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Speaker 1: Like I told you last week, we know that a

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Speaker 1: survey is being conducted by the Northern Territory Police Association

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Speaker 1: as negotiations over a pay deal for officers continues. And

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Speaker 1: I've got my hands on some further details of that survey.

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Speaker 1: And joining me on the line is the Police Association president,

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Speaker 1: Paul McHugh. Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Paul, Good morning Katie. Paul.

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Speaker 3: How many people have now completed that survey?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we opened the survey last Wednesday, so it's been

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Speaker 2: open a week now. We've had in excess of fifty

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Speaker 2: percent of the police force return a result so far,

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Speaker 2: so in excess of eight hundred plus people already. In fact,

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Speaker 2: in the first three hours of the survey being open

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Speaker 2: we had over three hundred which is which is a

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Speaker 2: record return rate. So it gives you an idea just

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Speaker 2: how people are feeling at the moment that they really

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Speaker 2: want to have their say, and we're no doubt on

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Speaker 2: target to achieve well over one thousand responses because the

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Speaker 2: survey's open for another week yet.

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Speaker 1: So how many members of the Northern Territory Police Force

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Speaker 1: are well, how many police officers are members of the association, Just.

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Speaker 2: About every single one, So around ninety eight and a

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Speaker 2: half percent of the sworn officers in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: are members of the Northern Territory Police Association, so it

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Speaker 2: gives you an idea just about every one of those

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Speaker 2: police you see are members of the association. So when

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Speaker 2: we do a survey of this nature we get such

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Speaker 2: a high return rate. It really is a clear view

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Speaker 2: and a clear picture of how the entire police force

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Speaker 2: is feeling.

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Speaker 1: Now, Paul, for those that maybe didn't hero interview last week,

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Speaker 1: why exactly is this survey being conducted.

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Speaker 2: Obviously we're in pay negotiations at the moment with the government.

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Speaker 2: We know they've been taking far too long to reach

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Speaker 2: a conclusion. But it's also really important following our survey

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Speaker 2: middle of last year to our guess six months down

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Speaker 2: the track, and we all know there's been a lot

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Speaker 2: happened in crime and policing over that six month period.

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Speaker 2: It's really important to get up to date statistics in

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Speaker 2: terms of just how people are feeling, how they feel

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Speaker 2: they're being hoarded or not by the government. And we've

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Speaker 2: got a couple of questions in our survey that were

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Speaker 2: the same questions from our survey of last year. So

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Speaker 2: we're just getting some comparative data.

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Speaker 1: Well, I've got a bit of that info and please

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Speaker 1: feel free to correct me if any of it's wrong.

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Speaker 1: But my understanding is that ninety seven percent of those

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Speaker 1: respondents so far don't believe that there are enough police

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Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory to do what's expected of them. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Look, that's I guess not a surprising figure from our perspective.

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Speaker 2: It's actually an increase last year we asked that very

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Speaker 2: same question ninety three percent at that stage, so we

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Speaker 2: don't have enough. We're now looking at ninety seven percent.

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Speaker 2: I mean, nearly every single person who's returning this survey

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Speaker 2: is saying we don't have enough police. And yet we

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Speaker 2: continually hear statements made by government that you know, we've

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Speaker 2: invested more than any other government in policing, we've done

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Speaker 2: more to support them, and yet that is clearly not

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Speaker 2: the message our members are delivering to them.

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Speaker 1: Paul, are there any other numbers that you're prepared to reveal.

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Speaker 1: I know that you've asked about morale, You've asked about

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Speaker 1: whether officers feel supported by the Northern Territory government, and

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Speaker 1: also whether they've considered an exit strategy. Can you give

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Speaker 1: us any of the percentages of the answers to those questions?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, I mean we produce some interim results to

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Speaker 2: our membership yesterday, but through one of our electronic newsletters.

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Speaker 2: I think it's very important they understand whether the statistics

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Speaker 2: are heading and we're obviously encouraging every officer to participated

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Speaker 2: in their surveys. There's five short questions and you've touched

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Speaker 2: on those. Morale at the moment, seventy six percent rated

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Speaker 2: as low or very low. That's fairly consistent with last

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Speaker 2: year's result. Not a great result, ninety six percent. So

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Speaker 2: ninety six percent so they don't feel supported by the

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Speaker 2: nt government. Eighty four percent, which is when you look

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Speaker 2: at the figures, the raw figures, around forty two percent

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Speaker 2: of our entire police force have actually considered an exit strategy.

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Speaker 2: You're considered other employments. That is an alarming statistic for government.

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Speaker 1: It's I mean, it's pretty unbelievable that you know that

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Speaker 1: exit strategy part.

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Speaker 3: I said that last time.

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Speaker 1: You're on when we were looking at just the year

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Speaker 1: volume of people who'd actually completed that survey.

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Speaker 3: But Paul, I mean, you know, what do these numbers

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Speaker 3: say to you.

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Speaker 2: Well, what's quite clear and what's clearly evident already with

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Speaker 2: even a week to go, is our police have had enough.

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Speaker 2: They clearly do not feel supported by the current government

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Speaker 2: despite what's being said. They are completely overwhelmed under resource.

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Speaker 2: Then of course they are supporting a work to rule,

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Speaker 2: which is probably an element of last resort that we

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Speaker 2: want to take to our membership, but they are fully

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Speaker 2: supporting that approach if it comes to that. So they

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Speaker 2: clearly don't feel they have the support of the government

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Speaker 2: and no doubt with those statistics say ninety seven percent,

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Speaker 2: so they don't have enough police. That's a very clear

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Speaker 2: message to government, Paul.

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Speaker 1: Obviously this is all about pay negotiations. To anybody out

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Speaker 1: there that think the police are being greedy, what do

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Speaker 1: you say to them.

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Speaker 2: Well, I just asked them to have a think about

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Speaker 2: every time those police are out there serving and protecting

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Speaker 2: the community and the dangers they face. They carry the

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Speaker 2: physical and mental scars of protecting our community. They often

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Speaker 2: get directed away from home to go and work in

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Speaker 2: all areas of the community, away from their families, and sometimes,

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Speaker 2: as we've seen recently in Queensland, Katie, sometimes they don't

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Speaker 2: come home. Now just let that sink in for just

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Speaker 2: a minute. You're off to work and you don't come home.

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Speaker 2: That's what they do, and that's what they sacrifice for

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Speaker 2: our community. And you know, last week I saw some

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Speaker 2: pictures of an officer and Alice Springs who had gone

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Speaker 2: to work. He'd gone to do his job for the

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Speaker 2: community and the government, and he came home after having

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Speaker 2: his eyes attempted to be gouged out, scratches all over

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Speaker 2: his face, blood all over his face, and he has

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Speaker 2: to walk in at home and see his family in

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Speaker 2: that condition. Now, that is the type of work that

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Speaker 2: we're doing for the community. So we're not being greedy.

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Speaker 2: And if people think we are put an application in police,

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Speaker 2: we need police right now, come and join the police force.

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Speaker 2: But I'll tell you right now, they are putting up

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Speaker 2: with a lot out there for our community. They are

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Speaker 2: not being greedy. They're simply asking for a fair pay

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Speaker 2: deal from this government who clearly, through these results show

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Speaker 2: that it's not supporting the officers out there on the

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Speaker 2: front line.

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Speaker 1: Paul I asked the Chief Minister on the show on Monday. Now,

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure if you heard that interview, but I

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Speaker 1: asked her on Monday, you know whether there is going

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Speaker 1: to be any additional funding go towards the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: Police after the enormous federal government announcement that was made

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Speaker 1: for Central Australia. We know that concerns are being raised.

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Speaker 1: Even the Police Commissioner had spoken about the fact that

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Speaker 1: you know that we are going to see some changes.

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Speaker 1: I guess you'd say into the way in which some

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Speaker 1: of those issues are occurring and what we'll be seeing

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Speaker 1: in different parts of the Northern Territory. I mean, we've

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Speaker 1: spoken to people in Catherine about concerns' breading to Catherine.

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Speaker 1: We've spoken to other people in other parts of the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory that are very worried about this.

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Speaker 3: I mean where to.

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Speaker 1: From here in the sense that by the sounds of things,

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Speaker 1: it feels as though, you know, when something does flare up,

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Speaker 1: it's the police that we then rely on to help

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Speaker 1: out in those situations. But it doesn't seem as though

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Speaker 1: there's going to be additional funding or that the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory government's looking at changing their policy settings in any way.

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Speaker 1: So how do we move on from here? Like, how

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Speaker 1: do we get better from this point?

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Speaker 2: Well, we know obviously. You know, we've seen legislation passed

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Speaker 2: yesterday evening in relation to the alcohol laws, so we know,

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Speaker 2: I guess where we're heading there now. That will no

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Speaker 2: doubt impact on the planning that police are required to

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Speaker 2: do now and where they're going to be deploid. We

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Speaker 2: still don't really know the announcements around funding. The fourteen

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Speaker 2: point two million and then the two hundred and fifty million.

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Speaker 2: Some of that has to be channeled into policing. I mean,

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Speaker 2: you cannot expect what the chief this is asked, is

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Speaker 2: forty extra officers stay in our springs long term. You know,

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Speaker 2: some of that money, some of that funding must channel

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Speaker 2: to policing to allow them to do their job. As

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Speaker 2: we know, we know now they feel they don't have enough.

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Speaker 2: They clearly need more. But of course some of that

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Speaker 2: obviously has to go to other agencies, other NGOs and

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Speaker 2: programs that are going to actually support police and doing

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Speaker 2: what they're doing on the front line. So it's you know,

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Speaker 2: here we are eight months probably too late. There should

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Speaker 2: have been March of last year. Even you know we're

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Speaker 2: seeing these this planning and process and legislation come in.

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Speaker 2: We're not We're twelve months down the track, and of

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Speaker 2: course we've seen the impacts on policing and the devastating

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Speaker 2: impact is having on making sure we're keeping our police

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Speaker 2: here in the NT because you know that attrition rate

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Speaker 2: is still very high.

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Speaker 3: Paul, I'm going to have to get ready to wrap up.

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Speaker 1: But just very quickly, with that alcohol legislation passed overnight,

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Speaker 1: are you hearing from officers. Are they concerned that we're

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Speaker 1: going to see some issues in different parts of the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory. How are people feeling with that legislation being reduced?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, obviously it's a you know, I guess a similar

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Speaker 2: framework as to what was in place prior to July

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Speaker 2: of last year. But obviously early days that the officers

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Speaker 2: are now you know, scrambling to make sure they have

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Speaker 2: that planning in place for when this kicks in later

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Speaker 2: in the week. And obviously we'll get a bit more

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Speaker 2: feedback once that occurs and I'll be able to update

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Speaker 2: you know at that point.

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Speaker 3: Paul, Just very quickly.

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Speaker 1: I know that Mark Turner's called for an independent inquiry

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Speaker 1: into the decision to charge Constable Zach Rolf. Is that

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Speaker 1: something that the Northern Territory Police Association would support.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well, you know, certainly our understanding is there's already

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Speaker 2: an IKAC investigation relation to all of that, so you know,

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Speaker 2: whilst that's underway, you know, we're certainly not going to

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Speaker 2: make comments on that. I think we need to let

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Speaker 2: that process take its course and then you know, determine

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Speaker 2: what we what we do from that point. But certainly

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Speaker 2: while that's underway, I think that's where it sits.

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Speaker 1: Well. Police Association President Paul mckewe always good to speak

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Speaker 1: with you.

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Speaker 3: Thanks for your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Cady Gring