1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,960
Speaker 1: Well, as we understand it, government funding has been scrapped

2
00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:06,560
Speaker 1: for the Northern Territories Planning Action Network known as PLAN.

3
00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:09,960
Speaker 1: The volunteer community group has been operating in the Northern

4
00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:14,240
Speaker 1: Territory for over thirty years, as I understand it, raising

5
00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:20,239
Speaker 1: community concerns about government and council legislation relating to infrastructure developments.

6
00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,880
Speaker 1: Now joining us on the line is the convener of PLAN,

7
00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,400
Speaker 1: the Planning Action Network, Nick Kurlw. Good morning to you.

8
00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:31,280
Speaker 2: Nick, Morning, Katie. Thank you for having us on Modern Listeners.

9
00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:32,760
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time.

10
00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:33,040
Speaker 2: Nick.

11
00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:36,080
Speaker 1: I understand that you recently received a letter from the

12
00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:40,960
Speaker 1: Coorp government saying that PLAN would no longer receive government funding.

13
00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:42,600
Speaker 1: What exactly did the letter say.

14
00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:49,120
Speaker 2: He's the ministers indicated that they have confidence in the

15
00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:53,360
Speaker 2: planning legislation as it stands today. He did point out

16
00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:55,960
Speaker 2: that he looks forward to working with PLAN in the future.

17
00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,720
Speaker 2: So it's a sort of both sides of the plate there.

18
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,880
Speaker 2: So one side is saying, well, we don't see why

19
00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:06,520
Speaker 2: you exist, and the other side says, but we still

20
00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:08,760
Speaker 2: want to work with you. So yeah, it was a

21
00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:11,240
Speaker 2: bit tough, but it also took many months to find

22
00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:13,559
Speaker 2: out we weren't going to be funded this financial year.

23
00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:19,039
Speaker 1: Yeah, how much funding do you usually get per animal

24
00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:20,319
Speaker 1: or over what period?

25
00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:25,959
Speaker 2: It's modest, it's typically every twelve months, and that goes

26
00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,240
Speaker 2: back both types of government for many years, you know

27
00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,559
Speaker 2: what I mean, Like we've it's been reduced over time,

28
00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,800
Speaker 2: but currently we were asking for twenty five thousand dollars.

29
00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:40,920
Speaker 2: We want quite a large archive of Northern Territory planning information.

30
00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:44,600
Speaker 2: So we have an office, people can attend, volunteers coming,

31
00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:48,640
Speaker 2: we pay electricity, and in these sort of associations you

32
00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,040
Speaker 2: also have some insurance. You have public liability and there's

33
00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:57,040
Speaker 2: something called association insurance. As you can imagine, Plan we

34
00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:00,400
Speaker 2: might write something to the City of Darwin, might write

35
00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,760
Speaker 2: something to a developer, and we need to protect ourselves

36
00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:09,120
Speaker 2: if we are seeing more you know, suing of people

37
00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,720
Speaker 2: around these things these days. Obviously Plan tries to be careful.

38
00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:17,280
Speaker 2: We always try to understand the legislation, but both side

39
00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:22,400
Speaker 2: developers and members of the public don't always understand all

40
00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:25,160
Speaker 2: of the legislation. It's very complex now.

41
00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,160
Speaker 1: I mean to those out there listening that maybe don't

42
00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:32,360
Speaker 1: know a huge amount about Plan or have never you know,

43
00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:34,520
Speaker 1: never been in a situation where they've dealt with you

44
00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,120
Speaker 1: guys or worked with you guys before. Tell us a

45
00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,359
Speaker 1: little bit more about some of the things that you've

46
00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:41,480
Speaker 1: done over the last thirty years.

47
00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,639
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's one of those ones. If it doesn't if

48
00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:47,520
Speaker 2: it doesn't happen to you, you don't know about it.

49
00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,120
Speaker 2: You don't need it. But back in the day on

50
00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:54,320
Speaker 2: Lean You Drive, when Fred Finch was a politician, people

51
00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:57,640
Speaker 2: will remember, you know, a pink sign appears on a

52
00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:00,520
Speaker 2: piece of community land around the corner from our house,

53
00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:03,799
Speaker 2: and the residents all get, wow, what's this. We've got

54
00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,200
Speaker 2: so many weeks we don't understand. And that's where I

55
00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,880
Speaker 2: first found planned is they actually helped us. We formed

56
00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,919
Speaker 2: a residents action group, We learned about what was proposed,

57
00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:19,160
Speaker 2: we negotiated, and if you go to the over fifties

58
00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:23,079
Speaker 2: on Lean You Drive, it's a beautiful layout, it's got

59
00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,080
Speaker 2: lovely trees and windy roads. But if you go to

60
00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:28,680
Speaker 2: the over fifties on the corner of Lee Point Road,

61
00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:33,240
Speaker 2: it's solid concrete. It's just so that was an example

62
00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:39,560
Speaker 2: where negotiation achieved an outcome which residents wanted to keep

63
00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:41,680
Speaker 2: the park. You know, we want it, But in the

64
00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:44,320
Speaker 2: long run, we got it. It's a value add to

65
00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,240
Speaker 2: the street. It makes the street look better. But there

66
00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,800
Speaker 2: are other campaigns Little Mindle. You know, people might remember

67
00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,360
Speaker 2: that we were given the front half of Little Mindle

68
00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,080
Speaker 2: for ten years and that was just wiped out. No

69
00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:04,160
Speaker 2: one saw it go petrochemical industry and darn harbor. Now

70
00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,360
Speaker 2: we all understand we've got to have jobs, Our kids

71
00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,560
Speaker 2: have got to have jobs. My grandchildren are coming up soon.

72
00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,240
Speaker 2: But we now can see that the harbor is degraded.

73
00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,960
Speaker 2: The quality of the water in the harbor isn't holding up.

74
00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:24,000
Speaker 2: And that's the point is. Plan may help shine a

75
00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:28,000
Speaker 2: light on something that otherwise would just get a rubber

76
00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,520
Speaker 2: stamp and pull Residents, it's your street. You buy into

77
00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,120
Speaker 2: the If you buy an extra an airport, you can't

78
00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:39,080
Speaker 2: complain about plane noise. But if you buy next to

79
00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:42,160
Speaker 2: a park, you may get annoyed if someone tries to

80
00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,560
Speaker 2: rezone it and build or classic and Darwin is the

81
00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:50,719
Speaker 2: height right at the moment, I can take eight hundred

82
00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:53,240
Speaker 2: square meter block and put four story building on it.

83
00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:55,000
Speaker 2: Maybe just try and get a little bit higher and

84
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:57,520
Speaker 2: maybe just get to the edge of the All these

85
00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,800
Speaker 2: tweaks in your planning legislation. People don't understand. But the

86
00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:04,640
Speaker 2: developer has every right to ask for the change. Yeah,

87
00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:08,359
Speaker 2: but the public or the resident, or the rate payer

88
00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,159
Speaker 2: or someone who pays rent to a rate payer have

89
00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:13,600
Speaker 2: the right to have their say. And that's what we

90
00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:15,920
Speaker 2: try to do, is to try and keep that evenness

91
00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:16,960
Speaker 2: in the process.

92
00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:19,760
Speaker 1: And it has been a real well let's come across

93
00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,920
Speaker 1: like a real grassroots action group. And I think it's

94
00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,120
Speaker 1: really easy for people sort of to look at, you know,

95
00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:28,960
Speaker 1: the group like Plan and go, oh, you know, is

96
00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:30,960
Speaker 1: it a bunch of nimbi's that are trying to stop

97
00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,960
Speaker 1: projects going ahead? But as you pointed out, like you know,

98
00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,520
Speaker 1: you don't know when you're going to need a group

99
00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:40,920
Speaker 1: like plan if you are living on a street, as

100
00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:43,080
Speaker 1: you've rightly pointed out, and then all of a sudden,

101
00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:45,040
Speaker 1: you know, a block of land that's on your street

102
00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:48,040
Speaker 1: is potentially being used for something, and you're going, well,

103
00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:49,960
Speaker 1: hang on a second, where do I go next? Where

104
00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:53,000
Speaker 1: can I get some information about this? This is an

105
00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:54,760
Speaker 1: area where you've been really active.

106
00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:58,680
Speaker 2: We try to if you look at the City of

107
00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:03,080
Speaker 2: Darwin's proposal that came out three weeks before Christmas, and

108
00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:06,640
Speaker 2: we were given two weeks to put in a comment.

109
00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,520
Speaker 2: It's a twenty one story building that involves private development,

110
00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:16,880
Speaker 2: council funds land that was originally gifted even the ownership

111
00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:19,280
Speaker 2: of the land. Is it council land or is it

112
00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:24,359
Speaker 2: Territorian's land. I asked for an extension, you know, I

113
00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,359
Speaker 2: said I can't respond within two weeks, and they said no,

114
00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:31,240
Speaker 2: bad luck me. So if I can't get an extension,

115
00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:37,360
Speaker 2: the average it's hard. The complex. The little Mindel building

116
00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:41,440
Speaker 2: is six hundred pages. That's an old one, but an example,

117
00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,400
Speaker 2: you know, Power and Water came back and said you

118
00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,040
Speaker 2: can't do that there. So all the different organizations and

119
00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:53,040
Speaker 2: members of the public and utilities get to have a say,

120
00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:56,440
Speaker 2: but we like to see that the members of the

121
00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:57,440
Speaker 2: public have a say.

122
00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,919
Speaker 1: Yeah, so Nick, we're too from here for plan. Because

123
00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:04,520
Speaker 1: if you're in a situation where you're not receiving that funding,

124
00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,280
Speaker 1: I mean, are you able to continue on? What can

125
00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:07,680
Speaker 1: you do?

126
00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:13,880
Speaker 2: The biggest issue probably is the archive, so we need

127
00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:16,679
Speaker 2: to find a new home for that. I have raised

128
00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:20,040
Speaker 2: to go fundme, and that's basically to try and catch up.

129
00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:22,840
Speaker 2: If you imagine, we've just done seven months of this

130
00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,280
Speaker 2: financial year without any funding. So I need to catch up.

131
00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:28,960
Speaker 2: We need to get that sorted. End of March, we'll

132
00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:33,360
Speaker 2: come back and we'll sit down with the group de

133
00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,240
Speaker 2: registering the association. It doesn't sound like much fun to me.

134
00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:44,640
Speaker 2: It's not what we'd want to do. But equally, I

135
00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:46,800
Speaker 2: think that if you ask the department and they were

136
00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,680
Speaker 2: allowed to say they would, they would point to Plan

137
00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:51,280
Speaker 2: and say, well, they do do something.

138
00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:51,920
Speaker 1: Yeah.

139
00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:54,120
Speaker 2: I understand a lot of people think of us as

140
00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:58,360
Speaker 2: the naysayers, but we'll walk away if it's you know

141
00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,280
Speaker 2: what I mean. We set up, we say to the residents,

142
00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:03,920
Speaker 2: these are the tools, but if they don't want us involved,

143
00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:08,200
Speaker 2: we will walk away. Anyway, I digress. We're to for

144
00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:10,880
Speaker 2: planned Yeah, we're calling for members. We're also calling if

145
00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,280
Speaker 2: anybody's ever been helped by plan now at the time

146
00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:14,240
Speaker 2: to help plan.

147
00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:18,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, yeah, so tell us So people can

148
00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:22,200
Speaker 1: obviously go to that gofund me page and I'm assuming

149
00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:25,960
Speaker 1: just search Planning Action Network and be able to find

150
00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:26,520
Speaker 1: it on there.

151
00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:29,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's on the homepage on the website. Yeah, yeah,

152
00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:29,960
Speaker 2: thank you.

153
00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:32,760
Speaker 1: Oh well, Nick, I really appreciate your time this morning.

154
00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:34,880
Speaker 1: Please keep us in the loop, let us know how

155
00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:38,560
Speaker 1: things progress or you know, whether there is any movement.

156
00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:41,280
Speaker 1: I mean, does it sound like the government could potentially

157
00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:43,920
Speaker 1: come back to the table or is there I don't know,

158
00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:48,440
Speaker 1: maybe like a philanthropic donation or something that you could potentially,

159
00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:50,000
Speaker 1: you know, receive.

160
00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:53,480
Speaker 2: It's hard to say, but we've had great support on

161
00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:55,840
Speaker 2: the go, you know what I mean, like the people

162
00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:58,720
Speaker 2: who know us and if you if you read the

163
00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:02,319
Speaker 2: Rgiebardi on the Facebook, you know we've got our detractors

164
00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:04,800
Speaker 2: and they're always there ready to put the boot in.

165
00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,000
Speaker 2: But the people who are writing back on our behalf,

166
00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,439
Speaker 2: they're just they're spelling it out. They're trying to trying

167
00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:15,280
Speaker 2: to explain anyway I'm off topics slightly. Thank you for

168
00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:16,600
Speaker 2: the opportunity.

169
00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:20,720
Speaker 1: Anytime, anytime, Nick, let us know how it goes. And yeah,

170
00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,559
Speaker 1: please do keep us in the loop. I really appreciate

171
00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:27,280
Speaker 1: your time this morning. Thank you, thank you, thanks so much,