Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We told you a little earlier this morning that it
looks like there's a bit of trouble brewing potentially in
Alice Springs at the moment. What we do know, it's
being reported by the NT News, that Alice Springs ratepayers,
the association, is revolting against their local Greens mayor, hoping
to have her thrown out of office with a no-confidence
(00:20):
motion if they can table it at the upcoming council meeting. Now,
joining me on the line... is the man in the
know in Alice Springs, the Northern Territory News, Alice Springs reporter,
Gira Kazakov. Good morning to you, Gira.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Morning, Katie. Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Oh, lovely to have you on the show. Now, mate,
tell me, what is the situation at the moment with this, well,
the Alice Springs Ratepayers Association looking to bring this no
confidence motion?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, look, there's a fair bit to unpack here with
this motion. And I guess, yeah, I'll start. So what
has happened is the local ratepayers association at their latest
annual general meeting all unanimously agreed in this no confidence
motion against current sitting mayor Astor Hill. Now, that's just
(01:14):
one step in what is going to be probably a
very long process because council have since confirmed to me
that You know people can't just come and bring motions
to council really nearly regardless of who they are Obviously
only sitting councillors can do this So the important distinction
(01:34):
to make here is that this isn't a motion actually
before the council. This is a sort of internal decision
that the ratepayers have reached themselves now, however talking to
the Ratepayers Association president, a man called Murray Stewart, who
also used to once be the deputy mayor of Alice Springs.
(01:56):
He says, you know, factors such as not being able
to table this motion to council aren't going to stop
the ratepayers. They're going to find a way. Now, what
that's going to look like, I believe we're just going
to have to wait and see on how that's going
to go, whether... I can't think of a way off
the top of my head that they could present this,
but they seem adamant that they're going to, yeah, find
(02:19):
a way to do so.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Unless, I suppose, and I could be very wrong, but
can they get one of the other councillors to present
that motion if they're able to get the support of
somebody else that's on council?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
I believe they could. They didn't. say to me that
they had the support of any current sitting councillors now
granted that when I spoke to them they'd only just
reached this decision so yeah definitely I'll watch this space
and this month's council meeting well it could be very
interesting we've got three weeks four weeks it's on the
(02:57):
29th of September so they've got a fair bit of
time to try and find a way to get this
one through.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Sounds like it's going to be interesting. Gira, tell me,
what are the concerns that they've got? You know, why
are they thinking that they need to go down this
path where they're wanting to throw out the current mayor?
Because I guess, you know, people have different political views.
But the one thing I always believe is that, you know,
the voter gets it right. You might not always agree
with it, but that's the way people have voted. That's
(03:25):
been the majority vote to elect this person.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, absolutely. Look, when I spoke to Murray Stewart, it
was quite a bit of a, I guess you could
describe it as a laundry list of grievances they had
with the mayor. It kind of goes back to earlier
this year when she tried to delegate her Australia Day
citizenship ceremony to the deputy mayor. But then it also
(03:51):
comes into the last council meeting where there was a
motion to apologise over this What is now becoming quite
a headache for the council, this old marquee that was
damaged in a flood four years ago, this marquee managed
to find its way into the hands of some Pine
(04:12):
Gap protesters about two months ago now. Now, it still
had the council branding on it, and this caused quite
an uproar down here. Obviously, there are some... Strong views
on both sides regarding the, you know, top secret Joint
Defence Facility Pine Gap. So, yeah, I guess with this tent,
(04:36):
which I guess could be really described as the crux,
the council was very quick to come out and say
that they've got no association with this Pine Gap protest. However,
it still stewed. And it culminated in one councillor bringing
forward a motion at the latest council meeting, which was held,
(04:58):
I believe, last week, where they wanted to apologise directly
to the workers of the base for any offence caused. Now,
this motion was then amended to include an apology to
all of Alice Springs. However... our star the mayor yeah
she was against this motion she believes that the matter
(05:21):
had already been dealt with when the acting ceo come
out on um you know local radio council issued um
statements on social media once images of this tent began
circulating online and again i remind you this is about
two months ago now so she in her words i
believe it was you know she just says this motion
(05:43):
is it's dragging this issue out further. And obviously there
was a lot of debate around the efficacy of the base, um,
from different sides, obviously the Pine Gap protest has come on,
you know, we could say that the more left-leaning councillors
were against it due to, you know, concerns around the
base and the potential involvement with the, you know, US military,
(06:04):
whereas the right wing or right side of councillors, um,
You know, they were more looking down at the, you know,
workers at the base, not just obviously US workers at
the base. A lot of Australian workers are also, you know,
involved in the base in one way or another. So
that was their argument as to why we need to apologise.
(06:26):
So with all that background, that was one of the
reasons that Murray Stewart was quite upset with, well, and
the Ratepayers Association was quite upset because, you know, in
their words, it caused a division in the town around this.
And I remind you, this is an old four-year-old flood
damage marquee that the council actually decommissioned and it was
(06:49):
used as a cabaret change room in a performance. So
it wasn't even actually at the protest. It was at
a camp. So, yeah, maybe I could write a novel
about it, Katie.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Kira, I was just thinking, mate, you've got a lot
to report on there in Alice Springs.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yes. Keeping you busy.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Keeping you busy. It sounds... It honestly sounds like a
bit of a shit show, to be honest, in terms
of what's going on. Are people like, are regular punters,
are normal members of the public really kind of fired
up about this stuff? Or what's the word on the street, Gira?
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Well, I think in terms of the tent itself, I
think people are probably just sick of hearing about it
at this point. I personally don't want to be writing
another 500-word article going through all this background again. But
people care.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Some might care, you know.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
It's hard. But I think it's important to note that,
you know, this isn't the first time, you know, Asta's
found herself in the sort of centre of some controversy.
She's actually gone back to Australia Day earlier this year,
caused quite a stir when she chose to, you know,
as I said, delegate her duties to the deputy mayor.
(08:10):
Now at the time, you know, there were calls for her,
a petition was started circulating, calling on her to, you know,
stand down from her role. Now, interestingly about that petition
is that it only garnered about 1,200 signatures. Now, this
is less than half of the first preference votes that
(08:31):
Asta received to get her, to get elected to her role.
She received 3,000 first preference votes in the 2025 local
government elections. So I think it's, you know, yeah, obviously there's, Yeah.
Quite a few people that don't agree with her. But
I guess if we were to look at the votes
and from that petition, well, they're not a majority and
(08:52):
they certainly aren't more than the people who voted are
in it from.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
It is always interesting, isn't it? And from what I
can gather in Alice Springs as well, I mean, much
like the Northern Territory more broadly, like your politicians, there's
not six degrees of separation. You see each other down
the street, so... I would imagine that, you know, with
the councillors, they're sort of, you know, they'd be hearing
different concerns, whichever side of the fence people are on,
very loudly and clearly.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Well, Gira, we love catching up with you, mate. I
feel like it's going to need to happen a little
bit more often with what's going on with the Alice
Springs councillor and all the different bits and pieces. Thank
you very much for, you know, keeping us abreast of
the issues.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Thanks so much for having me on, Katie.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Good to have you. Thanks so much, Kira. We appreciate it.
We told you a little earlier this morning that it
looks like there's a bit of trouble brewing potentially in
Alice Springs at the moment. What we do know, it's
being reported by the NT News, that Alice Springs ratepayers,
the association, is revolting against their local Greens mayor, hoping
to have her thrown out of office with a no-confidence
(00:20):
motion if they can table it at the upcoming council meeting. Now,
joining me on the line... is the man in the
know in Alice Springs, the Northern Territory News, Alice Springs reporter,
Gira Kazakov. Good morning to you, Gira.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Morning, Katie. Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Oh, lovely to have you on the show. Now, mate,
tell me, what is the situation at the moment with this, well,
the Alice Springs Ratepayers Association looking to bring this no
confidence motion?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, look, there's a fair bit to unpack here with
this motion. And I guess, yeah, I'll start. So what
has happened is the local ratepayers association at their latest
annual general meeting all unanimously agreed in this no confidence
motion against current sitting mayor Astor Hill. Now, that's just
(01:14):
one step in what is going to be probably a
very long process because council have since confirmed to me
that You know people can't just come and bring motions
to council really nearly regardless of who they are Obviously
only sitting councillors can do this So the important distinction
(01:34):
to make here is that this isn't a motion actually
before the council. This is a sort of internal decision
that the ratepayers have reached themselves now, however talking to
the Ratepayers Association president, a man called Murray Stewart, who
also used to once be the deputy mayor of Alice Springs.
(01:56):
He says, you know, factors such as not being able
to table this motion to council aren't going to stop
the ratepayers. They're going to find a way. Now, what
that's going to look like, I believe we're just going
to have to wait and see on how that's going
to go, whether... I can't think of a way off
the top of my head that they could present this,
but they seem adamant that they're going to, yeah, find
(02:19):
a way to do so.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Unless, I suppose, and I could be very wrong, but
can they get one of the other councillors to present
that motion if they're able to get the support of
somebody else that's on council?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
I believe they could. They didn't. say to me that
they had the support of any current sitting councillors now
granted that when I spoke to them they'd only just
reached this decision so yeah definitely I'll watch this space
and this month's council meeting well it could be very
interesting we've got three weeks four weeks it's on the
(02:57):
29th of September so they've got a fair bit of
time to try and find a way to get this
one through.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Sounds like it's going to be interesting. Gira, tell me,
what are the concerns that they've got? You know, why
are they thinking that they need to go down this
path where they're wanting to throw out the current mayor?
Because I guess, you know, people have different political views.
But the one thing I always believe is that, you know,
the voter gets it right. You might not always agree
with it, but that's the way people have voted. That's
(03:25):
been the majority vote to elect this person.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, absolutely. Look, when I spoke to Murray Stewart, it
was quite a bit of a, I guess you could
describe it as a laundry list of grievances they had
with the mayor. It kind of goes back to earlier
this year when she tried to delegate her Australia Day
citizenship ceremony to the deputy mayor. But then it also
(03:51):
comes into the last council meeting where there was a
motion to apologise over this What is now becoming quite
a headache for the council, this old marquee that was
damaged in a flood four years ago, this marquee managed
to find its way into the hands of some Pine
(04:12):
Gap protesters about two months ago now. Now, it still
had the council branding on it, and this caused quite
an uproar down here. Obviously, there are some... Strong views
on both sides regarding the, you know, top secret Joint
Defence Facility Pine Gap. So, yeah, I guess with this tent,
(04:36):
which I guess could be really described as the crux,
the council was very quick to come out and say
that they've got no association with this Pine Gap protest. However,
it still stewed. And it culminated in one councillor bringing
forward a motion at the latest council meeting, which was held,
(04:58):
I believe, last week, where they wanted to apologise directly
to the workers of the base for any offence caused. Now,
this motion was then amended to include an apology to
all of Alice Springs. However... our star the mayor yeah
she was against this motion she believes that the matter
(05:21):
had already been dealt with when the acting ceo come
out on um you know local radio council issued um
statements on social media once images of this tent began
circulating online and again i remind you this is about
two months ago now so she in her words i
believe it was you know she just says this motion
(05:43):
is it's dragging this issue out further. And obviously there
was a lot of debate around the efficacy of the base, um,
from different sides, obviously the Pine Gap protest has come on,
you know, we could say that the more left-leaning councillors
were against it due to, you know, concerns around the
base and the potential involvement with the, you know, US military,
(06:04):
whereas the right wing or right side of councillors, um,
You know, they were more looking down at the, you know,
workers at the base, not just obviously US workers at
the base. A lot of Australian workers are also, you know,
involved in the base in one way or another. So
that was their argument as to why we need to apologise.
(06:26):
So with all that background, that was one of the
reasons that Murray Stewart was quite upset with, well, and
the Ratepayers Association was quite upset because, you know, in
their words, it caused a division in the town around this.
And I remind you, this is an old four-year-old flood
damage marquee that the council actually decommissioned and it was
(06:49):
used as a cabaret change room in a performance. So
it wasn't even actually at the protest. It was at
a camp. So, yeah, maybe I could write a novel
about it, Katie.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Kira, I was just thinking, mate, you've got a lot
to report on there in Alice Springs.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yes. Keeping you busy.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Keeping you busy. It sounds... It honestly sounds like a
bit of a shit show, to be honest, in terms
of what's going on. Are people like, are regular punters,
are normal members of the public really kind of fired
up about this stuff? Or what's the word on the street, Gira?
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Well, I think in terms of the tent itself, I
think people are probably just sick of hearing about it
at this point. I personally don't want to be writing
another 500-word article going through all this background again. But
people care.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Some might care, you know.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
It's hard. But I think it's important to note that,
you know, this isn't the first time, you know, Asta's
found herself in the sort of centre of some controversy.
She's actually gone back to Australia Day earlier this year,
caused quite a stir when she chose to, you know,
as I said, delegate her duties to the deputy mayor.
(08:10):
Now at the time, you know, there were calls for her,
a petition was started circulating, calling on her to, you know,
stand down from her role. Now, interestingly about that petition
is that it only garnered about 1,200 signatures. Now, this
is less than half of the first preference votes that
(08:31):
Asta received to get her, to get elected to her role.
She received 3,000 first preference votes in the 2025 local
government elections. So I think it's, you know, yeah, obviously there's, Yeah.
Quite a few people that don't agree with her. But
I guess if we were to look at the votes
and from that petition, well, they're not a majority and
(08:52):
they certainly aren't more than the people who voted are
in it from.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
It is always interesting, isn't it? And from what I
can gather in Alice Springs as well, I mean, much
like the Northern Territory more broadly, like your politicians, there's
not six degrees of separation. You see each other down
the street, so... I would imagine that, you know, with
the councillors, they're sort of, you know, they'd be hearing
different concerns, whichever side of the fence people are on,
very loudly and clearly.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Well, Gira, we love catching up with you, mate. I
feel like it's going to need to happen a little
bit more often with what's going on with the Alice
Springs councillor and all the different bits and pieces. Thank
you very much for, you know, keeping us abreast of
the issues.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Thanks so much for having me on, Katie.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Good to have you. Thanks so much, Kira. We appreciate it.
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