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Speaker 1: Territory public servants will be offered a compounding pay rise,

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Speaker 1: ending the previous wages policy. The new wages policy ends

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Speaker 1: the lump sum payment approach. Now the government say they'll

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Speaker 1: use a two percent compounding pay increase as a base

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Speaker 1: for negotiations as well as working through other issues of

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Speaker 1: importance now. Earlier this morning I spoke to the Chief

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Speaker 1: Minister Natasha Files for a brief update on the situation

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Speaker 1: and also about the report into the recent floor price review.

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Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line is the Chief Minister,

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Speaker 1: Natasha Files.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you.

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Speaker 3: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Now, Chief Minister, what finally made you change your mind

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Speaker 1: on this PayPhrase?

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, the economic situation has changed significantly. We saw

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Speaker 3: another interest rate rise earlier this week and we are

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Speaker 3: experiencing higher than normal inflation in Australia. So we are

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Speaker 3: focused on returning the budget to surface in the medium term.

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Speaker 3: But we acknowledge the cost of living for.

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Speaker 1: Territori ins Oh, there is no doubt the cost of

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Speaker 1: living is incredibly high and it was reaching a point

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Speaker 1: where a lot of people were wondering how you're going

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Speaker 1: to be able to continue on this pay freeze path.

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Speaker 1: But last time we spoke, you did flag that there

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Speaker 1: need to be a change, but also said that we'd

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Speaker 1: have to make some savings and that you'd have to

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Speaker 1: find some savings measures.

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Speaker 2: Where have they been found?

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, it is responsible of us to make sure

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Speaker 3: we manage the anti government budget and so we will

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Speaker 3: work through. It's a complex process and we were always

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Speaker 3: having some allocation to provide to our public servants, but

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Speaker 3: we'll work through. We certainly won't be making massive changes

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Speaker 3: in one particular area. We'll focus across the budget on

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Speaker 3: how we can manage that responsibly and implement these measures.

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Speaker 1: So a two percent compounding pay increase, how much is

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Speaker 1: that going to cost across the board?

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Speaker 3: So Katie, it's not possible to put a figure on that.

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Speaker 3: It's a complex process and this is in terms of

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Speaker 3: the Enterprise Bugging Agreement process one aspect too. We worked

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Speaker 3: through both financial and non financial aspects. So we certainly

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Speaker 3: acknowledged there will be an impact to the Northern Terretorary

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Speaker 3: government budget. But this is a starting point for us

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Speaker 3: negotiating those EBAs and in terms of the budget, will

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Speaker 3: work through the cost impact as we work through the

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Speaker 3: budget process.

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Speaker 1: I mean, you must have a bit of an idea, though,

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Speaker 1: if you've previously said to me, you know that you

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Speaker 1: weren't rushing out to sort of to change that pay

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Speaker 1: freeze policy initially because there needed to be some savings

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Speaker 1: measures found. You must have a bit of an idea

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Speaker 1: of how much this is going to cost. I mean,

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Speaker 1: otherwise people will be questioning if that's fiscally responsible.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, as I said, we always had an allocation

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Speaker 3: towards these EBAs. We have built that in, but we

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Speaker 3: will find the balance between being fiscally responsible and recognizing

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Speaker 3: the pressures and cost of living that territories are facing.

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Speaker 2: But no idea how much it's going to cost.

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Speaker 3: So there's been various costings done by Treasury, But until

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Speaker 3: we finalize those EBAs, and there's a number of enterprise

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Speaker 3: brsan agreements that are in training right now, until we

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Speaker 3: finalize those and those economic impacts, we can't give you

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Speaker 3: that overall figure.

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Speaker 1: So what happens now with the bonus that's already been

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Speaker 1: paid to some public servants A.

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Speaker 3: Very important question, Katie. So public servants covered by the

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Speaker 3: existing lump some basis will also be offered the compounding

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Speaker 3: percentage pay agreements for fifty years. We'll work with the

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Speaker 3: unions on that transition that was noted in that EBA

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Speaker 3: agreement that was signed off late last year.

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Speaker 2: I mean, is that double dipping?

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Speaker 3: No o, Katie, it won't be double dipping. But there

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Speaker 3: was a clause in that agreement when it was agreed

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Speaker 3: to that if there was a change in the wages policy,

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Speaker 3: and that's what I announced yesterday, is that we're changing

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Speaker 3: our wages policy away from one off lump sum to

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Speaker 3: a compounding percentage increase, that we would go back and

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Speaker 3: review that general agreement. And I think there is another

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Speaker 3: agreement with one of the Power and Water or teach

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Speaker 3: and I can't quite remember that it had already agreed

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Speaker 3: that had that same clause Katie.

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Speaker 2: Yep. So I'm just trying to really wrap my head around.

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Speaker 1: So essentially, for those who've already received a bonus, how

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Speaker 1: much have they received?

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Speaker 3: So they received the four thousand and the two thousand

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Speaker 3: and now we'll work with the unions around offering them

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Speaker 3: the opportunity to transition to that compounding percentage pay agreement.

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Speaker 3: So it will be worked through. There won't be double dipping, Katie,

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Speaker 3: But we did acknowledge when they signed that agreement that

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Speaker 3: if we were to change our wages policy, they would

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Speaker 3: be offered the chance to transition to that.

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Speaker 1: So why did you go down the path of every

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Speaker 1: public servant getting the increase rather than just the frontline workers,

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Speaker 1: Because my understanding is that those frontline workers didn't get

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Speaker 1: that bonus.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, the frontline workers and these EBAs all end

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Speaker 3: at various times, and that you see a number of

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Speaker 3: agreements being negotiated. And so the basis for this decision

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Speaker 3: was the economic situation has changed significantly in Australia, which

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Speaker 3: I outlined earlier, and so this is a change in

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Speaker 3: our policy that can be the position and the finer

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Speaker 3: details we work through with individual EBA agreements.

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Speaker 1: So I guess you know a lot of people are

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Speaker 1: going to be wondering. Like I said earlier, you've said

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Speaker 1: that you know that the economic position has changed right

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Speaker 1: around Australia. Everybody acknowledges that the cost of living's gone

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Speaker 1: through the roof, But you know a lot of people

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Speaker 1: will be questioning how the government is going to afford

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Speaker 1: to pay this. Are there going to be any reviews

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Speaker 1: into consultants or executive level contracts, or will there be

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Speaker 1: any reviews into how you could maybe do things, you know,

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Speaker 1: in a in a more cost effective way.

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Speaker 3: Katie, I'm always open to ideas around how we can

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Speaker 3: and these are tax payer dollars that we spend, how

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Speaker 3: we can provide the services that territorians expect, but do

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Speaker 3: it in the most efficient manner. So we're always looking

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Speaker 3: at what we're doing and how we're doing it and

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Speaker 3: is that the best spender. And so Katie, something such

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Speaker 3: as frontline services, education and health, they're easy for people

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Speaker 3: to see. But we've been doing an enormous amount of

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Speaker 3: work around environmental legislation that allows us to diversify our

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Speaker 3: economy and get jobs here into the territory. So everyone

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Speaker 3: that works in the public service is supporting the territory

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Speaker 3: and territorian.

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Speaker 1: But will there be a freeze on the increasing number

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Speaker 1: of public servants that we've got in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: because I guess you know, the public service are there

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Speaker 1: for just that to serve the public. Our population's not growing,

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Speaker 1: yet the public service continues to grow.

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Speaker 3: So Katie, we've seen a lumpy couple of years with COVID,

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Speaker 3: but we're absolutely focused on having the minimal spend. But

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Speaker 3: providing what I was just outlining those important services across

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Speaker 3: the territory.

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Speaker 1: All right, let's move along, because we do not Actually

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Speaker 1: before we move along, I do just want to ask

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Speaker 1: you very quickly because I know a lot of people

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Speaker 1: will be wondering. I mean, has the government backflipped here?

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Speaker 1: Because you know that there's an election coming up in

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Speaker 1: less than two years and if you didn't backflip on

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Speaker 1: this public service pay freeze, it was no doubt going

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Speaker 1: to have an impact at the ballot box.

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Speaker 3: No, Katie will have plenty of opportunity to provide the

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Speaker 3: point of difference between us and a CLP government leading

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Speaker 3: into twenty twenty four. This was about the rising cost

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Speaker 3: of living for territori ins and appointed to those examples

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Speaker 3: just at moments ago.

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Speaker 1: All right, the government set to today release the three

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Speaker 1: year evaluation of the minimum unit price, so the floor price.

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Speaker 1: It was designed as part of a suite of alcohol

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Speaker 1: reforms aimed at cutting alcohol related harm and antisocial behavior.

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Speaker 2: Across the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 1: Now as I understand it, the evaluation acknowledged that it

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Speaker 1: was difficult to solely evaluate the minimum unit price without

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Speaker 1: considering the assistance of other alcohol reform measures, but it

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Speaker 1: did conclude that it has been effective and recommended keeping

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Speaker 1: it in place. Now. Some of the key findings are

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Speaker 1: reduction in alcohol related harms, a reduction in the supply

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Speaker 1: of low cost high alcohol products like cast wine, and

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Speaker 1: no evidence to suggest that that minimum unit price had

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Speaker 1: any negative effects on industry, tourism or the Northern Territory economy. Now,

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Speaker 1: Chief Minister, many people are going to be thinking to

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Speaker 1: themselves that the minimum floor price is having no positive

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Speaker 1: impact as they listen this morning. I mean a lot

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Speaker 1: of them will be thinking, all you've got to do

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Speaker 1: is walk around the streets and see intoxicated people drinking.

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Speaker 2: On the streets.

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Speaker 1: Do you genuinely believe that the floor price is having

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Speaker 1: an impact here?

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, the floor price is one tool in the

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Speaker 3: suite of measures we put in place. But as I

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Speaker 3: have said, I will continue to work in this pace.

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Speaker 3: Alcohol is the biggest social harm we faith in the territory.

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Speaker 3: It has been for far too long put in that

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Speaker 3: too hard basket, and we have done the most comprehensive work,

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Speaker 3: but there is still more work to do. And I

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Speaker 3: acknowledge that.

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Speaker 1: The hospitality industry has this morning said that the report

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Speaker 1: is a lost opportunity and have renewed their calls for

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Speaker 1: the floor price to be scrapped. How can you actually

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Speaker 1: measure the successful nurse of any of them, these different

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Speaker 1: initiatives without comprehensively looking into all of them.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, we do look at all of our policies.

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Speaker 3: But the floor price is designed to get rid of

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Speaker 3: that too four dollar bottle of wine that people use

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Speaker 3: purely to get intoxicated. It doesn't in terms of hospitality

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Speaker 3: on venue the price of a product, So it places

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Speaker 3: a white wine product at about nine dollars a bottle

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Speaker 3: and red wine at ten dollars. When you're on premise,

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Speaker 3: you don't see the bottles of wine that cheap, so

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Speaker 3: the impact on tourism and hospitality is minimal. It is

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Speaker 3: designed to get rid of that cheap product, the cast

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Speaker 3: wine that people used to get intoxicated and cause harm

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Speaker 3: in our community. But we'll keep working in this space.

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Speaker 3: We'll work with industry. We've got a risk based licensing

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Speaker 3: model that supports those licensees that do the right thing,

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Speaker 3: but tackles those that supply products to people that cause

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Speaker 3: harm in our community.

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Speaker 1: I mean, all you've got to do, though some days

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Speaker 1: is go for a walk. I was walking one day

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Speaker 1: along the Stuart Highway, just out walking the dog, and

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Speaker 1: there was empty bottles. Jim Beam, there's empty bottles of yellowtail,

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Speaker 1: there's smashed up bottles of bunderberg Rum.

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Speaker 2: I mean the floor price.

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Speaker 1: Yes, it may mean that they're not accessing that cheap alcohol,

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Speaker 1: or that people aren't accessing that cheap alcohol, but they

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Speaker 1: are still getting their hands on alcohol. So I'm just questioning,

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Speaker 1: and I know a lot of people will questioning what

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Speaker 1: difference it's really making.

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Speaker 3: So Katie, we acknowledge there is more work to do

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Speaker 3: and there's not a single measure that we can put

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Speaker 3: in place in the Northern Territory that will make this

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Speaker 3: issue go away. It is a legal product alcohol in

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Speaker 3: the territory, but we have got a range of measures

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Speaker 3: and will continue to work in that space so that

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Speaker 3: we can tackle the harm that alcohol causes in our community.

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Speaker 1: Now, one of the issues that has been raised this

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Speaker 1: week as well was by the Police Association.

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Speaker 2: It was on the show on Monday morning.

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Speaker 1: We know, obviously that the Stronger Futures legislation ended as

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Speaker 1: I understand it, about seventy days ago. Now what they're experiencing,

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Speaker 1: or what they say that police are experiencing in Alice

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Speaker 1: Springs at the moment is two hundred and seventeen refusals

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Speaker 1: a day by those palis that are on those bottle shops.

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Speaker 1: Now they say that there's only about fifteen of those

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Speaker 1: palis that are operating in Alice Springs right now. There's

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Speaker 1: funding for forty one. As I understand it, I mean

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Speaker 1: two hundred and seventeen refusals a day. It's an astronomical figure.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, there's a couple of points that I'd like

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Speaker 3: to make. The stronger futures was a race based policy.

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Speaker 3: We're not saying that there's not more work to do,

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Speaker 3: and we will do that, but it needs to be

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Speaker 3: across the territory, not based on someone's race. In terms

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Speaker 3: of those palis, they are funded by the Northern Territory

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Speaker 3: government to stop the supply of alcohol to people that

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Speaker 3: then will cause harm and cost our community more later on.

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Speaker 3: In terms of the recruitment, we have a rolling recruitment

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Speaker 3: campaign for both palis and police officers. We know that

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Speaker 3: recruitment has been challenged in recent years and will continue

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Speaker 3: to work in that space. We've also got the risk

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Speaker 3: based licensing model that license he is licenseees have to

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Speaker 3: adhere to. So there is a number of measures, but

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Speaker 3: they are designed to stop the supply of alcohol to

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Speaker 3: people that will then cause greater harm further on, I mean,

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Speaker 3: but now.

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Speaker 1: We've got a situation in our springs, for example, from

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Speaker 1: what we're being told by the association, where constables are

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Speaker 1: having to stand outside of those bottle shops. Now we

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Speaker 1: also know that there are concerns being raised about anti

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Speaker 1: social behavior, public drunkenness, and other criminal behavior in ourice springs.

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Speaker 1: I mean, do you think that it's an appropriate use

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Speaker 1: of taxpayers funds to have our constables and outside of

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Speaker 1: bottle shops.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, the responsibility is not always on the taxpayer

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Speaker 3: funded resource. We have that risk based licensing measure that

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Speaker 3: ensures that licenseeees licensees have to adhere to and provide support,

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Speaker 3: but we're stopping that harm before later on it can

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Speaker 3: be a far greater harm. So it comes back to

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Speaker 3: the fact that alcohol is a legal product, but we

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Speaker 3: do acknowledge the harm it causes, and that's why we

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Speaker 3: have a range of measures in the territory to stop

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Speaker 3: that harm from happening.

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Speaker 1: But do you really think we are stopping that harm

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Speaker 1: at the moment. I mean, you've got the likes of

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Speaker 1: Tourism Central Australia calling out saying that there is horrendous

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Speaker 1: issues in the Red Center right now. I mean, do

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Speaker 1: you genuinely feel that the measures that are in place

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Speaker 1: at the moment are working in the way that they're

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Speaker 1: intended to.

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Speaker 3: Katie, Yes, I do. And in terms of those police

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Speaker 3: on the bottle shops and ensuring that the legislation is upheld,

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Speaker 3: particularly around the BDR, but also making sure that people

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Speaker 3: are not accessing alcohol that will then that shouldn't be.

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Speaker 3: We're stopping those incidents where they could get alcohol and

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Speaker 3: cause greater harm later on. So I acknowledge the work

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Speaker 3: that the police do. They are an important part they

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Speaker 3: When we provided additional funding in the wake of the

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Speaker 3: Riley Review, that funding went to police around tackling alcohol

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Speaker 3: related harm. So we've put additional resources into secondary supply

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Speaker 3: as well, for example. So it's not that we haven't

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Speaker 3: and if we were to take these measures away, we

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Speaker 3: would see far more significant harm in our community. And

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Speaker 3: we saw that when the CLP scraps the BDR over nine.

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Speaker 1: I mean, well, I guess others could say that that's

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Speaker 1: the same case now is what we're experiencing with the

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Speaker 1: scrapping of the Stronger Futures legislation.

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Speaker 3: So the Stronger Futures was a race based policy that

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Speaker 3: said to people where you live, you can't have take

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Speaker 3: away our alcohol. Now, some communities don't want to have

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Speaker 3: takeo our alcohol, but other communities have said no, we

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Speaker 3: are a part and particularly when you look at the

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Speaker 3: town camps around Alice Springs, they are like other suburbs

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Speaker 3: their houses. People have responsibility for their property and they

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Speaker 3: would like to have an alcoholic beverage just the same

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Speaker 3: as me and you can have in our house. So

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Speaker 3: that was the Stronger Futures legislation was race based in

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Speaker 3: terms of more work to do. Absolutely acknowledge that and

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Speaker 3: we're doing that. But in terms of measures, we have

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Speaker 3: got a wide range of measures and we will continue

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Speaker 3: to work on more to stop the supply of alcohol

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Speaker 3: to those that cause harm, but acknowledge it is illegal

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Speaker 3: product in the territory.

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Speaker 1: Look, I know a lot of people are going to

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Speaker 1: have opinions in this space this morning, and no doubt

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Speaker 1: they're already starting to text through. But I do want

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Speaker 1: to move along Chief Minister, where once again in a

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Speaker 1: situation where terrible crimes unfolding across the territory. Throughout this week,

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Speaker 1: we know a man in his sixties severely assaulted in

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Speaker 1: Alice Springs, a twelve year old girl assaulted on a

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Speaker 1: bus on Sunday night. Police calling for witnesses as well

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Speaker 1: following another assault on a bus believed to be linked

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Speaker 1: to the assault of that little girl. A seventeen year

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Speaker 1: old girl seriously injured and laying in hospital after being

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Speaker 1: struck with a rock allegedly at a.

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Speaker 2: Party on the weekend.

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Speaker 1: Last night, a female allegedly stabbed at the old Channel

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Speaker 1: nine building. Now all of this has happened in well

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Speaker 1: just under a week. I mean it's not even the weekend.

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Speaker 1: Has the government lost control with crime?

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Speaker 3: Oh Katie? Those incidents are unacceptable and police are investigating

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Speaker 3: and I won't be commenting specifically, I don't want to

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Speaker 3: impact that, but in terms of we know it's an

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Speaker 3: issue in the Northern Territory and that's why you've seen

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Speaker 3: more resources to police and we'll continue to work.

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Speaker 2: In this bab But it's not only a police job,

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Speaker 2: oh Katie.

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Speaker 3: It's a multifaceted it's making sure people when they're their

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Speaker 3: behavior starts to get risky, that we have the supporting

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Speaker 3: services that can intervene and stop it from before it's happening.

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Speaker 3: But you've just talked about a wide range of examples,

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Speaker 3: and they'll have individual factors that lead to each of them.

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Speaker 3: And that's why we'll continue to.

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Speaker 1: Work in this bab I mean, are we just continuing

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Speaker 1: to make excuses though for people who are doing the

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Speaker 1: wrong thing, Katie?

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Speaker 3: As I just said, all of those scenarios are different.

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Speaker 3: But crime is unaccessible, and that's why we will continue

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Speaker 3: to work as hard as we can. We acknowledge it

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Speaker 3: as an issue and will continue to work to provide

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Speaker 3: resources to stop these incidents from happening.

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Speaker 1: We are going to have to leave it there. We've

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Speaker 1: run out of time, Chief Finister. I believe we've got

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Speaker 1: you on the show on Monday, so no doubt we'll

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Speaker 1: talk more then.

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Speaker 2: We appreciate you having a chat with us this morning.

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Speaker 3: Thank you.