1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: Now, obviously we've been talking a lot about the flood, 2 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:05,280 Speaker 1: about this tropical cyclone that is looming, but it's not 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: the only issue that is impacting Territorians. In fact, the 4 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,120 Speaker 1: residents of Pine Creek pretty worried and the business owners 5 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: out there as well pretty worried about the discussion around 6 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: town that the police station may be shutting up shop. Now, 7 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:22,919 Speaker 1: we got an email about this a little earlier in 8 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:24,760 Speaker 1: the week. But joining me on the line right now 9 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: is Graham will Cox, who is a Pine Creek businessman. 10 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: Good morning, Graham, Good morning Katie, Thanks for your time 11 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: this morning. Mate. What's the go with the police station 12 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:34,560 Speaker 1: out there. 13 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 2: Well, Katie, they seem to say they're under resource and 14 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 2: undermanned and there's more important issues and so they're basically 15 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 2: not manning it anymore, which to the locals, we had 16 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 2: a mass meeting yesterday. To the locals, we're not really 17 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 2: happy at the end of the day, where taxpayers where 18 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,960 Speaker 2: rate payers. There is a police station there Pine Creek. 19 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 2: Pine Creek, to a lot of us out here is 20 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 2: a vital area to start at the Kakado Highway. It's 21 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:09,480 Speaker 2: in between Catherine and Darwin. So even our fire is 22 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 2: our first responders and our nurses aren't real happy because 23 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 2: at the end of the day, if any accidents on 24 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:17,479 Speaker 2: the highway or any issues, they have to wait for 25 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 2: the police to come before they can even attend themselves. 26 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 2: With the police having to come from Catherine or Darwin, 27 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 2: there's a big delay and had last year. Last year, 28 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 2: I actually rang the Triple O twice. Was at one 29 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 2: o'clock in the morning. We got the police here at 30 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 2: four o'clock the following afternoon. Now that was the two 31 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 2: Triple O calls where someone's where someone was in danger 32 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 2: with four armed us on the roof of my tavern 33 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,279 Speaker 2: and a woman in goodness being my partner on the ground, 34 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 2: and they deemed it not it is not important to 35 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 2: attend until the next day. 36 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: Oh my goodness. 37 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 2: Only a few weeks ago we had a drunken person 38 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 2: that nearly rolled his troop carrying our driveway. Multiple calls 39 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 2: and he got he kept on driving up to Darwin, 40 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:11,399 Speaker 2: which was a danger on the highway to anybody respond 41 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 2: to that till the next day. 42 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, So Graham, tell me you guys had this meeting yesterday. 43 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: I'm assuming that you know the residents of Pine Creek 44 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:22,799 Speaker 1: attended talk me through. You know who was there and 45 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,119 Speaker 1: and you know what you guys are really calling for. 46 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 2: Well, we had a couple of senior police officers here 47 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 2: and there was probably close to forty locals, including our fieries, 48 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:38,799 Speaker 2: our nurses, just locals and a light council members, business 49 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 2: owners and basically we've been we've been asking the question 50 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:46,919 Speaker 2: about it. We haven't had proper policing for over three 51 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 2: years down here. In that time, we've had a number 52 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 2: of incidents and listen, we're just keeping it overlooked. We 53 00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 2: we've got a police station. They say the housing is 54 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 2: not good. Well, if they haven't manage their budget to 55 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 2: keep in touch of maintenance on their properties, well that's 56 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 2: another issue they need to look into. But listen, I 57 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 2: asked the question who makes the decision and they said 58 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 2: the police minister and that goes down to the chief 59 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,960 Speaker 2: Minister or the police commissioner. So I'm calling for the 60 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 2: police commissioner or whoever in charge of employing the police 61 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 2: officers to come here, to come and have a meeting 62 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 2: with us and say why. And listen, I know we 63 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:33,640 Speaker 2: might be short stuff, but it's no need to do it. 64 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 2: And I'm now sure there's a lot of communities out there, 65 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 2: Indigenous communities that have all got police. This is on 66 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 2: the highway, this is not our national highway. This town 67 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 2: which are coming into trying with a fuel christ and 68 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 2: everything going on. Tourism as it is is going to 69 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 2: look a bit different this year, we think after the 70 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 2: floods as well, with what's going to happen. So at 71 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 2: the end of the day, locals, we just want a presence. 72 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 2: Even the other night, six us running around let off 73 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 2: bar extingisers in the school, throwing rocks at the post 74 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 2: office windows. But there's no one who can call. He's 75 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 2: calling at police when you're not going to get a respond. 76 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:16,720 Speaker 1: Well, this is the thing, right you'd be there's no 77 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: point in calling if you know that nobody's going to 78 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 1: be able to get there. Where is the nearest police station. 79 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 2: The nearest police station is Catherine, which is ninety k's away, 80 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 2: one hundred ks. But when you call the police to 81 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 2: go through a call center in in Darwin, and they 82 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 2: said they're the ones that seem whether something's important to 83 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 2: send somebody out. We don't see if we don't see 84 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 2: why why a place like Pine three, I said, I 85 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,920 Speaker 2: understand numbers are down, but make the numbers. They say 86 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 2: no one wants to come to Pine Creek, Well I'll 87 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:52,240 Speaker 2: call them on that one. I'm pretty sure there's a 88 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 2: lot more people that'd rather go to Hear than some 89 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 2: of the other places they have to go. 90 00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: I reckon Pine Creek would be a great little place 91 00:04:59,080 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 1: to leave. 92 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 2: We all think it is game. We're from Broome to 93 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 2: here ten years ago. That breaks a bad place. 94 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, it's like a little tourist town, you know. 95 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 1: I remember when I first moved to the Northern Territory 96 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:14,040 Speaker 1: and you you know, yeah, you do see it as 97 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: a little tourist town, nice little place where when you're 98 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: driving around, you stop and you have a feed and 99 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:21,840 Speaker 1: you you know, you fill your car up. 100 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, listen, it's a good little town. It's just good, 101 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 2: a good destination south of Darwin. Ninety percent of people 102 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 2: stop he before they go up the Kakado Highway as well. 103 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 2: But that, listen, this is all we try to do 104 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 2: is just we want someone at I want the man 105 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:39,920 Speaker 2: at the top. I want to speak to the man 106 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 2: at the top. I don't want to get run around. 107 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 2: I don't want to get excuses. I don't want to 108 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 2: get ten reasons. While we can't have a police station, man, 109 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:50,320 Speaker 2: I want one to someone to say, yeah, no way, 110 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 2: as we see your concerns, we understand them. We're going 111 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 2: to put people police officers back in your town now 112 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 2: you're being in tourism. They're coming into the tourist season. 113 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 2: Run the risk of use running around and through the 114 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 2: caravan park at nighttime and going through people's fridges and 115 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 2: cars and where that happens. 116 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: But let us see what we can do. We're due 117 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 1: to catch up with the Chief Minister on Monday morning. 118 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,039 Speaker 1: Obviously everybody's keeping eye on this cyclone, so there'll be 119 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: plenty to discuss. But let us put it to the 120 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: Chief Minister on Monday morning and ask. And then we're 121 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:27,479 Speaker 1: due to have the Police Commissioner on but not until 122 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 1: around the first week of April I think, so you 123 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 1: might have heard from him before then, but we'll do 124 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: our best to still put it on the agenda. 125 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 2: Katie, that'd be great. As I said, we just need 126 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 2: to make the noise to be heard. Iose, and at 127 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 2: the end of the day, the buck stops with the 128 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:49,400 Speaker 2: person at the top, and they're the ones that we 129 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:51,720 Speaker 2: need to talk to, not people they want to send 130 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 2: on their behalf to make excuses. 131 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:56,360 Speaker 1: No, well, look, I can't make any guarantees, but I 132 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:59,280 Speaker 1: can definitely make sure that we raise your point, you know, 133 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 1: and raise this issue with the people in those positions 134 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: of power. So let's see what we can do for you. Graham. 135 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:09,160 Speaker 2: All right, okay, that'd be great. Thank you very much 136 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 2: for your. 137 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:13,679 Speaker 1: Time anytime, anytime. Good to speak with you this morning, Thank. 138 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 2: You very much. You need to get down and see 139 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 2: our shed too. 140 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: Oh what's going on? What's it the shed? 141 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 2: The shed's a collection of our sixty old homes, one 142 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 2: hundred and fifty bikes, and a thousand animals signs. Oh 143 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 2: how could and we raise money for melanoma to get 144 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 2: in there. So people need to get out and about. 145 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 2: And I've got a lot of state. I put a 146 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 2: lot into this town. I want it to work, and 147 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 2: we don't want to We don't want government apartments saying 148 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 2: we can't have police, because. 149 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, mate, that sounds awesome. And so what you raise 150 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: some money through for melanoma research? 151 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 2: That's it. We're five dollars to get into the shed 152 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 2: and all proceeds go to go to melanoma. Just one 153 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 2: way of putting back a lot of sister and it's 154 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 2: just the one way we can put back to back 155 00:07:55,800 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 2: back to Melanoma. Basically, it's a tourist attraction now. Tourists. 156 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:03,480 Speaker 2: Tourists are coming to Hear because of the shed and 157 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 2: numbers are increasing in the town and that's why we 158 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 2: feel we need need to have police here. 159 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 1: Beautiful mad I'm sorry you lost your sister to melanoma. 160 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: Thank you very much for having a chat with us 161 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: this morning, and that is a wonderful thing that you've 162 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: done out there. 163 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 2: Katie, thanks very much. 164 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: Of a good day you too, Thanks so much.