Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We know well. Joining me in the studio, I bet
an introducer is the Chief Minister, Leo Finocchio. Good morning
to you. Good morning, forgotten about me, already gotten Sorry.
I was getting lots of messages on the tech signe
about the glorious weather.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
It's absolutely fantastic.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Yeah, it has been phenomenal. Now I want to ask
you firstly on the governments today announced its commitment to
the Territory Energy Link and Propose multi user, multi asset
infrastructure corridor stretching from Elliott to Darwin. This tend has
been awarded to provide on demand specialist technical advice to
the project team. This expert support is apparently aimed at
(00:38):
driving the corridor planning and pipeline development, ensuring the six
hundred and seventy kilometer priority section is developed and ready
by twenty twenty eight. When was this project first sort
of announced.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, it's an exciting one for us, Katie, because of course,
once we unlock the Beaterloo that that gas needs to
be able to get somewhere. Currently, what we have is
a stranded asset by all accounts, and so by making
sure the territory has the corridors that we need to
be able to move our resources is a critical part
of rebuilding our economy. So this again is a really
(01:13):
important milestone for us. It means we can do that
really important work about that corridor and make sure that
we've got the room and the space to put in
gas pipelines, water pipelines, whatever it needs to be, so
that we're ready to deliver for territories into the future.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
We're not missing the boat here, are we. I mean
when it comes to our gas and when it comes
to getting things moving it like, we know that the
other states need that gas. But what I worry about
is that we may have missed the boat to some degree.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Well, I feel like the territories missed the boat on
a lot of things under eight years of labor, Katie.
But what can we do. We've just as a new government,
we've drawn a line in the sin and we're just
going one hundred miles an hour to do everything we
can to get this all happening as fast as humanly possible.
So this is a big announcement. We've obviously had territory
cowards NATA. The next big thing will be approvals fast
(02:03):
Trak task for us, which will be coming to me
I think by the end of this month. So there's
plenty of regulatory and economic development work happening across the territory,
and there's you know, you're right, there's no time to lose.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Look, I'll ask him more about the Territory coordinator in
a couple of moments, but I want to go to
some issues that we've had a lot of listeners getting
in contact with us about. First, we know that tensions
in some of the Northern Territory smaller town centers have
been boiling, with residents in Alice Springs really quite concerned
after a serious assault which saw a twenty seven year
old man stabbed multiple times in broad daylight last week.
(02:39):
That altercation between around twenty people blew up just after
five pm on Thursday on Gregory Terrace. It's unfortunately not
the only concern. We've got residents in Catherine concerned about
what they've described as an escalation of crime and really
bad behavior. Now. I feel as though we're at a
time where we've got some really great events, we've got
(02:59):
some really positive things happening in the Northern Territory, but
we just can't seem to shake these issues with crime.
Following that Chakra and Ala Springs. One local told the
paper that people are drinking in licensed venues then causing trouble.
I mean, is it time to look at having a
BDR for licensed venues as well.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Look, that's not the feedback we're getting, Katie, and it's
not something that we're explicitly looking at, but we do
have across the whole of government. We're doing a review
into the band Drinker Register, which is something we obviously
promised in the lead up to the election. So we're
looking at strengthening the BDR. I can't see us at
this point moving to an on premier situation, but it
will be articulous.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
So that people can just go and get slashed in
the pub and then come.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Out they're not meant to be right. So this is
where enforcing people's liquor license is really important, and we're
doing some work with licensing. Because you can have as
many laws as you want, Katie, if you don't enforce them,
then they're worth nothing, right, So we have to make
sure that we have the rules in place that keep
Pea safe for very good reason, but that we have
the strength and the input behind it as well to
(04:04):
make sure that people know, if they do the wrong thing,
they'll be getting in trouble and that's where responsible service
of alcohol kicks in. So, you know, fair to say,
plenty of work to be done there. And again that
band Drinker Register review is well underway.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
How soon do you anticipate that it's going to be complete? Yeah,
I think it will still take another couple of months, Katie.
It really just sort of depends what the agencies are
coming back to us with and then obviously we'll need
to take that out into the community and the marketplace,
so there's more work to be done there.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
We want to get it right. We don't want it
to just be something we point to as sort of
a savior when really it's not delivering. So we've we've
just got to continue moving through that. Are there particular
areas of focus that you would like to see that
BDR more effective on. I think it's just about the
right capability. You know, it's all based on an IT system.
(04:58):
We get a lot of feedback from readil is about
how slow it is and how it's not multi dimensional,
So can it have greater capacity? Can it do more
than what it is doing? And also what is the
consequence of being on it is that really actually making
a difference at all in my point as to some
things we can change with secondary supply, So a lot,
(05:18):
a lot may come out of it, and I'm certainly
hopeful that it will.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
In Alice Springs, what else do you think can be
done to try and help the people there, because like, honestly,
they have been grappling with these issues of crime for
such a long period of time. I mean right across
the Northern territory, but in Alice Springs, something like this
flees up, It happens in the main street, it makes
national news seed lines as it should, like someone's been
stabbed in the main strait. If that happened in Sydney,
(05:41):
we'd expect the same. But I mean, what else can
be done there to try to sort these issues out?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, and it's heartbreaking for that town because you know,
we're starting to see really small improvements there. We've got
a really solid tourism season booked in, so people are
reflecting that accommodation is booked, people are booking to come
to the territories. So we don't want to impact that
in any way.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Because of course, the.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
More people here that also helps support greater activation, which
drives down crime in and of itself. So it's incredibly
important socially and economically. Some of the darnas so crime
stats came out last week. You know, some of it's
not that great, absolutely, but some of it's starting to
pick up. So dev assaults were down, robbery was down,
house breakings were down in Alice Springs, which is good,
(06:30):
but it's cold comfort when you have really big issues
like the one that we subsolutely.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
And unfortunately Alice Spring's not the only place in Catherine.
There's been some concerns as well. On Friday, we spoke
on the show with Trent to with a business owner there.
He told us of kids running around trying to steal
people's property, running a muk. I mean, we also heard
about a terrible sexual assault of course over the weekend.
But in terms of what Trent had told us, he
(06:56):
said that they're catching a bus from the commune unsupervised
I'm not sure which community and causing trouble. I mean,
you've got to ask, how on earth can a teenage
kid get the bus into town unsupervised then cause trouble
and not have to go hot?
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, good question, and we're certainly following that up, we're
trying to get some better information across government about what
might be causing these certain spikes. Again, Catherine, you know,
the crime stats show that they have had some increases
across assaults, robbery was good, robberies down eighty three percent,
and so his housebreakings. But again, crime, you know, it's
(07:34):
the number one issue, Kadi, it continues.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
This is a thing. You know, if you feel like
you can't go and do your food, yeah, exactly, you
actually couldn't care least how the crime stats are looking
that you're just so worried about walking into woolies and
whether you're going to get knocked over as happened to
a senior Territorian ended up with a fractured hip, you know,
and have your bag stolen. So those crime stats definitely,
you know, we all keep an eye on them.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
But it is really cold, That's that's right. So I'm
I'm I'm explaining them to the community so they hear them.
But we've been very clear when people feel safe, that's
when things are safe. Right, So plenty of work to do,
and you know, we've we've got another two hundred odd
police to push through the College this year and we've
graduated dozens, so there is that work being done as well.
(08:19):
Our laws are definitely working. Every day I pick up
the paper, someone's not getting Batil Katie, and so I'm
very very pleased to see that. So, you know, some
of this stuff, unfortunately takes time, and let's not forget
we've also got to deal with the root causes because
that work is what's most important in stopping crime in
the first place. You know, our police can be there
to catch the bad guy, but that's when the thing
(08:39):
that the incident has happened. We need to be stopping
people choosing a life of crime and turning to this
in the first place, which going back to our earlier
conversation about a strong economy, we've got to get strong
economies in the bush.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
We've got to get people in the bush working. We've
got to get kids to school, which is while we're
cracking down hard on parents and parental responsibility and family
responsibility agreements. So there's plenty to be done, and you know,
we're throwing everything at it, Chief Minister. When we spoke
to Trent, he also sees that he's never seen so
many bottles of yellow tail broken around town. Do you
(09:13):
believe the reintroduction of cheap alcohol has had an impact
or what do you think is going on here?
Speaker 2 (09:19):
No, I haven't heard about the yellowtail, Katie, but I
can certainly follow that up. And ultimately, you know, I
know labor when I point the finger at the minimum
floor price, but none of those savings were passed on
by retailers, So there's been no change in price as
far as I'm aware across the board. But you know,
clearly we're seeing an escalation in behavior and at the
end of the day, alcoholics will do anything to get
(09:40):
their fix, and that's where our alcohol mandatary treatment work
this year will come into its own when that gets
off the ground next year.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
So next year, you're expecting that to get off the ground.
In the meantime, do we need those palis back on
bottle shops. I know our police are stretched, but it
sounds like in Catherine it's something that may be needed.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
It's really hard and we try and leave those decisions
to the police. You know, on the ground, operationally, it's
a police decision, and so they've had to pull police
off bottle shops to be dealing with other issues. If
you have a police officer on a bottle shop, then
they can't be responding to crime. So it's a it's
a vicious cycle, that's for sure, and they've just got
to make those calls every every given day.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Any update on the police plane negotiation, No, I believe
there was a second meeting maybe last week, Katie. That's
probably a better question for the Minister for Public Employment,
but that those negotiations will continue on. There's plenty of
messages coming through from listeners. One here from in NOONI
she wants to know about boot camps. When can we
expect them up and running?
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Yeah, so the one in Alice Springs is being constructed
right now. I'm not sure of the ETA on completion,
but it's definitely underway. And now we're working out how
we get providers into that space, because you know, not
all programs are born equal. It's we want to be
making sure we're delivering something good for territorians money and
not just you know, you know, it's not meant to
(11:01):
be a holiday camp. It's there to correct behavior. So
we've got to make sure that the people we're getting
in to do that work can actually deliver.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
All right, I want to move along there is a
lot to cover off this morning. There's been some moves
when it comes to key positions in the Northern Territory.
So last week you announced Stuart Knowles has been permanently
appointed to the role of Territory Coordinator. The oppositions question
this appointment given the position was not advertised. Why was
that position not advertised?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
So I appointed Stuart Knowles, So I made him the
interim Territory Coordinator based on his vast experience in both
the public and private sectors, particularly in major delivery of
major projects and major industry across the Northern Territory. He's
well known and connected. We're talking about someone who sat
on the Chamber of Commerce board and you name it.
(11:51):
He has then done all of that work in developing
the bill, in the consultation with the community, and as
we move towards that appointment pro of moving to that
next stage of confirming as the Territory Coordinator. We then
did our due diligence and went through a merit based
process to make sure he was qualified and complied with
(12:12):
the legislation, because of course the criteria is set out
in the bill. All of that stacked up and the
Administrator has appointed him and I had my first meeting
with Stuart on Wednesday, I think it was Wednesday or Thursday,
and the team there as strong. They're doing a great
job and I really look forward to getting seeing them
get some runs on the board.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
There had been a report that mister Knowles had four
of his dogs seized by animal welfare officers after they
were discovered with a serious tick infestation and other health
problems late in twenty fifteen. Now the Department of Agriculture
and Fisheries confirmed the investigation had taken place. They said
mister Noles was issued a warning notice. Now in a
(12:53):
statement provided to the int News, mister Knowles said the
dogs were temporarily removed from the property for tick treatment
and later returned following further piecet remedial treatment at the property.
Animal welfare officers did a final visit to the property
the next month to cite the dogs and confirm they
are in good condition and concluded the investigation. Now, He's
(13:14):
told the paper I cooperated fully with their inquiries and directions,
covered the costs of additional treatments to eradicate the tics,
and ensured the dogs were cared for. Chief Minister did
you know about this before appointing him and were you
concerned about these reports? No?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
I didn't know about it, and you know, you know,
these are historical things that happened over ten years ago, Katie,
And as you heard, there was no further action taken.
The issue is remediated. He's obviously extremely regretful of the
entire situation.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
And you know, we move forward.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
He's got an important job to do in helping rebuild
the territory's economy, as does his team, and they're well
equipped to deliver.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Are you concerned about the point that the opposition's raised
questioning how he can do this role if you can't
look after those animals?
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Well, no, I don't accept that at all. I think
this is a new low for the opposition in attacking
public servants in a way we've never seen before. You know,
someone has made a mistake over a decade ago, and
I've apported them to do a really important role in
rebuilding our economy. The person is remorseful and regretful and
has apologized. I'm not really sure what else the opposition
(14:24):
would like from him, but as far as I'm concerned,
we have to rebuild the economy. I'm not interested in
playing petty politics like laborer. We've got a job to
do and I have no time to waste, all.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Right, Chief Minister. Last week the Ikak Commissioner resigned following
a report from the Commissioner from Public Employment. When do
you anticipate that report's going to be made public?
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Yeah, So I wrote to the Commissioner for Public Employment
and asked her to do whatever is required to know
redact it or make it in a version that's consumable
for the public, and to put that up on their website.
So I haven't heard back from that, Katie, but that
work should be being done, and ultimately, I just want
people to have confidence in the EYICACK. We've delivered a
(15:04):
budget for the EYECACK, so that is there in this budget.
We have an acting EYECAC, all of the staff and
the team is still there. So it is still business
as usual and we just need to step through now
what next steps look like.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
So is that role going to be advertised?
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Eventually it will be, but it's you know, no secret
to your listeners that obviously, throughout this whole process, we've
all been finding areas that could be strengthened or made better,
and so I think this presents an opportunity for us
to do that work, which hasn't started yet, so you know,
probably once the sittings of Parliament's finished, it's something we
can turn our mind to of what next steps look
like or a.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Couple of quick ones. More broadly, where are things that
from your perspective when it comes to health Scope, it
has been reported in various national publications that Health Scopes
Board last week effectively pleaded for bankers to take control
of the hospitals, allowing its Brookfield backed directors to walk away.
So it's been described does a soft administration that removes
(16:02):
the tougher intervention or the prospect of banks installing receivers.
But are you concerned that we could be at riskier
of health Scope going bust and what that could mean
for our private hospital? Obviously we've spoken about the maternity
services with the Health Minister last week, but more broadly
when it comes to all of the.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Services, absolutely, and it is a concern, and so we've
got the Treasurer and the Health Minister looking very closely.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
At what this could look like for the territory. What
we want is certainty and security and we want choice.
You know, we just can't have these multinationals coming in
and out of the territory and like they see fit
like were's something that they can just you know, dip
the toe in the water on. We need full commitment
and it's very disappointing that they've pulled out of delivering
maternity services. And as a government, we're trying our best
(16:49):
to provide a private like experience for expectant mothers, but
that's obviously not the forte of a government that delivers
public services. So we're trying to fill a gap that
should be filled by the private sector and isn't and
this would just leave another gaping hole. So we're really
hoping that this isn't the case and the Treasury and
(17:10):
administer edging tenner onto it does. There need to be
some discussions here with the feed So I mean, like fundamentally,
if that hospital for some reason or another collapses, it's
going to be a huge impulse then or on our
public hospital here in darwith.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Yeah, I'm not sure of the impost that we are seeing.
Just like with maternity, you know, they've gone from delivering
eight hundred babies to two seventy, so there is a
decline and that may be contributing to it. I'm not
sure across the broader public hospital. But you know, if
it fails, the territory will absolutely be providing health care
to every territory and you can be certain of that.
(17:43):
We don't want it to fail because it represents really
important choice. It goes to lifestyle and it's you know,
it's not good for a growing economy not to have
that service.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
All right, We are going to talk more about that
in a few minutes time with the Australian and Australian
Nursing with Free Federation. But before I let you go,
Chief Minister, any update on these fireworks. More than one
thousand tons of fireworks distant for the Northern Territory for
Territory Day have been reportedly seized by New South Wales authorities.
My understanding is that you spoke to the New South
Wales Premier Chris Means. Where are they?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Oh? I tell you what, Katie, these blokes, I'm going
to sort them out. But it's all under control. So
New South Wales seized a huge shipment of fireworks. I
spoke to Chris Means, he was fantastic, work safe have
sorted out an agreement, so our fireworks are able to
go on the trucks, but Queensland decided to take issue
with our fireworks. Yes, they don't want the trucks driving
(18:37):
through Queensland. So I then rang David Christophully the Queensland
Prairie and I said, David, don't do this to me,
and he said, don't you worry. We'll sort it out.
So we now have Work Safe NT and Work Save
Queensland working on it together. We just need safe passage
of our trucks. And I said, David, you do not
want to mess with cracking night.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
People are gonna be pissed. So do you anticipate they're
going to get here in time to then be able
to go out to the different communities.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Yeah, they will. We're really hoping to have all of
this resolved this week. I'm sure we can reach a
proper agreement. And New South Wales were fantastic to deal
with and I thank them and Chris and I'm sure
David would deliver as well. But I'll be keeping a
very close eye on it, don't you worry.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Chief Minas de la Finocchio, thanks for your time, as always,
take everyone
We know well. Joining me in the studio, I bet
an introducer is the Chief Minister, Leo Finocchio. Good morning
to you. Good morning, forgotten about me, already gotten Sorry.
I was getting lots of messages on the tech signe
about the glorious weather.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
It's absolutely fantastic.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Yeah, it has been phenomenal. Now I want to ask
you firstly on the governments today announced its commitment to
the Territory Energy Link and Propose multi user, multi asset
infrastructure corridor stretching from Elliott to Darwin. This tend has
been awarded to provide on demand specialist technical advice to
the project team. This expert support is apparently aimed at
(00:38):
driving the corridor planning and pipeline development, ensuring the six
hundred and seventy kilometer priority section is developed and ready
by twenty twenty eight. When was this project first sort
of announced.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, it's an exciting one for us, Katie, because of course,
once we unlock the Beaterloo that that gas needs to
be able to get somewhere. Currently, what we have is
a stranded asset by all accounts, and so by making
sure the territory has the corridors that we need to
be able to move our resources is a critical part
of rebuilding our economy. So this again is a really
(01:13):
important milestone for us. It means we can do that
really important work about that corridor and make sure that
we've got the room and the space to put in
gas pipelines, water pipelines, whatever it needs to be, so
that we're ready to deliver for territories into the future.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
We're not missing the boat here, are we. I mean
when it comes to our gas and when it comes
to getting things moving it like, we know that the
other states need that gas. But what I worry about
is that we may have missed the boat to some degree.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Well, I feel like the territories missed the boat on
a lot of things under eight years of labor, Katie.
But what can we do. We've just as a new government,
we've drawn a line in the sin and we're just
going one hundred miles an hour to do everything we
can to get this all happening as fast as humanly possible.
So this is a big announcement. We've obviously had territory
cowards NATA. The next big thing will be approvals fast
(02:03):
Trak task for us, which will be coming to me
I think by the end of this month. So there's
plenty of regulatory and economic development work happening across the territory,
and there's you know, you're right, there's no time to lose.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Look, I'll ask him more about the Territory coordinator in
a couple of moments, but I want to go to
some issues that we've had a lot of listeners getting
in contact with us about. First, we know that tensions
in some of the Northern Territory smaller town centers have
been boiling, with residents in Alice Springs really quite concerned
after a serious assault which saw a twenty seven year
old man stabbed multiple times in broad daylight last week.
(02:39):
That altercation between around twenty people blew up just after
five pm on Thursday on Gregory Terrace. It's unfortunately not
the only concern. We've got residents in Catherine concerned about
what they've described as an escalation of crime and really
bad behavior. Now. I feel as though we're at a
time where we've got some really great events, we've got
(02:59):
some really positive things happening in the Northern Territory, but
we just can't seem to shake these issues with crime.
Following that Chakra and Ala Springs. One local told the
paper that people are drinking in licensed venues then causing trouble.
I mean, is it time to look at having a
BDR for licensed venues as well.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Look, that's not the feedback we're getting, Katie, and it's
not something that we're explicitly looking at, but we do
have across the whole of government. We're doing a review
into the band Drinker Register, which is something we obviously
promised in the lead up to the election. So we're
looking at strengthening the BDR. I can't see us at
this point moving to an on premier situation, but it
will be articulous.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
So that people can just go and get slashed in
the pub and then come.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Out they're not meant to be right. So this is
where enforcing people's liquor license is really important, and we're
doing some work with licensing. Because you can have as
many laws as you want, Katie, if you don't enforce them,
then they're worth nothing, right, So we have to make
sure that we have the rules in place that keep
Pea safe for very good reason, but that we have
the strength and the input behind it as well to
(04:04):
make sure that people know, if they do the wrong thing,
they'll be getting in trouble and that's where responsible service
of alcohol kicks in. So, you know, fair to say,
plenty of work to be done there. And again that
band Drinker Register review is well underway.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
How soon do you anticipate that it's going to be complete? Yeah,
I think it will still take another couple of months, Katie.
It really just sort of depends what the agencies are
coming back to us with and then obviously we'll need
to take that out into the community and the marketplace,
so there's more work to be done there.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
We want to get it right. We don't want it
to just be something we point to as sort of
a savior when really it's not delivering. So we've we've
just got to continue moving through that. Are there particular
areas of focus that you would like to see that
BDR more effective on. I think it's just about the
right capability. You know, it's all based on an IT system.
(04:58):
We get a lot of feedback from readil is about
how slow it is and how it's not multi dimensional,
So can it have greater capacity? Can it do more
than what it is doing? And also what is the
consequence of being on it is that really actually making
a difference at all in my point as to some
things we can change with secondary supply, So a lot,
(05:18):
a lot may come out of it, and I'm certainly
hopeful that it will.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
In Alice Springs, what else do you think can be
done to try and help the people there, because like, honestly,
they have been grappling with these issues of crime for
such a long period of time. I mean right across
the Northern territory, but in Alice Springs, something like this
flees up, It happens in the main street, it makes
national news seed lines as it should, like someone's been
stabbed in the main strait. If that happened in Sydney,
(05:41):
we'd expect the same. But I mean, what else can
be done there to try to sort these issues out?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, and it's heartbreaking for that town because you know,
we're starting to see really small improvements there. We've got
a really solid tourism season booked in, so people are
reflecting that accommodation is booked, people are booking to come
to the territories. So we don't want to impact that
in any way.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Because of course, the.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
More people here that also helps support greater activation, which
drives down crime in and of itself. So it's incredibly
important socially and economically. Some of the darnas so crime
stats came out last week. You know, some of it's
not that great, absolutely, but some of it's starting to
pick up. So dev assaults were down, robbery was down,
house breakings were down in Alice Springs, which is good,
(06:30):
but it's cold comfort when you have really big issues
like the one that we subsolutely.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
And unfortunately Alice Spring's not the only place in Catherine.
There's been some concerns as well. On Friday, we spoke
on the show with Trent to with a business owner there.
He told us of kids running around trying to steal
people's property, running a muk. I mean, we also heard
about a terrible sexual assault of course over the weekend.
But in terms of what Trent had told us, he
(06:56):
said that they're catching a bus from the commune unsupervised
I'm not sure which community and causing trouble. I mean,
you've got to ask, how on earth can a teenage
kid get the bus into town unsupervised then cause trouble
and not have to go hot?
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, good question, and we're certainly following that up, we're
trying to get some better information across government about what
might be causing these certain spikes. Again, Catherine, you know,
the crime stats show that they have had some increases
across assaults, robbery was good, robberies down eighty three percent,
and so his housebreakings. But again, crime, you know, it's
(07:34):
the number one issue, Kadi, it continues.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
This is a thing. You know, if you feel like
you can't go and do your food, yeah, exactly, you
actually couldn't care least how the crime stats are looking
that you're just so worried about walking into woolies and
whether you're going to get knocked over as happened to
a senior Territorian ended up with a fractured hip, you know,
and have your bag stolen. So those crime stats definitely,
you know, we all keep an eye on them.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
But it is really cold, That's that's right. So I'm
I'm I'm explaining them to the community so they hear them.
But we've been very clear when people feel safe, that's
when things are safe. Right, So plenty of work to do,
and you know, we've we've got another two hundred odd
police to push through the College this year and we've
graduated dozens, so there is that work being done as well.
(08:19):
Our laws are definitely working. Every day I pick up
the paper, someone's not getting Batil Katie, and so I'm
very very pleased to see that. So, you know, some
of this stuff, unfortunately takes time, and let's not forget
we've also got to deal with the root causes because
that work is what's most important in stopping crime in
the first place. You know, our police can be there
to catch the bad guy, but that's when the thing
(08:39):
that the incident has happened. We need to be stopping
people choosing a life of crime and turning to this
in the first place, which going back to our earlier
conversation about a strong economy, we've got to get strong
economies in the bush.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
We've got to get people in the bush working. We've
got to get kids to school, which is while we're
cracking down hard on parents and parental responsibility and family
responsibility agreements. So there's plenty to be done, and you know,
we're throwing everything at it, Chief Minister. When we spoke
to Trent, he also sees that he's never seen so
many bottles of yellow tail broken around town. Do you
(09:13):
believe the reintroduction of cheap alcohol has had an impact
or what do you think is going on here?
Speaker 2 (09:19):
No, I haven't heard about the yellowtail, Katie, but I
can certainly follow that up. And ultimately, you know, I
know labor when I point the finger at the minimum
floor price, but none of those savings were passed on
by retailers, So there's been no change in price as
far as I'm aware across the board. But you know,
clearly we're seeing an escalation in behavior and at the
end of the day, alcoholics will do anything to get
(09:40):
their fix, and that's where our alcohol mandatary treatment work
this year will come into its own when that gets
off the ground next year.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
So next year, you're expecting that to get off the ground.
In the meantime, do we need those palis back on
bottle shops. I know our police are stretched, but it
sounds like in Catherine it's something that may be needed.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
It's really hard and we try and leave those decisions
to the police. You know, on the ground, operationally, it's
a police decision, and so they've had to pull police
off bottle shops to be dealing with other issues. If
you have a police officer on a bottle shop, then
they can't be responding to crime. So it's a it's
a vicious cycle, that's for sure, and they've just got
to make those calls every every given day.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Any update on the police plane negotiation, No, I believe
there was a second meeting maybe last week, Katie. That's
probably a better question for the Minister for Public Employment,
but that those negotiations will continue on. There's plenty of
messages coming through from listeners. One here from in NOONI
she wants to know about boot camps. When can we
expect them up and running?
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Yeah, so the one in Alice Springs is being constructed
right now. I'm not sure of the ETA on completion,
but it's definitely underway. And now we're working out how
we get providers into that space, because you know, not
all programs are born equal. It's we want to be
making sure we're delivering something good for territorians money and
not just you know, you know, it's not meant to
(11:01):
be a holiday camp. It's there to correct behavior. So
we've got to make sure that the people we're getting
in to do that work can actually deliver.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
All right, I want to move along there is a
lot to cover off this morning. There's been some moves
when it comes to key positions in the Northern Territory.
So last week you announced Stuart Knowles has been permanently
appointed to the role of Territory Coordinator. The oppositions question
this appointment given the position was not advertised. Why was
that position not advertised?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
So I appointed Stuart Knowles, So I made him the
interim Territory Coordinator based on his vast experience in both
the public and private sectors, particularly in major delivery of
major projects and major industry across the Northern Territory. He's
well known and connected. We're talking about someone who sat
on the Chamber of Commerce board and you name it.
(11:51):
He has then done all of that work in developing
the bill, in the consultation with the community, and as
we move towards that appointment pro of moving to that
next stage of confirming as the Territory Coordinator. We then
did our due diligence and went through a merit based
process to make sure he was qualified and complied with
(12:12):
the legislation, because of course the criteria is set out
in the bill. All of that stacked up and the
Administrator has appointed him and I had my first meeting
with Stuart on Wednesday, I think it was Wednesday or Thursday,
and the team there as strong. They're doing a great
job and I really look forward to getting seeing them
get some runs on the board.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
There had been a report that mister Knowles had four
of his dogs seized by animal welfare officers after they
were discovered with a serious tick infestation and other health
problems late in twenty fifteen. Now the Department of Agriculture
and Fisheries confirmed the investigation had taken place. They said
mister Noles was issued a warning notice. Now in a
(12:53):
statement provided to the int News, mister Knowles said the
dogs were temporarily removed from the property for tick treatment
and later returned following further piecet remedial treatment at the property.
Animal welfare officers did a final visit to the property
the next month to cite the dogs and confirm they
are in good condition and concluded the investigation. Now, He's
(13:14):
told the paper I cooperated fully with their inquiries and directions,
covered the costs of additional treatments to eradicate the tics,
and ensured the dogs were cared for. Chief Minister did
you know about this before appointing him and were you
concerned about these reports? No?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
I didn't know about it, and you know, you know,
these are historical things that happened over ten years ago, Katie,
And as you heard, there was no further action taken.
The issue is remediated. He's obviously extremely regretful of the
entire situation.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
And you know, we move forward.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
He's got an important job to do in helping rebuild
the territory's economy, as does his team, and they're well
equipped to deliver.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Are you concerned about the point that the opposition's raised
questioning how he can do this role if you can't
look after those animals?
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Well, no, I don't accept that at all. I think
this is a new low for the opposition in attacking
public servants in a way we've never seen before. You know,
someone has made a mistake over a decade ago, and
I've apported them to do a really important role in
rebuilding our economy. The person is remorseful and regretful and
has apologized. I'm not really sure what else the opposition
(14:24):
would like from him, but as far as I'm concerned,
we have to rebuild the economy. I'm not interested in
playing petty politics like laborer. We've got a job to
do and I have no time to waste, all.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Right, Chief Minister. Last week the Ikak Commissioner resigned following
a report from the Commissioner from Public Employment. When do
you anticipate that report's going to be made public?
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Yeah, So I wrote to the Commissioner for Public Employment
and asked her to do whatever is required to know
redact it or make it in a version that's consumable
for the public, and to put that up on their website.
So I haven't heard back from that, Katie, but that
work should be being done, and ultimately, I just want
people to have confidence in the EYICACK. We've delivered a
(15:04):
budget for the EYECACK, so that is there in this budget.
We have an acting EYECAC, all of the staff and
the team is still there. So it is still business
as usual and we just need to step through now
what next steps look like.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
So is that role going to be advertised?
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Eventually it will be, but it's you know, no secret
to your listeners that obviously, throughout this whole process, we've
all been finding areas that could be strengthened or made better,
and so I think this presents an opportunity for us
to do that work, which hasn't started yet, so you know,
probably once the sittings of Parliament's finished, it's something we
can turn our mind to of what next steps look
like or a.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Couple of quick ones. More broadly, where are things that
from your perspective when it comes to health Scope, it
has been reported in various national publications that Health Scopes
Board last week effectively pleaded for bankers to take control
of the hospitals, allowing its Brookfield backed directors to walk away.
So it's been described does a soft administration that removes
(16:02):
the tougher intervention or the prospect of banks installing receivers.
But are you concerned that we could be at riskier
of health Scope going bust and what that could mean
for our private hospital? Obviously we've spoken about the maternity
services with the Health Minister last week, but more broadly
when it comes to all of the.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Services, absolutely, and it is a concern, and so we've
got the Treasurer and the Health Minister looking very closely.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
At what this could look like for the territory. What
we want is certainty and security and we want choice.
You know, we just can't have these multinationals coming in
and out of the territory and like they see fit
like were's something that they can just you know, dip
the toe in the water on. We need full commitment
and it's very disappointing that they've pulled out of delivering
maternity services. And as a government, we're trying our best
(16:49):
to provide a private like experience for expectant mothers, but
that's obviously not the forte of a government that delivers
public services. So we're trying to fill a gap that
should be filled by the private sector and isn't and
this would just leave another gaping hole. So we're really
hoping that this isn't the case and the Treasury and
(17:10):
administer edging tenner onto it does. There need to be
some discussions here with the feed So I mean, like fundamentally,
if that hospital for some reason or another collapses, it's
going to be a huge impulse then or on our
public hospital here in darwith.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Yeah, I'm not sure of the impost that we are seeing.
Just like with maternity, you know, they've gone from delivering
eight hundred babies to two seventy, so there is a
decline and that may be contributing to it. I'm not
sure across the broader public hospital. But you know, if
it fails, the territory will absolutely be providing health care
to every territory and you can be certain of that.
(17:43):
We don't want it to fail because it represents really
important choice. It goes to lifestyle and it's you know,
it's not good for a growing economy not to have
that service.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
All right, We are going to talk more about that
in a few minutes time with the Australian and Australian
Nursing with Free Federation. But before I let you go,
Chief Minister, any update on these fireworks. More than one
thousand tons of fireworks distant for the Northern Territory for
Territory Day have been reportedly seized by New South Wales authorities.
My understanding is that you spoke to the New South
Wales Premier Chris Means. Where are they?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Oh? I tell you what, Katie, these blokes, I'm going
to sort them out. But it's all under control. So
New South Wales seized a huge shipment of fireworks. I
spoke to Chris Means, he was fantastic, work safe have
sorted out an agreement, so our fireworks are able to
go on the trucks, but Queensland decided to take issue
with our fireworks. Yes, they don't want the trucks driving
(18:37):
through Queensland. So I then rang David Christophully the Queensland
Prairie and I said, David, don't do this to me,
and he said, don't you worry. We'll sort it out.
So we now have Work Safe NT and Work Save
Queensland working on it together. We just need safe passage
of our trucks. And I said, David, you do not
want to mess with cracking night.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
People are gonna be pissed. So do you anticipate they're
going to get here in time to then be able
to go out to the different communities.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Yeah, they will. We're really hoping to have all of
this resolved this week. I'm sure we can reach a
proper agreement. And New South Wales were fantastic to deal
with and I thank them and Chris and I'm sure
David would deliver as well. But I'll be keeping a
very close eye on it, don't you worry.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Chief Minas de la Finocchio, thanks for your time, as always,
take everyone
Popular Podcasts
Are You A Charlotte?
In 1997, actress Kristin Davis’ life was forever changed when she took on the role of Charlotte York in Sex and the City. As we watched Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte navigate relationships in NYC, the show helped push once unacceptable conversation topics out of the shadows and altered the narrative around women and sex. We all saw ourselves in them as they searched for fulfillment in life, sex and friendships. Now, Kristin Davis wants to connect with you, the fans, and share untold stories and all the behind the scenes. Together, with Kristin and special guests, what will begin with Sex and the City will evolve into talks about themes that are still so relevant today. "Are you a Charlotte?" is much more than just rewatching this beloved show, it brings the past and the present together as we talk with heart, humor and of course some optimism.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.