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Speaker 1: Now, I'm sure you've all seen the footage which emerged

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Speaker 1: of Northern Territory police officers allegedly man handling and threatening

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Speaker 1: a group of youths. Now, this incident happened in Alice

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Speaker 1: Springs Watchhouse during an arrest in twenty eighteen. It's since

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Speaker 1: been the subject of an ombudsman inquiry, but police say

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Speaker 1: they're unable to reveal what disciplinary outcomes of those proceedings

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Speaker 1: took place. Meanwhile, the Police Association slammed the ABC who

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Speaker 1: obtained and published the footage, describing it as manipulated footage.

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Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line is the Police Association

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Speaker 1: president Paul McHugh. Good morning, Paul, Good morning Katie. Now Paul,

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Speaker 1: you have taken aim at the ABC over this report.

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Speaker 1: Why is this manipulated footage?

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Speaker 2: Well, what you've seen online and what everyone would have

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Speaker 2: seen online, is just cherry picked footage of what would

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Speaker 2: have been a very long and involved incident. You know,

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Speaker 2: we know those youths were involved in the theft of

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Speaker 2: a view and a chase. We don't know the circumstances.

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Speaker 2: Nobody knows the circumstances fully around what happened there. Of course,

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Speaker 2: the footage that were shown, and the language and the

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Speaker 2: behavior wasn't necessarily reflective of what police do every day.

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Speaker 2: But what we saw there was cherry picked footage designed

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Speaker 2: specifically designed to create a negative narrative around police in

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Speaker 2: our community, and it is you know, it's so frustrating

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Speaker 2: when we know the incredible work police are doing out there,

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Speaker 2: and you know, as well as the fact this was

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Speaker 2: two and a half years ago, the matter's been dealt with.

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Speaker 2: The police, as you know, have a heavily governed profession

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Speaker 2: in terms of if there are behaviors that the public

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Speaker 2: don't feel are appropriate, there are mechanisms in place and

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Speaker 2: they were dealt with. And here we go again, sticking

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Speaker 2: the boot into the cops when they're out there doing

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Speaker 2: what they do, serving in protecting the community, and we

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Speaker 2: were just extremely frustrated that they had to go down

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Speaker 2: that path.

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Speaker 1: Well, do you think it's a for this vision to

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Speaker 1: be released two years after the incident and after discipline

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Speaker 1: reaction has been taken.

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Speaker 2: We've got to question the motives behind it, Katie. I

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Speaker 2: think you know, the footage isn't great, but as I've said,

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Speaker 2: it is manipulated. It's fast forwarded to the words that

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Speaker 2: the ABC wanted everyone to hear, and there's got to

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Speaker 2: be a reason behind that, and it really is masking,

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Speaker 2: in our view, the real issues that are going on

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Speaker 2: in the community. And we know those down in our

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Speaker 2: springs and in the top end around you know, use

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Speaker 2: walking the streets, later, not have a care, very young

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Speaker 2: children committing crime, domestic violence happening, alcohol related harm. But

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Speaker 2: these are the big issues, and yet here we go,

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Speaker 2: we cherry pick something from two or three years ago,

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Speaker 2: Nellie to have a crack at the cops again, and

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Speaker 2: we are fed up with it, and we know the

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Speaker 2: incredible work they do, and we don't need to be

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Speaker 2: putting up with this nonsense, and we won't.

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Speaker 1: Paul, what was your reaction when you saw that vision?

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Speaker 1: I mean, did you think to yourself, oh goodness, you

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Speaker 1: know those police they could maybe have used different words

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Speaker 1: or they you know, they seemed incredibly frustrated. What was

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Speaker 1: your reaction?

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Speaker 2: Well, obviously, you know, you look at it and you go, wow,

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Speaker 2: that's not appropriate. But we again, we don't know really

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Speaker 2: what was going on in that circumstance. We don't know

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Speaker 2: what that officer had dealt with that day, how many

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Speaker 2: hours he'd worked, had he worked a double shift, I

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Speaker 2: mean police at the moment, and I'd like to work

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Speaker 2: enormous amounts of overtime, you know, just just to keep

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Speaker 2: a frontline response capability. So we don't know really the

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Speaker 2: ins and outs of that matter, and people making comment

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Speaker 2: based on a few snippets of footage that the ABC

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Speaker 2: have put up is irresponsible and unnecessary, and I think

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Speaker 2: until you really know the full picture, it really is

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Speaker 2: unhelpful and divisive and should not occur.

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Speaker 1: Paul, I know that there will be some people listening

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Speaker 1: to this in you right now who will be thinking

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Speaker 1: to themselves, it's never okay, you know, to call the

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Speaker 1: people that you're arresting by derogatory terms, and it's not

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Speaker 1: okay to treat them in the manner that you know

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Speaker 1: of what we saw in that vision. I mean, what

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Speaker 1: would you say to those listeners?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, obviously, you know, and if people do have

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Speaker 2: those opinions and feel that way, you know, when they're

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Speaker 2: being spoken to by the police, or if they think

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Speaker 2: that the police are not behaving as they should behave

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Speaker 2: or not actually executing their duties appropriate, there are mechanisms

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Speaker 2: in place, and that's what's happened on this occasion a

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Speaker 2: complaint through the ombersmen went to internal police investigations. They

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Speaker 2: undertook an investigation and provided an outcome, and that was

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Speaker 2: some time ago, and that is the appropriate way to

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Speaker 2: deal with it. And some of those outcomes can be

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Speaker 2: managerial guidance, it can be extra training, it can be emotions.

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Speaker 2: I mean, there are a whole range of things that

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Speaker 2: come out of these things. So you know that it's

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Speaker 2: the appropriate way of doing it, not cherry picking and

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Speaker 2: throwing it up on social media. It's just sensationalists and unnecessary.

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Speaker 1: Paul, do you know what action was taken with these officers.

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Speaker 2: No, I don't, and obviously when unfortunately we're not allowed

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Speaker 2: to disclose that through legislative you know frameworks. But no,

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Speaker 2: I don't know the specific outcoming this instance. But as

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Speaker 2: I said, there are a range of options available to

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Speaker 2: police and into their discipline processes.

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Speaker 1: Well, since that vision has come out yesterday, have you

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Speaker 1: spoken to many of the police officers that work in

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Speaker 1: Olae Springs and how are they feeling today?

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Speaker 2: Well, they're pretty disappointed. I mean they bust their backsides

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Speaker 2: every single day, you know, to just they are often

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Speaker 2: the only point of call at the middle of the night.

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Speaker 2: It's a blue uniform out there doing the business keeping

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Speaker 2: the streets safe. And you know, and the ironic part

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Speaker 2: of this, Katie, is those people that like to dig down,

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Speaker 2: boots in and kick the police in the guts over

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Speaker 2: things from time to time are the very people who

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Speaker 2: are going to be ringing the police number when they're

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Speaker 2: in strifle, when they're in trouble, and they'll be calling

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Speaker 2: on police because they are often the only people out

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Speaker 2: there and they are the front line of our protection

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Speaker 2: of our community. And so they are feeling pretty disappointed

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Speaker 2: that the Alice Springs ABC and the ABC generally have

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Speaker 2: decided to throw this up so long after the event,

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Speaker 2: and particularly given what they've been doing this year for us, Katie,

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Speaker 2: And you know, in terms of protul Well and Paul.

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Speaker 1: You know, the thing that I keep going back to,

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Speaker 1: and I'm trying my best, you know, to stay middle

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Speaker 1: ground here, but the thing that I keep going back

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Speaker 1: to is it is just a couple of months ago

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Speaker 1: that we saw an innocent man lose his life on

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Speaker 1: the roads, allegedly due to young people who stole the

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Speaker 1: car in Alice Springs and hit him. You know, the

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Speaker 1: police have got it's such a bloody hard job to

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Speaker 1: do in Alice Springs. In fact, you know, they've got

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Speaker 1: a hard job to do no matter where they are.

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Speaker 1: But I just think that this is such an unhelpful thing,

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Speaker 1: you know, to release two years after it's happened. Now.

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Speaker 1: I'm a journalist and obviously I would always say that,

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Speaker 1: you know, you can't hide a story because the timing's

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Speaker 1: not right. But the community is hurting at the moment.

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Speaker 1: We've got so many people who are feeling at their

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Speaker 1: wits end with the way that youth crime is unfolding

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Speaker 1: in Alice Springs. I just think to myself, how to

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Speaker 1: our Northern Territory Police, How do those offices in Alice

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Speaker 1: Springs feel today?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's pretty tough, and I think they are doing

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Speaker 2: some You ever look at some of the work they're

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Speaker 2: doing down there with the community. I mean, you know,

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Speaker 2: not just in our Springs, but the remote communities surrounding

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Speaker 2: our Springs and through Central Australia and across the whole territory.

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Speaker 2: I mean, they live and invest their lives into that

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Speaker 2: uniform and they get involved in the community like no other,

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Speaker 2: and they really commit to serve the community in a

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Speaker 2: way that goes above and beyond, and yet here we go,

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Speaker 2: let's have a crack at a moment. Where is the

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Speaker 2: outrage for when the police get assaulted at enormous rates

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Speaker 2: every year? And where is the outrage when the kids

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Speaker 2: are wandering the streets late at night or there's another

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Speaker 2: horrible domestic violence incident on a public street corner. I mean,

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Speaker 2: come on, there are big issues out there that need

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Speaker 2: to be addressed, and you know, this matter has been

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Speaker 2: dealt with, the officer's been dealt with, and it's time

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Speaker 2: to move on.

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Speaker 1: Well, I tell you what, we were outraged when I

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Speaker 1: saw that vision a couple of weeks ago of a

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Speaker 1: female police officer being assaulted at the hands of a

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Speaker 1: teenage girl. And I think that this really, you know,

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Speaker 1: what we've seen here, what we've seen in you know,

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Speaker 1: in the vision with the police, but also what we've

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Speaker 1: seen obviously in this vision that was released or that

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Speaker 1: we saw a couple of weeks ago of that terrible

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Speaker 1: assault on an officer. Is it seems to me like

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Speaker 1: we've got a community that is at their wits ends.

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Speaker 1: You know, We've got a police force that is probably

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Speaker 1: feeling like they have are tied behind their backs.

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Speaker 2: That is often the case, Katian, and I know that

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Speaker 2: the Police Minister and the Chief Minister are down there,

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Speaker 2: you know, as recently as a couple of weeks ago,

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Speaker 2: and talking to those police on the front line that

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Speaker 2: are trying to do with that issue. And it is

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Speaker 2: a bloody tough job. I mean, as you put it

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Speaker 2: many times, it is not easy being on the front

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Speaker 2: line right now, particularly, I mean, let's not forget the

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Speaker 2: COVID implication of what they had to occur there, and

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Speaker 2: you know it is a frustrating time. They've had a

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Speaker 2: lot of hours, a lot of hours over time just

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Speaker 2: to keep us safe. We need to be thanking them.

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Speaker 2: We're not for one second condoning the language used in

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Speaker 2: that footage. But ultimately it is a long time ago,

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Speaker 2: there would have been lessons learned from that. The matter

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Speaker 2: has been dealt with and we need to we need

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Speaker 2: to move on from it.

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Speaker 1: Well, sorry to cut you there, mate, I do just

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Speaker 1: want to ask obviously, we know that borders. The government

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Speaker 1: yesterday made that announcement about police being taken off some

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Speaker 1: of those border locations. This is something that you and

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Speaker 1: I have spoken about on numerous occasions. You've been calling

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Speaker 1: for this to happen now for weeks. Were you pleased

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Speaker 1: and the government made that announcement yesterday, Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Look extremely please. I mean I've always said obviously they

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Speaker 2: have to rely on the health advice and so forth,

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Speaker 2: but we know the borders are open, we know at

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Speaker 2: the moment there's no hotspots, and you know it'll be

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Speaker 2: welcome news for a lot of those officers that have

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Speaker 2: had to work away from their families in many of

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Speaker 2: those really remote locations to be able to come back

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Speaker 2: right at Christmas get some rest and respite because they've

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Speaker 2: been doing it tough for a long time. So really

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Speaker 2: welcome news and I know it'll be welcomed by the

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Speaker 2: troops on the ground for sure.

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Speaker 1: Police Association President Paul McHugh. We will leave it there.

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Speaker 1: I always appreciate your time, mate, Thanks for having your

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Speaker 1: chat today.

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Speaker 2: Good on you, cheez Katie.

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Speaker 1: Thank you. You are listening to Mix one oh four

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Speaker 1: point nine's three sixty