1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,160
Speaker 1: So actually joining me on the line right now is

2
00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:04,720
Speaker 1: the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, Greg Island.

3
00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:06,239
Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Greg.

4
00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:07,840
Speaker 3: Good morning Katie.

5
00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:09,800
Speaker 2: Greg. Lots to talk about this morning.

6
00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:12,200
Speaker 1: But mate, have you heard about this bush to lower

7
00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,040
Speaker 1: the age of the minimum age for work to thirteen?

8
00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:16,720
Speaker 2: And do you reckon it had work in the end.

9
00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:20,360
Speaker 3: Well, it's been talking about for a little while, Katie,

10
00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:27,240
Speaker 3: and I think thirteen is getting at the limits of practicalities,

11
00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,520
Speaker 3: particularly with some of the risks around going to work,

12
00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,120
Speaker 3: and people do need to have an understanding of that,

13
00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:36,080
Speaker 3: but there are no doubt some participation that could be

14
00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:39,280
Speaker 3: had at a certainly a well supervised level.

15
00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:40,320
Speaker 1: So yeah, for a.

16
00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:42,680
Speaker 3: Little bit each way on that one, and then looking

17
00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,520
Speaker 3: forward to understanding a little bit more about the conditions

18
00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:46,159
Speaker 3: that surround that.

19
00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:49,040
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it'd probably depend on the kid too to

20
00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,000
Speaker 1: some degree, which I know you can't kind of go

21
00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:53,680
Speaker 1: by case by case basis, but you know some kids

22
00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,080
Speaker 1: would be ready to work, whereas others maybe not so

23
00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,320
Speaker 1: much and would require a lot of supervision.

24
00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:01,720
Speaker 3: Yeah. Absolutely, I know a couple of eighteen year olds

25
00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:03,240
Speaker 3: that category as well already.

26
00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:08,080
Speaker 1: That's exactly right, Greg, So do I now there is

27
00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,200
Speaker 1: so much happening around the place, but I do want

28
00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:14,040
Speaker 1: to talk about the issues of crime, which are indeed plaguing,

29
00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:16,480
Speaker 1: you know, plaguing the Northern Territory at the moment. We

30
00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,959
Speaker 1: spoke to the Police Minister Kate Warden earlier this morning.

31
00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:24,000
Speaker 1: She did actually outlay what the government's plans are for

32
00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,000
Speaker 1: a review into the police financials but also the structure.

33
00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:31,240
Speaker 2: From a business perspective, how.

34
00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,680
Speaker 1: Is business confidence as a result of what's going on,

35
00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:35,800
Speaker 1: not only with the force but also with crime.

36
00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,520
Speaker 3: Yeah, look at Caya and just from a background perspective,

37
00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,040
Speaker 3: we do talk with Minister Warden on a regular basis

38
00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:48,480
Speaker 3: and understand the challenges that they face operationally and I

39
00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,960
Speaker 3: guess politically on how that is moving forward. So and

40
00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:55,680
Speaker 3: we understand what process or guess is intended for the

41
00:01:55,680 --> 00:02:00,560
Speaker 3: future and we support that. But ultimately business is really

42
00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:03,800
Speaker 3: focusing on what we think is almost a Shaunami of

43
00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:06,920
Speaker 3: work coming our way over the next few years and

44
00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,400
Speaker 3: lasting up to a decade or two. That's a really

45
00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:13,280
Speaker 3: positive thing for the territory and our economy. But it

46
00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:17,440
Speaker 3: is the focus on getting business set up and ready

47
00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:20,639
Speaker 3: to take that workload on. And this is very much

48
00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:23,399
Speaker 3: a distraction for business that really needs to be focusing

49
00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,360
Speaker 3: on its other priorities. Yeah. Right, of course is top

50
00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,040
Speaker 3: of that list, but there are many other structural things

51
00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,280
Speaker 3: that business needs to be doing, including educating themselves on

52
00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,520
Speaker 3: the best way forward. Yeah, it's difficult to do that

53
00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:40,400
Speaker 3: when you're sweeping up the glass or recovering from a

54
00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,240
Speaker 3: mess that's been left from somebody breaking into your premises

55
00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:44,280
Speaker 3: over and over again.

56
00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:44,760
Speaker 2: Yeah.

57
00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,320
Speaker 1: I was going to say, so, is that what you mean, Greg,

58
00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:49,720
Speaker 1: that you know that people want to be able to

59
00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,160
Speaker 1: get stuck into growing their workforce, They want to be

60
00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:54,440
Speaker 1: able to get stuck into, you know, to doing the

61
00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,560
Speaker 1: work that obviously they've got their businesses set up to do.

62
00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:01,880
Speaker 1: But this issue of crime is just continuing to rear

63
00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:02,320
Speaker 1: its head.

64
00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:07,359
Speaker 3: That's exactly what we mean, Katie. It's business is very,

65
00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:11,000
Speaker 3: very focused on that, but it's certainly difficult to keep

66
00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:15,520
Speaker 3: fronting up each day to clean up that mansor or

67
00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:19,080
Speaker 3: deal with that particular issue and then get your headspace

68
00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:22,680
Speaker 3: right to move forward with your other priorities. It's certainly

69
00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:25,280
Speaker 3: something that business doesn't need at the moment, and one

70
00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,239
Speaker 3: that we're again communicating back to the Minister and polices

71
00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:29,560
Speaker 3: as regularly as we can.

72
00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:30,919
Speaker 2: Yeah, right, And I.

73
00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,400
Speaker 1: Mean, what's been the feedback from your perspective to the

74
00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,440
Speaker 1: minister and the police minister in that space.

75
00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:41,320
Speaker 3: There's no doubt that everyone's understanding of the pressures and

76
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,120
Speaker 3: the issues associated with it. We've been saying for a

77
00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,400
Speaker 3: long time now that there's no easy fix to this,

78
00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:49,280
Speaker 3: or it would have been done. It's just one of

79
00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:51,360
Speaker 3: those things that we're looking to keep front of mind

80
00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:55,200
Speaker 3: for not only the public, but particularly in the bureaucracy,

81
00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,440
Speaker 3: that these things need constant attention whilst we continue to

82
00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,360
Speaker 3: focus on core business matters. Underneath all of.

83
00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,520
Speaker 1: That is an issue that do you feel that it's

84
00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:07,800
Speaker 1: worse at the moment in Alice Springs and Tenant than

85
00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,080
Speaker 1: what it is in Darwin or you know, is it

86
00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:11,320
Speaker 1: something that's across the board.

87
00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,960
Speaker 3: Look, I think from a level of impacted, it's worse

88
00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:21,240
Speaker 3: further south. That said, it is a problem across all

89
00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,760
Speaker 3: jurisdictions and doesn't really matter where that window gets broken,

90
00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,600
Speaker 3: the impact is the same. It literally happened to us

91
00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,440
Speaker 3: at the chamber in our Springs night before last, and

92
00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:34,240
Speaker 3: you know we're do only cleaning up the glass with

93
00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:34,880
Speaker 3: everyone else.

94
00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:36,599
Speaker 2: Yeah, Greg.

95
00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:39,080
Speaker 1: The Police Minister did say on the show this morning

96
00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,320
Speaker 1: that you know that certainly she wants to see more

97
00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,720
Speaker 1: police on the beat, more of that community engagement. From

98
00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,880
Speaker 1: a business perspective, would that be a positive move?

99
00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,039
Speaker 3: It certainly is. Just you know, we support that. We're

100
00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:55,560
Speaker 3: looking to participate in that in various programs that we

101
00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:58,920
Speaker 3: can involve business in. It really does mean that you

102
00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:02,919
Speaker 3: as humanizing the issue on both sides of the fence,

103
00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,960
Speaker 3: making sure that we don't build a bigger divide between

104
00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,920
Speaker 3: the participants in all of this on both sides, and

105
00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,240
Speaker 3: people start to empathize and work with each other to

106
00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,200
Speaker 3: fix this problem. So we are supportive of that direction.

107
00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:17,880
Speaker 2: Hey, Greg.

108
00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:19,600
Speaker 1: One of the other things that you're raised right from

109
00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:24,000
Speaker 1: the outset is the skills shortage or the workforce shortage.

110
00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:25,719
Speaker 2: That we're experiencing right around the territory.

111
00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:28,719
Speaker 1: At the moment, we know that this federal job Summit

112
00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:31,320
Speaker 1: is about to get underway. What are you hoping for

113
00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:33,599
Speaker 1: when it comes to the outcomes to that job summit.

114
00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:38,159
Speaker 3: We're really looking forward to the Chief Minister putting the

115
00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,560
Speaker 3: territories best put forward in that particular summit. There is

116
00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,720
Speaker 3: not a lot of industry representation from the territory going

117
00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:48,040
Speaker 3: to be in that room. So we are feeding into

118
00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:52,039
Speaker 3: that process through various roundtables around the territory and also

119
00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:54,120
Speaker 3: another parts of the country. And I was in Canberra

120
00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,720
Speaker 3: last week talking to the Australian Chamber representatives that are

121
00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,360
Speaker 3: going to that summer, so we will be putting the

122
00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:04,560
Speaker 3: territory's position forward. What we really hope is that we

123
00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:07,320
Speaker 3: don't end up with a process it's going to take

124
00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,520
Speaker 3: an extended period of time to come to fruition. However,

125
00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:13,360
Speaker 3: we do need results now and I think this process

126
00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:17,599
Speaker 3: will help empower the outcomes down the track, but we

127
00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:20,000
Speaker 3: still need to be pushing our short term solutions with

128
00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:21,760
Speaker 3: the responsible ministers in Canberra.

129
00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,840
Speaker 1: Well, let's wait and see exactly what comes out of it. Greg,

130
00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:27,800
Speaker 1: it is always great to talk to you. Thank you

131
00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:29,159
Speaker 1: so much for your time this morning.

132
00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:30,560
Speaker 3: You're welcome.

133
00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:31,440
Speaker 2: Thank you