Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, if you were listening to the show yesterday, you
would have heard the Chief Minister reveal that the Attorney
General is going to be looking at weather changes need
to be made to the Coroners Act to avoid a
situation where future coronials blow out in cost. As we know,
the long running inquest into the death of Kumenjai Walker
cost Northern Territory Police more than five point five million
(00:21):
dollars and the Department of Attorney General Injustice one point
nine totaling seven point four million dollars. The Opposition leader
Selena Ubo joins me on the show.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Good morning, Selena, good wanting Katie, big warm good morning
to your listeners.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Now, Selena, do you think that that cost is justified?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, Katie, the costs are quite large, but bearing in
mind the complexity and the gravity of this particular coronial,
unfortunately it's not something we want to ever see again
in the territory and thankfully we haven't seen one that
has been as complex as what we've seen with the
Cooen j Walker in quest. So I think, you know,
(01:02):
seeing and knowing those costs is really important. But what
is the government going to do. There's obviously some suggestions
that maybe they'll have a little bit of a look
at changing some things, but we don't know what that
looks like. But the essential role of our justice system
and the coroner plays in that system is really important
and I don't think that can be downplayed at all, Katie.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Yeah, Look, I agree with you. It's incredibly important work.
But I do think it's a real surprise to a
lot of people learning over the last week that seven
point five million dollars in taxpayers dollars was spent on
that coronial. I mean in terms of, you know, in
terms of future blowouts, do you believe and would the
(01:44):
opposition actually support the Attorney General looking into whether changes
need to be made, So there's some more scrutiny before
that level of money can be spent again.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah, Katie. Again, we're open to seeing what the government
is suggesting, but we're very cautious when there's no detail
and we've been asked to support something that we don't
see or understand. So we always want to do our
job in opposition and look at the facts properly. Obviously,
this coronial had multiple parties, extensive evidence that was looked
at over a number of years. There were repeated legal
(02:14):
challenges as well, Katie, And obviously that's all out of
the Coroner's control. The Coroner has done what their job
was and what territories expect in that justice system. And
I think it's really important now to hear what the
response is from the Colp government around those recommendations. We
still haven't heard from the Chief Minister, and I think
that's a glaring admission that they're not actually doing their
(02:34):
job when it comes to everyone else who has input many,
many hours, you know, lots of money, as you've mentioned,
into producing that report. What is the government going to do?
We're still hearing crickets from them on that.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Well, yeah, we asked is shyesterday and in terms of
the recommendations, the Chief Minister said, it's going to take
time to go through those workout what's going to be implemented.
Is there anything which you think needs to be implemented immediately.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Well, Katie, you know we had a chat about this
a couple of weeks ago, just when the report was released.
There's obtually a huge amount of work, particularly from our
hardworking police who've already looked at things that can change
within the police system. I think that broader scope as
well is something that people want to see leadership from
the CLP government. What are the other processes that can
(03:25):
be changed or should be changed to make the system,
the justice system better, And of course we've spoken about
in the past as well, Katie around youth justice. What
are we seeing from the CLP government that shows leadership
in this space? Again, the silence is not very comforting,
So we'll keep pushing to make sure that what we
can do in opposition is support some of those changes
(03:46):
that are going to make the system better for everyone,
to make sure that we see those consequences, we have
those pathways out of the justice system, but ultimately our
community can be kept safe. So we'll keep doing our
job on that. We just hope that the COLP is
doing that in the background. At the moment, we don't
have a lot of faith in that.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Selena on to another topic.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yesterday we spoke about the issues in Catherine at the
moment when it comes to crime. After the women at
the coffee club well last week assaulted. It was an
absolute shocker. Nicki joined us on the show the owner
of the coffee club yesterday. Have you been in there
to speak to Nicki, and I'm assuming that you have
a pretty fair understanding of what had unfolded.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah, I follow that story obviously to nicki'stoo doors down
to the coffee club from my office. I haven't been
in to see her. We've had the show weekend and
a huge amount of people in and out of Catherine
because of that, for better and for worse. But in
terms of some of the things we've seen in Katherine
and Katie, you may have been following it, but just
(04:46):
like over the last five to six days, there's been
some really horrific and quite scary incidences in a short
amount of time. And I know we had some extra
police come and support us here in Catherine because of
the show weekend, which was great, but we saw some
very shocking behavior and some really scary incidences here. One
that resulted in a fatality where a stolen vehicle had
(05:09):
a head on collision with another vehicle and some passenger
and the other vehicle died. You know, just terrific, senseless crime.
But really need some extra help here in Catherine. And
I've been speaking with businesses and long term residents here
as well. You know, I'm a resident, I don't represent Catherine,
Joe Jersey does, but we're not hearing the same level
(05:30):
of focus on Catherine as what we often hear around
Starlin and Allis, And I think we need to have
that extra support here.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Just to clarify for our listeners, because I know we
had spoken about that fatality last week. So it was
a situation where a car with four senior seniors in
there in their seventies, if I remember correctly, they were driving,
and from what you've said that the vehicle that struck
them was a stolen car.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
From your understanding, that's the understanding that we have here
in Catherine. I'm not sure what's been put out through
the following media releases, Katie, but you know, Catherine's a
small place. The territory is a small place. If something
happens here that is tragic or horrific, it spreads like
wildfire that news. And of course when there's something that
(06:16):
is tragic in a fatality, there's even more of that
concern from the community. Whether it's someone from the community,
whether it's someone from outside the Catherine community, everybody feels
that heaviness when something happens here in Catherine and the region.
So again that extra support for Catherine is very much needed,
and I really hope that Joe Hersey's doing her job
(06:38):
and loving her ministers and the Chief Minister is police
to get that extra support because the last league has
been completely shut up here.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Yeah, absolutely, Selena. Someone's just messaged in though and said,
there's really no excuse for you not going in to
see Nikki at the coffee club.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
I mean I could, that's for sure. I don't actually
represent Catherine either, so just making that clarity. Happy to
go and talk to people, and obviously people approach me
when I'm hearing Catherine, but I have been traveling out
in my elected as well, Katie, so you know, just
trying to find that balance, of course. But I've got
no problem in chatting to Nikki or if she comes
down to see me as well. I'm happy to support that.
(07:15):
But a lot of people do approach me, particularly when
I'm out in the community here in Catherine. But ultimately,
Joe Jersey is the local member for Catherine and that's
her job, and she's a government minister, Katie, she can
demand some of that extra support for us here in Catherine.
I really hope she's doing her job.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, look, we had her on the show on Friday. Hey,
I do want to ask you. I know you'd sent
out a statement on Friday as well, saying that you
feel the latest crime statistics prove that the COLP government's
promise to make the territory safer is completely broken.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
You'd said that.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
The total assaults across the territory increased by one point
seven percent in the five months to May, with serious
assaults up five point seven percent. You'd said domestic violence
assaults rose sharply by nine point three percent, with alcohol
fueled domestic violence assaults increasing by ten point four percent.
(08:08):
They are just some of the statistics that you listed
in a pressure release. We asked the Chief Minister about
this yesterday. I mean, I thought it was a fair
point that you were making. This is what she had
to say on the show.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Ability on crime for starters, And to be honest, Katy,
I don't really think people are turning to them for
solutions on this issue. And again I hesitate to read
out crime stats, but I think it's important for people
to understand the progress we are making. So when you
looked January to May this year, which is under us,
compare it with January to May last year under Labor,
territory wide, we've got robbery down twenty nine percent, house
(08:44):
break ins down thirty one percent, commercial break ins down sixteen,
and step down fifteen. Now some bits of assault are
up and I'm not sugarcoating that. And if we looked
to Catherine as well, we've had commercial break ins down
thirty six percent, house breakings down fourteen and theft down
seventy I.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Mean, it's hard for our listeners at this point in time.
We've obviously got the opposition saying that the crime stats
show crime is not decreasing. You've got the Chief Minister
saying that there are in roads, but she's not going
to sugarcoat it. I mean, Selena, is it correct that
people aren't really looking to you guys for solutions on
crime given the last eight years.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, Katie, I mean that's a big part of the
reason why Labor was voted out. So the COLP offered
that solution. They promised to reduce crime, they promised to
stop crime, they promised to keep territory in safe. Right
now they are abysmally failing on that very promise that
they took to the election. So it is our job
Katie is the Labor opposition to make sure Lea Finocchiero,
(09:43):
as the Chief Minister, as the police Minister, who has
staked her entire leadership on reducing and stopping crime and
keeping Territori in safe, is doing her job and right
now she's not. Katie.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
So Selena, from your perspective as the leader of the
opposition across the Northern Territory, do.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
You believe that crime is worse now than.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
It's ever been, Katie, Bearing in mind on those numbers
when they release month on month, that's what our job
is to scrutinize the numbers. If we're seeing some of
those inroads, that is great. We want to make sure
territories and businesses are safe. When we are seeing some
of these shocking numbers rise increase, particularly when it comes
to assaults on territorians, that is our job to ask
(10:25):
the questions, what is the government doing and so far
the cop is not providing us or territorians in fact,
with some of those clear measures of what is working
and how they're going to continue to keep territorians safe.
So at the moment we are seeing those numbers rise,
we are seeing more people locked up, but we are
not seeing the territory become a safer place.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Is a big issue in relation to the numbers of
people being locked up on the rise. I mean, some
people listening will go well, isn't that a demonstration that
what they are doing is working in some way because
we're seeing more people high in bars? But I mean
that in itself obviously presents quite a few issues, as
we have seen and as we've certainly been covering off
(11:08):
on the last week or so. I mean when it
comes to the Palmerston Watchhouse, the Police Association last week
said it had reached a crisis point. Nathan Finn confirming
that one hundred detainees were recorded in custody as of
Wednesday morning. I know that that fluctuates a bit from
day to day, but that included seventy six correctional prisoners.
(11:30):
What do you think needs to happen in this space,
you know, particularly when you look at the watchhouse.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yeah, Katie's huge amounts of pressures there. We've heard the
NT Police Association of the Northern Territory as well as NAJA,
the Legal Service for Avacual Territories, all speak in the
same concern around the pressures on the justice system, but
particularly around those watchhouses. The CLP came to government again
promising to reduce crime. We are seeing some of those
(11:59):
numbers escalate. And what we are not seeing is how
the pressures on the justice system are also streamlining. So
that's a big concern. We're not seeing the government pulling
together with the different portfolios, with the different departments to
show that there is a huge amount of work in
this space. They talk about it, they have acknowledged it,
but they're not actually showing us action in this space.
(12:21):
So again, we as the opposition want to be able
to support some of those changes, those systematic changes and
improvements when it comes to justice. We want to make
sure our police and our corrections officers who are at
the front line are supported, but most importantly that they
are safe too when they go to work. So we
can see the pressures on places like the Parmesan wash
House to be relieved. So we're not seeing all of
(12:45):
those sequences at the moment from the COLP, and we'll
keep asking those questions, Katie, because we know it affects
our neighbors, it affects those people who are working in
our community to keep us safe. We're not supporting them
by keeping them safe in return.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Well, Selina youu bo, the leader of the opposition, will
leave it there for this morning. Always good to catch
up with you. Thank you for your time.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Katie, thank you
Well, if you were listening to the show yesterday, you
would have heard the Chief Minister reveal that the Attorney
General is going to be looking at weather changes need
to be made to the Coroners Act to avoid a
situation where future coronials blow out in cost. As we know,
the long running inquest into the death of Kumenjai Walker
cost Northern Territory Police more than five point five million
(00:21):
dollars and the Department of Attorney General Injustice one point
nine totaling seven point four million dollars. The Opposition leader
Selena Ubo joins me on the show.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Good morning, Selena, good wanting Katie, big warm good morning
to your listeners.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Now, Selena, do you think that that cost is justified?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, Katie, the costs are quite large, but bearing in
mind the complexity and the gravity of this particular coronial,
unfortunately it's not something we want to ever see again
in the territory and thankfully we haven't seen one that
has been as complex as what we've seen with the
Cooen j Walker in quest. So I think, you know,
(01:02):
seeing and knowing those costs is really important. But what
is the government going to do. There's obviously some suggestions
that maybe they'll have a little bit of a look
at changing some things, but we don't know what that
looks like. But the essential role of our justice system
and the coroner plays in that system is really important
and I don't think that can be downplayed at all, Katie.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Yeah, Look, I agree with you. It's incredibly important work.
But I do think it's a real surprise to a
lot of people learning over the last week that seven
point five million dollars in taxpayers dollars was spent on
that coronial. I mean in terms of, you know, in
terms of future blowouts, do you believe and would the
(01:44):
opposition actually support the Attorney General looking into whether changes
need to be made, So there's some more scrutiny before
that level of money can be spent again.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah, Katie. Again, we're open to seeing what the government
is suggesting, but we're very cautious when there's no detail
and we've been asked to support something that we don't
see or understand. So we always want to do our
job in opposition and look at the facts properly. Obviously,
this coronial had multiple parties, extensive evidence that was looked
at over a number of years. There were repeated legal
(02:14):
challenges as well, Katie, And obviously that's all out of
the Coroner's control. The Coroner has done what their job
was and what territories expect in that justice system. And
I think it's really important now to hear what the
response is from the Colp government around those recommendations. We
still haven't heard from the Chief Minister, and I think
that's a glaring admission that they're not actually doing their
(02:34):
job when it comes to everyone else who has input many,
many hours, you know, lots of money, as you've mentioned,
into producing that report. What is the government going to do?
We're still hearing crickets from them on that.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Well, yeah, we asked is shyesterday and in terms of
the recommendations, the Chief Minister said, it's going to take
time to go through those workout what's going to be implemented.
Is there anything which you think needs to be implemented immediately.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Well, Katie, you know we had a chat about this
a couple of weeks ago, just when the report was released.
There's obtually a huge amount of work, particularly from our
hardworking police who've already looked at things that can change
within the police system. I think that broader scope as
well is something that people want to see leadership from
the CLP government. What are the other processes that can
(03:25):
be changed or should be changed to make the system,
the justice system better, And of course we've spoken about
in the past as well, Katie around youth justice. What
are we seeing from the CLP government that shows leadership
in this space? Again, the silence is not very comforting,
So we'll keep pushing to make sure that what we
can do in opposition is support some of those changes
(03:46):
that are going to make the system better for everyone,
to make sure that we see those consequences, we have
those pathways out of the justice system, but ultimately our
community can be kept safe. So we'll keep doing our
job on that. We just hope that the COLP is
doing that in the background. At the moment, we don't
have a lot of faith in that.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Selena on to another topic.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yesterday we spoke about the issues in Catherine at the
moment when it comes to crime. After the women at
the coffee club well last week assaulted. It was an
absolute shocker. Nicki joined us on the show the owner
of the coffee club yesterday. Have you been in there
to speak to Nicki, and I'm assuming that you have
a pretty fair understanding of what had unfolded.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah, I follow that story obviously to nicki'stoo doors down
to the coffee club from my office. I haven't been
in to see her. We've had the show weekend and
a huge amount of people in and out of Catherine
because of that, for better and for worse. But in
terms of some of the things we've seen in Katherine
and Katie, you may have been following it, but just
(04:46):
like over the last five to six days, there's been
some really horrific and quite scary incidences in a short
amount of time. And I know we had some extra
police come and support us here in Catherine because of
the show weekend, which was great, but we saw some
very shocking behavior and some really scary incidences here. One
that resulted in a fatality where a stolen vehicle had
(05:09):
a head on collision with another vehicle and some passenger
and the other vehicle died. You know, just terrific, senseless crime.
But really need some extra help here in Catherine. And
I've been speaking with businesses and long term residents here
as well. You know, I'm a resident, I don't represent Catherine,
Joe Jersey does, but we're not hearing the same level
(05:30):
of focus on Catherine as what we often hear around
Starlin and Allis, And I think we need to have
that extra support here.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Just to clarify for our listeners, because I know we
had spoken about that fatality last week. So it was
a situation where a car with four senior seniors in
there in their seventies, if I remember correctly, they were driving,
and from what you've said that the vehicle that struck
them was a stolen car.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
From your understanding, that's the understanding that we have here
in Catherine. I'm not sure what's been put out through
the following media releases, Katie, but you know, Catherine's a
small place. The territory is a small place. If something
happens here that is tragic or horrific, it spreads like
wildfire that news. And of course when there's something that
(06:16):
is tragic in a fatality, there's even more of that
concern from the community. Whether it's someone from the community,
whether it's someone from outside the Catherine community, everybody feels
that heaviness when something happens here in Catherine and the region.
So again that extra support for Catherine is very much needed,
and I really hope that Joe Hersey's doing her job
(06:38):
and loving her ministers and the Chief Minister is police
to get that extra support because the last league has
been completely shut up here.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Yeah, absolutely, Selena. Someone's just messaged in though and said,
there's really no excuse for you not going in to
see Nikki at the coffee club.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
I mean I could, that's for sure. I don't actually
represent Catherine either, so just making that clarity. Happy to
go and talk to people, and obviously people approach me
when I'm hearing Catherine, but I have been traveling out
in my elected as well, Katie, so you know, just
trying to find that balance, of course. But I've got
no problem in chatting to Nikki or if she comes
down to see me as well. I'm happy to support that.
(07:15):
But a lot of people do approach me, particularly when
I'm out in the community here in Catherine. But ultimately,
Joe Jersey is the local member for Catherine and that's
her job, and she's a government minister, Katie, she can
demand some of that extra support for us here in Catherine.
I really hope she's doing her job.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, look, we had her on the show on Friday. Hey,
I do want to ask you. I know you'd sent
out a statement on Friday as well, saying that you
feel the latest crime statistics prove that the COLP government's
promise to make the territory safer is completely broken.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
You'd said that.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
The total assaults across the territory increased by one point
seven percent in the five months to May, with serious
assaults up five point seven percent. You'd said domestic violence
assaults rose sharply by nine point three percent, with alcohol
fueled domestic violence assaults increasing by ten point four percent.
(08:08):
They are just some of the statistics that you listed
in a pressure release. We asked the Chief Minister about
this yesterday. I mean, I thought it was a fair
point that you were making. This is what she had
to say on the show.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Ability on crime for starters, And to be honest, Katy,
I don't really think people are turning to them for
solutions on this issue. And again I hesitate to read
out crime stats, but I think it's important for people
to understand the progress we are making. So when you
looked January to May this year, which is under us,
compare it with January to May last year under Labor,
territory wide, we've got robbery down twenty nine percent, house
(08:44):
break ins down thirty one percent, commercial break ins down sixteen,
and step down fifteen. Now some bits of assault are
up and I'm not sugarcoating that. And if we looked
to Catherine as well, we've had commercial break ins down
thirty six percent, house breakings down fourteen and theft down
seventy I.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Mean, it's hard for our listeners at this point in time.
We've obviously got the opposition saying that the crime stats
show crime is not decreasing. You've got the Chief Minister
saying that there are in roads, but she's not going
to sugarcoat it. I mean, Selena, is it correct that
people aren't really looking to you guys for solutions on
crime given the last eight years.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, Katie, I mean that's a big part of the
reason why Labor was voted out. So the COLP offered
that solution. They promised to reduce crime, they promised to
stop crime, they promised to keep territory in safe. Right
now they are abysmally failing on that very promise that
they took to the election. So it is our job
Katie is the Labor opposition to make sure Lea Finocchiero,
(09:43):
as the Chief Minister, as the police Minister, who has
staked her entire leadership on reducing and stopping crime and
keeping Territori in safe, is doing her job and right
now she's not. Katie.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
So Selena, from your perspective as the leader of the
opposition across the Northern Territory, do.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
You believe that crime is worse now than.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
It's ever been, Katie, Bearing in mind on those numbers
when they release month on month, that's what our job
is to scrutinize the numbers. If we're seeing some of
those inroads, that is great. We want to make sure
territories and businesses are safe. When we are seeing some
of these shocking numbers rise increase, particularly when it comes
to assaults on territorians, that is our job to ask
(10:25):
the questions, what is the government doing and so far
the cop is not providing us or territorians in fact,
with some of those clear measures of what is working
and how they're going to continue to keep territorians safe.
So at the moment we are seeing those numbers rise,
we are seeing more people locked up, but we are
not seeing the territory become a safer place.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Is a big issue in relation to the numbers of
people being locked up on the rise. I mean, some
people listening will go well, isn't that a demonstration that
what they are doing is working in some way because
we're seeing more people high in bars? But I mean
that in itself obviously presents quite a few issues, as
we have seen and as we've certainly been covering off
(11:08):
on the last week or so. I mean when it
comes to the Palmerston Watchhouse, the Police Association last week
said it had reached a crisis point. Nathan Finn confirming
that one hundred detainees were recorded in custody as of
Wednesday morning. I know that that fluctuates a bit from
day to day, but that included seventy six correctional prisoners.
(11:30):
What do you think needs to happen in this space,
you know, particularly when you look at the watchhouse.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yeah, Katie's huge amounts of pressures there. We've heard the
NT Police Association of the Northern Territory as well as NAJA,
the Legal Service for Avacual Territories, all speak in the
same concern around the pressures on the justice system, but
particularly around those watchhouses. The CLP came to government again
promising to reduce crime. We are seeing some of those
(11:59):
numbers escalate. And what we are not seeing is how
the pressures on the justice system are also streamlining. So
that's a big concern. We're not seeing the government pulling
together with the different portfolios, with the different departments to
show that there is a huge amount of work in
this space. They talk about it, they have acknowledged it,
but they're not actually showing us action in this space.
(12:21):
So again, we as the opposition want to be able
to support some of those changes, those systematic changes and
improvements when it comes to justice. We want to make
sure our police and our corrections officers who are at
the front line are supported, but most importantly that they
are safe too when they go to work. So we
can see the pressures on places like the Parmesan wash
House to be relieved. So we're not seeing all of
(12:45):
those sequences at the moment from the COLP, and we'll
keep asking those questions, Katie, because we know it affects
our neighbors, it affects those people who are working in
our community to keep us safe. We're not supporting them
by keeping them safe in return.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Well, Selina youu bo, the leader of the opposition, will
leave it there for this morning. Always good to catch
up with you. Thank you for your time.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Katie, thank you
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