've seen Channel nine pull
out of the territory. It's not good. And we've got
to show the corporate Australia and the rest of this
country the territory has everything this country needs for the future.
We have the gas that energy security. We have this
strategic defense positioning and strategic location in the Indo Pacific.
(15:45):
We have the minerals and the rare earths. We have
the can do spirit and the opportunity, and so we
need to be working over time to change our regulatory
environments to make the most of the territory's opportunity and
show players like Virgin and Channel nine and Hellscope that
they were wrong. They should have backed us in. And
I tell you what, Katie, I'm backing the territory in.
(16:07):
And when these things happen, I just worked twice as
hard and that's what we've got to do to turn
it around.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
So, Lea, is this where you know the Territory Coordinator
bill comes into fruition and comes into play as well.
I know that there is opposition around this. You know,
we've got the Greens, you've got environmentalists, you've got others
saying they feel that this is going to give one
person too much power and it's a step too far.
But you've gone through that consultation process. Now more than
(16:35):
five hundred and fifty submissions received. Are people positive or
negative towards this role? In those submissions that have been received.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
You've hit the nail on the head. This is why
major economic reform like Territory Coordinator couldn't come fast enough.
And we've done the proper due diligence on this. We've
put it out to several layers of public consultation, Katie.
When I introduced the draft in February, I will also
refer it to the Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee, so there is
(17:06):
more public opportunity and scrutiny to come. But we had
about five hundred applications. We held public meetings right across
the territory in our region stakeholder engagements. There was probably
about two hundred or maybe three hundred performer sort of
opposition to it, you know where groups get together and
(17:27):
all send the one letter from a number of people
and the rest were individual pieces of feedback. So we
received some great constructive feedback. Other people oppose it for
opposing at stake and that's fine, that's their democratic rights
and not like the direction.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
But what do you mean you've had like a certain
group all send the same submission in.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Yeah, so what happens. This happens often, Katie, across a
range of topics. But one group will take issue with
something that's happening and then they'll sort of draft up
a bit of a performer letter and then people who
subscribe to that view will then send that letter to
whoever it is from themselves, so you often get the
same letter but from different people, and that's still valid.
(18:13):
It shows that there is a portion of the community
who share that exact same view and that there's nothing
wrong with it. I guess I'm just highlighting. Probably half
of the submissions were those performer type and the other
half were individual you know feedback. So some people didn't
provide feedback. Some people just said no, we don't like this,
(18:34):
it's bad. Other people said we think this is great
and didn't provide any constructive feedback either. And then there
was a group of people who said, we think this
is a step in the right direction. We'd like to
see safeguards on this, or we'd like to see this enhanced,
or we'd like to see this improved. So there's a
whole mix in there. We're going to publish a summary
of all of that feedback to be transparent and people
(18:55):
can see what that people did like, didn't like, etc.
I've got nothing to hiden space, and then we'll move
forward with the bill ready fore brue sinning so big
piece of reform, flagship piece of economic change for the territory.
We're very excited about the opportunity and this year, Katie,
will be a year of action. Year of the Snake
(19:17):
is about rejuvenation, rebuild, shedding that old skin and we
can't wait to get stuck into it.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Well, sounds like you've hit the ground running. Leah Finocchiaro,
the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, always appreciate your time.
Thanks so much for joining us this morning from.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Alice, love to speak to you. Happy New Year everyone,
take care and I'll speak next week.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Thank you.
Well, it has been a busy time as we know
over the new year period when it comes to managing
the jails and also the courts. Now, towards the end
of last year we spoke a lot about those jails
being overrun. We know that law changes then indeed came
into place at the beginning of the year, making it
harder for repeat offenders to be granted bail. So how
are things tracking well. Joining me on the line live
(00:23):
from Alice Springs for the first time for twenty twenty five,
the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Lea fanocchi Aro.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Good morning Leah, Good morning Katie and to your listeners.
It's wonderful to be back. Happy New Year to you
and your family and your listeners you too.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
And happy first day of school for most of the
Northern Territory kids as well.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I know my little one was off today so unfortunately
I wasn't there being Mother of the Year again that
alank that my hobby took care of it.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Well, look, you've got to do what you got to
do when you're the Chief Minister, and I'm sure she
was fine. Now, Chief, we know that the ABC was
last night reporting that have once again reached record highs
how many people have we got our jails at the.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Moment, So as of Monday, we had about two thousand,
six hundred and fifty just short of that. So it's
extremely high numbers, but we're really proud to be delivering
space the streets and reducing crime. Ultimately, what's happened is
since the August election, we've got an additional four hundred
and eight people incarcerated. Now, it's never a good thing
(01:30):
to have people in prison, but people have to remember
what that means is there were four hundred people out
on the streets who shouldn't have been and our reducing
crime package has delivered a better outcome for our police
to be able to undertake more arrest and put the
safety of people first. So it's a good result. And
now what we've got to do is use that opportunity
(01:51):
in prison to turn people's life around and deal with
those root causes of crime.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Now, in terms of the changes to the law in
the Northern Territory and some of those different changes that
we've seen making it more difficult for people to be bailed,
I mean, what impact do you think that that is
having on our corrections facilities at this point, and do
you have a better understanding at this point of really
just how many people have gone to jail rather than
(02:16):
being bailed again.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
I don't have the separate bowl numbers on me, Katie,
but that's something I'm very happy to provide. What we
know is Declan's Law was a signature election commitment, and
of course we still with Samara Laviny and said enough
is enough, just like thousands of other Territorians. And so
it's all making an impact. There's much more work to
do and I don't want any of your listeners to
(02:40):
think that our reducing crime package in October last year
was the end. It's really important people understand this is
just the beginning for us. But undoubtedly it is putting
pressure on our correction system and that's why our Corrections
master Plan is so important. So we were able to
put online forty eight more beds over the weekend. There'll
(03:01):
be another ninety six by the end of the week.
We're on track to hit that milestone. So the plan
is working. And we've also got a record number of
corrections recruits who've just gone into their training on Monday,
and that'll see about thirty two corrections officers go through
their training and be out on the ground from April.
(03:22):
So lots of work to do. But the plan is
coming together and we've got to stay the course if
we want to reduce crime right across the territory.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Well, I mean, at the end of the day, people
don't want violent offenders on the street. You know, it's
not ideal that our jails are overflowing. From what the
ABC News reported last night, up to sixteen prisoners per cell,
is that the case, And from your perspective, is it appropriate?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
So I don't want people to picture, you know, in
the movies, perhaps it's really not like that at all.
Our watchhouses and our prisons have different sized cells with
different categories of prisoners, and so some of them are large. Now,
I'm not trying to sugarcoat that it's cozy in there,
and nor should it be. You know, these are prisons
at the end of the day for criminals. It's not
(04:13):
luxury hotels for people going on a holiday. So I'm
not going to make excuses. It's not ideal and we
accept that fully. But I'll tell you what, Katie, our
police and our corrections officers are just going above and beyond.
We can't thank them enough, and on behalf of our
entire community who are starting to feel that different as
(04:34):
we move towards this disuit of law and order above
everything else. You know, I just thank them for the
work they're doing. It's just incredible.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Now, Leah, the Police Association has made some claims that
officers have been given an instruction that non urgent arrests
are to be avoided if possible. Is that the case.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
No, and the Police Commissioner came out yesterday and clarified
all of It's certainly not something I've heard, Katie, and
I wouldn't like to see happening. We've got to continue
policing duties and that's been made really, really clear across
the board. Obviously, we've got those acute pressures from time
to time in our correction system, but we've hit a
(05:18):
magical point where with those forty eight beds in Darwin
and the ninety six, you know, hours away from being
ready to go in Alice Springs, we know we're going
to create that little bit of reprieve we need to
get through. And let's not forget our design work on
the women's prison, the changes inside Holts and the new
(05:38):
workers camp for men. That's all happening as well. So
our corrections plan is something that doesn't happen like a domino.
It's happening. Everything has to start at once so that
we meet all of our deadlines and milestones of the
plan to make sure we've got that space in the system.
And of course we're operating up the back of it
of Labour's legacy, which was not to find corrections properly,
(06:01):
not to invest in the infrastructure we need. So we're
playing catch up. But that catch up will not come
at the expense of community safety. I can guarantee that.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Well, it was the number one issue for Territorians at
the election. Now part of the bigger puzzle I guess
is those changes that have been announced as well to
try and speed things up through the courts. I know
that there were new judges appointed over the Christmas and
New Year period. Is that having a positive impact in
terms of things moving along more.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Quickly, Yeah, it is, but it's still not enough. And
so there are really three pillars to reduce in crime.
One is police and police are doing really really well.
Corrections is obviously struggling because there's a lack of infrastructure,
and our court is struggling. I mean something like sixty
seven percent of our sorry, not sixty seven percent, that's
(06:52):
the dB numbers. What I'm meant to say was around
forty seven percent of all people in custody are on remark,
which means they haven't been sentenced by the court yet.
So our focus is to clear that backlog that's been
handed to us by the previous government and make sure
we have enough judges. We've obviously done all of the
(07:13):
work pouring millions of dollars additional money into legal aid
and all of those other areas so that the justice
system works. But it's not just a situation where you
can give police more powers. You've got to be sorting
out the mess in the courts and also sorting out corrections.
So we continue to work as fast as we can
(07:33):
to get that moving.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Now, Chief Finister, you are indeed in Alice Springs today,
and we know that Alice has continued to have some
issues when it comes to crime, well quite a few
issues really when it comes to crime. You're there at
the moment. It's just sixth trip as I understand, as
what exactly is on the agenda this time round YEP.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
So I have made a number of visits to Alice Springs,
as you said, because this town really needs support, and
we stood up Approach and Ludlow and it's had really
good results. We've seen three hundred and thirty four arrests
since it was stood up, and our Fugitive Task Force,
which was targeting those high harm, high risk offenders, they
(08:13):
had a total of sixty two arrest which is amazing.
So it's made an impact. Now what we've got to
do is transition into that stabilizing phase for Alice Springs,
and it's important to us we have a comprehensive and
consistent approach. So today I'll be meeting with the mayor,
Matt Patterson. Of course, as the mayor, he's acutely aware
(08:35):
of the law and order issues and so Deputy Commissioner
Martin Dole and I will meet with him. I'll also
be meeting with federal opposition leader Peter Dunton, expressing our
desire to see a bipartisan or a commitment around our
seven items that we put to the federal government.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
So is he is he in Alie today?
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Yes, he'll be in Alice Springs today. So I'm looking
forward to meeting with him about those issues. For example,
we'd really like to see Centralink payments aligning with alcohol
free days in our springs. We want to see work
people having to work, people who are on siniling having
to work, Royalties not being distributed in our springs being
(09:17):
distributed out in communities, so number of matters there. I
acknowledge the federal government has come on board with kassa
exemption so our police can use their drones, which has
been great, and I'd like to see bipartisan commitment on
that because Katie, I'm trying to secure the best deal
for the territory no matter what happens at the federal election.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Absolutely absolutely, and I guess we still don't have a
clearer date of exactly when that federal election is going
to happen, but it's meant to happen, as I understand it,
before May. So really, you know, we need a commitment
from the current the current Prime Minister and the possible
Prime Minister in Peter Dutton to know exactly where they
(09:56):
stand when it comes to the Northern Territory, particularly when
it comes to pulling some of these levers around crime.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
On Katie, I couldn't be a more furious agreement with you.
So you know today I'm also catching up with frontline police.
I want to go out tonight again and see how
drone operations are going because that increased capacity has allowed
us to engage better in car pursuit, stolen vehicles breaking
into it. It's been really positive. So yeah, lots on
(10:27):
the agenda today. I'll be holding a mobile office, which
I always do when I'm in Alice, so that every
day Alice brings residents can come past and have a
chat about what's important to them. So yeah, busy days
and looking forward to it now.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Lea just on you know the fact that you had
met with the Prime Minister over the Christmas period and
you discuss those center link payments and income management. Was
there any movement from the Prime Minister and from the
federal Labor government in that area.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Yeah, Look, I have to be fair. I've met with
the Prime Minister and I've also met with Minister Rishworth.
I've met with Minister McCartney, I've met with Marian Scrimjaw,
so I have been engaging on those issues. There's less
appetite for some of them, so but they have made
a very strong indication that if the territory was to
(11:17):
expand its referral pathways for income management to the Commonwealth,
that they would be very receptive to accepting those referrals.
So I'm very pleased about that. We're working really hard
to do that. So, for example, currently it's quite limited
to if a parent is neglecting a child, they can
be referred for income management. We'd like to expand that
(11:40):
to look at where parents are willfully withdrawing their children
from school, where their children are use criminals, for example.
So we're doing that work now, and we're also they're
also rolling out a work program for people on SENTI length.
But I've asked very specifically for there to be a
(12:01):
cap so a target for Alice springs in Central Australia.
I want to quarantine some of those jobs to the
territory so that I can hold them to account on
whether or not local territorians are getting those jobs. So
I haven't secured that yet, but that work is being
done in good faith and I'm very hopeful they come
on board.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Well, I'll be keen to get an update when you
do know more, Chief Minister. I want to ask you
about a couple of things that sort of fall into
the federal realm, but I think they're very much worth
us taking a closer look at because Territorians are pretty
worried about them at the moment. One of those is
this private health fund issue. Now, there's been concerns that
the dispute between the country's only private hospital, sorry between
(12:42):
well the only private hospital operation and healthcare provider health Scope,
and the two major private health insurers is well, it's
causing concern for locals. We caught up with a few
locals yesterday health Scope announcing those plans to cancel contracts
of course with Booper effective February and the Australian Health
Services Alliance from March. Now, as I said, we caught
(13:05):
up with a couple of territories about this yesterday and
then we continue to sort of get calls and messages
about this when we got off air. It is I mean,
it is a concern and it is something that potentially
has the risk of causing additional pressure on our public
health system if people are no longer able to go
through the private hospital. Are you aware of this issue
(13:27):
and is it something that you are prepared to maybe
try and reach out to the federal government about.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Yeah, we are aware of this issue, and Steve Edgington
as Health Minister, is taking the lead. It's something that's
impacting you know, hundreds, if not thousands of people, myself
included Katie, right, And so it's a big issue for people.
We're hoping it resolves. But I think even the greater
I mean that is a big enough concern as it is,
(13:54):
Make no mistake, The bigger concern for me is we're
starting to see that's pull out from the territory, and
that's off the back of years of economic decline, population,
you know, people leaving the territory and lack of confidence
about the future. And so even though it might seem
like a hard link to make it matters like Virgin
(14:16):
pulling flights out or Hellescope pulling out, sense of even
stronger message to me and our government that we must
do everything it takes to get the territory back on
the right footing and back on track. We have no
time to lose because if we continue on this decline,
we will see more services decline also, so we must
(14:37):
be strong to be able to deliver the best opportunities
and options for Territorians, and so this just strengthens my
resolve to make sure we're growing our economy, we're reducing crime,
and we're rebuilding that important territory lifestyle.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Oh and you've touched on it there. I mean these
Virgin flights they're cutting their direct Owen Adelaide route well
for so for at least a period of time. But
it's just another kick in the guts when it comes
to connectivity for Territorians. And I mean someone's message through
before and said, you know, Katie, how do they expect
their planes to be full? If you go one day
(15:14):
it's six hundred bucks one way to fly somewhere and
then it's one hundred and eighty the next day. And
this is the thing. We've been treated like mugs.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Yeah we are. I mean we've seen Channel nine pull
out of the territory. It's not good. And we've got
to show the corporate Australia and the rest of this
country the territory has everything this country needs for the future.
We have the gas that energy security. We have this
strategic defense positioning and strategic location in the Indo Pacific.
(15:45):
We have the minerals and the rare earths. We have
the can do spirit and the opportunity, and so we
need to be working over time to change our regulatory
environments to make the most of the territory's opportunity and
show players like Virgin and Channel nine and Hellscope that
they were wrong. They should have backed us in. And
I tell you what, Katie, I'm backing the territory in.
(16:07):
And when these things happen, I just worked twice as
hard and that's what we've got to do to turn
it around.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
So, Lea, is this where you know the Territory Coordinator
bill comes into fruition and comes into play as well.
I know that there is opposition around this. You know,
we've got the Greens, you've got environmentalists, you've got others
saying they feel that this is going to give one
person too much power and it's a step too far.
But you've gone through that consultation process. Now more than
(16:35):
five hundred and fifty submissions received. Are people positive or
negative towards this role? In those submissions that have been received.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
You've hit the nail on the head. This is why
major economic reform like Territory Coordinator couldn't come fast enough.
And we've done the proper due diligence on this. We've
put it out to several layers of public consultation, Katie.
When I introduced the draft in February, I will also
refer it to the Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee, so there is
(17:06):
more public opportunity and scrutiny to come. But we had
about five hundred applications. We held public meetings right across
the territory in our region stakeholder engagements. There was probably
about two hundred or maybe three hundred performer sort of
opposition to it, you know where groups get together and
(17:27):
all send the one letter from a number of people
and the rest were individual pieces of feedback. So we
received some great constructive feedback. Other people oppose it for
opposing at stake and that's fine, that's their democratic rights
and not like the direction.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
But what do you mean you've had like a certain
group all send the same submission in.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Yeah, so what happens. This happens often, Katie, across a
range of topics. But one group will take issue with
something that's happening and then they'll sort of draft up
a bit of a performer letter and then people who
subscribe to that view will then send that letter to
whoever it is from themselves, so you often get the
same letter but from different people, and that's still valid.
(18:13):
It shows that there is a portion of the community
who share that exact same view and that there's nothing
wrong with it. I guess I'm just highlighting. Probably half
of the submissions were those performer type and the other
half were individual you know feedback. So some people didn't
provide feedback. Some people just said no, we don't like this,
(18:34):
it's bad. Other people said we think this is great
and didn't provide any constructive feedback either. And then there
was a group of people who said, we think this
is a step in the right direction. We'd like to
see safeguards on this, or we'd like to see this enhanced,
or we'd like to see this improved. So there's a
whole mix in there. We're going to publish a summary
of all of that feedback to be transparent and people
(18:55):
can see what that people did like, didn't like, etc.
I've got nothing to hiden space, and then we'll move
forward with the bill ready fore brue sinning so big
piece of reform, flagship piece of economic change for the territory.
We're very excited about the opportunity and this year, Katie,
will be a year of action. Year of the Snake
(19:17):
is about rejuvenation, rebuild, shedding that old skin and we
can't wait to get stuck into it.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Well, sounds like you've hit the ground running. Leah Finocchiaro,
the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, always appreciate your time.
Thanks so much for joining us this morning from.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Alice, love to speak to you. Happy New Year everyone,
take care and I'll speak next week.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Thank you.
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