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Speaker 1: A couple of weeks ago, we spoke about concerns being

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Speaker 1: raised well around public intoxication in the electorate of Drysdale.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: At the time, the member for Drysdale said that he

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Speaker 1: was keen to meet with the Liquor Commission to talk

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Speaker 1: about the issues being experienced in Gray. Now, Clinton, how

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Speaker 1: the Member for Drysdale joins me in the studio. Good

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Speaker 1: morning to you, Clinton.

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Speaker 2: Get A, Katine get A Territorians.

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Speaker 1: Now, this is something that you've been really pretty open about.

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Speaker 1: I think I've seen on your Facebook page. You know,

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Speaker 1: you've spoken a lot about some of the issues being

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Speaker 1: experienced in your electric when it comes to that public intoxication.

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Speaker 1: You spoke to me a couple of weeks ago and

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Speaker 1: said that you were going to be meeting I believe

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Speaker 1: with the Liquor Commission.

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Speaker 2: Did that happen, Yeah, it did so, And yeah, you're right,

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Speaker 2: this is a major it's a major issue in our area.

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Speaker 2: It's a major issue for me personally, and so it's

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Speaker 2: something I really want to deliver on. And so part

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Speaker 2: of that piece was dealing with well looking into the

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Speaker 2: alcohol issues we've got. And so it was last start

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Speaker 2: of last week I had the option tunity to present

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Speaker 2: to the Liquor Commission Board, which was awesome and essentially

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Speaker 2: I had about half an hour where I could put

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Speaker 2: the case forward as to why they need to put

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Speaker 2: their attention on Palmerston and we discussed quite a range

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Speaker 2: of things. So I discussed the kind of layer of

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Speaker 2: the land. I explained in my point of view, how

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Speaker 2: we've got to this problem, and you know, part of

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Speaker 2: that is the kind of housing density issues we face.

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Speaker 2: And there's a few pieces to that puzzle, but yeah,

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Speaker 2: it was good. Overall, it was good. The Palmerston mayor,

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Speaker 2: Athena Pasco Bell also wrote to the commission, so that

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Speaker 2: helped add I think some weight to you know, they

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Speaker 2: had two levels of government who were asking for them

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Speaker 2: to kind of put their eye onto the alcohol supply.

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Speaker 1: And so Clinton, are we in a situation where there

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Speaker 1: is going to be some changes when it comes to

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Speaker 1: those liquor licenses in your electrop because that is something

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Speaker 1: that that people seem quite concerned with.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the short answers that'll be up to the Commission.

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Speaker 2: And so the way what it's done now is I

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Speaker 2: guess I've gone in. I've said on behalf of the community,

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Speaker 2: we would like them to review the liquor license at

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Speaker 2: the Gray Shops. But I'll make it clear too, it

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Speaker 2: wasn't just the Gray Shops we discussed, and I discussed

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Speaker 2: that it might be a much wider area they could

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Speaker 2: cast them that right, because there we do have reports

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Speaker 2: of liquor shops, liquor coming from other shops right for

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Speaker 2: example in Oasis and just some other takeaway shops around

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Speaker 2: the area. So it'll be up to the board as

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Speaker 2: to what they want to do next. I'm yet to

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Speaker 2: receive my written communication from them.

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Speaker 1: So, like, how big a worry is the misuse of

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Speaker 1: alcohol in your electorate at the moment, because like for me,

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Speaker 1: I don't live in Palmerston, but I drive my kids

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Speaker 1: out to soccer recently and there was people sprawled across

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Speaker 1: the strait really very intoxicated at like three o'clock in

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Speaker 1: the afternoon. And you know, from what our listeners say,

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Speaker 1: that's like a regular occurrence, that is not unusual. And

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Speaker 1: I just thought, goodness me, there's literally kids riding past

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Speaker 1: them to get to soccer.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's shocking. And there's a primary school. There's a

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Speaker 2: primary school right there as well, so when the kids

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Speaker 2: knock off at school, they're exposed to it. I'm not

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Speaker 2: going to sugarcoat this situation that exists. And I think

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Speaker 2: we've gotten to this point over a very long term

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Speaker 2: kind of policy phase, but we're here now. Alcohol is

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Speaker 2: a huge issue. As you've just said. The people that

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Speaker 2: use go to the Palmerston Rovers Club, which my wife

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Speaker 2: plays at as well, and you know, she had the

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Speaker 2: same thing alcohol when she had a game on Tuesday

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Speaker 2: and the screaming and fighting.

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Speaker 1: So it's it's just unacceptable behavior. And you know, I

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Speaker 1: think it's you know, we've reached a point where we've

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Speaker 1: become very desensitized to the you know, to some of

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Speaker 1: the alcohol issues that we see. It's not only alcohol issues. Obviously,

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Speaker 1: there's an element of crime as well that is being

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Speaker 1: experienced too. I mean, some people listening this morning might

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Speaker 1: be thinking, well, Clinton, you're part of the government that's

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Speaker 1: in power, do something.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, And so the desensitivity point people are that I

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Speaker 2: will refuse to become desensitized to it. I just for me,

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Speaker 2: this is not right. I'm not going to raise my children.

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Speaker 2: I'm not going to have my family live in that

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Speaker 2: kind of environment and I won't have it happen to

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Speaker 2: the people I represent. So that's why I guess I've

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Speaker 2: come in. I was the first MLA ever to take

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Speaker 2: an issue direct to the Liquor Commission, and so yeah,

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Speaker 2: I'm going to tackle that issue. I've been very loud

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Speaker 2: in Parliament. I've publicly put on the record my intentions

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Speaker 2: to lower the degree of the amount of housing in

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Speaker 2: the area. So Katie, this is I've got like a

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Speaker 2: vision for Drysdale and I've just got to stay the course,

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Speaker 2: stay committed and get the results I want to see.

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Speaker 1: So what are the next steps from your perspective? I mean,

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Speaker 1: first off with the Liquor Commission, like, what's the next

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Speaker 1: steps to not only those that live in your electorate

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Speaker 1: listening this morning, but I think the broader Palmerston community

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Speaker 1: as well.

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Speaker 2: So it's a good question. And the Liquor Commission, I

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Speaker 2: can't anticipate what they will do, what they will find,

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Speaker 2: what their recommendations might be. But I did say this

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Speaker 2: to the Commission, you know the voice that they've raised

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Speaker 2: many things in the past that haven't been acted on.

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Speaker 2: But I said, well, you have a memor of governments

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Speaker 2: sitting here who wants to work with you, is engaged

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Speaker 2: with you. So if you guys honestly have ideas or

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Speaker 2: recommendations that will make my community better, I will go

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Speaker 2: and fight for them. And so there's a huge opportunity

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Speaker 2: for the Liquor Commission as well in that they've got

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Speaker 2: someone in government who if I think it's going to

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Speaker 2: be a good idea for Drysdale, I'll do it.

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Speaker 1: You're prepared to do it. So could that be some

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Speaker 1: of those liquor licenses being stripped.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, however however they think it should best go, I

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Speaker 2: guess it's one of those things I can't I don't know.

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Speaker 2: They've got a wide range of things they can do,

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Speaker 2: and yeah, I really look forward to hearing what their

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Speaker 2: decision is and then I'll really look forward to their outcomes.

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Speaker 1: And it sounds as though you'd also like to see

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Speaker 1: and you want to work with the government that you

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Speaker 1: are part of to really try to like the volume

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Speaker 1: of public housing that you've got out in Palmerston too.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so we've got I've got seventeen point one percent

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Speaker 2: of the Greater Darwin public housing in my electorate and

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Speaker 2: it's very consolidated in one area. Some of it is

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Speaker 2: extremely old, especially some of these old flats and that

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Speaker 2: kind of thing. The fact, the simple fact is I

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Speaker 2: have huge volume of people that live there who come

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Speaker 2: into my office wanting a transfer because they just can't

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Speaker 2: put up with it anymore. So you've got lots of

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Speaker 2: good people who are trying to get ahead, but the

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Speaker 2: environment just because of the way it's all been designed,

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Speaker 2: and they just can't. And so you know, when you're

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Speaker 2: dealing with you might have a young single mom with

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Speaker 2: young kids and they're in your office and they're just

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Speaker 2: so upset because the drinking, the party and going late

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Speaker 2: into the night. They're tired trying to go to work,

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Speaker 2: the kids are tired going to school. It isn't fair

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Speaker 2: and it's not giving anyone a fair go getting ahead

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Speaker 2: as well. And so yes, I am committed to it.

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Speaker 2: It means it's a long term plan because people will

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Speaker 2: need you know, we need new housing stock. It's to develop.

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Speaker 2: But it's something I'm very committed to.

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Speaker 1: Clinton. One of the things that I understand is working

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Speaker 1: quite well across the community, And please correct me if

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Speaker 1: I'm wrong, is that co responder model. Is that something

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Speaker 1: that you're finding is working in your electrode in terms

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Speaker 1: of you know, kids that may be out at different

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Speaker 1: times of the day when they shouldn't be and getting

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Speaker 1: them back home or getting them some to a safe

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Speaker 1: place if they don't have a home.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. I think a really good example of this probably

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Speaker 2: is what we're doing at the markets. And so if

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Speaker 2: I bring it to the markets, because it's just a

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Speaker 2: good kind of case study, I guess of kind of

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Speaker 2: what we're doing. So the Partmerston markets kicked back off

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Speaker 2: about a month ago and we saw a lot of

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Speaker 2: youth In the first two weeks there was youth fights,

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Speaker 2: which I just cannot accept happening at the markets. It's

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Speaker 2: a family event, My family goes to it. It was

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Speaker 2: literally a youth fight at the Palmeston Markets that triggered

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Speaker 2: me wanting to get into politics. So I wasn't going

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Speaker 2: to have this continue. So I worked with the ministers,

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Speaker 2: so Minister Carl and we getting te getting the our

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Speaker 2: circuit breaker program down there, and also working with our

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Speaker 2: police and so with the Chief Minister and ensuring we

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Speaker 2: had strong police resources there, but also working with the

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Speaker 2: City of Palmerston. And I think this is a really

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Speaker 2: important piece. It's both us and the council kind of

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Speaker 2: pulling our resources for a common goal, which is a

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Speaker 2: safe market and they've been fantastic. So they've doubled the

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Speaker 2: security they have and then they've got the youth works

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Speaker 2: at the so that's good. Yeah, And so they introduced

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Speaker 2: a lockout system at the rec center, which means so

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Speaker 2: the kids can go in play basketball, they're fed, there's

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Speaker 2: heap to Domino's pizzas for them, and then if they leave,

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Speaker 2: they're locked out. And this kind of stops the huge

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Speaker 2: dumping of hundreds of kids all at the one time.

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Speaker 2: And the police response was great. We had like for

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Speaker 2: the first to kind of break the back of this issue,

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Speaker 2: you know, they had they had police horses, there, lots

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Speaker 2: of extra patrols. Last week they brought a command center.

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Speaker 2: Really strong presence in the last two weeks have been great.

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Speaker 1: Well, that is good. That's good to hear that some

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Speaker 1: of those different initiatives and different things are working. Clinton.

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Speaker 1: Before I let you go, you were, obviously and you

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Speaker 1: are the chair of the Public Accounts Committee, which meshed

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Speaker 1: earlier this week after a referral by the opposition leader

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Speaker 1: around the Darwin Waterfront Corporation. Now that committee is obviously

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Speaker 1: a colp Domina, but it consists of Justine Davis, Manuel

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Speaker 1: Brown from Labor, Clinton Howe yourself, obviously, Brian O'Gallagher, and

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Speaker 1: Lourie ze O. Now, as I understand it, following receipt

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Speaker 1: of submissions and that public briefing into the Darwin Waterfront,

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Speaker 1: the Public Accounts Committee unanimously decided that none of the

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Speaker 1: allegations as set out in that inquiry terms of reference

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Speaker 1: were substantiated. Why did the committee come to that decision?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks Katie. I think that's what you've just said there,

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Speaker 2: and i'd like to listeners to really if you're listening

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Speaker 2: and interested in this, all five of us unanimously came

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Speaker 2: to our own conclusion that none of it was substantiated.

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Speaker 2: And I think that's a really important piece here. So

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Speaker 2: that's both the COLP members, the Labor member, and the

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Speaker 2: independent unanimously found that these were not substantiated allegations. There

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Speaker 2: is large volume of evidence provided in the submissions and

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Speaker 2: that is all publicly available. So we have made public

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Speaker 2: everything from this so you can go online and read it.

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Speaker 2: But yeah, essentially, through the submissions it just details all

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Speaker 2: the facts and then through the hearing we were able

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Speaker 2: to ask questions of the waterfront and I think it was, Well,

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Speaker 2: it was a unanimous decision.

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Speaker 1: So when is the report now going to be finalized?

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Speaker 1: How long will that take before people are able.

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Speaker 2: To see that? Yeah, so the report, Usually we would

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Speaker 2: roll straight into the report. However, we're about to roll

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Speaker 2: into estimates, and so that same Public Accounts Committee, the

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Speaker 2: five of us have also all.

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Speaker 1: Been sold be into estimates, which kicks off next week.

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Speaker 2: So we're we're very busy committee at the moment, and

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Speaker 2: so we'll do estimates that'll go for two weeks and

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Speaker 2: then we will roll in to discussing the report.

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Speaker 1: Well, Clinton, we are going to have to leave it there.

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Speaker 1: I can see the Northern Territory Police waiting outside to

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Speaker 1: come in as my next guest. Thank you very much

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Speaker 1: for joining us this morning. I really appreciate it. Thank you,