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Speaker 1: Well there it has been some serious concern from the

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Speaker 1: Education Union representing our territory education staff. Well after a

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Speaker 1: remote NT community, Well, there's teachers out there who the

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Speaker 1: worry is that they're unsafe, essentially with teachers reportedly living

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Speaker 1: in fear from being terrorized by youths with knives, machetes

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Speaker 1: and other weapons. That is according to a report in

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Speaker 1: the paper today in the NT News. Joining us on

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Speaker 1: the line to tell us more about the situation is

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Speaker 1: the Australian Teachers Union, the ANT secretary Adam Lampey. Good

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Speaker 1: morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Adam. Good morning Adam.

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Speaker 1: Talk us through exactly what the situation is here and

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Speaker 1: which community we're talking about.

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Speaker 2: So we're talking about unbecomber and it was a small school,

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Speaker 2: about maybe half a dozen staff and there's been an

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Speaker 2: escalation of any social behavior violence out in that particular

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Speaker 2: community and unfortunately, you know the staff of I've been

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Speaker 2: trying to raise the matter with the department, but there've

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Speaker 2: been a bit slog responding.

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Speaker 1: Now I know that you guys sent out a pressure

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Speaker 1: release yesterday really raising those concerns. And it follows that

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Speaker 1: escalating violence in recent months, teaching staff reportedly or repeatedly,

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Speaker 1: I should say, victims of break ins, often during the

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Speaker 1: middle of the night, and in some cases with these

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Speaker 1: offenders as young as eleven, wielding machetes and axes.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's very it's it's very disturbing. It's disturbing, and

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Speaker 2: you know, these sort of things we expect are fast

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Speaker 2: and very hard response. The response seems to be keeping

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Speaker 2: the school open and all cost, keeping teachers on deck

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Speaker 2: no matter what. And you know, our view is that

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Speaker 2: you need to have a safe working environment in order

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Speaker 2: to deliver deliver good education and and unfortunately that that's

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Speaker 2: not happening at Becomber at the moment.

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Speaker 1: Adam, are those staff still out there at this point

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Speaker 1: in time or have they been taken out of the community.

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Speaker 2: No, No, they're still there. They're still there. They've raised

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Speaker 2: the concerns. The department officials have been out there after

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Speaker 2: we raise the matter with them. This is this is

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Speaker 2: the other thing that that that annoys us, is that

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Speaker 2: staff have raised these issues. But you know, now we've

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Speaker 2: got to come in waving the union flag to get

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Speaker 2: the employee to do something. It's it's it's unfortunate that

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Speaker 2: that's come to this point where you know, we've we've

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Speaker 2: had to go to the media to the raise of

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Speaker 2: concerns so that things can be done.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well mate, you shouldn't have to, you know, it

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Speaker 1: shouldn't have to get to the point where you're having

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Speaker 1: to go to the media. Whether we're talking about teaching stuff,

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Speaker 1: whether you're talking about health staff. In any community, they

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Speaker 1: should feel safe in that community, and if they don't,

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Speaker 1: it is a real worry and it makes you question

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Speaker 1: whether they should be able to stay out there.

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Speaker 2: That's right, that's the sort of questions we're asking. And

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Speaker 2: it's a very serious matter for us to make these

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Speaker 2: kind of media statements quick because we usually don't. It's

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Speaker 2: only when we've exhausted all out of the avenues that

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Speaker 2: we do this kind of thing. So, you know, there

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Speaker 2: has been some pick up in the response since we've

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Speaker 2: raised the issue with the employer, So that's a good thing.

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Speaker 1: What are the options here? What you know, what could

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Speaker 1: could happen with these stuff in order to you know,

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Speaker 1: to ensure that they stay safe.

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Speaker 2: Well, one of the issues is that police are unable

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Speaker 2: to respond up to this point in a timely matter

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Speaker 2: because they're transitting from ali Ingaula, which is on the

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Speaker 2: other side of the island, and they often don't attend

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Speaker 2: the community until the following day after a matter has

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Speaker 2: been raised. So we understand that the department has had

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Speaker 2: discussions with the Deputy Commissioner for Anti Police and the

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Speaker 2: Anti Police has committed to having more of a presence

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Speaker 2: out there.

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Speaker 1: Do you feel safe at this point in time or

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Speaker 1: do you know? Do you feel safe for those staff

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Speaker 1: that are still out there?

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Speaker 2: No, no, no idea. See. You know, I've been this

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Speaker 2: game a long time and we frequently see young teachers

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Speaker 2: go out there from urban centers who've never been to

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Speaker 2: remote communities before. And typically the majority, the overwhelming a majority,

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Speaker 2: are young women. And you know, I frequently at orientation

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Speaker 2: at the beginning of the year, I meet these new

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Speaker 2: teachers and they tell me they're going to this remote

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Speaker 2: community and another remote community. I said, I, you've been

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Speaker 2: out there before? Do your parents know the kind of

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Speaker 2: thing you're getting into? I just I just think there

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Speaker 2: needs to be a better screening process with the kind

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Speaker 2: of people they do put out there. I understand that

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Speaker 2: these schools are hard to staff, and you know, if

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Speaker 2: you've got a teacher registration and a heartbeat your it's

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Speaker 2: it's very easy to find a job out in these places,

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Speaker 2: but there's there's got to be more to it than that.

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Speaker 2: And you know, if I was a parent of one

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Speaker 2: of these young teachers, I'd be very concerned about them

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Speaker 2: going out to a place like that without experience.

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Speaker 1: One and you know, I'll flip it the other ways. Well,

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Speaker 1: I've you know, my mum out in remote communities in

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Speaker 1: health and I tell you what, if she had somebody

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Speaker 1: outside her home with a machete, I'd be wanting to

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Speaker 1: bring her back home immediately. I'd be incredibly concerned. So

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Speaker 1: I can't imagine how you know, some of the family

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Speaker 1: members of these young teachers are feeling, and indeed, how

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Speaker 1: concerned you guys are the union that they're in this situation.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, look, taking from a personal point of view,

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Speaker 2: I'm not speak necessarily the bit behalf of the members there,

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Speaker 2: but it seems to me, if you're going to have

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Speaker 2: remote education delivery in these kinds of communities, you've got

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Speaker 2: to guarantee the safety of the employees out there, and

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Speaker 2: if you can't do that, then you don't have a

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Speaker 2: school running there. As simple as that's that's my view, Adam.

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Speaker 1: We are going to have to wrap up. But where

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Speaker 1: to from this point. When it comes to, you know,

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Speaker 1: ensuring the safety of these of these.

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Speaker 2: Teachers, well well, you know, our view is they should

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Speaker 2: shouldn't be on the community while this stuff is going on.

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Speaker 2: The Department is saying that there's one of the issues,

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Speaker 2: of course, is the short of housing out in these places,

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Speaker 2: and there is enough housing out in Alling Girl. It's

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Speaker 2: about a half an hour commute between the two communities.

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Speaker 2: It seems to me that they need to get them

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Speaker 2: out there, out of there in the short term. But

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Speaker 2: certainly the increase in police presence is a good thing.

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Speaker 2: They do need to look at the infrastructure around the dwellings,

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Speaker 2: the teacher dwellings because they teachers are being targeted because

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Speaker 2: my understanding is the majority of them live on the

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Speaker 2: same street and that you know, they are definitely being

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Speaker 2: targeted by the youth in the community, particularly the female teachers.

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Speaker 1: As I as I mentioned, Adam, please keep us up

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Speaker 1: to date if there is some movement and if the

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Speaker 1: department does get in contact and if there is a

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Speaker 1: change made, would be really keen to report on it

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Speaker 1: as that happens. Thank thank you so much for your time.

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Speaker 1: This morning, No worries, thank you. That is the Australian

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Speaker 1: Teachers Union NTE secretary there, Adam Lampey