Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The discussion continues to be around the situation in Nightcliff
last week and the alleged stabbing of a petrol station
worker and alice springs that happened as well over the weekend.
We are now also receiving further information that the police
have arrested a seventeen year old in relation to an
aggravated robbery that occurred in Kurama overnight seven forty five.
(00:24):
Police received reports that two male youths entered a licensed
premises and one of them threatened a staff member with
an aged weapon and stole a quantity of cash from
the register. Security staff attended and the youths fled the
scene on foot. But look, I'll take you further through
that information throughout the morning, but it is another example
(00:46):
of what our businesses, our customer service workers, those working
in retail are facing every day. Now joining me on
the line from the SDA, the secretary of the union
which represents our retail workers, Josh Pete, good morning to you, Josh.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Good morning Katie, thank you for having me on.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Thank you so much for your time this morning. Josh.
I mean, what has been the reaction from retail workers
after the tragedy last week and the subsequent situation in
Alice Springs on the weekend, and now we're hearing more
from overnight.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah, we look thank you, Katie. And it's been a
pretty rough few days. And you know, I think it
was a couple of years years ago and we were
dealing with the death of Declan Lavity, and you know,
fatalities in our sector are generally pretty rare, and you
think that when something like that occurs as shocking as was,
(01:46):
that it was something that we wouldn't have to deal
with too often. And to be facing another situation where
someone in our sector has been murdered while just doing
their job is particularly shocking, and so it sent shockwaves
through the entire retail community across the Northern Territory. And
I think obviously all of our thoughts got to Linford's
(02:09):
family and as they're dealing with the shocking loss of
his life, but I think our thoughts should also go
to all retail workers who are continuing to attend work
every single day in what was probably previously considered a
pretty safe sector to work in. And you know, no
one expects that when you go to work in the
(02:29):
shop that you're not going to come home at the end,
at the end of the day. And unfortunately that's something
that has now happened to territory and workers and their
fam families and uh and is something that is I
think just terrifying for the workers in this sector. And
then obviously to have it follow with another stabbing of
a retail worker linked to a theft or an alleged
(02:53):
theft on Sunday in our Springs, it's really it's a
really tough tough times for our members.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Josh. How often would you say that retail workers are
being threatened with violence?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Oh? Every day? And we know that this is something
that unfortunately, you know, like that the issue is obviously
there are threats made and then you know, but I
think across the territory you would see that that that
the threats of violence are incredibly common and have been
coome and i have become more common over the years.
(03:33):
But then to actually see actual violence and harm harm
occurring in the frequent rate that that that's occurring, it's
particularly shocking.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Josh. What are some of the measures that are being
taken to try and stay safe in the workplace. I
know a lot of businesses are put on security what
are some of the other measures or you know or
mitigation methods that people are using.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Well, there's lots of things. I think. Firstly, one of
the things that is that that is industry lead leading
and has been implemented across across the territory is a
significant upgrading of security guards in the major shopping centers,
but also across major supermarkets. And one of the things
that we're particularly continuing to focus on is to making
sure that where it is feasible and reasonable and the
(04:19):
proper step to keep workers safe, that we do have
proper security guards, but not just the low grade levels,
that we have security guards that are trained at level
four level level five security offices that are trained and
have the ability to safety intervene in incidents when they
do do potentially occur. Where that's the case, we've seen
(04:39):
a dramatic four in incidents at those major retailers. The
problem that we do have, though is the at risk locations,
the standalone retail outlets, the standalone pepal stations, the standalone
bottle shops, where we continue to see those more exposed
sites that frankly just have great greater risk and that's
(05:00):
why we've called for and we're continuing to call for
a really significant review about what the safety measures are
for those standalone at risk retail outlets. We want to
make it mandatory, but if you do have a worker
working alone at an exposed location, that security screenings are mandatory,
that people have somewhere safe to go. That's really important.
(05:23):
You know. The idea that someone who is just sitting
potentially at an exposed counter, or that they even potentially
can be trapped at that counter depending on where it
is located to the exit, we think is particularly dangerous.
So we think work Safe are a really important role
to play here to make sure the actual physical design
of those standalone and at risk retail locations is upgraded.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
I mean you start to wonder and look, I you know,
I agree with you that workers should absolutely feel safe,
and I'd be quite petrified if I was working, depending
on where you're working, if you're on your own and
you're in a situation where you felt like you couldn't
get away. But start to wonder whether it's going to
be economically viable for some businesses to actually stay open,
like you know after five or six o'clock in the afternoon.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yeah, well, I think that's right. I mean, one of
the things that we that we think is potential is that,
you know, what can we do particularly you know, and
so we've seen, for example, some of the bigger retailers,
indeavor groups for example, have done a lot of work
on their shop hardening is what they call it, where
they will go through and refit those outlets to make
sure that there's secondary exit, safe places, et cetera. But
(06:31):
that's not potentially practical for small business businesses. So we
do think constant support of that grant program that can
go to support small operators because they should be able
to participate in the in the nighttime economy and the
marketplace as well, but do so safely. So those physical
(06:52):
design measures I think are really really important. Obviously, over
the last few days we've been engaging with not just
our member's, got a whole range of businesses throughout Nightcliffe
and we understand there is going to be additional call
for some funding to put high grade security guards or
(07:13):
indeed more police to make sure that they are present
in that area as well. So we're going to be
you know, looking forward to partnering with the business community
across Nightcliffe to see if there is a way that
we can support additional security offices there, I think, and
so that's.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
All will come or that certainly, you know you're starting
to have those discussions now for either more police in
that area or greater police presence or more security.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Absolutely. I mean, the number one thing that we know
is that physical deterrence is absolutely the best measure measure
of defense. So we've got physical security officers, physical police presence,
we know crime is far less likely to occur. It's
not just about making people feel safer, it's about their
actually being people having safer outcomes. And we really want
(08:06):
what we want to see, particularly high risk exposed locations,
greater police presence and great greater opportunities to see properly
trained security staff there to keep the public, public and
our members.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Josh, I think that is an absolutely fair call to make. Mate,
we are going to have to leave it there. I
really appreciate your time this morning. Thank you so very
much for having a chat with us.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Thanks Gage, thank you
The discussion continues to be around the situation in Nightcliff
last week and the alleged stabbing of a petrol station
worker and alice springs that happened as well over the weekend.
We are now also receiving further information that the police
have arrested a seventeen year old in relation to an
aggravated robbery that occurred in Kurama overnight seven forty five.
(00:24):
Police received reports that two male youths entered a licensed
premises and one of them threatened a staff member with
an aged weapon and stole a quantity of cash from
the register. Security staff attended and the youths fled the
scene on foot. But look, I'll take you further through
that information throughout the morning, but it is another example
(00:46):
of what our businesses, our customer service workers, those working
in retail are facing every day. Now joining me on
the line from the SDA, the secretary of the union
which represents our retail workers, Josh Pete, good morning to you, Josh.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Good morning Katie, thank you for having me on.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Thank you so much for your time this morning. Josh.
I mean, what has been the reaction from retail workers
after the tragedy last week and the subsequent situation in
Alice Springs on the weekend, and now we're hearing more
from overnight.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah, we look thank you, Katie. And it's been a
pretty rough few days. And you know, I think it
was a couple of years years ago and we were
dealing with the death of Declan Lavity, and you know,
fatalities in our sector are generally pretty rare, and you
think that when something like that occurs as shocking as was,
(01:46):
that it was something that we wouldn't have to deal
with too often. And to be facing another situation where
someone in our sector has been murdered while just doing
their job is particularly shocking, and so it sent shockwaves
through the entire retail community across the Northern Territory. And
I think obviously all of our thoughts got to Linford's
(02:09):
family and as they're dealing with the shocking loss of
his life, but I think our thoughts should also go
to all retail workers who are continuing to attend work
every single day in what was probably previously considered a
pretty safe sector to work in. And you know, no
one expects that when you go to work in the
(02:29):
shop that you're not going to come home at the end,
at the end of the day. And unfortunately that's something
that has now happened to territory and workers and their
fam families and uh and is something that is I
think just terrifying for the workers in this sector. And
then obviously to have it follow with another stabbing of
a retail worker linked to a theft or an alleged
(02:53):
theft on Sunday in our Springs, it's really it's a
really tough tough times for our members.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Josh. How often would you say that retail workers are
being threatened with violence?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Oh? Every day? And we know that this is something
that unfortunately, you know, like that the issue is obviously
there are threats made and then you know, but I
think across the territory you would see that that that
the threats of violence are incredibly common and have been
coome and i have become more common over the years.
(03:33):
But then to actually see actual violence and harm harm
occurring in the frequent rate that that that's occurring, it's
particularly shocking.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Josh. What are some of the measures that are being
taken to try and stay safe in the workplace. I
know a lot of businesses are put on security what
are some of the other measures or you know or
mitigation methods that people are using.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Well, there's lots of things. I think. Firstly, one of
the things that is that that is industry lead leading
and has been implemented across across the territory is a
significant upgrading of security guards in the major shopping centers,
but also across major supermarkets. And one of the things
that we're particularly continuing to focus on is to making
sure that where it is feasible and reasonable and the
(04:19):
proper step to keep workers safe, that we do have
proper security guards, but not just the low grade levels,
that we have security guards that are trained at level
four level level five security offices that are trained and
have the ability to safety intervene in incidents when they
do do potentially occur. Where that's the case, we've seen
(04:39):
a dramatic four in incidents at those major retailers. The
problem that we do have, though is the at risk locations,
the standalone retail outlets, the standalone pepal stations, the standalone
bottle shops, where we continue to see those more exposed
sites that frankly just have great greater risk and that's
(05:00):
why we've called for and we're continuing to call for
a really significant review about what the safety measures are
for those standalone at risk retail outlets. We want to
make it mandatory, but if you do have a worker
working alone at an exposed location, that security screenings are mandatory,
that people have somewhere safe to go. That's really important.
(05:23):
You know. The idea that someone who is just sitting
potentially at an exposed counter, or that they even potentially
can be trapped at that counter depending on where it
is located to the exit, we think is particularly dangerous.
So we think work Safe are a really important role
to play here to make sure the actual physical design
of those standalone and at risk retail locations is upgraded.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
I mean you start to wonder and look, I you know,
I agree with you that workers should absolutely feel safe,
and I'd be quite petrified if I was working, depending
on where you're working, if you're on your own and
you're in a situation where you felt like you couldn't
get away. But start to wonder whether it's going to
be economically viable for some businesses to actually stay open,
like you know after five or six o'clock in the afternoon.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yeah, well, I think that's right. I mean, one of
the things that we that we think is potential is that,
you know, what can we do particularly you know, and
so we've seen, for example, some of the bigger retailers,
indeavor groups for example, have done a lot of work
on their shop hardening is what they call it, where
they will go through and refit those outlets to make
sure that there's secondary exit, safe places, et cetera. But
(06:31):
that's not potentially practical for small business businesses. So we
do think constant support of that grant program that can
go to support small operators because they should be able
to participate in the in the nighttime economy and the
marketplace as well, but do so safely. So those physical
(06:52):
design measures I think are really really important. Obviously, over
the last few days we've been engaging with not just
our member's, got a whole range of businesses throughout Nightcliffe
and we understand there is going to be additional call
for some funding to put high grade security guards or
(07:13):
indeed more police to make sure that they are present
in that area as well. So we're going to be
you know, looking forward to partnering with the business community
across Nightcliffe to see if there is a way that
we can support additional security offices there, I think, and
so that's.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
All will come or that certainly, you know you're starting
to have those discussions now for either more police in
that area or greater police presence or more security.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Absolutely. I mean, the number one thing that we know
is that physical deterrence is absolutely the best measure measure
of defense. So we've got physical security officers, physical police presence,
we know crime is far less likely to occur. It's
not just about making people feel safer, it's about their
actually being people having safer outcomes. And we really want
(08:06):
what we want to see, particularly high risk exposed locations,
greater police presence and great greater opportunities to see properly
trained security staff there to keep the public, public and
our members.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Josh, I think that is an absolutely fair call to make. Mate,
we are going to have to leave it there. I
really appreciate your time this morning. Thank you so very
much for having a chat with us.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Thanks Gage, thank you
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