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Speaker 1: The COLP is saying that almost one thousand Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: public service employees have been the victim of an assault

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Speaker 1: between July last twenty twenty two and March last year.

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Speaker 1: That's according to figures which they have obtained.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: The data shows at nine hundred and fifty nine employees

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Speaker 1: were either assaulted or subjected to criminal behavior while going

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Speaker 1: about their work. The oppositions Bill Yan joins me on

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Speaker 1: the line right now. Good morning to you, Bill.

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

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Speaker 3: Bill.

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Speaker 1: What did this dart a show regarding you know, the

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Speaker 1: assaults firstly, and do we know which sort of departments

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Speaker 1: were most at risk?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Look, these numbers are pretty horrendous, Katie. And when

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Speaker 3: you break it down, you break those numbers down, it

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Speaker 3: comes in at over three people a solid or subject

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Speaker 3: of criminal behavior every day. So today three people are

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Speaker 3: going to be a solid or subjected to criminal behavior

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Speaker 3: in our public sector, and tomorrow and the day after

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Speaker 3: and the day after. But we didn't get a breakdown

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Speaker 3: on which agencies, but we sort of know that we

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Speaker 3: had those police of course right at the front line

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Speaker 3: at the point end that they're suffering from assaults on

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Speaker 3: their stuff. But of course we're seeing an increase in

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Speaker 3: the number of assaults in our health sector and some recent.

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Speaker 2: Data provided by one.

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Speaker 3: Of the health sector of groups shows up to forty

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Speaker 3: percent of our nurses have been subject to violence in

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Speaker 3: the workplace and this also related to alcohol. But one

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Speaker 3: hundred percent of the nurses there, they said that alcohol

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Speaker 3: effects them and other patients in the workplace.

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Speaker 2: So how pulling it's.

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Speaker 3: Across the board, kay, But this is our frontline workers.

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Speaker 3: So these are our people out front of the public

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Speaker 3: doing the work they need to do to support territories

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Speaker 3: and being subject to assaults and criminal behavior. And that's

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Speaker 3: why we pushed a couple of years back to change that.

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Speaker 3: A framework around Tenton thinks of the people who assault workers.

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Speaker 3: So if you assault a territory worker, you're going to

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Speaker 3: spend some time inside and it's going to be a

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Speaker 3: minimum amount of time, so there'll be some consequences for

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Speaker 3: your action. But Labor didn't support that.

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Speaker 2: They think what they're doing is working.

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Speaker 3: But you can see with the current crime stats. They said,

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Speaker 3: crime and assaults are increasing, and we're seeing a surrenderous

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Speaker 3: level of assaults against our public servants here in the territory.

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Speaker 3: So obviously what they're doing is not having an effect

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Speaker 3: and from that people are leaving the territory in.

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Speaker 1: Terms of what I mean lo from the celp's response, though,

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Speaker 1: you know what does the CELP like, what do you

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Speaker 1: guys think could happen here to try to lower the

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Speaker 1: number of assaults. I mean, we just had Evin Lawler

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Speaker 1: on the show the Chief Minister. She was saying that

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Speaker 1: you know that the that the punishment or the you

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Speaker 1: know what, like the what you get basically for assaulting

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Speaker 1: a frontline worker is is pretty strong as it is

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Speaker 1: according to the legislation, the penalty, So what do you

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Speaker 1: think should happened here?

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Speaker 2: Well, look, if you want to sold a territory worker.

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Speaker 3: Because they're working, that's an aggrivating factor to it.

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Speaker 2: But there has to.

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Speaker 3: Be some real consequences for those actions. So that's why

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Speaker 3: we bought that legislation took to the House in the

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Speaker 3: last few years, which Labor didn't support and voted down,

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Speaker 3: which is that you're going to spend a man try

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Speaker 3: period in custody as a consequence, fewer action for assaulting

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Speaker 3: a worker, and that provides some secure to those workers

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Speaker 3: out there to know that the Sealpee has got their back.

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Speaker 3: But the laborer, I think the policeman hast come oand said, oh, well,

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Speaker 3: we're providing pepper spray to trans safety officers. Well, you

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Speaker 3: know that's fine. Trans safety offers need that need that assistance.

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Speaker 3: But it's not just those front line solvent. We're going

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Speaker 3: to be providing pepper spray now to all of our

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Speaker 3: nurses and all of our health sector employees. And I'm

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Speaker 3: working at the front counter of a government department and

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Speaker 3: we're going to have to provide them with pepper spray

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Speaker 3: so that they can keep themselves safe.

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Speaker 2: We need to be dealing with the.

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Speaker 3: Criminals rather than trying to do all these add ons

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Speaker 3: for the workers. People are committing these offenses against territory workers.

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Speaker 3: There needs to be some serious consequences for actions.

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Speaker 2: And we can see from.

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Speaker 3: Labor over the last eight years, crime figures are increasing,

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Speaker 3: So whatever they're doing is certainly not working.

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Speaker 1: And so Bill, from your perspective, from the CLP's perspective,

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Speaker 1: and I know we've spoken to the opposition leader Leofanokira

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Speaker 1: about this before as well, does there need to be

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Speaker 1: a minimum a minimum sort of prescribed sentence here if

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Speaker 1: you assault a frontline.

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Speaker 2: Worker, Absolutely, Katie.

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Speaker 3: If you're going to go out, our front line workers

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Speaker 3: are not punching bags. They're not there for those criminals

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Speaker 3: to go out and assault and attack.

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Speaker 2: That's not on them. We can't have that.

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Speaker 3: So if you're going to do that, you're going to

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Speaker 3: spend some time behind bars. But what you spend your

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Speaker 3: time behind bars, that's the opportunity. Then we've shown this

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Speaker 3: in our corrections policy that we're going to do some

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Speaker 3: work around providing programs and interventions to stop that sort

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Speaker 3: of behavior, to provide those interventions and assistance to that

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Speaker 3: individual so when they get out of custody, they're coming

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Speaker 3: out better than actually when they went in. And that's

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Speaker 3: something that's laid the certainly failed address over the last

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Speaker 3: eight years, we're seeing recidivism going through the roof.

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Speaker 2: People are not getting programs.

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Speaker 3: I haven't funded more supported prison programs in the last

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Speaker 3: eight years, and we're all in characterize is now paying

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Speaker 3: the price for that.

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Speaker 1: Well, in terms of these assaults and in terms of

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Speaker 1: what we've seen happened to public service employees, how many

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Speaker 1: work is required to take time off? What were some

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Speaker 1: of the ramifications aside from the absolute trauma that you'd

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Speaker 1: experienced by being assulted while you're in the workplace. But

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Speaker 1: what were some of the you know, the impacts.

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Speaker 3: Well, according to the dart that we got back from

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Speaker 3: the questions we put to government, there were nine hundred

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Speaker 3: and seventy five days or work recorded due to people

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Speaker 3: being subjective and a solier criminal behavior at work. So

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Speaker 3: that's effectively that's nearly two and a half to three

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Speaker 3: years of time off just that ninety in that nine

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Speaker 3: month period. Again, it's not just the if we have

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Speaker 3: ther Soultson's a high number of those.

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Speaker 2: But then now.

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Speaker 3: We're looking at the effect that it's actually having on

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Speaker 3: those workers, and they're having to be away from work

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Speaker 3: due to either injury or stress related illness that they're

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Speaker 3: seeing in the workplace. And again they shouldn't be subject

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Speaker 3: to that. That's certainly not something you would expect any

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Speaker 3: employee to face on a day to day basis. And

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Speaker 3: we've still got seventeen employees currently off work when we've

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Speaker 3: got the report back who had been subject to assault

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Speaker 3: or criminal behavior work. So there's another seventeen people who

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Speaker 3: can't go to work or unable to go to work

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Speaker 3: due to the effects of criminal behavior committed against them.

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Speaker 1: Well, we are going to have to wrap up, but

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Speaker 1: I do just want to ask you very quickly. As

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Speaker 1: I mentioned, we did just have the Chief Minister, Evil

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Speaker 1: Lawler on the show talking about the a few legislation

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Speaker 1: which is expected to pass this week. I know the

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Speaker 1: Children's Commissioner as well as the Anti Discrimination Commissioner and

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Speaker 1: NAGA have all spoken out about their concerns around this.

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Speaker 1: The Anti Discrimination Commissioner has condemned the moves to make

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Speaker 1: it easier to impose curfeuse is reactive, promoting arbitrary use

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Speaker 1: of power and an affront to the rule of law.

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

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Speaker 1: are being made by the Anti Discrimination Commissioner, by the

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Speaker 1: Children's Commissioner and by NIJA around this, around this curfew legislation.

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Speaker 3: Well, we've got to go right back to the very

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Speaker 3: reasons for the curfew, Katie. You look at the lawlessness

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Speaker 3: has been allowed to I suppose grow in Central Australia

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Speaker 3: and al springs in my home. If labor had been

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Speaker 3: doing the job for the last eight years, we wouldn't

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Speaker 3: have needed a curfew, and they were just allowing things

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Speaker 3: to escalate and escalate has been no consequence reactions. Our

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Speaker 3: community has been screaming out for assistance, solutions, additional police,

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Speaker 3: additional measures to deal with the criminals in our community,

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Speaker 3: and it finally come to a head. And of course

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Speaker 3: the negative publicity and the negative press nationwide and internationally

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Speaker 3: about what happened outside the Todd's tavern forced the government

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Speaker 3: to do something. It's something that they should have been

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Speaker 3: dealing with in the years and years previously. The hurt,

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Speaker 3: pain and suffering that our community has been through for

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Speaker 3: eight long years under this government could have been dealt

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Speaker 3: with if they were serious about taking action. And the

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Speaker 3: fact that it had to escalate to that level and

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Speaker 3: force the government's hand into doing something when they've done

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Speaker 3: nothing for years really really big as belief.

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Speaker 2: And I don't think our community is ever going to

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Speaker 2: forgive them.

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Speaker 1: For what's I mean? So really, just to go back

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Speaker 1: to the crux of the question, though, do you see

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Speaker 1: it as being an issue that you've got the likes

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Speaker 1: of the Children's Commissioner, the Anti Discrimination Commissioner raising concerns

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Speaker 1: around this legislation.

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Speaker 3: Well, look, the curfew certainly gave our community that little

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Speaker 3: bit of respite needed to deal with the issues that

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Speaker 3: we've been seeing the fact that the Children's Commissioner and

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Speaker 3: others can come out and say things, well, let's fine,

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Speaker 3: let's get them down there, Let's get them living in

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Speaker 3: our community on a day to day basis and dealing

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Speaker 3: with the issues. We've seen some horrific crimes committed. Just

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Speaker 3: last week.

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Speaker 2: By young people in our community.

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Speaker 3: There was a heavily pregnant woman as sold in the

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Speaker 3: shopping center. Another shop owner, another woman as sold them

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Speaker 3: by news her in her shop. We had another some

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Speaker 3: people that have been in Fogerty Street attacked and then

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Speaker 3: like seriously an in trying to defend their property. These

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Speaker 3: are the things that our community are dealing with on

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Speaker 3: a day to day basis, and that's why we need

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Speaker 3: that increased police presence.

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Speaker 2: We've been screaming.

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Speaker 3: For for many years and sometimes we are goin to

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Speaker 3: be kicking and screaming to the table to do it.

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Speaker 1: Bill, we are going to have to wrap up speaking

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Speaker 1: of the police. I've got them waiting on the other

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Speaker 1: line to talk about a traffic operation. Mate. Thank you

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Speaker 1: very much for your time this morning. Much appreciated.

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Speaker 2: Us K.

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Speaker 3: Do you have a great got YouTube