The Week that Was - 5 June 2026

Katie Woolf was joined on the panel for this week with 360 Executive Producer Kathleen Gazzola, Attorney-General and Minister for Tourism Marie-Clare Boothby and Opposition Member Ed Smelt. 

The topics included crime and fatal crash in Katherine, Rapid Creek incident, the rise of One Nation, Child Protection and the closure of attractions in Kakadu. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well it is Friday morning and joining us in the
studio this morning, making his debut for the week that was.
He's been on the show before though for the Labour Party.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
The member for Nightcliff Ed smelt Good morning Ed.

Speaker 3 (00:12):
Good morning Katie to be here.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Yeah, great to have you on the show.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
We have got the Attorney General of the Northern Territory,
Mary Claire booth Be good morning to you.

Speaker 4 (00:19):
Good morning Katie and to your listeners.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
And we've got Kathleen Gazola, my producer.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
My right hand woman. Good morning to you. Good to
have you here. Now.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Unfortunately we start the news or start the day, I
should say, this morning with some terrible news. Northern Territory
Police investigating two separate fatal crashes that occurred yesterday in
the Top End So a woman was declared deceeized after
the vehicle she was traveling in collided with.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
The bull just after eight pm.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
That was approximately thirty k's east of the Daily River.
The driver, who suffered non life threatening injuries and returned
to a negative breath test, and a female passenger were
transport transported to the Daily River clinic by family members.
Now police from the Daily and Adelaide River attended the scene,
a crime scene established and well, unfortunately we know that yes,

(01:09):
that one person passed away. But earlier in the day,
just after one o'clock, police responded to a single vehicle
rollover on the Carpenteria Highway about thirty k's from Bora Lula.
A Toyota land cruiser carrying five occupants is believed to
have rolled, resulting in the death of a fifty five
year old woman at the scene. Now, it has been
a terrible week on our roads, unfortunately, those two tragic

(01:33):
incidents in the last twenty four hours, and that's on
top of this horrible situation that unfolded earlier in the
week when a sixteen year old was found will died
following a fatal crashing Catherine in the early hours of
Tuesday morning. By the time the show was ending, we'd
also learned that the Northern Territory Police had found two

(01:54):
more teenagers that were with non life threatening injuries following
on from that allegedly stolen vehicle crash. So there were
a number of teenagers in that car. We caught up
with the Northern Territory Police Superintendent for Catherine yesterday and
he said that no charges or no arrests have been
made yet at this stage, they're certainly still piecing together

(02:16):
all of that information. Now, I get that they're all
quite separate incidents, and you know, I want to acknowledge
that it is terrible, terrible road trauma that we've seen
over the last week. I mean, the loss of three
lives on our roads is nothing short of tragic. But
the situation in crime in Catherine is certainly one that's
been bubbling along for quite some time. The Mayor of

(02:39):
Catherine had joined us on the show towards the end
of last week, Joanna Holden and said, you know that
she was really worried that the escalating crime could wind
up in some kind of tragedy. And what we saw
this week was exactly that. I mean, Marie Claire, there's
been a real push from the people of Catherine that
they want and expect the government to do more in Catherine.

(03:02):
Do you feel as so enough as being done?

Speaker 4 (03:04):
Yeah, it is.

Speaker 5 (03:05):
It's a really awful set of circumstances that we are now,
you know, seeing and unfold and I mean, you know,
the people of Catherine are very resilient. They've definitely been
through the ringer and back and it is awful to
see that this kind of tragedy is how this has
ended up, you know, with those vehicles and that young

(03:25):
person now dying. I was in Catherine just last week
with a lot of my colleagues as well, and out
and about speaking to people that live in Catherine, business
owners and the likes, and you know, they did say
they feel like things are improving, but there is still
so much more work to be done. We spent some

(03:46):
time at the Catherine Police station as well. I was
there with the Chief Minister and a couple of my
colleagues listening firsthand to what they're going through. And they're
doing a fantastic job, I might add. You know, there's
definitely plenty of police off officers that are there. They
are out and about and they're doing everything that can
and I think you know that work continues. We've always

(04:08):
said there's more to do, and that's exactly what has
to happen.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
It certainly is.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
I mean, when you've got a situation where a group
of teenagers are involved in the alleged theft of a vehicle,
a number of vehicles, and then it crashes and it
results in one of those teenagers dying. It is a
terrible situation and it's an escalating situation. Now, we also
receive messages from people in Catherine really twenty four hours
less than twenty four hours on from that crash occurring.

(04:33):
They were saying to us Katie, there is a TikTok
page which shows teenagers in Catherine just hours before that
fatality driving around in stolen cars running a mark. Now,
I'll be really clear, I don't know that they're the
same kids. And we asked the Northern Territory Police Superintendent
about that yesterday and he didn't, you know, he did
not confirm whether they were. He said that there is

(04:54):
investigation still ongoing. But you have got people in the
Northern Territory at the moment who are thumbing their noses
at the law. Now, we had people in Catherine saying
to us just a week or two ago that there
are teenagers getting around running a mark and you know,
questioning why Moore hasn't been done. I mean, even the

(05:15):
Member for Catherine, Joe Hersey, saying to us a little
bit earlier in the week that we all know who
who the kids are that are doing the wrong thing,
and so you go, well, why aren't we stopping ash?

Speaker 6 (05:27):
Yeah, I mean, yeah, it is very clear that our
residents in Catherine are fed up. I mean it was
quite telling when Joanna Holden said to you, I'm surprised
you could hear me on the radio, katiecause it feels
like a lot of people are not listening to the
members in Catherine, the residents themselves. They are crying out
for something more to be done. I mean, we've seen

(05:47):
an operation launched in Palmerston and so you question why
isn't there potentially an operation in Catherine, especially in the
wake of this. Of course, we spoke to the Superintendent
of Catherine following a community forum, but there had been
calls for the Chief Minister to go and be a
bit more visible down there. Of course, yes, the Member

(06:08):
for Catherine is a member of the government and a
minister within Cabinet, but when they're calling specifically for the
Chief Minister to come, you kind of hope that she
heeds those calls, especially given when she was in opposition,
she was a very big vocal member of the opposition
team calling for action on crime, and now you're the
chief and they feel like they're being a bit let down,

(06:28):
especially when they voted one way.

Speaker 4 (06:30):
And we all were there just over the weekend.

Speaker 2 (06:32):
So the Chief Minister, well, she meet with the mayor.

Speaker 5 (06:36):
She I'm not sure about the mayor specifically, but she has.
We were out, all of us were out. We spread
out across the community and Catherine to speak to locals
who live there. And so, yeah, we absolutely take it
seriously that there are things happening in Catherine. And I
take your point about the Parmesan operation. I mean the
Catherine operation. That's you know, we've been doing operations down

(06:57):
there for since we came to government. Really, you know,
the results are showing that it is working, but there's
still people out there that are doing it and you can't.

Speaker 1 (07:07):
Really say something's working. Then when a group of teenagers
have then been involved in a fatal crash after allegedly
stealing cars. I mean, ed keen to get your take
on it. What do you think of you know, the
fact that they obviously the members of parliament were there
last week, but not meeting with the mayor. I mean
that was a big I know you weren't part of
the former government, but that was a big criticism of

(07:29):
the former government that it reached a point where they
weren't listening to members of the community.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
And I just think it's really.

Speaker 1 (07:35):
Important even if a mayor is, you know, pushing a
message that you don't like, that you hear that voice.

Speaker 3 (07:41):
Yeah, Look, it's incredibly important, Katie. And I think also
from my experience in local government as well, like local
government is the closest form of government to the people.
They know who's involved, they know the individuals on the ground,
So that's a great source of information and knowledge. And
I think absolutely the Chief Minutes that should be sitting
down with the mayor and getting that feedback face to face.

(08:01):
I mean, it's an incredible tragedy what's occurred in the
ripple effect that has right through the community, through the schools,
through the families. And that's why we're asking the government, well,
what else are you going to do? Like the lock
them up approach is not working. There are other issues,
There are other programs that need to be delivered to
ensure that kids are engaged and not stealing cars. You

(08:21):
can't arrest your way out of this.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
Look, it's a tough one because I know we're hearing
from the community really sort of different views in terms
of what should be happening. You know, you've got some
people saying we need more police. It's kids getting around
with ankle monitoring bracelets on, but they're not actually being
followed up. And then you've got others saying that there
definitely needs to be a community lead approach. I mean,
Marie Claire, where to from here? As far as the

(08:44):
government's concerned.

Speaker 5 (08:46):
I think we need to keep working on it, Katie.
I mean Catherine, like I said, we were there just
on the weekend, out and about making sure that Catherine
locals knew that we were there and listening to what
they have to say. And we do that right across
the territory and have done for a very long time.
I mean, it's certainly not as I describes, a lock

(09:07):
them up approach, and you know, I know a lot
of people out there actually do want us to do
even more of that. And you know, those consequences are
absolutely important, and it is our priority to have offenders
off our streets. But we're also looking at the root
causes of crime, Katie, and I think you know that's
what we talk about the circuit breaker, where that team,
you know, it goes and speaks to kids and families

(09:29):
and get some back onto a good life instead of
one that's leading down towards the crime path. And so
I think that's it's a really important program. That is
I think it's started in Catherine, I might add, and
then you know it's ramping up, and so that's really
important work that has to keep going on.

Speaker 1 (09:45):
Look, I will say that the Catherine Town Council have
just issued a statement earlier this morning as well as
we spoke to the Mayor, joe Anna Holden about on Wednesday.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
This week, they are.

Speaker 1 (09:54):
Seeking expressions of interest from residents who wish to join
their proposed Catherine Community Safety Action Group. And this group,
they say, is going to provide community, the community of
voice on local safety issues, to help identify some practical
and achievable solutions, support evidence based decision making, strengthen communication

(10:14):
between community members, council, police, and government agencies, and help
to inform future community safety initiatives and priorities. Marie Claire,
Will the government listen to what they've got to say?

Speaker 5 (10:27):
Yeah, I think it's great that the locals of Catherine
can come together and talk about what's going on in
their town. I mean talking about community led solutions that
is the community who will.

Speaker 4 (10:37):
Lead those solutions.

Speaker 5 (10:38):
So absolutely, and I think we've demonstrated that we are
the party that will take crime very seriously. And so
you know, I welcome any of the information that comes
from those meetings. And we've always said there's more work
to be done, and we've also always said at nauseum.

Speaker 4 (10:54):
That everything is on the table.

Speaker 5 (10:56):
So yeah, I welcome the community of Catherine to come
together as a step to bring forward what they'd like
to see.

Speaker 1 (11:03):
Look, I do just want to touch on this week
because we've covered a lot of police news this week
and well a lot of people are pretty worried when
they saw these wild scenes in the Northern suburbs earlier
in the week with up to forty police officers working
to track down a man that police alleged was a
violent criminal who'd breached his parole. Now, we caught up

(11:24):
with the Fugitive Task Force yesterday and they told us
that this, well, this alleged offender, he sounded like some
very bad news. I mean, he was driving around for
a couple of days. There was you know, an ice
pipe in his car, allegedly, there was drugs allegedly in
his car. There's knives in that vehicle. They had to
use a land cruiser essentially to drive it at that

(11:46):
car to stop it from continuing to get around the streets.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
It was pretty incredible.

Speaker 1 (11:51):
Work, all at about two o'clock in the afternoon, eating
your electorate there near Rapid Creek.

Speaker 2 (11:56):
I mean that's just near where kids are getting picked
up from school half an hour.

Speaker 3 (12:00):
That's right, Katie. This is incredibly scary, and you really
got to know what's happened that's led to this situation.
We shouldn't have a scenario where police have to put
their lives and their health on the line for our community.
Anything could have happened in that scenario. So I really
came to you from the government. Are they going to

(12:20):
review what's happened in this case? What are the systemic
failures that have led to this incident occurring? We need
to see more from the government.

Speaker 1 (12:27):
He'd apparently got out on bail I think in February parole,
sorry in February, and then they'd been trying to I
think revoke that parole for a little while, but it only.

Speaker 2 (12:39):
Served I think three years of his five year sentence.

Speaker 1 (12:42):
Is that your.

Speaker 2 (12:42):
Recollection two case?

Speaker 6 (12:43):
Yeah, I think it was something along those lines. So, yeah,
he was accused of breaching his parole, which is why
police in the first instance had attempted to arrest him.
Was it on Tuesday Monday? And then he obviously got
into a car, drove away, clipped a copper as he
was going, so very little care there. And then naturally
given his violent history of previous convictions, had been out

(13:07):
looking for him the next day and again tracked him
down to cat Karama where he then drove through a
fence to get away. So clearly wasn't keen to go
back behind the wire, that's for sure. But yeah, I
mean it just goes to show how how very well
trained our police officers are, especially in those high highly
intelligence led units in particular of the Fugitive Task Force

(13:30):
and the TIG who have to go after some pretty
bad people. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (13:34):
Look, I'm glad they're able to apprehend him, and fortunately
before school pickup time.

Speaker 2 (13:38):
Look, we're going to take a really quick break.

Speaker 1 (13:40):
There is so much to cover off on this week,
and I am really keen to talk more about the
rise of One Nation. It got our listeners talking earlier
this week. You are listening to Mix one O four
nine's three sixty.

Speaker 2 (13:53):
It is the week that was.

Speaker 1 (13:54):
If you've just joined us in the studio this morning,
we've got Ed Smelt, we've got Marie Claire Boothby and
we've got Kathleen Gazola.

Speaker 2 (14:01):
Now got to.

Speaker 1 (14:02):
Tell you the thing that fired everybody up the most
this week was the discussion about One Nation. Now, we
asked the question, would you vote for One Nation? How
about you know after that news over the weekend last
weekend that One Nation had surged past Labor to become
Australia's most popular political party following a federal budget that

(14:24):
many were reporting had flopped with voters the cost of
government support and really caused the personal standing of the
Prime Minister and the Treasurer to plunge. That was in
those new polls. Now, this Australian Financial Review and red
Bridge Group Ascent Research poll revealed that primary support for
One Nation had jumped four percentage points to thirty one

(14:46):
percent since the pre budget poll just a month ago,
while Labour's primary vote fell three points to twenty eight percent. Now,
don't worry, they're also taking the Liberal Party's vote as well,
having a big impact at this point in time, really
taking away from those major parties. Pauline Hanson's popularity well

(15:09):
and truly on the rise right now. I mean, Kathleen,
you took a lot of calls about this on Monday.

Speaker 2 (15:15):
It was quite wild.

Speaker 6 (15:16):
It was I mean, we thought we'd get some sort
of engagement, but the level of it it was incredible.
Certainly there was a lot in favor of one nation,
but definitely plenty who were like, oh god, no, I'm
never going to vote them. I mean, they have been
around for however many decades that Pauline's been in place,
and you would argue mostly being treated as somewhat of
a bit of a joke. That might be a bit hush,

(15:38):
but you know, I don't think either party ever expected
that they could become a serious contender. I do think
the poll does need to be taken with a little
bit of set given that it was just after the
budget and it's a thousand people out of however many
millions in.

Speaker 2 (15:55):
Australia these days.

Speaker 6 (15:56):
But I think it's a sentiment of you know, people
not trusting politicians. Sorry you guys, but you know, when
you promise one thing and then you completely backpedal, people
are like, what the hell you know, like Albow one
in on a massive, effectively landslide against the Libs, wipe
them out the coalition, and he promised not to do

(16:18):
one thing many many, many times and then completely backflipped.
And people hate that. And you might think people are
going to forget that, but I reckon they won't.

Speaker 1 (16:26):
Well, and the tough thing is that then when that
kind of thing happened, you start to look to other
faces and go, well, are they more honest? I might
not like exactly what they're saying, but at least I
know what she stands for. And I do think that
that is a bit of the sentiment in Australia at
the moment where they go, well, Pauline Hanson's message hasn't
changed for thirty years. In fact, you know it's been

(16:47):
the same message for quite some time. I mean, I'm
keen to get the take from both of you, given
the fact that you are part of the major parties,
and whether you think that it's a real threat one
nation is a real threat here in the Northern Territory.

Speaker 2 (17:00):
I mean, Marie Claire, I'll go to you first.

Speaker 1 (17:02):
You're both orange, that's right, we're proud talking about the shirts.

Speaker 4 (17:10):
It is really interesting that.

Speaker 5 (17:13):
You know, there has been these polls that say that
there's the rise of one nation, and I acknowledge that completely,
and it does point to, you know, Kathleen's point about
governments who promise one thing and then completely backflip and
do the other. And what I'll say here in the
Northern Territory is, I don't think there's we shy away
from the promises that we made. I mean that nausea
and we talk about reducing crime, rebuilding the economy, and

(17:35):
restoring our lifestyle, and nobody can argue that we are
doing everything we can to those three priorities. I mean,
you know, we are a government that is doing what
we promised we would do. And I mean over the
last thirty years, which one nation has been around for.
You know, people do feel that lack of trust from
politicians and so you know, I acknowledge that that happens.

(17:55):
But I think here in the territory, actions do speak
louder than words. And you know, it's not about the
retrick that you just talk about. It's about what you
actually deliver on. And you know, for us, territorians will
have their say in a couple of years time at
the next election, but it's a long way away, Katie.

Speaker 1 (18:09):
I mean, ed, you'd have to think your seat's probably
one where what maybe the One Nation vote isn't going
to get much of.

Speaker 2 (18:15):
A looking.

Speaker 3 (18:17):
Interesting, it's interesting. Even in the Nightcliff Bi election, I
spoke with some people who declared themselves to be One
Nation supporters, and yeah, right, I had some interesting conversations
and what I found, what I'd explained to my team
and volunteers, was to really stay with the conversation. It
can be a bit intense upfront sometimes, but what I

(18:38):
found was generally people had some underlying issue. They had
experience with government. Maybe they lost their job, or family
member had a serious accident or somewhere in their life.
They did not get the support that they needed. That's

(18:58):
what I found, and I think One Nation has been
very good at channeling that. Yeah, about those sources of
a grievances, and I think it's incumbent on all twenty
five of us to actually get out there and be
talking with people, getting to the heart of some of
these issues. And that's why our labor position, we're focused
on housing, health, education. That's what people need to be fixed,

(19:21):
and I think that will turn a lot of people around.

Speaker 1 (19:23):
I think that's a really interesting point there that you
make as well, that you know that it is like
a lot of the time people, you don't just go
and totally flip your vote, you know, to a whole
other party and an unknown unless you're a bit disgruntled
or a bit unhappy with the way in which things
might be rolling out, you know, whether it's federally or
whether it's locally.

Speaker 2 (19:42):
I don't you know.

Speaker 1 (19:43):
My sense is then on the local stage here in
the Northern Territory one nation won't have the same look
in that they will on the federal stage.

Speaker 2 (19:52):
That's just my sense.

Speaker 1 (19:53):
And the reason I feel that is because we've had
different political parties here in the Northern Territory who've promised
a lot and really not actually been able to deliver
when it came down to yeah, and when it came
down to sort of asking more about some of the
policy settings, they really didn't have the information or didn't have,
you know, what territorians wanted in other areas, aside from

(20:14):
maybe immigration, and we know that you know, immigration is
indeed something that is handled on a federal stage, but
the other part of it is in the Northern Territory.
I think is that there's no six degree of separation
when it comes to you with your local member or
with a politician, right like, if someone's angry, they're rocking
up to your officers or they're ringing us and they're
telling us what their concerns are.

Speaker 2 (20:34):
And hopefully being heard.

Speaker 1 (20:36):
But you know, going back even to the sentiment in
Catherine at the moment, that's where I think it's so
important that politicians actually listen to the concerns coming out
of a community. But you know, when it comes to
one nation's policies, I think this is where it could
potentially get interesting. We know that overnight will one nation recruit.
Barnaby Joyce had to issue an on air backflip over

(20:57):
plans to evict migrants from their homes in what was
described as a train wreck interview with Sky News as
Andrew Bolt Now, mister Joyce was grilled on Pauline Hanson's
policy of not allowing permanent residents to buy homes in
Australia if they're not citizens last night, before suggesting that
it might involve migrants being forced to sell their homes.

(21:19):
But after concluding that interview then he then apparently made
a series of frantic phone calls on set before asking
mister Bolt if he could re record a second answer
to the same question. Now Bolt agreed, but informed him
that he planned to run both his initial comments and
his backflip, providing some vintage train wreck TV is what's

(21:42):
being reported. Now mister Bolt explained, Okay, that was the interview,
and I said goodbye to Barnaby, and Barnaby sat there
and he must have thought, as I did, you know,
given that nearly four hundred thousand permanent residents in Australia
own their own home, that it seemed drastic or cruel
to make them sell it in two years or become citizens,

(22:03):
and that they'd face repossession if they didn't comply. And
then after that interview Barnaby with Marnaby, something extraordinary happened.
He must have figured that he actually had no idea
what Pauline Hanson's policy on foreign ownership of home truly was.
He made those calls, then came back and said, actually
there was now a change of policy.

Speaker 2 (22:22):
Could we re record that answer?

Speaker 1 (22:24):
And look, that's the kind of thing I think that
people are going to be wanting to see, Like, you know,
on the outset, you go, Okay, I really agree with this,
that or the other. I'm really pissed off with the government,
so I'm going to vote for one nation. But then
you go, oh, hang on a second. My neighbor who's
lived next door to me for twenty years is actually,
you know, is actually a permanent resident, not a citizen.
Do I want to see them kicked out of their home? No?

Speaker 2 (22:46):
I don't.

Speaker 6 (22:47):
And you know, thinking seriously about who you're going to
vote for and the policies, do you know what I mean?
I mean, obviously, the comparison is always made to America
and Donald Trump, and certainly there will be listeners out
there that backed the man, but we are seeing plenty
of people who back Donald Trump in America are now going, oh,
hang on a second, you are not delivering what you said,

(23:07):
and you're a bit all over the joint, and you know,
pressure is going to be mounting on one nation not
to just follow that populous line and actually deliver on
some actual policy that people want to see. That's whether
it's going to make their lives better, that's what you
want a politician to do, follow through with it.

Speaker 5 (23:23):
And I think here in the Territory. It is very
unique compared to the other states, is where we have
to walk down the street.

Speaker 4 (23:29):
And look people in the eye.

Speaker 5 (23:30):
We literally bump into all of our constituents every time
we're out and about. And you know, if you're not
you don't have you, you know, wearing your heart and
your sleeve and saying what you believe in and then
delivering on the things that you promise to do. Things
turn really quickly, Katie, And so yeah, I think it's about,
you know, the actions. Like I said before, it's not
about the words, it is about the actions.

Speaker 4 (23:52):
So you know, muck to One Nation.

Speaker 1 (23:54):
A very interesting text just coming through and it says
it's interesting to know and I will fact check this.
It's interesting to know that the former Northern Territory Chief
Minister Adam Giles is listed as donating money towards the
purchase of Pauline Hanson's plane recently, and One Nation are
definitely and actively trying to source candidates in the Northern Territory.

Speaker 6 (24:15):
Well, I did actually put a call into Pauline's media
advisor this week. I invite her on and I did
speak to him a couple of days ago and he
just said you know, we're looking at the territory, but
we're not quite ready yet, so we'll definitely keep you
guys in mind when that comes. But obviously very under

(24:35):
demand nationally, so it wasn't available, but you know, hopefully
one day soon we might get Pauline on.

Speaker 1 (24:42):
Well, do you think we're going to see some recycled
politicians potentially putting their hand up as well, Kathleen.

Speaker 6 (24:47):
Well, and it's always an attraction in the Northern Territory. Obviously,
there are plenty of people who live here who have
been in Parliament and then you know, either get voted
out or retire and then want to come back. We've
seen that a couple of times. Whether they're more behind
the scenes might be more on the mark perhaps. Well, yeah,
it'll be very very interesting, interested to.

Speaker 1 (25:08):
Hear from our listeners what you think of that. Following
on from that message, you know, somebody saying that Adam
Giles is well assisting behind the scenes.

Speaker 2 (25:17):
With One Nation. I've not had anything performation, but.

Speaker 6 (25:19):
That could be potentially as part of the partnership with
Gina ryan Hart. Maybe under her that could have been
the reason why, or perhaps he is involved with the party.

Speaker 1 (25:28):
I'm not sure who knows, but I'm interested to hear
whether that changes anybody's perspective in any way. When you
know from our listeners as to how they would feel
if some of our former politicians did indeed put their
hand up or North.

Speaker 6 (25:39):
Well, it might also be interesting as to who ex
party members from either of the major parties might slide
in under an orange banner of one nation.

Speaker 1 (25:47):
It will be interesting to see anyway. Let's take a
very quick break. You are listening to Mix one O
four nine is three sixty.

Speaker 2 (25:54):
It is the week that was.

Speaker 1 (25:55):
If you've just joined us in the studio this morning,
we've got Kathleen Gazola, We've got Murray, Claire Boothby and
Ed Smelt.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
Now we know.

Speaker 1 (26:03):
That this week a Parliamentary committee has discussed the proposed
amendments to the Child and Childcare Sorry to the Child
and Protection Child of Children Act the Protection of Children Act.

Speaker 2 (26:15):
Goodness me, I'm struggling with my words this morning.

Speaker 4 (26:18):
Now.

Speaker 1 (26:18):
Critics say that the changes to this Act could see
children removed from blood relatives and cultural connections, undermining the
Aboriginal child placement principle. So the Department of Children and
Families Chief Executive Brent Warren appeared yesterday and told the
committee that reforms are aimed at improving child safety and
achieving faster safe reunification with families where possible, while prioritizing

(26:43):
stability and long term security for children. Now, I've got
to say, like I would have thought that that would
be a bit of a no brainer, that would already
be happening. And I guess if you listen to some
of the comments that are coming out of that Scrutiny Committee.
You know, we heard from Snake Catherine Little from Snake yesterday,
and you know, really that was what she was saying.

(27:06):
You know that safety is the number one priority, but
obviously Aboriginal child placement principle, that principle is also a priority.
I mean, Kathleen, you listened to quite a bit of
it yesterday.

Speaker 2 (27:18):
What were your takeaways?

Speaker 6 (27:20):
Yeah, well, Catherine Little basically says, you know, the exploitation
and harm of children is certainly paramount within that legislation.
I haven't read the wording myself, but obviously Robin carl
Has says safety that wording in particular isn't mentioned, and
so they're making that the number one reason why to

(27:40):
look after a child basically. But you know, Catherine Little said,
other jurisdictions where they've had safety are now looking at
taking it out because the interpretation of that is so
broad that it sees an explosion of children taken away
from families and losing that connection.

Speaker 2 (27:56):
But it was really.

Speaker 6 (27:57):
Interesting hearing comments from Sally gear who's a bit of
a local anti legal legend. She was more talking from
a personal aspect that highlighting certain cases of where a
child hasn't been removed because they're experiencing harm has led
to really terrible consequences down the line, and it seems like,

(28:19):
you know, it's not rocket science what a child needs
to ensure that they have a better future. And of
course Nathan Finn, the president of the Police Association, also
said that police back improving or changing this legislation because
they encountered children as young as five, seven ten on
the streets being like what are you doing and how
are the parents not knowing where they are well?

Speaker 1 (28:40):
And it is mandatory to report any of those concerns.
And I know that certainly Nathan Finn had spoken to
us many weeks ago about you know, when they get
back to the office in some situations if they attended
domestic violence, you know, incident or something like that, and
if there is a child and I'm paraphrasing here that
then they go back to the office, they put that
notification in and then they really don't, you know, the

(29:02):
police don't. That's not for them to follow up. That
is then for Child Protection to obviously go and follow up.
And the expectation is that that is happening. But in
some cases it seems as though, for whatever reason, there
are children falling through the gaps, and I think that
that is a serious concern here and safety is fundamentally
you know, what people do want to see. None of

(29:24):
us want to see a scenario where a child is
abused hurt falling through those gaps. But I guess, you know,
the two major parties, as in the COLP and the
labor parties, certainly seem to have quite different views.

Speaker 2 (29:37):
Of how we get there.

Speaker 1 (29:38):
I know that Duranjung had stood up yesterday in that
Scrutiny Committee and really pressed the public servants, so Brent
Warren and the other public servant on why aboriginal groups
were not consulted throughout the bill's development. Ed, I guess
I'll ask you first, you know, what are the concerns
here from the Labor Party?

Speaker 3 (30:00):
The safety of children? That is the number one concern
Katie and I think from our point of view, like
the CLP is going to put up this legislation, they
have the numbers like it's going to happen, But what
comes after that. I'm just not convinced that the funding's
there and the budget that the support for the case
workers on the ground's not there. If you're sitting there
with two hundred cases today, you're going to be sitting

(30:22):
there two hundred cases tomorrow. So what's going to change
on the ground.

Speaker 1 (30:26):
So that's more the warrior you reckon that really, you know,
we need to make sure that there's actually resources to
support any changes that come into play.

Speaker 3 (30:33):
Well, it's the resources that's going to do the work.
The legislation in and of itself is not going to
do the work. It's not going to improve the safety
of children. We need the resources and we need to
be listening to the experts and the peak bodies that
have been presenting over these two days. And I'm really
concerned again with the Scrutiny Committee. They're going to come
back with a whole bunch of recommendations and evidence from

(30:54):
all these experts, and that will be ignored again. And
the CLP members are sitting on that committee, their own
government ignoring them.

Speaker 4 (31:01):
So will you.

Speaker 5 (31:01):
Support the legislation that if safety is the number one priority.

Speaker 3 (31:05):
Changing legislation isn't the number one So.

Speaker 5 (31:07):
You're not going to support the legislation so that children
are the number one safety priority.

Speaker 3 (31:12):
The safety of children already is the number one priority,
but it's not, and we're going to be focused on
the resourcing and the support for the children and family
that needed most.

Speaker 5 (31:20):
This is about the legislation though, which we have to
pass to ensure that safety is the number one priority,
and then of course the work that is needed, which
is long standing in terms of the problems we've had
for many, many decades, and this is what Minister Carl
has to do to make changes in that whole area.
I mean, we've seen these awful incidents where you know,
young people are out in our streets either they're unsafe

(31:42):
or they're doing unsafe things to other people, and so
it just baffles me that people are against are putting
safety as the number one paramount concern for children.

Speaker 1 (31:53):
So Mary Claire do you think that the changing of
this legislation will have a genuine impact, like on the
ground in terms of then kids not slipping through the gaps,
because I think part of what it's saying is correct
that you know, you do need to make sure then
there's resources to support any changes that come into place.
And look, I don't know that anybody knowingly or wittingly
sort of you know, says all right, we're going to

(32:15):
leave this child in this situation, or whether it is
a situation where you know, over the years, for you know,
for whatever reason, people within the department are maybe feeling
a bit helpless.

Speaker 2 (32:25):
So I don't know.

Speaker 5 (32:26):
There has been horrific stories that we have heard from
like foster families, and today we'll hear from some of
those foster families and that Scrutiny Committee about how they
have had to give up children and go back to
another home in which they came from where there was
terrible abuse happening, knowing full well that that abuse continued
once they went back. And so this legislation puts in

(32:48):
place that for everybody who deals with this situation, that
safety of that child is the number one priority and
that everything else is there in legislation, But the safety
is what comes first.

Speaker 1 (32:59):
Do you reckon going to see a big increase in
the number of kids and needing to go into foster care.

Speaker 5 (33:05):
I think if we do, that just stems the problem
that we're trying to solve here, Katie.

Speaker 6 (33:09):
I mean, if this, do we have enough to back
that up, Well, we'll be able to support that explosion
in numbers.

Speaker 5 (33:14):
Well we have to back that up. I mean this
we're talking about our children's safety, and for decades none
of this would happen. In fact, I would argue that,
you know that people were turning a blind eye and
putting children in unsafe situations because they didn't want to
deal with this problem. And I absolutely applaud the Minister
for Children of Families to be taking this really strong approach,

(33:37):
and you know, against all the critics who are saying
it shouldn't be the number one priority. I mean, she's
just saying, no, it absolutely shouldn't. She said, on her watch,
another generation of children are not going to be left
to grow up, you know, to have these awful things
happen to me.

Speaker 1 (33:51):
Do you think that there's been people in the department
who've been scared to take action for fear of being
labeled as racist, or for fear of there being another
stolen generation.

Speaker 2 (33:59):
What do you what do you think has happened.

Speaker 5 (34:02):
I don't have any evidence or stories about that specifically, Katie,
but what I know is that staff of government departments
will enact what the legislation says and what the government
puts in to legislation into policy, and so they they're
probably doing the best they can under the circumstances. And
so if you put the priority being the safety of

(34:25):
the child as first and paramount, then of course that's
all the legislation and policy around it and the work
that's done by those public servants you know, come together,
and of course then you start to change the status quo,
which is exactly what the intention is here.

Speaker 1 (34:41):
Look, we are going to take a really quick break,
but there's still plenty more to discuss on the show
this morning.

Speaker 2 (34:45):
I'm very keen to talk a little bit more.

Speaker 1 (34:47):
About these closures at Kakadu and the impact that it
is going to have on tourism that's coming your way
in just a couple of moments. You are listening to
three sixty. It is the week there was and in
the studio today, we've got Ed Smelt. We've also got Marray,
Claire Booby and Kathleen Gazola and there has been a
lot happened this week, but one of the areas it

(35:08):
has been quite concerning. Or we certainly spoke to a
tourism operator yesterday who's quite worried about the fact that
there's these closures.

Speaker 2 (35:15):
Now at Kakadoo.

Speaker 1 (35:16):
So earlier in the week Kathleen had brought us the
news that popular tourist hotspots Jim Jim and Twin Falls
in Kagado are going to be closed for this tourism season,
with Parks Australia revealing significant damage had been done to
the roads in the area of that park during the
huge wet season. So traditional owners are said to have
expressed safety concerns for tourists visiting the area while those

(35:39):
roadworks are undertaken and as a result, I've requested that
access to be closed until completed. But given that these
falls are two of the most popular and iconic attractions
in Kakadou, it is going to have a significant impact
on some operators.

Speaker 2 (35:56):
Maury Claire, you.

Speaker 1 (35:57):
Are indeed the Minister for Tourism, are you and Parks Share.
Are you worried about the impact that these closures are
going to have or I mean, is it simply a
situation here. We had a massive wet season and unfortunately
those roads aren't up to scratch.

Speaker 5 (36:12):
Yeah, Katie, I'm incredibly disappointed with what's happening out there
at Kakadu and with Parks Australia and the fact that
they haven't been able to do the work that's needed.
I mean, we knew that this was a huge wet season,
and we've seen plenty of other areas around the territory,
I mean Parks and Wildlife in particular, which is a
territory government one. And I must remind territories that Kakadu

(36:34):
was run by Parks Australia, which is the federal government.
Parks Parks NTE have been out doing all the work
to fix all of the things that are broken with
some of our parks after that wet season, and they've
done an extraordinary amount of work and there are a
lot of parks now open. In fact, Berry Springs opens
today as well after a huge amount of damage. And
then I think about the Daily and Willianna Road and

(36:56):
I was out there a couple of weeks ago, excruciating
damage to those roads and other things. And yet now
the boat ramps open, the roads are open, the fishing
comp's happening right now, it's on this weekend. So you've
got all these other parks and areas of tourism which
our locals rely on so heavily and for our economy,
that are doing the hard yards to get these parks

(37:16):
open for territorians and for our tourists. And yet for
some reason parks Australia are not able to do the work.

Speaker 1 (37:23):
So are you saying the Northern Territory government's doing their
work but the federal government's dragging their heels.

Speaker 5 (37:28):
I mean, I absolutely think that, Katie, and I can
tell you now. I was in Sydney a couple of
weeks ago and I was sitting down with the Minister
for Tourism, Don Farrell, who's the federal minister, and I
said then a couple of times too, in front of
a room full of people, Kakadoo needs your support and
your help. There is damage out there. We've got damage
right across the territory in a lot of areas, and

(37:48):
we absolutely begged them to help us. I sat down
later with Ostrade, which is the government department of that area,
and I again said, we need all the support we
can get for Kakadu because we're doing the work that
we can from the territory perspective, but we need support
the government.

Speaker 1 (38:03):
Happening then, because I feel like over the years, like
even when you know, even like even when there's been
different governments in power, whether it's Labor, whether it's Liberal,
whether it's CLP, the ALP, that we have had a
situation where it feels like Kagadoo has been neglected over
the years and there really hasn't been that level of investment.

Speaker 2 (38:23):
Why do you think that is?

Speaker 5 (38:25):
I think you should ask Parks Australia that question. And
you know, I think did you have parks on the
red now? But it'd be great if you could get
them on and ask them because you know, there's a
board of directors and Parks Australia said on that and
we have a represented representative from government as well who's
always pushing for them to be able to get these
parks open. And so I just don't buy the argument

(38:47):
that it's safety when you know, I think you had
a terr operator on your show this week who said
they had been out there and the road you could
access one of the falls, and so there is options.
I mean, if I think about Willianna Road, I mean
I thought there would be no way that road ever
opened them and the whole thing was gone, and yet
the territory government has managed to get out there and
make that road safe to be used. And so I
just do not understand why Parks Australia and Kakadu aren't

(39:11):
able to open, especially for the whole of the dry season.
I mean they should be pushing. There's plenty of places
out there that can be open in the wet season
as well.

Speaker 2 (39:18):
Rowed a bit more complex, So I don't know.

Speaker 4 (39:20):
I doubt that. Katie. Mean look at Williana Road. I
mean that whole strip was missing. I mean I went there.
It was absolutely crazy.

Speaker 2 (39:26):
Shout out to the civil contractor.

Speaker 4 (39:29):
Thank you.

Speaker 6 (39:30):
I mean we've seen over the years Parks Australia I
think has certainly let down the Northern Territory, especially their
relationship with traditional owners of the area has broken down
over many years. I mean that's why I saw Gunlom
closed for so long, given that they you know, damaged
a sacred site and so the traditional owners exercised their
rights to close that that has now been open. But

(39:51):
although a date hasn't been set for this dry season,
but it's that communication piece that Parks Australia hasn't really
followed up. I mean, we're in June and they've just
said that these areas are now closed for the entire
dry season. In that same media release, there wasn't any
comments of Mugook, which is a big attraction as well,
saying with Gunlom again a date hasn't been said. I

(40:12):
think I've heard maybe end of June maybe, But it's
that communication piece for tour operators who are having tourists
that book six months twelve months in advance to come
up here. Book with those operators that is that that's
what they need to get through the season, get through
the wet season to then survive into next year. I
think they've really let them down from Parks Australia, and

(40:33):
they've continually let down the Northern Territory over many years
because of that investment in Kakadu in terms of infrastructure, signage,
that kind of thing has really been let go well.

Speaker 1 (40:43):
And the disappointing part is it's like the jewel in
our crown, right, I mean, we want people to go their.

Speaker 3 (40:48):
D Yeah, absolutely, Katie, and certainly I respect the decision
of the traditional owners in the park to make these decisions.
I was under the impression that this was an upgrade
that the territory gut it's actually delivering. I believe.

Speaker 5 (41:01):
No, the upgrades are all being worked on or can
be worked around to get those parks open. This is
completely a decision by Parks Australia to have them closed,
and they're saying it's for safety, but that's just not
the case because you can access them, especially with formal drivesment.
It's a fantastic.

Speaker 6 (41:18):
Traditional owners have requested the closure because they've had safety
concerns following these assessments, and then they've said to Parks
Australia that they would like it close while it's upgraded.

Speaker 3 (41:28):
Yeah. So it's a territory government project that delivering on
the seventy million dollars for road upgrades. That's why I'm engaging.

Speaker 4 (41:35):
That's not true Northern so.

Speaker 3 (41:37):
It's not the seventy million dollars.

Speaker 5 (41:38):
So the worker was already started like from ages ago
out there, and this is what I'm saying when you
compare all of the projects that the departments are doing
in parks and in infrastructure, in roads, all of that
is being delivered. I mean, this was a decision that's
been made by Parks, maybe with the consultation of the
traditional owners, to say that they're not going to open it.

Speaker 3 (41:58):
So it's not from the sety million dollars.

Speaker 5 (42:01):
The Department of Infrastructure has been out there doing all
of the works and you can access those places and
you should they should be open to the public and
if they if they're not, then Parks Australia should be
giving them the support to get them open.

Speaker 1 (42:15):
So Eddie, you saying that it's a seventy it's part
of a seventy million.

Speaker 2 (42:19):
Dollars that was what provided by the feeds.

Speaker 1 (42:21):
Of the Territory government in twenty nineteen to the Northern
Territory government to deliver that.

Speaker 3 (42:27):
At least part of it was. Yeah, So I would
have thought those conversations would have been happening months ago.
It's not like when you're out upgrading the Carpent Area
Highway something you can't just cut a detour through the
scrub or something. I would have thought these conversations would
have been had the work.

Speaker 4 (42:42):
They've been hard.

Speaker 5 (42:43):
Yeah, the work that's been had with infrastructure to get
those roads open and fixed, that is all happening, and
there is absolutely ways that they can get around that
to make sure that people can access that park.

Speaker 4 (42:56):
What we have now is Parks Australia.

Speaker 5 (42:58):
Saying that they have safety concern and so they don't
want people to go out there.

Speaker 1 (43:02):
So you're so basically you're saying that, yes, the Northern
Territory government is delivering that work, correct, but you're saying
that there would be ways that they still be able
to all.

Speaker 4 (43:13):
The delivery of all the work.

Speaker 5 (43:14):
Parks Australia have come out and said that they it
won't be opening.

Speaker 2 (43:17):
But the work's done.

Speaker 5 (43:18):
You reckon the work's being done and you can access it,
likely on a road it's actually finished so that cars
can drive onto it. And so this is all of
the work that's been done by the Department of.

Speaker 1 (43:29):
Insists the whole reason why it's not actually opening is
due to the road.

Speaker 2 (43:33):
Is that correct?

Speaker 5 (43:35):
I have heard from Parks Australia through the media and
say is that it's to do with safety.

Speaker 6 (43:39):
Yeah, So as part of the media release, Parks Australia
has said that obviously these assessments were done and in
consultation with traditional owners they had expressed safety concerns with
allowing tourists onto their country while it's ongoing. With the
works to be completed by December to be open next year.
Talking to a couple of tourism operators, they weren't surprised

(44:00):
so much about Twin Falls being closed. They didn't expect
that to be open, but they did have hope that
while the roads were being upgraded that there would still
be access to Gymgym, so that aspect of it did
surprise them that that had been closed.

Speaker 3 (44:14):
So yeah, I'm still not clear these upgrades or flood
recovery works.

Speaker 4 (44:18):
I don't know.

Speaker 5 (44:18):
No, So the upgrades have been on the go for
a long time and they were waiting for approvals, which
I'm assuming is in the wind now. But the road
access out there is possible. I mean, one of the
joys of going out there is that you can get
out there in your full drive and it's not like
a bitchumin road, So of course you can access those
roads that the territory government will do and has proven

(44:40):
will do anything. It takes to get our parks open
and our tourist spots. We need Parks Australia to do
the same thing for Kakadu.

Speaker 1 (44:48):
All right, I mean there's a bit of confusion there,
or certainly, Kathy, you've got less Yeah, yep.

Speaker 6 (44:52):
It says Kakadu was impacted by cyclones resulting in substantial
damage to roads in the Gym Gym and Twin Falls area.
Following engage with traditional owners for the region and detailed
side assessments. Traditional owners express their concerns for the safety
of visitors to their country and have requested that the
area remain closed until all road projects are completed.

Speaker 5 (45:13):
Maclaire, Yes, so that says exactly what we have been
saying that Parks Australia have said that they're not going
to be opening those parks. They want the road works
to be completed. I mean not sure exactly what that means,
because there is access out there and the Infrastructure Department
of the Northern Territory has everything they need to do

(45:34):
to make sure that that continues to have access like
they have in all the other parks, and so it
sounds like they are not wanting to open the park
for some reason because there is access options available and
I can't answer that question, Katie.

Speaker 4 (45:47):
I think that's a question for Parks Australia with them. Yeah, absolutely,
I said to you.

Speaker 5 (45:52):
I was in Sydney a couple of weeks ago and
I sat down with the Minister and.

Speaker 4 (45:56):
Said, we need help, like the territory.

Speaker 1 (45:58):
Meeum again since this announcement was made just a little
bit earlier in the week.

Speaker 5 (46:01):
So I have written to the Minister about this and
like like I've said, the territory is ready and we'll
do anything we possibly can to get our parks open,
and we have done with other parks and we want
Kackadoo to be the same.

Speaker 2 (46:14):
I reckon you need to give him a call.

Speaker 6 (46:15):
So these projects include Jimjym Falls Road, which is upgrades
to a nineteen point twenty five kilometer section of the
road to gravel standard which will improve safety and amenity,
and secondary and tertiary road upgrades in the Gym Gym
and Twin Falls area, including upgrades to several floodways, natural
spring crossings along fall drive tracks between Carnamark Campground, Jymjym

(46:37):
Falls and Twin Falls.

Speaker 3 (46:38):
Sounds like upgrades, not flooded. Curry to me, Well, look,
we're going.

Speaker 1 (46:44):
To be catching up with them after ten o'clock. We're
going to be catching up with Sam Waldron, the director
of sales and Marketing at Kackadoo Tourism, so we might
be able to get a bit further detail as well
in that space. Now, look before I let you guys go,
I mean we've been talking about Kackadoo there, but it
is going to be a nieve dry season weekend. I
don't know about you, but I'm going to be heading
off to get some urals and some honey puffs over

(47:06):
the course of the weekend.

Speaker 2 (47:07):
What are you guys up to?

Speaker 3 (47:09):
Absolutely, Katie, Yes, I'll be out there on Sunday glenty
and yeah, so much on this weekend. Obviously, park Run
going to be back there for that.

Speaker 2 (47:16):
Well, I haven't been for a while.

Speaker 3 (47:18):
Haven't seen you there for a while, Katie. Yeah, Rabbit
Creek Land Care. I have also got some work on
Saturday morning as well, and get down to so Yeah,
lots to be out and about fo Ma.

Speaker 2 (47:28):
Claire, I mean you're the tourist.

Speaker 4 (47:29):
Get to is so much.

Speaker 5 (47:31):
In fact, we've had to spread our team right across
the territory this weekend because of course we have Fink
down in Central Australia. They're celebrating fifty years and so
that's going to be amazing. We've got a couple of
crew down there. Barunga's on as well out closer to
Catherine and there's a number of us going down there.
But I get the great job of going to the Glentee.
I'll be there serving cakes tomorrow to all the Kate

(47:52):
lovers and I tell you what, it's very tempting to
eat all of them.

Speaker 4 (47:54):
They look absolutely delicious.

Speaker 2 (47:56):
They certainly do. And Kathleen, well, you're not going anywhere.
You're staying here. You're going away on the weekend. But
you've got to do the rest of the show.

Speaker 4 (48:02):
Now that's time.

Speaker 6 (48:03):
I'm not going anywhere planning this afternoon.

Speaker 2 (48:05):
He where are you?

Speaker 3 (48:07):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (48:08):
Point bit of fishing, bit of crapping as well with
the kids Stave thirty.

Speaker 1 (48:12):
Oh, that's going to be a fantastic weekend. Well, thank
you all so much for joining us this morning and
Smelt the member for Nightcliff, thank you for your time.

Speaker 3 (48:19):
Thank you, Katy Murray, Claire Boothby.

Speaker 2 (48:21):
The Attorney General, thank you so much for your time.

Speaker 4 (48:23):
Thank you, Katie and have a great weekend.

Speaker 1 (48:25):
And Kathleen Gazola, well we'll get you in the studio.
We'll keep you in here for the news very shortly.
You are listening to Mix one O four nine's three
sixty It is well, that was the week, that was