Sunny Kaushal: Dairy and Business Owners Group chair on the Government's plan to create a Ministerial Advisory Group to tackle retail crime

The Government has launched a new initiative designed to reduce the impact of retail crime.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith confirmed the Ministerial Advisory Group will speak with victims and business owners to form proposals on reducing offending.

This will be led by Dairy and Business Owners Group chair Sunny Kaushal - who says he's grateful the Government is taking the issue seriously.

"No one deserves to go to work and end up in hospital - or much worse - so we believe this is something that can be solved."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The government's bringing in a new ministerial advisory group just
on another subject altogether, to bring down retail crime. Now,
retail crime, as we know, has got quite out of hand, right.
It's increased eighty six percent in just the last five years.
There's been a seventy two percent rise of sexual assault
cases at retail locations. This is according to the Justice Minister,
and the government says the new advisory group will help
to bring down victims of violent crime by twenty thousand

(00:21):
in the next five years. Sunny Koschel is the chair
of the new Ministerial Advisory Group for Victims of Retail
Crime and joins me. Now, hey, Sonny good Arsenal head Sonny,
what is your job here? What are you supposed to do?

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Oh? Well, the first of all is to do set
up this advisory group and then we need to work
on the actionable policies. You know, no one deserve to
go to work and end up in hospital or much worse.
So we believe that this is something that can be

(00:54):
solved and we're grateful that the government is taking it seriously.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Yeah, so you supposed to set this group up and
then actually talk to the retailers and the victims of
retail crime and so on, and try to pull a
bunch of ideas together for how to fix it.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yeah. See, you see the dairies or service stations or
supermarkets and growthing stores of farmers and jewelers and tradees.
You know, they will be given a chance to shape
policy that affects us all equally and us all daily.
And we would be reaching out to those bigous stakeholders.
I mean it could be you know, any trades or

(01:30):
a tail end Z or MTA and farmers to see
what they want and to package that up in a
way that ships policy or development of pulcies and so.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
I see, you guys have been put together for two years.
But tell me, I mean, you're not going to collect
ideas for two years and then pitch them at the government.
Surely you're going to pitch them at the government as
you come across really great ideas.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you will see that we would set
the board rolling from next week and within a few
weeks we would start presenting the action of our policies
and you will be the first to hear a head
on that one.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
Sonny am I going to hear before the minister?

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Well you know what we're going to propose, because those
are the things that actually the common sense things, those
things should have been done a long time back. And
because it's all about consequences, it's all about stopping crime.
At the end of the day, crime is crying. You know,
we need to stop it. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
Absolutely, Listen, you're not a man short of ideas. You've
been around retail for a very very long time. If
I can ask you for your single biggest idea right
now for how you fix things, what would it be.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Well, the first of all, we need to look at
making or supporting our police force. You know, they need
a proper backup. And also the consequences, the message of
consequences need to go out right now. The offenders they
know there are no consequences, and that's how they are

(02:57):
so fearless and and they have no fear of police,
no fear of law, no fear of being caught or
or any accountability. That's what is missing.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Okay, So tougher sentences, that's.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
One of them. But it just going to be, you know,
a good case that we're going to put together so
that anybody, any offender who's going to offend, must know
that you know he or she would be held accountabilit.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
Yeah good stuff, Sonny, looking forward to seeing what you
come up with that. Sunny Koschal, the chair of the
Ministerial Advisory Group. For more from Hither Duplessye Alan Drive,
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