November 11, 2025 • 10 mins
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, as we discussed just a couple of moments ago
with the Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole, there was
chaotic scenes in Alice Springs on Monday, with the machete
wielding teenager running through the center and reportedly swinging the
weapon like a madman. The Australian newspaper reporting an elderly
man narrowly avoided being hacked with that machete, which was
wielded by the young person wearing an electronic monitoring device. Now,
(00:24):
Robin Lamley joins me from Alice Springs this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Good morning to.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
You, Robin, Good morning Katie.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Robin.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
We just heard from the Northern Territory Police Commissioner. He'd
spoken really about the unbelievable efforts of the two off
duty female police officers who helped to well to intervene
in this incredibly dangerous situation on Monday.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
What's the reaction been from the community.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
I think people are shocked. Of course, this doesn't happen
every day in Alice Springs, but it it's reasonably consistent
with what we've seen over the last four or five
years in terms of crime and attacks involving weapons. But yeah,
in the middle of one of our one of two,
(01:15):
one of our two shopping centers in Alice Springs. People
running around with knives. It's just crazy. It's just unacceptable
and our ageous.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, it is. There's no other way to put it.
I mean, Robin. In terms of.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
The efforts of the two off duty police officers, do.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
You know those women? What are people saying in Alice?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Well? I know one of them. Well, Jim Hamilton is
an absolute legend in our town. She's front and center
helping people whenever she can. She would I think she
would have been there selling legacy for legacy, selling badgers
and paraphernalia for Remembrance Day. That's what she does. She's
an incredibly kind, generous, loving person who I admire so much.
(02:01):
So for Jen to be there and to try and
arrest this young man wielding a machete is is quite unbelievable.
But yet I saw the footage of her chasing after
him and I thought, Jen, be careful, you know, you're
putting yourself in danger. But she's a very experienced police officer,
(02:22):
so she would have known what she was doing. Yes, yeah,
I do know just Jen. I don't know who the
other the other ladies.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Annie Curtis is her name from what the UNT News
is reporting Jen Hamilton and Annie Curtis. And I know
the Commissioner had just told us as well on the
show that the Chief Minister's written to him, you know,
recommending or saying that she really thinks they need to
be recognized for their bravery. And I think the whole
of the community would agree.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yeah, look absolutely incredible that they were there and able
to respond and in doing so the other people around safe.
I think, yeah, they need to be hon it absolutely.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Hey, Robin, you and I have spoken before, you know
about those crime stats. I know that the crime stats
were reflecting that things were getting a bit better. You know,
the feeling on the ground is always you know, people
sort of if you've been impacted by crime, you never
really feel like those stats are getting any better. But
does this incident. I guess it is indicative. And we
(03:28):
said the same thing to the police commissioner. It's indicative
of the fact that, you know, there's still a long
way to go.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
A very long way to go. I don't think we're
out of our crime crisis here yet. We've had some
encouraging statistics come through the last lot pertaining to August
of this year shows a decrease in crime right across
the board compared with August of the year before. But
people are still very tentative, very careful in calling it
(03:58):
out too soon that we're out of the woods. So
I think we're on the edge here. I think Alice
Springs is definitely on the edge. We could fall either way.
We could continue to see an improvement or we could
very easily see a deterioration. Again, don't forget that we
are now heading towards the very long hot summer months
(04:20):
here in Alice Springs, where things traditionally get worse before
they get better. So, while not meaning to be too pessimistic,
I would think that most people are cautiously just sitting
on the fence, waiting to see what happens.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Being realistic about it after really yeah, well after years
of feeling pretty ordinary about the situation.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yes, definitely, Robin.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I know that you've.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Also raised some concerns in Central Australia that residents are
being hit with soaring flood insurance premiums, some policies now
costing more than twenty thousand dollars a year, or being
refused all together.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
What is go here?
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Well, this is not peculiar to our springs. I have
to say there are other places around Australia experiencing what
we're experiencing here. But people who are deemed to be
in the high risk flood areas of Aura Springs are
in trouble when it comes to their insurance premiums. Some
(05:24):
properties have been uninsurable and we've heard of a few
cases recently of people being quoted over twenty thousand dollars
a year for their normal residential premiums insurance premiums. And
this is about the risk of flooding in Alice Springs,
which might sound a bit ironic to top enders, but
(05:46):
it's also about crimes. So we have a big problem
in this town and the fact that we haven't had
any increase in flood mitigation measures in this town for
many decades is a real problem. Expecting rain in the
next twenty four to forty eight hours, we're expecting a
lot of rain, and if we were to have a
(06:07):
one in one hundred year flood, which like the most
recent one was in eighty eight, so we are sort
of due for something quite significant that all the properties
that were flooded back then, would be flooded now you'd
see the same level of damage because nothing's been done
pretty much to mitigate against flood Robin.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
What do you reckon needs to happen?
Speaker 1 (06:29):
You know, I guess it's never real sexy for a
government to announce, hey, we're doing this around flood mitigation,
but it's absolutely needed.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Well, it's not sexy at all, and that's why the
Northern Territory government has not invested in flood mitigation in
our town for many years. But it's a big, big problem.
A flood mitigation inquiry or report was commissioned by the
Giles government back in twenty sixteen. It landed on the
(06:59):
desk of the the new Labor Chief Minister, Michael Gunner
back in twenty seventeen, and they proposed a ten year
plan which if they had implemented fairly quickly, would have
been due to almost expire by now. But instead nothing
was taken up. None of the recommendations of that report
were adopted, so we're exactly where we were twenty thirty
(07:22):
years ago, and that's a problem. It's a problem in
terms of the impact of flood but it's a problem
for residents of this town because they are getting slugged
these really high insurance premiums for just living here in
areas that aren't traditionally known to flood, but have been
(07:43):
deemed high risk by insurance companies who are now extremely
risk adversed. And what's happened over in the on the
Eastern Seaboard, all those places like Lismore that were wiped
out a couple of times within a matter of months,
that's having a significant impact on what's happening here in
(08:05):
our town. It's making living in Alice Springs even more
unaffordable than it ever was and more unattractive, which is
really really bad news for our town. So the Northern
Territory government needs to look at that. I do know
that the local ministers MLAs Brish Burghle and Bill Yen
are thinking about it, prompted by this recent spate of
(08:28):
media attention on the problems of astronomical insurance premiums in
the town. So we'll wait and see what they come
up with. But nothing new delivered in this space for decades.
It is just an embarrassment and a very very poor
indictment of our leadership. It shows a lack of understanding
(08:51):
of how important these things are, these long term strategies
and policies that have to be phood in place. I mean, Katie,
you know, we just seem to bounce from one crisis
to the other, and I think governments are almost in
a crisis management mode rather than thinking about what the
(09:11):
long term needs of communities are. And the long term
need of this community of Alice Springs is robust and
contemporary and effective flood mitigation.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Well, and you've got to be able to do both.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
You know, You've got to be able to manage the crises,
but then you also have to be able to plan
long term.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
So we'll follow up.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
We'll see whether we can have a chat with maybe
Josh Bergoin about this at some point and talk a
little more on it. Robin, I always appreciate your time.
Is there anything else happening in Alice Springs at the
moment that we should know about very briefly? A.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Look, we're just plotting along, looking forward to Christmas and
lots of events here. The town is doing okay through
all the negatives, Katie, we are just plotting a and
getting on with it. And this town bounces back like
no other.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Because You're a resilient bunch, Robin. There is no doubt
about that.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
And at the very core of why we live here,
it's because it's a great place to live.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Yeah, I know it can be hard sometimes, can't it.
Robin love having a chat with you.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
We'll catch up with you again. When's Parliament sitting for
the final week of the year. Is it next week
or the week after?
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Darts on the Tuesday, the twenty fifth of November. So
we go, we head back up north. Will I head
back up north next Sunday? Next Sunday night?
Speaker 1 (10:34):
All right, Well, we'll catch up with you. I'm sure
that week, Robin,
Well, as we discussed just a couple of moments ago
with the Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole, there was
chaotic scenes in Alice Springs on Monday, with the machete
wielding teenager running through the center and reportedly swinging the
weapon like a madman. The Australian newspaper reporting an elderly
man narrowly avoided being hacked with that machete, which was
wielded by the young person wearing an electronic monitoring device. Now,
(00:24):
Robin Lamley joins me from Alice Springs this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Good morning to.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
You, Robin, Good morning Katie.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Robin.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
We just heard from the Northern Territory Police Commissioner. He'd
spoken really about the unbelievable efforts of the two off
duty female police officers who helped to well to intervene
in this incredibly dangerous situation on Monday.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
What's the reaction been from the community.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
I think people are shocked. Of course, this doesn't happen
every day in Alice Springs, but it it's reasonably consistent
with what we've seen over the last four or five
years in terms of crime and attacks involving weapons. But yeah,
in the middle of one of our one of two,
(01:15):
one of our two shopping centers in Alice Springs. People
running around with knives. It's just crazy. It's just unacceptable
and our ageous.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, it is. There's no other way to put it.
I mean, Robin. In terms of.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
The efforts of the two off duty police officers, do.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
You know those women? What are people saying in Alice?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Well? I know one of them. Well, Jim Hamilton is
an absolute legend in our town. She's front and center
helping people whenever she can. She would I think she
would have been there selling legacy for legacy, selling badgers
and paraphernalia for Remembrance Day. That's what she does. She's
an incredibly kind, generous, loving person who I admire so much.
(02:01):
So for Jen to be there and to try and
arrest this young man wielding a machete is is quite unbelievable.
But yet I saw the footage of her chasing after
him and I thought, Jen, be careful, you know, you're
putting yourself in danger. But she's a very experienced police officer,
(02:22):
so she would have known what she was doing. Yes, yeah,
I do know just Jen. I don't know who the
other the other ladies.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Annie Curtis is her name from what the UNT News
is reporting Jen Hamilton and Annie Curtis. And I know
the Commissioner had just told us as well on the
show that the Chief Minister's written to him, you know,
recommending or saying that she really thinks they need to
be recognized for their bravery. And I think the whole
of the community would agree.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yeah, look absolutely incredible that they were there and able
to respond and in doing so the other people around safe.
I think, yeah, they need to be hon it absolutely.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Hey, Robin, you and I have spoken before, you know
about those crime stats. I know that the crime stats
were reflecting that things were getting a bit better. You know,
the feeling on the ground is always you know, people
sort of if you've been impacted by crime, you never
really feel like those stats are getting any better. But
does this incident. I guess it is indicative. And we
(03:28):
said the same thing to the police commissioner. It's indicative
of the fact that, you know, there's still a long
way to go.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
A very long way to go. I don't think we're
out of our crime crisis here yet. We've had some
encouraging statistics come through the last lot pertaining to August
of this year shows a decrease in crime right across
the board compared with August of the year before. But
people are still very tentative, very careful in calling it
(03:58):
out too soon that we're out of the woods. So
I think we're on the edge here. I think Alice
Springs is definitely on the edge. We could fall either way.
We could continue to see an improvement or we could
very easily see a deterioration. Again, don't forget that we
are now heading towards the very long hot summer months
(04:20):
here in Alice Springs, where things traditionally get worse before
they get better. So, while not meaning to be too pessimistic,
I would think that most people are cautiously just sitting
on the fence, waiting to see what happens.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Being realistic about it after really yeah, well after years
of feeling pretty ordinary about the situation.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yes, definitely, Robin.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I know that you've.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Also raised some concerns in Central Australia that residents are
being hit with soaring flood insurance premiums, some policies now
costing more than twenty thousand dollars a year, or being
refused all together.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
What is go here?
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Well, this is not peculiar to our springs. I have
to say there are other places around Australia experiencing what
we're experiencing here. But people who are deemed to be
in the high risk flood areas of Aura Springs are
in trouble when it comes to their insurance premiums. Some
(05:24):
properties have been uninsurable and we've heard of a few
cases recently of people being quoted over twenty thousand dollars
a year for their normal residential premiums insurance premiums. And
this is about the risk of flooding in Alice Springs,
which might sound a bit ironic to top enders, but
(05:46):
it's also about crimes. So we have a big problem
in this town and the fact that we haven't had
any increase in flood mitigation measures in this town for
many decades is a real problem. Expecting rain in the
next twenty four to forty eight hours, we're expecting a
lot of rain, and if we were to have a
(06:07):
one in one hundred year flood, which like the most
recent one was in eighty eight, so we are sort
of due for something quite significant that all the properties
that were flooded back then, would be flooded now you'd
see the same level of damage because nothing's been done
pretty much to mitigate against flood Robin.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
What do you reckon needs to happen?
Speaker 1 (06:29):
You know, I guess it's never real sexy for a
government to announce, hey, we're doing this around flood mitigation,
but it's absolutely needed.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Well, it's not sexy at all, and that's why the
Northern Territory government has not invested in flood mitigation in
our town for many years. But it's a big, big problem.
A flood mitigation inquiry or report was commissioned by the
Giles government back in twenty sixteen. It landed on the
(06:59):
desk of the the new Labor Chief Minister, Michael Gunner
back in twenty seventeen, and they proposed a ten year
plan which if they had implemented fairly quickly, would have
been due to almost expire by now. But instead nothing
was taken up. None of the recommendations of that report
were adopted, so we're exactly where we were twenty thirty
(07:22):
years ago, and that's a problem. It's a problem in
terms of the impact of flood but it's a problem
for residents of this town because they are getting slugged
these really high insurance premiums for just living here in
areas that aren't traditionally known to flood, but have been
(07:43):
deemed high risk by insurance companies who are now extremely
risk adversed. And what's happened over in the on the
Eastern Seaboard, all those places like Lismore that were wiped
out a couple of times within a matter of months,
that's having a significant impact on what's happening here in
(08:05):
our town. It's making living in Alice Springs even more
unaffordable than it ever was and more unattractive, which is
really really bad news for our town. So the Northern
Territory government needs to look at that. I do know
that the local ministers MLAs Brish Burghle and Bill Yen
are thinking about it, prompted by this recent spate of
(08:28):
media attention on the problems of astronomical insurance premiums in
the town. So we'll wait and see what they come
up with. But nothing new delivered in this space for decades.
It is just an embarrassment and a very very poor
indictment of our leadership. It shows a lack of understanding
(08:51):
of how important these things are, these long term strategies
and policies that have to be phood in place. I mean, Katie,
you know, we just seem to bounce from one crisis
to the other, and I think governments are almost in
a crisis management mode rather than thinking about what the
(09:11):
long term needs of communities are. And the long term
need of this community of Alice Springs is robust and
contemporary and effective flood mitigation.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Well, and you've got to be able to do both.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
You know, You've got to be able to manage the crises,
but then you also have to be able to plan
long term.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
So we'll follow up.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
We'll see whether we can have a chat with maybe
Josh Bergoin about this at some point and talk a
little more on it. Robin, I always appreciate your time.
Is there anything else happening in Alice Springs at the
moment that we should know about very briefly? A.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Look, we're just plotting along, looking forward to Christmas and
lots of events here. The town is doing okay through
all the negatives, Katie, we are just plotting a and
getting on with it. And this town bounces back like
no other.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Because You're a resilient bunch, Robin. There is no doubt
about that.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
And at the very core of why we live here,
it's because it's a great place to live.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Yeah, I know it can be hard sometimes, can't it.
Robin love having a chat with you.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
We'll catch up with you again. When's Parliament sitting for
the final week of the year. Is it next week
or the week after?
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Darts on the Tuesday, the twenty fifth of November. So
we go, we head back up north. Will I head
back up north next Sunday? Next Sunday night?
Speaker 1 (10:34):
All right, Well, we'll catch up with you. I'm sure
that week, Robin,
Popular Podcasts
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.
Medal of Honor: Stories of Courage
Rewarded for bravery that goes above and beyond the call of duty, the Medal of Honor is the United States’ top military decoration. The stories we tell are about the heroes who have distinguished themselves by acts of heroism and courage that have saved lives. From Judith Resnik, the second woman in space, to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice, these are stories about those who have done the improbable and unexpected, who have sacrificed something in the name of something much bigger than themselves. Every Wednesday on Medal of Honor, uncover what their experiences tell us about the nature of sacrifice, why people put their lives in danger for others, and what happens after you’ve become a hero. Special thanks to series creator Dan McGinn, to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and Adam Plumpton. Medal of Honor begins on May 28. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear ad-free episodes one week early. Find Pushkin+ on the Medal of Honor show page in Apple or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus
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