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Speaker 1: But you may have heard on Friday morning I did

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Speaker 1: mention a statement had come out from the Transport Workers

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Speaker 1: Union in relation to antisocial behavior on our bus network

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Speaker 1: and the Transport Workers Union calling for urgent action to

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Speaker 1: protect bus drivers following another violent assault. Now joining me

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Speaker 1: on the line right now is the TWU branch secretary

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Speaker 1: Ian Smith.

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Speaker 2: Get a in good morning. Here you going, Kadie, Not

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Speaker 2: too bad, Ian.

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Speaker 1: I was pretty mortified when I read this statement on

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Speaker 1: Friday that said that you guys have received reports that

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Speaker 1: a female bus driver was physically assaulted at about three

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Speaker 1: point fifteen on Thursday afternoon by a male perpetrator who

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Speaker 1: was under the influence of alcohol. Now, are you able

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Speaker 1: to give us a bit further detail of exactly what happened?

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Speaker 2: Well, yeah, it's real concerning. It's horrifying for me and

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Speaker 2: as the Union of self. The fact that it's through

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Speaker 2: fifte in the afternoon, when not only people are turning home,

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Speaker 2: but the school children were turning home from school. And

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Speaker 2: the think that the perpetrators invaded been out of invader

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Speaker 2: bus driver's space is real concerning. You know, if the

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Speaker 2: bus is moving and they got into those space, it's

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Speaker 2: a real Garma from what I understanding. Look, the security

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Speaker 2: system that was put in across the network, we thought

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Speaker 2: was quite adequate and would have would have protected the drivers.

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Speaker 2: And we had an incident a few weeks ago about

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Speaker 2: someone getting through the locking system. That matters been addressed

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Speaker 2: and all those things are fine now, but some of

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Speaker 2: this perpetrators try to get over the top of that

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Speaker 2: screen and managed to do that and started punching and

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Speaker 2: spitting and hitting the driver. Now luckily she was uninjured.

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Speaker 2: And our other observation has been that the security was

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Speaker 2: there very quickly to assist that it's just not good.

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Speaker 2: Now what's happening on the network. It's we put a

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Speaker 2: lot of things in place to try and ease the

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Speaker 2: pressure that it seems to be continuing. So I think

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Speaker 2: we're getting to the stage that we need to really

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Speaker 2: reassess what buses actually look like, and the driver needs

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Speaker 2: to be completely isolated and so that the public can't

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Speaker 2: get through unfortunately or her, and we need to come

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Speaker 2: up with a four dollar protection system, which there is

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Speaker 2: designs and there is those systems that have been designed

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Speaker 2: in New South Wales and Victoria that would probably retroit

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Speaker 2: those buses because they're pretty standard, but I think the

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Speaker 2: time is coming, but we need to do that.

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Speaker 1: Well, it sounds as though something needs to be done,

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Speaker 1: I mean, from what I've read, it says that it's

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Speaker 1: alleged that that after several failed attempts to break open

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Speaker 1: the driver protection screen, the perpetrator used the pay slot

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Speaker 1: in the middle of the door to climb on top

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Speaker 1: of the frame, where he could then reach the driver

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Speaker 1: through that gap. He then proceeded to punch the driver

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Speaker 1: repeatedly in the head and spit on her through the

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Speaker 1: gap in the door. I mean, this must have been

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Speaker 1: quite a terrifying situation for that driver. Have you spoken

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Speaker 1: to her Ian, No, we.

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Speaker 2: Haven't, but our understanding is she's okay and wasn't physically

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Speaker 2: injured badly, and then she's pretty shaken up. And our

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Speaker 2: understanding is also that the company took all the appropriate

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Speaker 2: steps to make sure that she was okay, but we

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Speaker 2: haven't caught up with her yet. She's the most important

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Speaker 2: person in this matter, because it is just not good enough.

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Speaker 2: And like we've called for an urgent meeting and I'm

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Speaker 2: happy to say there's a meeting schedule for fifteenth of December,

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Speaker 2: and we need to be addressing these issues with this

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Speaker 2: the Network Committee to get on top of this because

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Speaker 2: sooner or later we're going to have a serious incident.

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Speaker 2: Not only when the bus rider is going to be

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Speaker 2: serious interident, but there's going to be Fassenger's incident and

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Speaker 2: no one wants that. I understand. The government has put

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Speaker 2: some trying to tighten the legislation up this week in Parliament,

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Speaker 2: but we need to do more. It's not good enough

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Speaker 2: and we need to come up with full driver protection

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Speaker 2: system that protects the driver so then if they can

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Speaker 2: do their job, and then if there is any anti

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Speaker 2: social belathory, we need quick action from police. I understand

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Speaker 2: the legislation allows to do so. To ban now, to

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Speaker 2: actually banned perpetrators off the buses and kick them off,

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Speaker 2: that's a great thing. But there's got to be a

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Speaker 2: bigger consequence.

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Speaker 1: And can you tell me do you have any idea

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Speaker 1: how many bus drivers have been assaulted in the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory this year so far?

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Speaker 2: No, offhand, I can't tell that, but it is on

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Speaker 2: the rolly, Yeah, surveys who always get the bus drivers

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Speaker 2: always copied because of the buses, laiters as well, all

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Speaker 2: the things that happen in life. So you know, we

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Speaker 2: know unfortunately the territory itself has a lot of antisocial

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Speaker 2: behavior issues everybody's trying to address, but it's certainly on

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Speaker 2: the rise and we're certainly going to need to take

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Speaker 2: action to make sure that this doesn't continue.

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Speaker 1: All right, So I from here you are obviously, as

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Speaker 1: you've said, there is going to be a meeting on

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Speaker 1: the fifteenth of December. Is that going to be with

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Speaker 1: the minister or the department? And what do you hope

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Speaker 1: to get from that meeting?

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Speaker 2: That meeting is going to consist of all the players,

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Speaker 2: so the companies, the police, the security companies, are the

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Speaker 2: department and hope now there could be a representative from

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Speaker 2: the government so that its job is to make a

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Speaker 2: difference for those things will be attending and we'll be

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Speaker 2: pushing pretty hard. More needs to be done, and certainly

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Speaker 2: if we don't, something's going to happen that no already

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Speaker 2: wants and we can't accept that. You know, this is

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Speaker 2: a good society and it's public. The buses is one

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Speaker 2: of the few public transport systems you have in the

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Speaker 2: territory in Dawah, and it's a great sis and run

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Speaker 2: by a couple of good operators, So let's protect the

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Speaker 2: people and then that and they's come up with a

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Speaker 2: real solution that makes them safe and so they can

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Speaker 2: carry out their duties and we get on top of

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Speaker 2: this anti social behavior. That committee has done some good things.

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Speaker 2: Education is a big part of it. More police officer

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Speaker 2: is a big part of it. Driver protection systems is

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Speaker 2: a big part of it. But it's getting to the

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Speaker 2: stage now where we need to work very closely and

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Speaker 2: come up with a system where the driver is protected

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Speaker 2: in the first place, so these perpetrators think that they

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Speaker 2: can get anywhere near on like it is very similar

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Speaker 2: that happens in transtra across the country where the driver's

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Speaker 2: completely isolated and doesn't have the interaction with the public

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Speaker 2: and I get on with it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well it is so very important. I mean, we've

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Speaker 1: got to make sure that that anybody on the front line,

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Speaker 1: and you know, like with our bus drivers, we've got

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Speaker 1: to make sure that they're able to do their jobs

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Speaker 1: and do them without being fearful of being assaulted and

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Speaker 1: without being assaulted. We all understand that there's going to

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Speaker 1: be issues from time to time, but you know, hearing

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Speaker 1: that on Friday and what had happened on Thursday. I thought,

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Speaker 1: what a frightening situation for that bus driver.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and our hearts to go out for her and

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Speaker 2: her family and hope she's okay, and I know she'll

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Speaker 2: be getting to support you need. Yeah, but it's not

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Speaker 2: good enough. You know it is not good enough, and

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Speaker 2: it needs to stop. And the rest assured. I don't

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Speaker 2: like having these conversations with you, Caddy. We need to

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Speaker 2: make sure to keep the pressure on all parties to

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Speaker 2: make sure that we come up a solution to stop

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Speaker 2: system happening and we move forward.

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Speaker 1: I agree, and keep us up to date. Let us

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Speaker 1: know how that meeting goes on the fifteenth. We really

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Speaker 1: appreciate your time, and if you do speak to that

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Speaker 1: driver please, I don't know that the whole community hopes

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Speaker 1: that she is okay, and we're all pretty mortified upon

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Speaker 1: hearing what had happened.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Gadie, Thank you for your listen you to Thanks Ma,