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Speaker 1: We know this Parliament is sitting this week and Mark Turner,

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Speaker 1: the Member for Blaine, plans to introduce two private members bills.

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Speaker 1: One of those is about changes to the Criminal Code

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Speaker 1: for neglected children and the other about medicinal cannabis. He

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Speaker 1: joins me in the studio right now, Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Mark, Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Now, firstly, in regards to youth crime. Look, we've spoken

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Speaker 1: so much about crime this morning on the show.

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Speaker 3: I know that you've heard.

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Speaker 1: A lot of that discussion before I get into the

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Speaker 1: private members bill that you're going to introduce.

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Speaker 3: How are things in your electorate at the moment terrible?

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Speaker 2: And you've got to remember Blaine, Borders, Drysdale, the Chief Ministers.

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Speaker 2: I spend this week talking to one of the Chief

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Speaker 2: Minister's constituents who did have the meeting, but then nothing

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Speaker 2: happens afterwards, and we had another kid that was robbed

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Speaker 2: at knife point outside the swimming pool on the weekend.

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Speaker 2: So it's at the ridiculous stage where I'm trying to

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Speaker 2: do MLA work during the day and then one of

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Speaker 2: the streets of my elector at night because there's no police.

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Speaker 3: You're literally walking the streets at night.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, one else to do it, Katie. People are constituents

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Speaker 2: are ringing triple oer one three one, triple four and

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Speaker 2: sitting on hold for five to fifteen minutes.

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Speaker 1: So and so have you got people calling you when

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Speaker 1: there is kids up there streets or when something's going on?

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Speaker 3: Yes, and what do you do?

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Speaker 2: I'll just go ahead and deal with it. I'm lucky

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Speaker 2: we live in a small place. Most people know I'm

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Speaker 2: an ex cop. Anyway, you think the last time I

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Speaker 2: grabbed somebody for the police. I don't think the media

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Speaker 2: are even reported on it because it's happening so often.

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Speaker 3: And so what do you like?

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Speaker 1: You just basically pull them up, tell them go home?

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Speaker 1: Or what do you say to.

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Speaker 2: If it depends who the kids are. If they're local

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Speaker 2: and I know them, I can talk to them. And

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Speaker 2: this is one of the things I keep on bringing

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Speaker 2: up at the community safety meetings. We have no community policing.

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Speaker 2: And it's the same with all the kids that are

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Speaker 2: sniffing you. If they see police walking up to them

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Speaker 2: and they haven't got a relationship with them, they're going

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Speaker 2: to run off. Police aren't going to chase them because

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Speaker 2: there's already been cops that have got into trouble through

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Speaker 2: professional standards for chasing them. See exactly what mister Rolph

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Speaker 2: was saying in the Royal Commission down in Alice Springs

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Speaker 2: a couple of weeks ago. So when our police feel

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Speaker 2: that they're going to get thrown under the bus and

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Speaker 2: can't work and aren't safe, there's literally nothing we can do.

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Speaker 2: And I warned either about this four years ago that

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Speaker 2: if nothing changed, this would happen. And I didn't want

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Speaker 2: to be.

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Speaker 1: Right now today or tomorrow, I should say, I understand

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Speaker 1: well that you are going to be You're going to

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Speaker 1: be introducing a private member's bill. Can you tell us

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Speaker 1: a little bit about exactly what this is in regards

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Speaker 1: to neglected children.

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Speaker 2: So I stood up last sittings and gave notice of it.

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Speaker 2: I need the COLP to let me use general Business

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Speaker 2: day to do it, So I'll have to wait and

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Speaker 2: see if they let the playball. But basically there's two things.

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Speaker 2: A passion project of mine since I got in was

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Speaker 2: in the territory. We have no legislation. If female victims

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Speaker 2: of domestic violence get kicked in the stomach and lose

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Speaker 2: the baby, we have a really archaic legal test of

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Speaker 2: whether the baby would be capable of independent life or not.

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Speaker 2: So I wanted to modernize that and the other bit

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Speaker 2: because it's trying to find the legislation we can change

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Speaker 2: to deal with the crime is around cruelty to children

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Speaker 2: and leaving children unsupervised. So at the moment, we've got

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Speaker 2: a clause in there about kids under two, so I'm

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Speaker 2: trying to remove that and do if the person's got

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Speaker 2: care of a child and it's under twelve and they

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Speaker 2: leave the child unsupervised or unattended, police can deal with it.

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Speaker 2: And this is one of the big frustrations of police.

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Speaker 2: They'll find these kids. They know all these kids are.

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Speaker 2: We've got what sixteen hundred cops and about under one

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Speaker 2: hundred kids that are repeat offenders. But all they're doing

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Speaker 2: is constantly referring it to territory families and then seeing

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Speaker 2: nothing happen.

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Speaker 1: So you reckon if this change was implemented, what would

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Speaker 1: it mean for our Northern Territory police.

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Speaker 2: It gives them a tall to use. It gives them

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Speaker 2: the ability to put the parents before the court, which

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Speaker 2: isn't going to fix it, but it certainly stops it

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Speaker 2: being swept under the carpet.

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Speaker 3: So essentially, if a child's out.

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Speaker 1: Roaming the streets and they're under the age of twelve.

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Speaker 1: The Northern Territory Police, if this change was implemented, they

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Speaker 1: could effectively charge the parent for neglect.

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Speaker 2: Yes, right, it's something. It's not going to fix it,

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Speaker 2: but I'm fed up of seeing nothing happen, Katie.

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Speaker 3: Do you think that the like you know? I asked

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Speaker 3: the Chief Minister this morning.

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Speaker 1: Is there other legislative changes or policy setting changes that

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Speaker 1: could be implemented that could make a difference right now

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Speaker 1: to the crime issues that we're seeing.

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Speaker 3: What do you think is there? Oh?

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Speaker 2: Yes, loads most simple one would be the It's called

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Speaker 2: the doctrine of ministerial responsibility. If anybody wants to look.

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Speaker 3: It up, just tell us what it means if you can.

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Speaker 2: The minister's responsible for what happens, or the lack thereof

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Speaker 2: in the department. We're the only policing jurisdiction in Australia

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Speaker 2: that doesn't have proactive community policing. We're constantly behind the

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Speaker 2: ace ball. Police are constantly chasing the radio and they're

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Speaker 2: constantly demoralized, which is why they're heading over to Queensland

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Speaker 2: or Tasmania at a rate of knots. It's the same

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Speaker 2: with territory families that you're listening And I listened to

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Speaker 2: the Chief Minister this morning saying, and she's right. The

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Speaker 2: Care and Protection Children Act has the powers for territory

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Speaker 2: families to scoop them up, but they're not doing it

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Speaker 2: and they've got nowhere to put them. So I've spoken

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Speaker 2: to people who are trying to blow the whistle and

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Speaker 2: they've said the truancy or whatever you want to call them.

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Speaker 2: Officers will walk in the house, the kid will tell

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Speaker 2: them to f off, and they walk out the door again.

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Speaker 2: And then it's up to territory families as to whether

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Speaker 2: a territory famili's caseworker is going to use their powers

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Speaker 2: under the Care and Protection Children Act take them away.

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Speaker 2: But then where are they going to put them? And

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Speaker 2: if the government is not going to invest in that,

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Speaker 2: they've got nowhere to put them. And it's the same

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Speaker 2: thing you'll hear if you talk to the judges where

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Speaker 2: they go, well, where do I sentence them to mark?

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Speaker 1: In terms of raising the age of criminal responsibility, how

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Speaker 1: do you feel that's worked?

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Speaker 2: I had an idea on the way in can you

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Speaker 2: get a well Katie or a so Katie flip chart

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Speaker 2: and every time a politician goes, well Katie, it's a

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Speaker 2: five dollars donation to charity not working Katie. I think

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Speaker 2: that's quite clear for all of us to see. Putting

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Speaker 2: kids in prison is just a crime academy. You know,

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Speaker 2: we saw that before Labor got into power, when they

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Speaker 2: were round roading back into Dondale. The problem is there

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Speaker 2: needs to be something else and there isn't anything. There

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Speaker 2: is no stopgap. So if you were going and this

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Speaker 2: is what the Police Association said, if you're going to

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Speaker 2: raise the age of criminal responsibility, then have something else

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Speaker 2: in place, whether it's a youth tribunal, whether you're going

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Speaker 2: to have education facilities. You know that you keep here

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Speaker 2: the Minister talk about seven EMU station, Whi's absolutely nothing

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Speaker 2: to do with the government. The sha had four family

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Speaker 2: have been doing it off their own back for years,

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Speaker 2: but there's nothing else in their own capacity. Well.

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Speaker 3: But also it's not compulsory.

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Speaker 1: But that's a big point and you know that was

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Speaker 1: made abundantly clear on Friday during the week that was

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Speaker 1: with the Police Minister, is that it's not compulsory for

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Speaker 1: kids under the age of twelve to then have to

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Speaker 1: you know, be engaged in any kind of program. So

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Speaker 1: it's bs when the government says that these programs were

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Speaker 1: implemented before raising the age.

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Speaker 2: Yes, it's absolute rubbish. And if you were to ask

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Speaker 2: the Chief Minister how many recidivist defenders from Palmerston have

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Speaker 2: been put on one of these, the answer, I would

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Speaker 2: imagine would be in single digits, if it's not zero.

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Speaker 1: Now, Mark, before I let you go this morning, I

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Speaker 1: do want to ask you. You've got a second Private

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Speaker 1: Members build that you're keen to introduce to Parliament this week.

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Speaker 1: It's around well medicinal cannabis. Tell us what it's all about.

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Speaker 2: So again, this is something that I've got, especially from

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Speaker 2: talking to the veteran community who've been an absolute light

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Speaker 2: on the hill for me, trying to help broken policemen.

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Speaker 2: CBD oil and medical cannabis has been working wonders for

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Speaker 2: cancer patients, veterans, cops, emergency services in general. But at

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Speaker 2: the moment under our Act, if you test positive because

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Speaker 2: you're using it as a doctor prescribes it to you,

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Speaker 2: it's automatically assumed that you're driving under the influence of

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Speaker 2: a prohibited drug. The way the Acts set up currently

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Speaker 2: there's regulations. I wrote to Eva because she owned the

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Speaker 2: Traffic Act, asking her to amend the regulations. I got

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Speaker 2: back a rubbish reply saying no. So what I'm trying

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Speaker 2: to do is change the Act because at the moment,

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Speaker 2: as a broken policeman, I can drive down Tiger Brennan

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Speaker 2: one hundred and ten full of benzodiazepines and as long

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Speaker 2: as they're legally prescribed, it's fine.

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Speaker 1: Look, some people are going to be listening thinking, well,

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Speaker 1: are you impacted though, or is you driving going to

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Speaker 1: be impaired in any way if you are taking medicinal cannabis.

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Speaker 1: But my understanding from medicinal cannabis is it's very different

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Speaker 1: to your regular cannabis.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it depends completely, and that's why the rules need

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Speaker 2: to be in there that if you're taking it as

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Speaker 2: prescribed by a medical professional. So if you're on chemo

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Speaker 2: and you've lost your appetite, you're taking a tiny bit

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Speaker 2: of medicinal cannabis just so you eat again.

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Speaker 1: And so it wouldn't impact or wouldn't impair the way

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Speaker 1: that they drive.

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Speaker 2: No, it's the same as having your super communion wine

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Speaker 2: on a Sunday versus drinking two bottles of it and

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Speaker 2: get him behind the wheel.

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Speaker 1: Well, Mark Turner, So what's the process this week with

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Speaker 1: these private members bills you have do you? Are you

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Speaker 1: able to introduce them or you've got to wait and

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Speaker 1: hear whether you're able to do it on Wednesday as

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Speaker 1: part of general business. If the CLP doesn't have their

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Speaker 1: own general business.

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Speaker 2: I've got completely reliant on the CLP, so I can

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Speaker 2: stand up and give notice on the next general business day.

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Speaker 2: I'm going to introduce the legislation which I've done for

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Speaker 2: the Criminal Code. Now I need the CLP to throw

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Speaker 2: me a bone and let me introduce it.

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Speaker 1: Have you had a meeting with them to explain to them,

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Speaker 1: you know, the changes to the Criminal Code?

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Speaker 2: Yep. I sent an email around to the CLP and

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Speaker 2: Independent members. I followed up by flicking them a message

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Speaker 2: on Friday. So we'll just have to see what happens.

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Speaker 2: I have got a horrible feeling that they'll have the

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Speaker 2: same route at the government and if it's not our idea,

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Speaker 2: we're not going to do it. But I wait with

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Speaker 2: baited breath.

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Speaker 1: Well, we have got the opposition on tomorrow morning, so

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Speaker 1: we'll find out exactly what is on their agenda. Mark Turner,

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Speaker 1: the member for Blaine, thanks for your time this morning.

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Speaker 3: Thank you, Katie, thank you