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Speaker 1: Well, Tourism Central Australia has moved a motion urging the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory Government to take immediate action to enforce law

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Speaker 1: and order in Alice Springs, saying that crime is reaching

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Speaker 1: crisis levels. It follows a shocking incident which saw a

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Speaker 1: visitor browsing the local information center allegedly hit with a

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Speaker 1: coward's punch by an offender without premeditation. Now joining me

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Speaker 1: on the line is Daniel Rochford from Tourism Central Australia,

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Speaker 1: the CEO. Good morning to you, Daniel.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, Good morning to your listeners.

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Speaker 1: Duniel. Firstly, can you tell me what happened with this

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Speaker 1: assault at the visitor center.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, last Monday, we had a visitor who was just

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Speaker 2: browsing the shelves of the information center in the middle

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Speaker 2: part of the day and someone just walked in off

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Speaker 2: the street and threw a punch without any premeditation or

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Speaker 2: any understanding of who that person was. And look, the

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Speaker 2: visitor was here on holidays. There was actually her sixty

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Speaker 2: first birthday and she was here in the region enjoying

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Speaker 2: herself and then suddenly this assault alleged assaults occurred.

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Speaker 1: Daniel, that is honestly shocking.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's pretty bad. Look, obviously, it's more than pretty bad,

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Speaker 2: you know, getting to the stage now where assaults like

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Speaker 2: this are happening not at night, it's happening in broad daylight,

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Speaker 2: and it's very I guess the situation that we face

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Speaker 2: day in day out here in our springs. And you

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Speaker 2: alluded to the fact that my members last week moved

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Speaker 2: a motion basically describing what we're living with here in

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Speaker 2: our springs is at crisis levels and certainly we're needing

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Speaker 2: urgent support from the Northern Territory Government to put additional

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Speaker 2: resources to this because at this very moment, in our opinion,

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Speaker 2: the Northern Territory Government does not have control of the

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Speaker 2: streets of Alice Springs. They may be the government, but

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Speaker 2: they do not have control of our streets.

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Speaker 1: Daniel, it is a massive call for a tourism body

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Speaker 1: to come out to put your necks out, move this

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Speaker 1: motion to say that the Northern Territory Government do not

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Speaker 1: have control of crime in Alice Springs. Why have you

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Speaker 1: gone down this path?

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Speaker 2: Well, not only are we seeing the statistics all trending

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Speaker 2: upwards significantly, but we are seeing it, we're living it.

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Speaker 2: And we're feeling it. I think I nearly speak for

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Speaker 2: every member of this community that says we go to

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Speaker 2: bed at night fearing for have safety and there is

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Speaker 2: utter lawlessness occurring day in day out, which is when

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Speaker 2: I say the government does not have control of our streets.

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Speaker 2: That is what I point to. We see vandalism, we

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Speaker 2: see assaults, we see major intodess is on a daily basis.

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Speaker 2: Now that's not something you would see in a community

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Speaker 2: where the government and its authorities have control of the streets.

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Speaker 2: And that's why we think this is out of control.

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Speaker 1: Well, I mean an example of that is yesterday we

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Speaker 1: saw footage on nine News Darwin of a bakery wicked needs.

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Speaker 1: I believe it was being ram rated in the afternoon.

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Speaker 1: We also were sent to pressure release by the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory Police yesterday about an eighth and an eleven year

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Speaker 1: old allegedly lighting a house on fire. I mean, these

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Speaker 1: are some of the types of things that are happening

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Speaker 1: daily in Alice Springs from what I can.

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Speaker 2: Gather, Yeah, absolutely, and that's what we live with. And

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Speaker 2: I guess Tourism Central Australian we've been very supportive of

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Speaker 2: the government. We sat down We've heard everything that they

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Speaker 2: have been trying to do to support this and for

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Speaker 2: a few years now. And you know, whenever things get bad,

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Speaker 2: you know, there's a surge that happens, ministers fly in

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Speaker 2: and extra work gets done. But still we've got the problem, Katie,

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Speaker 2: and this is now we are at our wits n

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Speaker 2: and ultimately what we need to see here is, rather

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Speaker 2: than have reaction, which is what happens when a crime happens,

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Speaker 2: twenty minutes thirty minutes later, police turn up and other

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Speaker 2: support services turn up, we react to crime. We are

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Speaker 2: not proactive in terms of making sure our streets there

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Speaker 2: is law and order being put in place on our

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Speaker 2: streets in this town.

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Speaker 1: So Daniel, what are you talking here? Do you want

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Speaker 1: to see more police on the streets. I mean that's

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Speaker 1: a call that we saw from our Lord Bear up

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Speaker 1: here in Darwin Conbat Scarlets recently saying that he wanted

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Speaker 1: more police on the beach and on the streets. Is

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Speaker 1: that what you think needs to happen in Alice Springs?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, And it's more than just the police. And can

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Speaker 2: I say that they do an amazing job, Katie, But

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Speaker 2: it is more than just the police. But yes, visibility

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Speaker 2: is critical in terms of making sure that I look

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Speaker 2: when I go to darwhen I see the private security

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Speaker 2: around the Darwin Waterfront area and think, gee, that's something

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Speaker 2: that would be a great thing to see in Alice

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Speaker 2: Springs as well. But I also look to the importance

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Speaker 2: of making sure that visibility. But we need to throw

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Speaker 2: way more resources at this problem at this time, not

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Speaker 2: in two weeks time or three weeks time. It needs

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Speaker 2: to be done now to restore law and order in

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Speaker 2: this town.

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Speaker 1: I mean, what do you make of what the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory government have previously said, though I know that I've

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Speaker 1: had the Minister for Police, Kate Warden, on this show

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Speaker 1: saying that they have got Jeanette Kerr leading a review

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Speaker 1: into what's going on in Ola Springs when it comes

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Speaker 1: to where those resources are being utilized and the issues

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Speaker 1: with youth crime and crime on the streets, Does that

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Speaker 1: go far enough for Daniel? Are we talking here that

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Speaker 1: something needs to happen sort of immediately and you can't

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Speaker 1: wait for that review to be complete.

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Speaker 2: We fully support the social order response and certainly congratulate

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Speaker 2: the government around that, but you know, some of that

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Speaker 2: stuff should have been done a long time ago, you know,

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Speaker 2: coordinating CCTV cameras, coordinating support groups. You know that stuff

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Speaker 2: should have been done a long time ago. But the

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Speaker 2: reality is we're playing catch up. But we fully support it.

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Speaker 2: But it's going to have And Jeanette was on local

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Speaker 2: radio here this morning saying the exact same thing, that

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Speaker 2: it's going to take time. We don't have time. We

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Speaker 2: need to make sure that our streets and our houses,

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Speaker 2: our businesses are secure now, not in the future.

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Speaker 1: Daniel, I've got to say, you know, you are somebody

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Speaker 1: who just a month ago you and I were talking

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Speaker 1: about the amazingly positive numbers you've seen out of Central

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Speaker 1: Australia when it comes to the number of visitors, how

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Speaker 1: long they were staying, for the amount that they were spending.

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Speaker 1: When there is a positive story to tell you are

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Speaker 1: well and truly front and center to tell it. Are

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Speaker 1: you concerned though, about the impact that coming out and

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Speaker 1: saying that crime is at crisis levels is going to

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Speaker 1: have when it comes to tourism.

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Speaker 2: I think you and I know each other well enough

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Speaker 2: and so does the government that I wear my heart

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Speaker 2: on my sleeve and look, you know, we don't come

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Speaker 2: out on issues like this just without forethought. This is

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Speaker 2: obviously now a significant issue for not only the tourism

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Speaker 2: industry of Central Australia but our community. And our plea

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Speaker 2: to the government is we need more resources. We need

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Speaker 2: it now and if that means that Tourism Central Australia

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Speaker 2: and other business groups here locally in our community voice

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Speaker 2: that to our government. We just need to see action, Katie,

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Speaker 2: and we need to see it sooner other than later.

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Speaker 1: Daniel, what would you say to anybody listening this morning

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Speaker 1: who thinks you're talking the territory down.

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Speaker 2: Look, we're certainly not in any shape or form wanting

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Speaker 2: to talk the territory down. We have an amazing place.

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Speaker 2: Central Australia's an amazing tourism destination and you know, we're

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Speaker 2: certainly very you know, we're very lucky to be where

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Speaker 2: we are. But if we do not get in control

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Speaker 2: of this issue, it is going to hurt us long

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Speaker 2: into the future. And that's the reason why we're making

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Speaker 2: this public call at the moment that we need action

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Speaker 2: and we need our government to get back in control.

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Speaker 1: Daniel Rochford, the CEO of Tourism Central Australia, I always

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Speaker 1: appreciate your time and this morning mate. I appreciate the

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Speaker 1: fact that you are wearing your heart on your sleeve.

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Speaker 1: You are stepping up for the community of Ellice Springs

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Speaker 1: and for tourism in Central Australia and the community more broadly.

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Speaker 1: And I appreciate you coming on air and having a

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Speaker 1: chat with us about it.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Courtie, thank you.