Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now we spoke on the show extensively on Friday. Northern
Territory police continue to investigate as this dangerous driving incident
will really put the Catherine community at risk. On Thursday night,
we know that a black Volkswagen was allegedly stolen from
outside a business on Catherine Terrace before being driven at
high speed on the Victoria Highway and through Catherine, with
(00:22):
witnesses reporting that youths were hanging out the windows. I
mean I saw some of the vision myself. You can
see that they are hanging out those windows. Now, some
of the criticism has come because police chose not to
pursue the vehicle, but they have said that that was
public safety as the number one priority. We know that
that car then later crashed into a fence in Catherine
(00:43):
South with about seven youths fleeing on foot. Three suspects
have been identified, as I understand from over the weekend,
two of them have been arrested. Now the Chief Minister,
Lea Finocchio joins me in the studio. Good morning to your.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Chief minsessing Kadi into your listeners.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Now, I'm assuming you've seen all this fish shot from
last week. The people of Catherine are really really upset.
In fact, I would say they were furious. On Friday,
we spoke with Trent to with he said, locals are.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
At their wits end.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
We were slammed with a huge volume of messages.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
What is being done to.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Take the youth crime, you know, to tackle it and
to try and sort this issue out. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Look, people in Catherine had a right to be furious, Katie.
What we saw was absolutely disgusting. I mean, this was
total lawless behavior by seven youths hanging out of a vehicle,
putting their lives and the lives of innocent territorians at risk,
and it's something we condemn in the strongest possible terms.
We are looking forward to police catching up with all
(01:45):
seven of these young people because they will face the
full force of the law, and people in Catherine have
an expectation that that is what will happen. So we
sent fugitive Task Force down straight away, and no one
escapes the Fugitive Task Force, I can tell you, Katie.
So we have made a few arrests and they will
continue to pursue.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
The outstanding offenders.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Our police in Catherine did everything they could to minimize
impact to community, but obviously It's an incredibly volatile situation.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Chief Minister. The messages are already starting to come through
on our tech line. So we've got one here that
says the crime antisocial behavior has continued all weekend in
Catherine from a gang of repeat offenders. Maybe also ring
the Member for Catherine, Joe Hersey, and ask her what
she's actually doing for the town of Catherine, in regard
(02:34):
to the out of control crime. That's just one of
the messages coming through, Chief Minister. The Mayor's joined us
on the show before to talk about this. In recent months,
we've heard from locals on Friday though, people were literally
concerned that others are going to start to fight back.
What is the government doing as a matter of urgency?
(02:55):
I've heard there what the police are doing, but what
are you doing as a matter of urgency?
Speaker 3 (02:59):
So what we do is make sure we've got the
resources in the spots that are needed. So for example,
Catherine has more than a full complement of general Duties
and other police, it has PPSOS. We sent Fugitive Task
Force down obviously, and we are arresting those young people
who are causing grief. There has been some of those
(03:19):
increases in motor vehicle thefts, which are obviously very public
and very concerning and very dangerous, which is why people
in the community are angry, which we completely understand. So
it's about continuing to empower our police. For example, just
two weeks ago in Parliament we increase youth justice laws
to be able to allow police to interview youth without
(03:40):
a parent or a lawyer in their presence, so that
reform work continues and two years into government, law and
order remains our number one priority and unfortunately these young
people have been failed for their entire lives, both through
failures through their parents the system, and it's people in
Catherine who are paying price for.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
That, Chief Minister. In the letter that the Mayor wrote
to you over the weekend, she says that First Nations
leaders have also put forward ideas calling for a curfew
and further alcohol restrictions. Those suggestions were raised with police
in July as well, but we're not supported. Are you
prepared to look at anything outside of the box here?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
You know, we welcome the community coming together to look
to proactive solutions. Alcohol supply is something we're very focused on.
We now have the police Public Safety offices in Catherine
doing point of sale intervention, which means our constables are
out doing the police work, which is a great move forward.
And ultimately curfew is a matter for the Police Commissioner.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
And you know, Chief, I can hear people yelling at
their radios right now saying what you are doing is
not enough. What's in place in Catherine right now is
not enough. Like I get that you're saying there's legislative changes,
but surely, and I said the same to Evil Ala
when things were blowing up in Ala Springs, You've got
a duty of care to the people of.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Catherine, absolutely canie and we're not walking away from that.
But I don't think anyone is saying Labor would have
done more, because the reason we have these young people
thinking they're above the law is because labour has failed
them from the day they were born. So we have
come in two years in and wound back crime back
to twenty and seventeen levels. Now, that doesn't stop people
stealing cars and breaking the law, but what it does
(05:21):
mean is we have more police than ever before, stronger
laws than ever before, and a huge appetite to get
on top of this.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
We had just made huge changes.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
To care and protection for example, very controversial and we
stared down all the do gooders and all the naysayers
to make sure we're intervening early Jared mainly. The Corrections
Minister just announced that we've got one hundred people in
post prison work that we are supporting for eighteen months
post release. So there's lots of work on the fringe
that is never going to satisfy people who don't want
(05:52):
to see stolen cars today. And of course, unfortunately we
can't have police in every land room stopping people from
breaking the law.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
The text line is going off people and Catherine are
going off right, Like I can understand what you're saying,
that you've got legislative changes coming into place, that you've
got the fugitive task for sets heading down to Catherine,
or they're there already. But what we have got at
the moment is quite literally a situation where some people
are messaging through, you know, with words to the effect
(06:20):
like they're ready.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
To fight back.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Like I can see that if a stop gap isn't
put in place here, if something is like what would.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
You suggest, I mean what, no, But there is no
there is no answer aside from some.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Of the things that our listeners have asked, is you know, like,
first off, could there be some kind of legislative change
where you know they were they were questioning on Friday.
They were literally questioning on Friday if laws need to
be changed so police can pursue stolen cars without fear
of being prosecuted should something go wrong.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
So I can answer that straight away, that is not
a law change. Police can pursue cars. They made the
decision not to so that seven young people didn't die
and others in the Catherine community. So that again, that's
not a law that's an operational decision on the ground
at the time. I know that there will be people saying, well,
police should have and you know the consequences of the consequences,
(07:12):
but that's not the decision that was made.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Out to those families that were then trying to get
their kids home from sport, they're trying to terrific Katie Day,
and you've got these kids hanging out of cars like
driving around, you know, trying to get the police to
chase them. Like they're just sort of you know, they're
turning their noses up totally. To put it really lovely,
they couldn't give a shit.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
That's exactly right.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
They are completely lawless, which is why Fugitive Task Force
is down there. We'll catch them and we will put
them before the judges. Now what the judges do will
be what judges do, unfortunately, and we're hoping we get
some serious long term convictions out of this. That's our
hope every time, Katie.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
But people messaging through saying this morning, you were dismissive
when these issues were originally raised a couple of months ago,
and things are just getting worse.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Well, look, you know, people judge me every minute of
every day, Katie, from what I'm wearing, to what I'm saying,
to what we're doing or they think we're not doing.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I can't walk around, you know, being bothered by that.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
All we can do is continue to have the best laws,
the most police, the best powers, and the greatest focus
on it. And I can tell people whether they want
to hear it or not, Laura and order is our
number one priority or will remain that way.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
So right now, just.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
To make it really clear for the people of Catherine,
because they're going off on the tea signe. So for
the people of Catherine, what you can tell them right
now is that the Fugitive Task Force are there. They
were there on the weekend. You've got a number of
changes legislative that are coming into place or have already
come into place that should make a difference. What else
can be done? Do you think to try to sort
(08:48):
things out for the people of Catherine, Like they are
saying that, you know, they've gone from a beautiful town
and I know it's been a decline over a number
of years. I'm not suggesting that it's something that's happened overnight,
but it's gotten worse over the last few months and
they're really at their wits end. What can you say
to them as the Chief Minister, aside from those couple
of things that you've already outlined that you're prepared to
(09:09):
do to help them.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Laura and Honor is our number one priority. Community safety
is everything. So we can absolutely assure people that if
there is something that can be done that is going
to make a difference, we would do it.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
I don't think we should, though.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Take one incident of a stolen car, no no, but
it was one on Thursday, and there wasn't any more
major incidents over the weekend. And I will not talk
Catherine down particularly not in the middle.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Of our very careful there, because there words that the
Labour Party used to use when the people in the
community were screaming out saying is if people want to
say fine talk in the territory.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
That's fine.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
But if people want to say Catherine is worse than ever,
I just completely reject that and I will stand up
for Catherine every day of the week.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Caleb's just messaged in and said, morning morning, Katie, A
curfew for Catherine is a good stop gap. Evil all
did this for Oller Springs. Why won't Leah because I.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Can't call her a few the police commissioner does.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
We've had one advocate for No, I wouldn't because it's
incredibly damaging and it damaged Alice Springs irreparably.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
I know that the mayor has said this morning that
there were further incidents over the weekend. They may not.
I don't know whether they were hugely noticiable in it's
not one hundred percent sure, but it's sort of like,
to be honest, it does sound like you're dismissing it
a little bit.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
No, Katie, I'm not. It was an absolutely condemnable incident.
We sent our top fugitive hunters to Catherine to hunt
them down and catch them and put them before the courts.
I don't know what else people would want from police
on that. We have got the most police Catherine has
ever seen, Like Catherine has a compliment of police that
exceeds what it's meant to have. We have ppsos down there.
(10:51):
At the end of the day, we have families failing, children,
organizations not doing their job, kids having no care for
the law because they've never been raised to care. And
it's a massive problem that we don't shy away from,
which is why we are making changes to corrections to
care and protection to education. I mean, we are finding
parents for not sending their kids to school. No one
can say we're a light touch government. Does that mean
(11:13):
we plug every gap? No, it means you don't plug
every gap unfortunately, but we would keep going and we
keep trying.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
And are you prepared to sit down with the Katherine
Meyer and other leaders in the town of Catherine to
really try to nut this out.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah, she's being very evasive.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
I know Joe Hersey has been trying to meet with her,
and she keeps she says the opposite.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yeah, Well, it's absolutely not true.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
And actually Joe has a meeting with her this Friday,
so to say anything other is just rubbish.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
So there's a meeting this Friday, what about with you?
Would you be prepared to sit down with her?
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Always happy to Katie.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
At the end of the day, we have very strong
structures in Catherine, whether mayor and the council meet weekly
with police. There is also a monthly meeting, so there's
plenty of you know, meetings are one thing. Action is
a whole other story. I'm much more about action, Katie.
But if the man wants to have meetings and sit
inside rooms and bang tables, and that's a matter for her.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Look, I think it's more about just sorting this out,
you know, sorting it out for the people of Catherine,
because honestly, from what I can see, from what they
are saying to us, you know, on Friday, they seem
like they're really exasperated. And I'm not talking one or
two messages. I'm talking we were getting messages for a
good two hours.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Yes, it was horrendous. It was a horrendous incident, and
when there are horrendous incidents, it absolutely inflames everyone, including me.
I do not want to see that happening in Catherine
or anywhere, Katie. That's why we make Lauren order Ound
number one priority. But is there going to be a
well where there's zero crime? No, and we've never pretended
that there would be. Do we continue to try from
(12:46):
a range of ways to get in and deal with
this issue?
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Absolutely? Is it perfect?
Speaker 1 (12:51):
No?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Do we keep trying? Yes, all right, we are going
to have.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
To move along. There's a bit to cover off this morning,
and I do want to talk about another issue which
certainly has territorians talking. That is the federal Energy Minister
Chris Bowen taking aim at the Northern territories push to
become a data center hub, warning gas only projects won't
be allowed under these new national rules.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
You and I have spoken briefly.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
About this before, but we know that he spoke at
the National Press Club and mister Bowen said the Commonwealth
will use the legislative powers to stop states and territories
from approving data centers that rely solely on gas, saying
they won't meet minimum national standards. Chief Minister, you've been
pushing to grow the sector using gas from the Beaterloo basin.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Is this at risk now? Without question?
Speaker 3 (13:36):
And I think there's nothing Territorians hate more than an
arrogant federal government trying to throw their weight around and
tell us what to do. I mean, they can just
back off. We are not going to take any advice
on our economy from Canberra and we're not going to
have this ideological pursuit for their own failures destroy our
economic future.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
So what do you think, Like, what are you going
to do?
Speaker 1 (13:58):
It seems as though the Northern Territory government's you're not
really going to reconsider your approach. So will you be
prepared to have a bit of a hybrid or what
will you do?
Speaker 3 (14:04):
No, we won't. We will stand our ground and tell
Canberra to go back to canber and cut rose bushes
or whatever it is they do down there, and we
will take care of growing our economy with our gas
industry that comes online in three ways.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
You do, though you might not have a choice if
the law's come in, well, you know, I will ask
for forgiveness later, Katie.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I mean, you know, at the end of the day,
just push ahead.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
But we will push ahead regardless, and I imagine Queensland
will do the same. I don't think labor have any
credibility on the economy. Let alone to come to the
territory and try and treat us like the rest of
the country. We are in a unique and different situation
and with Beeloo gas coming online in three weeks time,
now is the chance for the territory to deliver for
(14:46):
this nation. We can fix these coas energy crisis. We
can have a reliable gas for Territorians. We can be
an export gas hub. All of these things are possible,
including the underpinning of data centers, but not if a
federal government things that can throw its weight around. And
quite frankly, where is territory labor sticking up for the
territory and telling their labor mates to bugger off?
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Chief Minister, just a quick one. Are you able to
confirm if the CLP is cutting the retention bonuses for
nurses and midwives working in Darwen and Palmerston?
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Yes? Well no, no, I mean no, I'm glad you
asked me.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Sorry, you can confirm, I can confirm and we are
not doing that. So I'm not sure why labour's got
their wires cross, but the retention bonus for nurses right
across the territory, So in Darwin and Palmerston it will
stay the same and for the regions it will increase.
So yes, I can confirm we are not doing what
(15:39):
Labour said.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Everything is all.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Good, so retention bonuses for nurses and midwives. Here in
Darwen and Palmerston it's staying the same. But if you're
out Bush someone it's getting in, it's getting increased, it's
getting any.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Oh I don't know that exactly, but it's yes, there
is definitely no negative changes there.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
All right, Chief Minister, we are going to have to
wrap up. Just lastly, how quads after the Grand.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Yesterda, I'm so happy I did my best time.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Josh Burgoyne won the men's forty five kilometer and five
of us rode to raise money for local charities thanks
to Darwin Family Law, so that was really special and
two of our team marshalleds so it was a good
show by the CLP and over five hundred people wrote
in the event it was really fantastic, So biggest congrats
to Darwin Cycling Club and another epic event.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Well, Chief Minister. Leah Finocchiaro, always appreciate your time. Thank
you for joining us this morning.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Thank you. Take everyone
Now we spoke on the show extensively on Friday. Northern
Territory police continue to investigate as this dangerous driving incident
will really put the Catherine community at risk. On Thursday night,
we know that a black Volkswagen was allegedly stolen from
outside a business on Catherine Terrace before being driven at
high speed on the Victoria Highway and through Catherine, with
(00:22):
witnesses reporting that youths were hanging out the windows. I
mean I saw some of the vision myself. You can
see that they are hanging out those windows. Now, some
of the criticism has come because police chose not to
pursue the vehicle, but they have said that that was
public safety as the number one priority. We know that
that car then later crashed into a fence in Catherine
(00:43):
South with about seven youths fleeing on foot. Three suspects
have been identified, as I understand from over the weekend,
two of them have been arrested. Now the Chief Minister,
Lea Finocchio joins me in the studio. Good morning to your.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Chief minsessing Kadi into your listeners.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Now, I'm assuming you've seen all this fish shot from
last week. The people of Catherine are really really upset.
In fact, I would say they were furious. On Friday,
we spoke with Trent to with he said, locals are.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
At their wits end.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
We were slammed with a huge volume of messages.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
What is being done to.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Take the youth crime, you know, to tackle it and
to try and sort this issue out. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Look, people in Catherine had a right to be furious, Katie.
What we saw was absolutely disgusting. I mean, this was
total lawless behavior by seven youths hanging out of a vehicle,
putting their lives and the lives of innocent territorians at risk,
and it's something we condemn in the strongest possible terms.
We are looking forward to police catching up with all
(01:45):
seven of these young people because they will face the
full force of the law, and people in Catherine have
an expectation that that is what will happen. So we
sent fugitive Task Force down straight away, and no one
escapes the Fugitive Task Force, I can tell you, Katie.
So we have made a few arrests and they will
continue to pursue.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
The outstanding offenders.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Our police in Catherine did everything they could to minimize
impact to community, but obviously It's an incredibly volatile situation.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Chief Minister. The messages are already starting to come through
on our tech line. So we've got one here that
says the crime antisocial behavior has continued all weekend in
Catherine from a gang of repeat offenders. Maybe also ring
the Member for Catherine, Joe Hersey, and ask her what
she's actually doing for the town of Catherine, in regard
(02:34):
to the out of control crime. That's just one of
the messages coming through, Chief Minister. The Mayor's joined us
on the show before to talk about this. In recent months,
we've heard from locals on Friday though, people were literally
concerned that others are going to start to fight back.
What is the government doing as a matter of urgency?
(02:55):
I've heard there what the police are doing, but what
are you doing as a matter of urgency?
Speaker 3 (02:59):
So what we do is make sure we've got the
resources in the spots that are needed. So for example,
Catherine has more than a full complement of general Duties
and other police, it has PPSOS. We sent Fugitive Task
Force down obviously, and we are arresting those young people
who are causing grief. There has been some of those
(03:19):
increases in motor vehicle thefts, which are obviously very public
and very concerning and very dangerous, which is why people
in the community are angry, which we completely understand. So
it's about continuing to empower our police. For example, just
two weeks ago in Parliament we increase youth justice laws
to be able to allow police to interview youth without
(03:40):
a parent or a lawyer in their presence, so that
reform work continues and two years into government, law and
order remains our number one priority and unfortunately these young
people have been failed for their entire lives, both through
failures through their parents the system, and it's people in
Catherine who are paying price for.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
That, Chief Minister. In the letter that the Mayor wrote
to you over the weekend, she says that First Nations
leaders have also put forward ideas calling for a curfew
and further alcohol restrictions. Those suggestions were raised with police
in July as well, but we're not supported. Are you
prepared to look at anything outside of the box here?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
You know, we welcome the community coming together to look
to proactive solutions. Alcohol supply is something we're very focused on.
We now have the police Public Safety offices in Catherine
doing point of sale intervention, which means our constables are
out doing the police work, which is a great move forward.
And ultimately curfew is a matter for the Police Commissioner.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
And you know, Chief, I can hear people yelling at
their radios right now saying what you are doing is
not enough. What's in place in Catherine right now is
not enough. Like I get that you're saying there's legislative changes,
but surely, and I said the same to Evil Ala
when things were blowing up in Ala Springs, You've got
a duty of care to the people of.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Catherine, absolutely canie and we're not walking away from that.
But I don't think anyone is saying Labor would have
done more, because the reason we have these young people
thinking they're above the law is because labour has failed
them from the day they were born. So we have
come in two years in and wound back crime back
to twenty and seventeen levels. Now, that doesn't stop people
stealing cars and breaking the law, but what it does
(05:21):
mean is we have more police than ever before, stronger
laws than ever before, and a huge appetite to get
on top of this.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
We had just made huge changes.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
To care and protection for example, very controversial and we
stared down all the do gooders and all the naysayers
to make sure we're intervening early Jared mainly. The Corrections
Minister just announced that we've got one hundred people in
post prison work that we are supporting for eighteen months
post release. So there's lots of work on the fringe
that is never going to satisfy people who don't want
(05:52):
to see stolen cars today. And of course, unfortunately we
can't have police in every land room stopping people from
breaking the law.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
The text line is going off people and Catherine are
going off right, Like I can understand what you're saying,
that you've got legislative changes coming into place, that you've
got the fugitive task for sets heading down to Catherine,
or they're there already. But what we have got at
the moment is quite literally a situation where some people
are messaging through, you know, with words to the effect
(06:20):
like they're ready.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
To fight back.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Like I can see that if a stop gap isn't
put in place here, if something is like what would.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
You suggest, I mean what, no, But there is no
there is no answer aside from some.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Of the things that our listeners have asked, is you know, like,
first off, could there be some kind of legislative change
where you know they were they were questioning on Friday.
They were literally questioning on Friday if laws need to
be changed so police can pursue stolen cars without fear
of being prosecuted should something go wrong.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
So I can answer that straight away, that is not
a law change. Police can pursue cars. They made the
decision not to so that seven young people didn't die
and others in the Catherine community. So that again, that's
not a law that's an operational decision on the ground
at the time. I know that there will be people saying, well,
police should have and you know the consequences of the consequences,
(07:12):
but that's not the decision that was made.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Out to those families that were then trying to get
their kids home from sport, they're trying to terrific Katie Day,
and you've got these kids hanging out of cars like
driving around, you know, trying to get the police to
chase them. Like they're just sort of you know, they're
turning their noses up totally. To put it really lovely,
they couldn't give a shit.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
That's exactly right.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
They are completely lawless, which is why Fugitive Task Force
is down there. We'll catch them and we will put
them before the judges. Now what the judges do will
be what judges do, unfortunately, and we're hoping we get
some serious long term convictions out of this. That's our
hope every time, Katie.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
But people messaging through saying this morning, you were dismissive
when these issues were originally raised a couple of months ago,
and things are just getting worse.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Well, look, you know, people judge me every minute of
every day, Katie, from what I'm wearing, to what I'm saying,
to what we're doing or they think we're not doing.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I can't walk around, you know, being bothered by that.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
All we can do is continue to have the best laws,
the most police, the best powers, and the greatest focus
on it. And I can tell people whether they want
to hear it or not, Laura and order is our
number one priority or will remain that way.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
So right now, just.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
To make it really clear for the people of Catherine,
because they're going off on the tea signe. So for
the people of Catherine, what you can tell them right
now is that the Fugitive Task Force are there. They
were there on the weekend. You've got a number of
changes legislative that are coming into place or have already
come into place that should make a difference. What else
can be done? Do you think to try to sort
(08:48):
things out for the people of Catherine, Like they are
saying that, you know, they've gone from a beautiful town
and I know it's been a decline over a number
of years. I'm not suggesting that it's something that's happened overnight,
but it's gotten worse over the last few months and
they're really at their wits end. What can you say
to them as the Chief Minister, aside from those couple
of things that you've already outlined that you're prepared to
(09:09):
do to help them.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Laura and Honor is our number one priority. Community safety
is everything. So we can absolutely assure people that if
there is something that can be done that is going
to make a difference, we would do it.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
I don't think we should, though.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Take one incident of a stolen car, no no, but
it was one on Thursday, and there wasn't any more
major incidents over the weekend. And I will not talk
Catherine down particularly not in the middle.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Of our very careful there, because there words that the
Labour Party used to use when the people in the
community were screaming out saying is if people want to
say fine talk in the territory.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
That's fine.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
But if people want to say Catherine is worse than ever,
I just completely reject that and I will stand up
for Catherine every day of the week.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Caleb's just messaged in and said, morning morning, Katie, A
curfew for Catherine is a good stop gap. Evil all
did this for Oller Springs. Why won't Leah because I.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Can't call her a few the police commissioner does.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
We've had one advocate for No, I wouldn't because it's
incredibly damaging and it damaged Alice Springs irreparably.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
I know that the mayor has said this morning that
there were further incidents over the weekend. They may not.
I don't know whether they were hugely noticiable in it's
not one hundred percent sure, but it's sort of like,
to be honest, it does sound like you're dismissing it
a little bit.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
No, Katie, I'm not. It was an absolutely condemnable incident.
We sent our top fugitive hunters to Catherine to hunt
them down and catch them and put them before the courts.
I don't know what else people would want from police
on that. We have got the most police Catherine has
ever seen, Like Catherine has a compliment of police that
exceeds what it's meant to have. We have ppsos down there.
(10:51):
At the end of the day, we have families failing, children,
organizations not doing their job, kids having no care for
the law because they've never been raised to care. And
it's a massive problem that we don't shy away from,
which is why we are making changes to corrections to
care and protection to education. I mean, we are finding
parents for not sending their kids to school. No one
can say we're a light touch government. Does that mean
(11:13):
we plug every gap? No, it means you don't plug
every gap unfortunately, but we would keep going and we
keep trying.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
And are you prepared to sit down with the Katherine
Meyer and other leaders in the town of Catherine to
really try to nut this out.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah, she's being very evasive.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
I know Joe Hersey has been trying to meet with her,
and she keeps she says the opposite.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yeah, Well, it's absolutely not true.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
And actually Joe has a meeting with her this Friday,
so to say anything other is just rubbish.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
So there's a meeting this Friday, what about with you?
Would you be prepared to sit down with her?
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Always happy to Katie.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
At the end of the day, we have very strong
structures in Catherine, whether mayor and the council meet weekly
with police. There is also a monthly meeting, so there's
plenty of you know, meetings are one thing. Action is
a whole other story. I'm much more about action, Katie.
But if the man wants to have meetings and sit
inside rooms and bang tables, and that's a matter for her.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Look, I think it's more about just sorting this out,
you know, sorting it out for the people of Catherine,
because honestly, from what I can see, from what they
are saying to us, you know, on Friday, they seem
like they're really exasperated. And I'm not talking one or
two messages. I'm talking we were getting messages for a
good two hours.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Yes, it was horrendous. It was a horrendous incident, and
when there are horrendous incidents, it absolutely inflames everyone, including me.
I do not want to see that happening in Catherine
or anywhere, Katie. That's why we make Lauren order Ound
number one priority. But is there going to be a
well where there's zero crime? No, and we've never pretended
that there would be. Do we continue to try from
(12:46):
a range of ways to get in and deal with
this issue?
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Absolutely? Is it perfect?
Speaker 1 (12:51):
No?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Do we keep trying? Yes, all right, we are going
to have.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
To move along. There's a bit to cover off this morning,
and I do want to talk about another issue which
certainly has territorians talking. That is the federal Energy Minister
Chris Bowen taking aim at the Northern territories push to
become a data center hub, warning gas only projects won't
be allowed under these new national rules.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
You and I have spoken briefly.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
About this before, but we know that he spoke at
the National Press Club and mister Bowen said the Commonwealth
will use the legislative powers to stop states and territories
from approving data centers that rely solely on gas, saying
they won't meet minimum national standards. Chief Minister, you've been
pushing to grow the sector using gas from the Beaterloo basin.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Is this at risk now? Without question?
Speaker 3 (13:36):
And I think there's nothing Territorians hate more than an
arrogant federal government trying to throw their weight around and
tell us what to do. I mean, they can just
back off. We are not going to take any advice
on our economy from Canberra and we're not going to
have this ideological pursuit for their own failures destroy our
economic future.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
So what do you think, Like, what are you going
to do?
Speaker 1 (13:58):
It seems as though the Northern Territory government's you're not
really going to reconsider your approach. So will you be
prepared to have a bit of a hybrid or what
will you do?
Speaker 3 (14:04):
No, we won't. We will stand our ground and tell
Canberra to go back to canber and cut rose bushes
or whatever it is they do down there, and we
will take care of growing our economy with our gas
industry that comes online in three ways.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
You do, though you might not have a choice if
the law's come in, well, you know, I will ask
for forgiveness later, Katie.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I mean, you know, at the end of the day,
just push ahead.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
But we will push ahead regardless, and I imagine Queensland
will do the same. I don't think labor have any
credibility on the economy. Let alone to come to the
territory and try and treat us like the rest of
the country. We are in a unique and different situation
and with Beeloo gas coming online in three weeks time,
now is the chance for the territory to deliver for
(14:46):
this nation. We can fix these coas energy crisis. We
can have a reliable gas for Territorians. We can be
an export gas hub. All of these things are possible,
including the underpinning of data centers, but not if a
federal government things that can throw its weight around. And
quite frankly, where is territory labor sticking up for the
territory and telling their labor mates to bugger off?
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Chief Minister, just a quick one. Are you able to
confirm if the CLP is cutting the retention bonuses for
nurses and midwives working in Darwen and Palmerston?
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Yes? Well no, no, I mean no, I'm glad you
asked me.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Sorry, you can confirm, I can confirm and we are
not doing that. So I'm not sure why labour's got
their wires cross, but the retention bonus for nurses right
across the territory, So in Darwin and Palmerston it will
stay the same and for the regions it will increase.
So yes, I can confirm we are not doing what
(15:39):
Labour said.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Everything is all.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Good, so retention bonuses for nurses and midwives. Here in
Darwen and Palmerston it's staying the same. But if you're
out Bush someone it's getting in, it's getting increased, it's
getting any.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Oh I don't know that exactly, but it's yes, there
is definitely no negative changes there.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
All right, Chief Minister, we are going to have to
wrap up. Just lastly, how quads after the Grand.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Yesterda, I'm so happy I did my best time.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Josh Burgoyne won the men's forty five kilometer and five
of us rode to raise money for local charities thanks
to Darwin Family Law, so that was really special and
two of our team marshalleds so it was a good
show by the CLP and over five hundred people wrote
in the event it was really fantastic, So biggest congrats
to Darwin Cycling Club and another epic event.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Well, Chief Minister. Leah Finocchiaro, always appreciate your time. Thank
you for joining us this morning.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Thank you. Take everyone
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