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Speaker 1: Now we know that a suite of animal protection reforms

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Speaker 1: have been passed in the Northern Territory Parliament with Strength

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Speaker 1: which strengthen penalties, expand enforcement powers, and ensure the laws

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Speaker 1: reflect community expectation. Now key changes include tougher penalties for

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Speaker 1: cruelty offenses, clearer requirements for restraining dogs in vehicles, new

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Speaker 1: restrictions on dog prong collars and electrical devices, as well

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Speaker 1: as greater power for authorized officers to enter businesses where

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Speaker 1: animal activities are being carried out, with the maximum penalty

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Speaker 1: for best reality increased from seven to ten years jail.

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Speaker 1: Now joining us on the line is a local vet doctor,

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Speaker 1: Roz Barker, who was heavily involved in advocating for these changes.

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Speaker 1: Good morning Ros, Good morning Katie. Good to have you

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Speaker 1: on the show. Ros. What's your reaction to these reforms.

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Speaker 2: I think it's absolutely fantastic. I think it's finally brought

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Speaker 2: to Northern Territory out of the dark ages when it

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Speaker 2: comes to animal welfare, meaning there's still work to be done,

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Speaker 2: but these really have strengthened and said the government has

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Speaker 2: made a stand and said, you know, we take animal

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Speaker 2: welfare seriously, so it's about time.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and look, it does seem as though most people,

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Speaker 1: I think the large majority of people feel as though

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Speaker 1: these are good changes. What changes were you advocating for.

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Speaker 2: Most of them? To be honest, we were, you know,

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Speaker 2: a big supporter of the infringement offenses. It really gives

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Speaker 2: that animal welfare officers, you know, more power and more

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Speaker 2: tools than their toolkit to make change. You know, we've

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Speaker 2: got the changes that have moved over to the criminal Code,

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Speaker 2: which means that they can involve you know, police powers

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Speaker 2: where necessary. And also you know these common sense things

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Speaker 2: like the mini Sefagloida said, where you know, the way

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Speaker 2: we should be restraining dogs in vehicles and you know,

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Speaker 2: access to break dogs out of vehicles in an emergency.

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Speaker 2: That's all in there now and that's really really important

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Speaker 2: for the Northern Territory context.

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Speaker 1: Can you shed any light in terms of the reforms

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Speaker 1: around electronic devices so.

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Speaker 2: They're more clarification to what was already in there in

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Speaker 2: terms of like where you shouldn't be shocking animals, in

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Speaker 2: terms of you know, genital's face others anus again, common

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Speaker 2: sense things. I don't think anyone would like to be

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Speaker 2: shocked there. So that was an update that was already

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Speaker 2: in the Act and this is updated to clarify that.

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Speaker 1: In terms of I know that that in regards to

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Speaker 1: the increase of the seven years jailed to ten years

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Speaker 1: for an offense of best reality, it's widely known this

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Speaker 1: was a response to the Adam Britain matter. In your opinion,

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Speaker 1: does it go far enough? No?

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Speaker 2: I think I think it could be, you know, increased

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Speaker 2: even further. We're talking about severe depravity, beyond what anyone

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Speaker 2: can actually handle. In terms of I think that you know,

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Speaker 2: those people that were involved in that, you know, they're

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Speaker 2: still covering from that, and that was acknowledged in Parliament.

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Speaker 2: But where we've gone, there's only up. You know, we

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Speaker 2: can only increase that from here. But I definitely think

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Speaker 2: there's always room to strength and that level of depravity

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Speaker 2: and the replications.

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Speaker 1: I agree. I agree in terms of how we now

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Speaker 1: compared to other states and territories, do you know what

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Speaker 1: we like? Are our you know, are our rules and

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Speaker 1: animal perfection? Goodness me, I'm struggling with my words this morning.

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Speaker 1: Animal protection reforms. Have we gone further than what other

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Speaker 1: states have? And do you think that's a step in

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Speaker 1: the right direction.

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Speaker 2: We've definitely taken a step in the right direction. We're

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Speaker 2: not the toughest in the country, and you know there's

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Speaker 2: things that like we don't have sentience in our Act.

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Speaker 2: We still refer to animals as property, whereas you know

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Speaker 2: the Act have now introduced that as well. So there's

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Speaker 2: room to improve. But you know we're definitely up there

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Speaker 2: as leaders now, which is great to see.

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Speaker 1: Ross. Do you reckon that these reforms are going to

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Speaker 1: act as a straw deterrent for animal cruelty?

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Speaker 2: I think there's a step in the right direction, Katie.

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Speaker 2: You know, having spent a lot of time talking with

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Speaker 2: the Director of Animal Welfare and animal welfare officers, they

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Speaker 2: had to focus a lot on education. But now they've

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Speaker 2: got the next tour, which is infringement notices, which plays

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Speaker 2: a big role because otherwise they're only step from education

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Speaker 2: was to take that to prosecution. And we know the

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Speaker 2: court system is so burdened as it is to take

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Speaker 2: a welfare case all the way to prosecution, it's very

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Speaker 2: costly and difficult. But now the infringement notices provide that

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Speaker 2: middle ground, and you know they've got so much more

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Speaker 2: power beyond education, which we know in just some cases

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Speaker 2: this doesn't work.

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Speaker 1: Ross. What's been the reaction from you know, not only

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Speaker 1: from you, but from others involved in really advocating for this,

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Speaker 1: because I know it has been you know, quite a

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Speaker 1: team if it, I guess you'd say in terms of

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Speaker 1: animal welfare organizations, industry groups. You know, there's been quite

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Speaker 1: a few people that have been involved in really trying

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Speaker 1: to push for these changes.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, this really start, this big push really

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Speaker 2: started for us and getting community together back in twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty two to gather all the perspectives and the things

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Speaker 2: we want to change. And overall, I think the community

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Speaker 2: is really happy about it. You're never going to make

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Speaker 2: everybody happy, but what it's about is making the community safer,

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Speaker 2: an animal safer, and I think that the buy and

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Speaker 2: large everyone's really behind that.

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Speaker 1: On Look, we always give governments a lot of stick

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Speaker 1: if they're not listening, but in this situation, it seems

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Speaker 1: as though they have.

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Speaker 2: They've absolutely listened. They've got us, you know, in front

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Speaker 2: of people, they've listened. They've you know, I said that

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Speaker 2: they have Dare I said, this is a really a

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Speaker 2: good example of democracy and action where both sides have

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Speaker 2: come together, but they've also listened to the public and

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Speaker 2: taken on board so much of this public feedback during

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Speaker 2: the Havevier say and then the Scrutiny Committee process.

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Speaker 1: Well that is good to hear, really good to speak

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Speaker 1: to you this morning, Roz. Thank you so much for

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Speaker 1: having a chat with us, No problem, Thank you,