Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro talks to Katie Woolf on 360 on a range of topics including news of charges laid in the NT Building industry, funding issues facing Yipirinya School and prisoners awaiting sentencing.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Police have charged three Darwin residents over an alleged multimillion
dollar defense fraud scheme Dallas Win, Natalie Wynn and Michael Buckley.
The AFP claimed the defense employee, their spouse and a
company director worked together to funnel almost seventy one million
dollars into contracts to a business that they controlled. Now
(00:21):
during raids on Friday, officers seized cash, electronics, jewelry, documents,
a firearm and a small amount of suspected drugs. All
three people have been charged with dishonesty gaining a benefit
from a commonwealth entity, while the defense staffer also faces
a charge of abusing public office. They're due to face
(00:41):
the Darwin Local Court this morning. The Chief Minister Leafanocchiaro
joins me in the studio. Good morning to your chief.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Good morning Katy, and to your listeners.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Now, over the weekend these people were arrested. One of
them who has been identified as Michael Buckley. He's currently
an Industry Capability Network in board member and also on
the board of Master Builders in t Now master Builders
have announced that they're no longer going to be He's
no longer going to be on their board. What's going
(01:11):
to happen with the with the ICN board. Is that
a government appointment?
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I don't believe so, But we aren't trying to track
down ICN to see what their next steps look like.
Obviously Master Builders has shown great leadership and made the
right decision, acting very swiftly there, and we support that decision,
and I suspect ICM will have more to say about
that today.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Okay, So it's not the Government's not involved in that
in any way. Now.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
The government utilizes ICN and I believe there's some funding arrangements,
but it is its own independent board, so they will
have to come to.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Their own decision.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
But I think looking to how master Builders has acted
the you know, it's probably inevitable the same result would follow.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
I believe he was also on the committee that you'd
had earlier in the year as well, which you know,
which was looking to cut.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Red tight Yeah, the Approvals Fast Task Force.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yes, so that was appointed back in about November last year.
Their work concluded in July, and that was a group
of private sector pulled together to look at right across
all industries, how we could better rearrange our regulatory frameworks
to make us more competitive, so that work has wrapped up.
That board was then dismissed because they'd completed their saying
(02:23):
Yes to business report and now government is implementing the recommends.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
So is you concerned in any way about this person's
involvement on that board or with that work.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
No, not on the task force that was a large
group of people and their role was to advise government
on how we could streamline processes. Obviously, then that's all
gone through government to say well, how can we make
things better? For example, some of them are around decision
making time frames, some of them are processes. But what
I have done, Katie is asked the Treasurer to make
(02:54):
sure that he takes a look at whether there are
any contracts outstanding at the moment with company and just
to make sure even though the allegations that have come
to light over the weekend are federally related, we just
need to make sure that the territories.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Yeah, and that was going to be my next question.
I know you just touched on that, but are you
going to be seeking the Infrastructure Department review any of
those contracts that mister Buckley has obviously been engaged yes with,
through those businesses that he's involved.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
In yes, So the Treasury is also the Darli minister,
so he's doing that work now.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Okay, so that work is Underwhy, yes, are there concerns.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Not at this stage, Katie, And again all of the
allegations relate to federal matters.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
But we are doing our due diligence.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Were you Were you aware of any of these investigations.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
No, And I think it's taken everyone by great surprise.
I mean, it's obviously a very well known company and
defense work is extremely important to the Northern Territory and
I think Master Builder's reaction really says it all, Katie.
But obviously this is before the courts today, and well,
you know we'll all be learning more as an unfold.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Absolutely, and everybody has the right to that natural justice,
which we will be keeping a very close eye on.
But I mean, when you're talking about winning defense contracts,
and we know that it's so difficult for Northern Territory
businesses to win defense contracts as it is, are there
concerns here about the reputation of the Northern Territory's whole
industry when something like this happens.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Yeah, Look, I wouldn't want our entire construction industry to
be painted with the same brush. It's obviously a very
you know, significant, significant allegations have been made and actions taken,
and that is before the court. But you know, we
have an incredible construction sector and they're working really hard.
They're they're quite literally building the territory, Katie, and so
(04:48):
all of the right safeguards need to be in place.
But I wouldn't like to see everyone in that industry demonized.
And there's important work to do, and we still stand
ready to be that defense partner of choice and make
sure that locals get that really important work.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I mean, there's going to be a lot of concerned
people listening this morning. You know, that business has a
lot of employees. There are a lot of people that
work on defense contracts. There are a lot of people
that are going to be really wondering what this all
means for the Northern Territories construction sector. And you know,
(05:22):
more generally this morning, there's some really big projects at
the moment that M and J Builders are working on
and there's a lot of people that are going to
be pretty worried.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
I imagine their staff are very concerned, as would subcontractors be.
And I think there's going to be a lot to
unpick over the coming days, weeks, and perhaps even months, Katie.
But again, the process is now before the courts. We
do have to await the outcome and allow those processes
to take their course. And you know, if people have concerns,
(05:52):
I imagine the first stop would be Master builders.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Do you see that there's going to sort of need
to be any kind of I don't know the government
involved in this in any way, shape or forth.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Look, I think it's early days and obviously these are
federal contracts, federal defense work, and so you know, we'll
do our bin in looking into Northern Territory contracts if any,
and we just have to wait and see.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
All right, there is quite a bit happening around the place,
and there are calls for more funding when it comes
to the Northern Territories court system. With new figures revealing
a large amount of prisoners haven't been sentenced now, the
ABC last week reporting that as of this time last week,
fifty two percent of prisoners in the Darwin Correction Center
were awaiting sentencing. It's also been revealed that across the
(06:40):
Northern Territory, forty one percent of all prisoners have not
been sentenced. Chief Minister, This is an issue you and
I have previously spoken about. Has there been any improvement
on these remand numbers since the beginning of the year. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
We've done a huge amount of work as part of
our one point five billion dollar commitment to courts, corrections
and police and so we you know, the situation which
when we came to government in August last year was
at prisons were overflowing, at bursting point. They had had
to cut you know, the prisoner lawn, the pensioner lawnmowing servers,
(07:15):
the metal work would work, number plate making, all of
those things had to be canceled, so we inherited a mess.
We then increase the laws, which put more pressure on
the system, but we opened up Behmer Prison and a
number of other things, and so things are tracking quite
well and we've been able to now get back into
the rehabilitation and all of the programs. But just to
give some data on that, we've not only secured legal
(07:38):
AIDS funding, which was abysmal under Labor, we've also made
twenty prosecutors permanent, and then we've got thanks to Declan's Law,
and we've just you know, commemorated or celebrated. I suppose
one year of Declan's law, last sittings, Katie, and we've
had a thirty eight percent increase in bail refusals, which
is huge, huge numbers, and that and thirty three percent
(08:00):
for young people, so very large numbers of people not
getting bail.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And despite all of that.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Additional pressure, because we've put the rights of people to
be safe above the rights of criminals, we've dropped the
remand time by seven percent, so that's very significant work.
And we actually have more people in prison who are
sentenced than on remand, which under labor was the other
way around.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
So what do you make of these comments that are
being made by legal groups saying that the courts are
severely under resourced. I mean, do you think that there
is still a need for additional funding for legal aid
and the justice system or do you feel as though
the work's done.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
No, no, the work's not done.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
But in terms of the funding, we've just about got
that right. So there still need to be more investment
and obviously there's a budget round coming up, so it's
never job done. But the impact we've had in terms
of putting more criminals behind bars and fix our court
and correction system has been it's indisputable. I mean, we've
(08:57):
stood up a task force that tries to res matters early.
They've resolved four hundred matters since February this year, so
that's taken pressure out of the system.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
We've reduced the number of victims.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
By seven point four percent, which again has eased pressure
on the system and remand has decreased my twelve percent
sit between May and September this year. So it's you know,
what we're doing is working at both ends. People are
facing consequences and the systems being more used better.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
No doubt that any victim of crime will be pleased
to hear that. But there is also the concern that
some people are spending longer on romand then the sentences
they ultimately receive. I mean, what are you going to
do to fix that?
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yeah, and that may very well be the case, and
that's where that work around reducing that remand times so important.
So we've dropped it by seven percent, you know, compared
to a year ago, which is terrific, or you know,
up to twelve percent now when you look from May
and so we just have to keep that work going
it involves, you know, investment in the system and processing
(09:59):
people quickly. So we've done a lot of work and Katie, ultimately,
you know, crime stats will be out again this Friday,
so people will be able to judge.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Whether or not the data is moving in the right direction.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Certainly, to this point this year, things have been going
very well, with plenty more work to do, and we've
still got some really meaningful reform that has to be
done through to early into the next year.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
But this is not ever a.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Job done, Katie, It's never, absolutely not, particularly when you're seeing,
you know, a teenager with an ankle monitoring bracelet allegedly
slashing an elderly person in the shopping center and Alice Springs,
the work is far from this. In fact, you know,
when you view something like that, you think, goodness, me,
is everything working?
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Yeah, And so it certainly is.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
And when you look at the Alice Springs starter, I
mean their crime stats are amazing. I mean we have
had a seventeen percent reduction in DV in Alice Springs,
which is just amazing. So plenty more work to do,
and then there's all the root causes stuff. Let's not
forget we're talking pointing and you've offended, cops have got you,
you're before the courts. There's also our getting kids to
(11:05):
schools circuit breaker program through children and families holding parents
accountable family responsibility agreements, and that's you know, that's the longer,
harder piece of work is stopping young people from entering
the justice system in the first place, and a lot
of it is a lack of parenting and a lack
of parental accountability, which we're working through so that you know,
it can never be a job done, but we can
(11:26):
continue to focus on it as our number one priority,
and the data is showing that it's working.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Now, speaking of school, we learned last week that the
future of Yipper in your school in Alae Springs is
under three so after just fifty students turned up to
class on Thursday, down from its peak enrollment of three
hundred and sixty. Now the school has had some real
issues to deal with. We know staff were told on
Wednesday that between fifteen and twenty of them would be
(11:50):
made redundant after those plunging enrollments left the school three
point seven million dollars in dick to the federal government.
Has the school sought assistance from the North and Territory government.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Yeah, I believe it has.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
But this is a school that's funded by the federal government,
and your Preimier School actually has a three point seven
million dollar debt to the federal government. So what has
happened Obviously there's been a lot of publicity and turmoil
in that school.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
They've dropped from three hundred and.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Sixty students down to fifty, which is obviously now why
it's becoming a viability issue for that school, which is
which is terribly sad.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Katie it genuinely is.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
But this is a matter for the federal government to
work through and resolve either to resource the school for
the numbers they have, or work through how to build
up those school numbers again and create confidence in that system.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
And so it's not the Northern Territory Education Department that
needs to help with that, No, it's not.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
It's actually the federal government, which is why it's very
confusing that the member Fillingiari has come out pointing the
finger at us.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
She should be pulling out with a mirror and look
at us.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
We've actually got Melanderira McCarthey on the Senator and Indigenous
Affairs Minister about this at nine forty five this morning.
So, so what you're saying is that it falls under there.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Yeah, correct, correct.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
So we've been working with the school around the recommendations
of a report that was done. But ultimately, yipper in
your school is a federally funded school, yipper in your
three point seven million to the federal government.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
So in terms of the operation of that school, are
you telling me that the Northern Territory government or the
Education Department's got no oversight of that? And in terms
of helping.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Them, it's not necessarily we don't have any oversight, but
it is I don't want to say private school because
that's not the right word, but it's a non Northern
Territory government school. If I could put it in independence
and independence well, thank you Katie, where it escaped me.
So it is an independent school and the arrangement is
that federal funding. Now we have the Department of Business
working through with the federal government. Those twenty six recommendations
(13:47):
are around improvements to the school, but ultimately, when it
comes to funding, that does sit with the federal government.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Okay, so the funding sits with them. So is there
any other work that the Northern Territory government could be
doing with you for and your school at this point
in time to try to help them, because really the
last thing we'll want to say is this school closed
down right?
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Yeah, no, we don't.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
And I think the best thing that could happen is
that confidence is restored to that school, so we could
boost the numbers. Now, if they hadn't dropped from three
sixty to fifty kids, we probably.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Wouldn't be having this conversation.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
So it really all sits around certainty for families to
be sending their kids to that school and certainty of
funding to be able to provide the educational offerings that
do you.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Think they're going to be able to do that? Given
you know, given the history around the former principal, Gavin Morris,
you know, questionably managing things. I guess to put it mildly,
what steps could the government now be taking to sort
of ensure that that school can continue to operate and
managed without staff losing their jobs?
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Yeah, I mean it could be a range of things
that clearly the federal government's going to have to extend
the level of debt that youre in you have if
they're committed to having that school open, they're going to
have to rebuild trust with the community, which would involve
a range of things of bringing families together and and
leadership structures and curriculum and all of those types of things.
So there's probably a lot of work to be done there, Katie,
(15:06):
I think that's fair to say. And it's a beautiful
little school that we'd love to see continue operating and
we'll do what we can in terms of those regulatory
compliance components, but ultimately, when it comes to funding and
giving certainty to teachers, that does sit with the federal government.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
All right, Chief Minister, a couple of quick ones. We
know that in will in use this morning certainly covering
off on this kinetic sand. We know that there's real
concerns at the moment right around Australia with different schools
having this kinetic sand and the presence of asbestos. Where
are things that from your perspective in the end to yes,
So we haven't had to close any schools. However, three
(15:46):
early learning centers that's Palmersten, Marara and Holy Spirit.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Have decided to close for cleaning today.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
And we have full government schools that have alternative learning
programs today. While there's cleaning and process and that's nightcliff
gear in hump Dido and driver. But last night we
had so the department has done a lot of work.
Obviously we want safe schools for teachers and students and
so a lot of cleaning has taken place. Ten school
sites returned clear results, which means there was no detection
(16:15):
of airborne or respiratory as passed us, which is great.
So the risk does remain low. Health, Education and Work
Safer working together on this. So we are pouring a
huge amount of resources into this because we don't want
the disruption for our kids or our families, but we
do need it to be a safe place for everyone.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Chiefiness, just very quickly, I know that you're in Perth
last week looking at the shiplift facilities that they've got there.
Have you learned anything that you think is going to
help us here in the Northern Territory. I mean our
shiplift it's blown out of the water in terms of cost.
But is there any way that we're going to be
able to make this I don't know, absolutely essential for
(16:56):
any ship to be using in Australia.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
Yeah, Look, I think this is a critical piece of infrastructure.
It has absolutely let down Territorians in terms of the
decisions the previous labor government made and around the cost.
And I accept that that is really unpalatable for Territorians,
But what we now have to do is make good
of a bad situation. And so Henderson Maritime Industry Precinct
(17:21):
is an incredible facility in Wa. So I went down
with the territory coordinator and we had a number of
meetings and site visits and briefings around the shipbuilding that's
happening for defense and commercial. But then how the territory
is a natural place for sustainment.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Because Wa is very far away.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
They suffer the same tyranny of distance as we do,
except we are arguably better positioned, particularly in the Indo Pacific.
So a lot of good things learned and taken away
from that. And I also then went and visited Quinana
Industrial Precinct, which is where their gas comes in, and
they've created an entire industrial hub as a result of
that energy source, which of course we want to replicate.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
When Beaterloo gets off the ground.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Chief Instill, we're going to have to leave it there.
Really good to speak with you this morning, Thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
For your time, take care everyone.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Thank you,
Police have charged three Darwin residents over an alleged multimillion
dollar defense fraud scheme Dallas Win, Natalie Wynn and Michael Buckley.
The AFP claimed the defense employee, their spouse and a
company director worked together to funnel almost seventy one million
dollars into contracts to a business that they controlled. Now
(00:21):
during raids on Friday, officers seized cash, electronics, jewelry, documents,
a firearm and a small amount of suspected drugs. All
three people have been charged with dishonesty gaining a benefit
from a commonwealth entity, while the defense staffer also faces
a charge of abusing public office. They're due to face
(00:41):
the Darwin Local Court this morning. The Chief Minister Leafanocchiaro
joins me in the studio. Good morning to your chief.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Good morning Katy, and to your listeners.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Now, over the weekend these people were arrested. One of
them who has been identified as Michael Buckley. He's currently
an Industry Capability Network in board member and also on
the board of Master Builders in t Now master Builders
have announced that they're no longer going to be He's
no longer going to be on their board. What's going
(01:11):
to happen with the with the ICN board. Is that
a government appointment?
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I don't believe so, But we aren't trying to track
down ICN to see what their next steps look like.
Obviously Master Builders has shown great leadership and made the
right decision, acting very swiftly there, and we support that decision,
and I suspect ICM will have more to say about
that today.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Okay, So it's not the Government's not involved in that
in any way. Now.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
The government utilizes ICN and I believe there's some funding arrangements,
but it is its own independent board, so they will
have to come to.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Their own decision.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
But I think looking to how master Builders has acted
the you know, it's probably inevitable the same result would follow.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
I believe he was also on the committee that you'd
had earlier in the year as well, which you know,
which was looking to cut.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Red tight Yeah, the Approvals Fast Task Force.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yes, so that was appointed back in about November last year.
Their work concluded in July, and that was a group
of private sector pulled together to look at right across
all industries, how we could better rearrange our regulatory frameworks
to make us more competitive, so that work has wrapped up.
That board was then dismissed because they'd completed their saying
(02:23):
Yes to business report and now government is implementing the recommends.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
So is you concerned in any way about this person's
involvement on that board or with that work.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
No, not on the task force that was a large
group of people and their role was to advise government
on how we could streamline processes. Obviously, then that's all
gone through government to say well, how can we make
things better? For example, some of them are around decision
making time frames, some of them are processes. But what
I have done, Katie is asked the Treasurer to make
(02:54):
sure that he takes a look at whether there are
any contracts outstanding at the moment with company and just
to make sure even though the allegations that have come
to light over the weekend are federally related, we just
need to make sure that the territories.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Yeah, and that was going to be my next question.
I know you just touched on that, but are you
going to be seeking the Infrastructure Department review any of
those contracts that mister Buckley has obviously been engaged yes with,
through those businesses that he's involved.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
In yes, So the Treasury is also the Darli minister,
so he's doing that work now.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Okay, so that work is Underwhy, yes, are there concerns.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Not at this stage, Katie, And again all of the
allegations relate to federal matters.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
But we are doing our due diligence.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Were you Were you aware of any of these investigations.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
No, And I think it's taken everyone by great surprise.
I mean, it's obviously a very well known company and
defense work is extremely important to the Northern Territory and
I think Master Builder's reaction really says it all, Katie.
But obviously this is before the courts today, and well,
you know we'll all be learning more as an unfold.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Absolutely, and everybody has the right to that natural justice,
which we will be keeping a very close eye on.
But I mean, when you're talking about winning defense contracts,
and we know that it's so difficult for Northern Territory
businesses to win defense contracts as it is, are there
concerns here about the reputation of the Northern Territory's whole
industry when something like this happens.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Yeah, Look, I wouldn't want our entire construction industry to
be painted with the same brush. It's obviously a very
you know, significant, significant allegations have been made and actions taken,
and that is before the court. But you know, we
have an incredible construction sector and they're working really hard.
They're they're quite literally building the territory, Katie, and so
(04:48):
all of the right safeguards need to be in place.
But I wouldn't like to see everyone in that industry demonized.
And there's important work to do, and we still stand
ready to be that defense partner of choice and make
sure that locals get that really important work.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I mean, there's going to be a lot of concerned
people listening this morning. You know, that business has a
lot of employees. There are a lot of people that
work on defense contracts. There are a lot of people
that are going to be really wondering what this all
means for the Northern Territories construction sector. And you know,
(05:22):
more generally this morning, there's some really big projects at
the moment that M and J Builders are working on
and there's a lot of people that are going to
be pretty worried.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
I imagine their staff are very concerned, as would subcontractors be.
And I think there's going to be a lot to
unpick over the coming days, weeks, and perhaps even months, Katie.
But again, the process is now before the courts. We
do have to await the outcome and allow those processes
to take their course. And you know, if people have concerns,
(05:52):
I imagine the first stop would be Master builders.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Do you see that there's going to sort of need
to be any kind of I don't know the government
involved in this in any way, shape or forth.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Look, I think it's early days and obviously these are
federal contracts, federal defense work, and so you know, we'll
do our bin in looking into Northern Territory contracts if any,
and we just have to wait and see.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
All right, there is quite a bit happening around the place,
and there are calls for more funding when it comes
to the Northern Territories court system. With new figures revealing
a large amount of prisoners haven't been sentenced now, the
ABC last week reporting that as of this time last week,
fifty two percent of prisoners in the Darwin Correction Center
were awaiting sentencing. It's also been revealed that across the
(06:40):
Northern Territory, forty one percent of all prisoners have not
been sentenced. Chief Minister, This is an issue you and
I have previously spoken about. Has there been any improvement
on these remand numbers since the beginning of the year. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
We've done a huge amount of work as part of
our one point five billion dollar commitment to courts, corrections
and police and so we you know, the situation which
when we came to government in August last year was
at prisons were overflowing, at bursting point. They had had
to cut you know, the prisoner lawn, the pensioner lawnmowing servers,
(07:15):
the metal work would work, number plate making, all of
those things had to be canceled, so we inherited a mess.
We then increase the laws, which put more pressure on
the system, but we opened up Behmer Prison and a
number of other things, and so things are tracking quite
well and we've been able to now get back into
the rehabilitation and all of the programs. But just to
give some data on that, we've not only secured legal
(07:38):
AIDS funding, which was abysmal under Labor, we've also made
twenty prosecutors permanent, and then we've got thanks to Declan's Law,
and we've just you know, commemorated or celebrated. I suppose
one year of Declan's law, last sittings, Katie, and we've
had a thirty eight percent increase in bail refusals, which
is huge, huge numbers, and that and thirty three percent
(08:00):
for young people, so very large numbers of people not
getting bail.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And despite all of that.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Additional pressure, because we've put the rights of people to
be safe above the rights of criminals, we've dropped the
remand time by seven percent, so that's very significant work.
And we actually have more people in prison who are
sentenced than on remand, which under labor was the other
way around.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
So what do you make of these comments that are
being made by legal groups saying that the courts are
severely under resourced. I mean, do you think that there
is still a need for additional funding for legal aid
and the justice system or do you feel as though
the work's done.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
No, no, the work's not done.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
But in terms of the funding, we've just about got
that right. So there still need to be more investment
and obviously there's a budget round coming up, so it's
never job done. But the impact we've had in terms
of putting more criminals behind bars and fix our court
and correction system has been it's indisputable. I mean, we've
(08:57):
stood up a task force that tries to res matters early.
They've resolved four hundred matters since February this year, so
that's taken pressure out of the system.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
We've reduced the number of victims.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
By seven point four percent, which again has eased pressure
on the system and remand has decreased my twelve percent
sit between May and September this year. So it's you know,
what we're doing is working at both ends. People are
facing consequences and the systems being more used better.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
No doubt that any victim of crime will be pleased
to hear that. But there is also the concern that
some people are spending longer on romand then the sentences
they ultimately receive. I mean, what are you going to
do to fix that?
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yeah, and that may very well be the case, and
that's where that work around reducing that remand times so important.
So we've dropped it by seven percent, you know, compared
to a year ago, which is terrific, or you know,
up to twelve percent now when you look from May
and so we just have to keep that work going
it involves, you know, investment in the system and processing
(09:59):
people quickly. So we've done a lot of work and Katie, ultimately,
you know, crime stats will be out again this Friday,
so people will be able to judge.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Whether or not the data is moving in the right direction.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Certainly, to this point this year, things have been going
very well, with plenty more work to do, and we've
still got some really meaningful reform that has to be
done through to early into the next year.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
But this is not ever a.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Job done, Katie, It's never, absolutely not, particularly when you're seeing,
you know, a teenager with an ankle monitoring bracelet allegedly
slashing an elderly person in the shopping center and Alice Springs,
the work is far from this. In fact, you know,
when you view something like that, you think, goodness, me,
is everything working?
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Yeah, And so it certainly is.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
And when you look at the Alice Springs starter, I
mean their crime stats are amazing. I mean we have
had a seventeen percent reduction in DV in Alice Springs,
which is just amazing. So plenty more work to do,
and then there's all the root causes stuff. Let's not
forget we're talking pointing and you've offended, cops have got you,
you're before the courts. There's also our getting kids to
(11:05):
schools circuit breaker program through children and families holding parents
accountable family responsibility agreements, and that's you know, that's the longer,
harder piece of work is stopping young people from entering
the justice system in the first place, and a lot
of it is a lack of parenting and a lack
of parental accountability, which we're working through so that you know,
it can never be a job done, but we can
(11:26):
continue to focus on it as our number one priority,
and the data is showing that it's working.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Now, speaking of school, we learned last week that the
future of Yipper in your school in Alae Springs is
under three so after just fifty students turned up to
class on Thursday, down from its peak enrollment of three
hundred and sixty. Now the school has had some real
issues to deal with. We know staff were told on
Wednesday that between fifteen and twenty of them would be
(11:50):
made redundant after those plunging enrollments left the school three
point seven million dollars in dick to the federal government.
Has the school sought assistance from the North and Territory government.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Yeah, I believe it has.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
But this is a school that's funded by the federal government,
and your Preimier School actually has a three point seven
million dollar debt to the federal government. So what has
happened Obviously there's been a lot of publicity and turmoil
in that school.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
They've dropped from three hundred and.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Sixty students down to fifty, which is obviously now why
it's becoming a viability issue for that school, which is
which is terribly sad.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Katie it genuinely is.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
But this is a matter for the federal government to
work through and resolve either to resource the school for
the numbers they have, or work through how to build
up those school numbers again and create confidence in that system.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
And so it's not the Northern Territory Education Department that
needs to help with that, No, it's not.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
It's actually the federal government, which is why it's very
confusing that the member Fillingiari has come out pointing the
finger at us.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
She should be pulling out with a mirror and look
at us.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
We've actually got Melanderira McCarthey on the Senator and Indigenous
Affairs Minister about this at nine forty five this morning.
So, so what you're saying is that it falls under there.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Yeah, correct, correct.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
So we've been working with the school around the recommendations
of a report that was done. But ultimately, yipper in
your school is a federally funded school, yipper in your
three point seven million to the federal government.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
So in terms of the operation of that school, are
you telling me that the Northern Territory government or the
Education Department's got no oversight of that? And in terms
of helping.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Them, it's not necessarily we don't have any oversight, but
it is I don't want to say private school because
that's not the right word, but it's a non Northern
Territory government school. If I could put it in independence
and independence well, thank you Katie, where it escaped me.
So it is an independent school and the arrangement is
that federal funding. Now we have the Department of Business
working through with the federal government. Those twenty six recommendations
(13:47):
are around improvements to the school, but ultimately, when it
comes to funding, that does sit with the federal government.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Okay, so the funding sits with them. So is there
any other work that the Northern Territory government could be
doing with you for and your school at this point
in time to try to help them, because really the
last thing we'll want to say is this school closed
down right?
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Yeah, no, we don't.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
And I think the best thing that could happen is
that confidence is restored to that school, so we could
boost the numbers. Now, if they hadn't dropped from three
sixty to fifty kids, we probably.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Wouldn't be having this conversation.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
So it really all sits around certainty for families to
be sending their kids to that school and certainty of
funding to be able to provide the educational offerings that
do you.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Think they're going to be able to do that? Given
you know, given the history around the former principal, Gavin Morris,
you know, questionably managing things. I guess to put it mildly,
what steps could the government now be taking to sort
of ensure that that school can continue to operate and
managed without staff losing their jobs?
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Yeah, I mean it could be a range of things
that clearly the federal government's going to have to extend
the level of debt that youre in you have if
they're committed to having that school open, they're going to
have to rebuild trust with the community, which would involve
a range of things of bringing families together and and
leadership structures and curriculum and all of those types of things.
So there's probably a lot of work to be done there, Katie,
(15:06):
I think that's fair to say. And it's a beautiful
little school that we'd love to see continue operating and
we'll do what we can in terms of those regulatory
compliance components, but ultimately, when it comes to funding and
giving certainty to teachers, that does sit with the federal government.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
All right, Chief Minister, a couple of quick ones. We
know that in will in use this morning certainly covering
off on this kinetic sand. We know that there's real
concerns at the moment right around Australia with different schools
having this kinetic sand and the presence of asbestos. Where
are things that from your perspective in the end to yes,
So we haven't had to close any schools. However, three
(15:46):
early learning centers that's Palmersten, Marara and Holy Spirit.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Have decided to close for cleaning today.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
And we have full government schools that have alternative learning
programs today. While there's cleaning and process and that's nightcliff
gear in hump Dido and driver. But last night we
had so the department has done a lot of work.
Obviously we want safe schools for teachers and students and
so a lot of cleaning has taken place. Ten school
sites returned clear results, which means there was no detection
(16:15):
of airborne or respiratory as passed us, which is great.
So the risk does remain low. Health, Education and Work
Safer working together on this. So we are pouring a
huge amount of resources into this because we don't want
the disruption for our kids or our families, but we
do need it to be a safe place for everyone.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Chiefiness, just very quickly, I know that you're in Perth
last week looking at the shiplift facilities that they've got there.
Have you learned anything that you think is going to
help us here in the Northern Territory. I mean our
shiplift it's blown out of the water in terms of cost.
But is there any way that we're going to be
able to make this I don't know, absolutely essential for
(16:56):
any ship to be using in Australia.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
Yeah, Look, I think this is a critical piece of infrastructure.
It has absolutely let down Territorians in terms of the
decisions the previous labor government made and around the cost.
And I accept that that is really unpalatable for Territorians,
But what we now have to do is make good
of a bad situation. And so Henderson Maritime Industry Precinct
(17:21):
is an incredible facility in Wa. So I went down
with the territory coordinator and we had a number of
meetings and site visits and briefings around the shipbuilding that's
happening for defense and commercial. But then how the territory
is a natural place for sustainment.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Because Wa is very far away.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
They suffer the same tyranny of distance as we do,
except we are arguably better positioned, particularly in the Indo Pacific.
So a lot of good things learned and taken away
from that. And I also then went and visited Quinana
Industrial Precinct, which is where their gas comes in, and
they've created an entire industrial hub as a result of
that energy source, which of course we want to replicate.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
When Beaterloo gets off the ground.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Chief Instill, we're going to have to leave it there.
Really good to speak with you this morning, Thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
For your time, take care everyone.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Thank you,
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