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Speaker 1: Now, some pretty serious claims made over the weekend. In

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Speaker 1: a report by the NT Independent claims that the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory Commissioner for Police Foreign Emergency Services allegedly told new

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Speaker 1: recruits on their second day of training that all firefighters

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Speaker 1: are greedy and it was and that he was coming

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Speaker 1: after one senior fire officer who is a union delegate. Now,

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Speaker 1: the report claims that mister Chalker, who's also the police

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Speaker 1: Commissioner and the head of NT Emergency Services, allegedly made

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Speaker 1: the statement to about twelve NT fire recruits.

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Speaker 2: This was back in April.

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Speaker 1: When they were well, when there was roughly twenty people

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Speaker 1: in the room. Now, it's one of those things, I

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Speaker 1: guess where unless you've heard it yourself, I'm not one

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Speaker 1: hundred percent sure exactly what was said in that room.

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Speaker 1: But the union head, Erina Early, has backed the claims,

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Speaker 1: doubling down and saying that they're getting sick of the

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Speaker 1: commissioner disrespecting our firefighters and making derogatory comments which have

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Speaker 1: no substance. United Workers Union NTE secretary Erina Early joins.

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Speaker 2: Me on the line. Now, good morning to you, Erina.

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Speaker 3: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 2: How are you not too bad?

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Speaker 1: Now?

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Speaker 2: These are some pretty big claims.

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Speaker 1: What exactly is the commissioner being accused of saying to

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Speaker 1: these new recruits?

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Speaker 3: Thanks, Katie. So yeah, on the second day, as you stated,

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Speaker 3: of the recruit squad training, that was the twentieth of April,

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Speaker 3: is the CEO for the fire Service, Jamie Chalker, was

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Speaker 3: invited to make him the address to the new recruits.

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Speaker 3: During his address, he said that the union was a bully.

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Speaker 3: He's not going to tolerate bullying behavior within his fire service,

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Speaker 3: and that there's a senior fire officer who's also a

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Speaker 3: union delegate, and that he was coming after after him.

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Speaker 2: Goodness, sorry, Erona, you go on.

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Speaker 3: Right, yeah, and then he then started talking about there's

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Speaker 3: a lot of overtime in the fire service and that

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Speaker 3: firefighters are greedy. He's said that don't follow that same

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Speaker 3: pathway with the greedy firefighters continuing pathway.

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Speaker 2: Now, Eroni, you weren't there, were you?

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Speaker 1: So obviously this has been relayed to you by people

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Speaker 1: who were there.

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Speaker 2: Yes, I mean, do you They are such big claims.

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Speaker 1: I guess some will be wondering how you can substantiate

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Speaker 1: them when you weren't there.

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Speaker 3: Now, that's a good point, Katie, well, you've got these

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Speaker 3: new recruits who said it's a second day of their job.

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Speaker 3: They're the ones who've come forward, so they're putting you know,

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Speaker 3: they're putting their neck on the line. There were other

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Speaker 3: people present in the room as well who backed up

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Speaker 3: the claims. It was it's quite extraordinary that there's well

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Speaker 3: over fifteen people who've got the same story.

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Speaker 1: Wow, is this the only thing that's happened that has

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Speaker 1: made the firies feel disrespected by the commissioner.

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Speaker 3: No, Look, they've been ongoing stuff and Katie. People may

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Speaker 3: think they're small, but it does really impact fieries how

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Speaker 3: they feel valued and respected by the commissioner. For example,

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Speaker 3: when it's budget time, the fire service doesn't hardly get

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Speaker 3: a look in at the budget. You've got appliances which

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Speaker 3: are well like well over being replaced, they never get

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Speaker 3: put into the budget. The Commissioner has made derogative comments before.

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Speaker 3: This is not the first time in a recruit squad

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Speaker 3: that has made comments about fireies. When he appears at

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Speaker 3: fiery events, he's in a police uniform. He should actually

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Speaker 3: not be dressed as a police commissioner. He's there as

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Speaker 3: the CEO of fire. All of those things really send

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Speaker 3: a message to firefighters that he is the police Commissioner,

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Speaker 3: not the CEO of fire Erina.

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Speaker 1: Look, is this a smear campaign against the commissioner due

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Speaker 1: to the current pay dispute with the fires?

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Speaker 3: Oh? Look, absolutely not the police Jamie Chalk, who doesn't

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Speaker 3: have a say over the wage increase that comes out

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Speaker 3: from government that's with their wage policy and the Commissioner

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Speaker 3: for Public Employment. This is not a smear campaign against him.

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Speaker 3: I've been quite vocal about the fire service should be

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Speaker 3: not part of the police. But this is an ongoing

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Speaker 3: issue that the CEO has had with our firing and

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Speaker 3: these accusations that he's made. Is the firing have had enough?

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Speaker 2: Yeah?

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Speaker 1: It's like I said, it's a really big call, you know,

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Speaker 1: for these people to step forward and obviously approach you

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Speaker 1: as as the head of the union to say that

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Speaker 1: they've had enough, and you know, others coming forward, particularly

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Speaker 1: as new recruits. So on this particular occasion on the

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Speaker 1: twentieth of April, I think it was how many of

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Speaker 1: them have now approached you erinor and really raised these worries.

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Speaker 3: We've had roughly about fifteen people have come forward and

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Speaker 3: confirmed that this had occurred. There were other people present,

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Speaker 3: but we're not expecting them to come forward. So you

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Speaker 3: had the CEO himself, you had the Chief Fire Officer,

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Speaker 3: you had the assistant Chief Fire officer and their media

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Speaker 3: person or present and it was videotaped.

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Speaker 2: Wow. So is that video out there?

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Speaker 3: We haven't got a copy of it, but we are

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Speaker 3: aware there is a video recording.

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Speaker 2: Erina, what do you think needs to happen here?

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Speaker 3: I really or I'm of the personal view based on

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Speaker 3: the instructions from my members is they want the CEO

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Speaker 3: to be made it accountable for his actions. They have

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Speaker 3: lost all respect and basically they don't find him as

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Speaker 3: their leader of their fire service. Something needs to be

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Speaker 3: drastically done for mister Chalker to regain his leadership and

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Speaker 3: trust or the fire service, or he needs to step

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Speaker 3: down as a CEO of fire.

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Speaker 1: So you think that that realistically, they are the only

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Speaker 1: options there? Yes, Erin, I know that you have also

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Speaker 1: made public comments saying that you do feel as though

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Speaker 1: the fire is need to be separated from the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory Police as it currently stands. Obviously, the Police Commissioner

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Speaker 1: is also the CEO for the fire and also emergency services.

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Speaker 1: You feel as though that needs to be separated.

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Speaker 3: Yes, do, Katie. So we've been asking for this for

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Speaker 3: quite a while. So police is such a specialized area

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Speaker 3: and a lot of resources and budget needs to go

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Speaker 3: towards police. So ware of the view that basic police

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Speaker 3: have there been their own separate department, and then you'd

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Speaker 3: have an emergency service agency which would fire would come

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Speaker 3: under Emergency Service bush fire, the ant and ambulance where

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Speaker 3: we finally win a campaign to bring ambulets back to government.

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Speaker 1: Well, I'll tell you what this is a I think

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Speaker 1: this is an incredibly interesting story.

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Speaker 2: Like I said earlier, there are big claims being made.

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Speaker 1: But you've said there are fifteen people who've come forward

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Speaker 1: and you know, have said that the police commissioner or

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Speaker 1: the commissioner has made these comments. We have been in

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Speaker 1: contact with the Northern Territory Police to see if we

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Speaker 1: can get a response.

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Speaker 2: At this stage we've not been able to.

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Speaker 1: But Erin, I mean, this is a concern and this

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Speaker 1: is a story which is going to, you know, to

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Speaker 1: make a lot of people feel quite worried.

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Speaker 2: I think.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely absolutely, Catie.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, thank you very much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 1: Before I let you go, I did just catch up

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Speaker 1: with the new Northern Territory Attorney General and Minister for

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Speaker 1: just Chancey Paig. We spoke about that report into the

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Speaker 1: prison right which happens. Well, it's a couple of years

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Speaker 1: ago now causing around thirty million dollars worth of damage

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Speaker 1: erin how are things going from our prison officers perspective?

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Speaker 1: Are they feeling safe in their jobs?

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Speaker 3: Are they still feeling unsafe? Katie. We haven't heard from

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Speaker 3: the new minister yet, but we're hoping the offers would

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Speaker 3: reach out, but looks like we'll have to reach out first.

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Speaker 3: We would love a copy of this payment review. I

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Speaker 3: think everyone should have a copy of this review. Its

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Speaker 3: tax pays money. It's a safety of the prisoners, it's

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Speaker 3: safety of our officers and it's safety of territories. It

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Speaker 3: shouldn't be a confidential document.

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Speaker 1: And do you reckon that there is going to be

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Speaker 1: recommendations or information in there which is required and that

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Speaker 1: needs to mean that there is change within the correction system.

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Speaker 3: Well, that's what when you hide something, people always assume

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Speaker 3: that there's something in there that so you know, there's

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Speaker 3: a big idea, a lot of money has to be

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Speaker 3: put into something. So the longer. It's kept confidential. People

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Speaker 3: are just going to keep assuming.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that is what happens. Well, Erina Early.

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Speaker 1: We always appreciate your time. Thank you very much for

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Speaker 1: having a chat with us this morning.

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Speaker 3: Thanks Katie, I have a great day you too.

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Speaker 2: Thank you