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Speaker 1: Hospitality NT urging the Northern Territory government to reinstate nighttime

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Speaker 1: security patrols in Darwin, CBD. After well, it looks as

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Speaker 1: though they've been wound back in June. Now the patrols

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Speaker 1: by Territory Protective Services now stop at eight pm on weekdays,

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Speaker 1: seven pm on Saturdays and go from ten am until

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Speaker 1: two pm on the weekends, as I understand it. That's

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Speaker 1: according to a report by the ABC. Now joining us

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Speaker 1: on the show is the CEO of Hospitality here in

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory, Kathy Simmons. Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 3: How are you?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? Really good, lovely to have you on the show. Kathy,

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Speaker 1: tell me what's the situation here with this security and

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Speaker 1: what appears to be a rollback.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right.

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Speaker 3: The decision was made to roll back those patrols after

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Speaker 3: seven pm on weekdays and at different times on weekends

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Speaker 3: as well.

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Speaker 2: It might be eight pm on weekdays.

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Speaker 3: I beg your pardon, and I'm told that that's in

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Speaker 3: line with you seasonality. There's fewer callouts after those times,

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Speaker 3: and you know it's taxpayers money, so I understand that.

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Speaker 2: But there's fewer callouts at those times. Because there's fewer

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Speaker 2: businesses open.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and so what I mean, what are businesses saying

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Speaker 1: to you in terms of that rollback of security or

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Speaker 1: even the if you want to call it rescheduling of time.

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Speaker 3: Well, it's really noticeable that the patrols are no longer there,

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Speaker 3: that TPS isn't there at night to talk to people

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Speaker 3: who are usually around the city at night and maintaining

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Speaker 3: those relationships and reducing those number of incidents before they

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Speaker 3: even happened. They were doing a really good job and

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Speaker 3: that's why they weren't noticeable.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you did see the blue shirts.

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Speaker 3: Around, but you didn't notice the underlying duties that they

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Speaker 3: had that what they were doing was really calming the

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Speaker 3: city down.

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Speaker 2: And it's definitely absolutely noticeable at night.

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Speaker 1: What are some of the businesses saying to you in

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Speaker 1: terms of some of the behavior that they are dealing

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Speaker 1: with and that they're having to continue.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean our hotel, my hotel members, the accommodation members.

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Speaker 3: So they don't have crowd controllers, they don't have private security.

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Speaker 3: I think it'd be a pretty poor look for Darwin particularly,

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Speaker 3: you know, it's a capital city if you start having

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Speaker 3: private security at the door of a hotel when you

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Speaker 3: turn up, you start to think, okay, this Beirut, like,

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Speaker 3: what the hell is going on? So not something that

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Speaker 3: we want to give our visitors when they arrive. But

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Speaker 3: what is happening in our hotels is that people will

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Speaker 3: walk in off the street, kind of set up camp

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Speaker 3: in the foyer, make a bit of a nuisance of themselves,

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Speaker 3: start humbugging guests. It's really it's quite confronting for people

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Speaker 3: who aren't used to the sort of any social behavior

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Speaker 3: that sadly Territorians are kind of used to.

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Speaker 1: We are very used to it now, I guess. You know,

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Speaker 1: in an ideal world, if something like that happens, you

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Speaker 1: call the police and they come out immediately and help

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Speaker 1: out it that business. But we live in a world

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Speaker 1: where our police are really bloody busy. So when those

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Speaker 1: businesses then make that call to the Northern Territory Police,

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Speaker 1: are they able to get someone out there.

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Speaker 3: No, that's right, No, they don't. The police don't come,

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Speaker 3: and I'm sure it's not because they don't want to come.

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Speaker 3: Of course they want to come, but there's higher level

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Speaker 3: incidents that they are responding to. There's so much going

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Speaker 3: on that the police need to be responding to. And

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Speaker 3: that's the gap that TPS services in this space.

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Speaker 2: Were really responding to.

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Speaker 3: I don't want to say that they only had one job,

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Speaker 3: but they kind of only had one job, and that

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Speaker 3: was to keep the peace.

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Speaker 2: In this part of town.

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Speaker 3: And there are other similar services, similar patrols in other

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Speaker 3: parts of town.

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Speaker 2: There's one Palmston, there's.

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Speaker 3: One in the northern suburbs as well, and they are

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Speaker 3: there for businesses that are open late or you know,

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Speaker 3: whoever it might be, to respond to those calls.

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Speaker 2: And in the city that's just not happening at now.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean that was going to be something that

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Speaker 1: I asked, is this just a situation for us in

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Speaker 1: the city, because we also know that like perhaps for example,

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Speaker 1: you know Nightcliff, there's venues out there where some of

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Speaker 1: there may be licensed venues, so they may have their

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Speaker 1: own private security. But are you you know, are you

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Speaker 1: hearing that these issues in some of those areas as

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Speaker 1: well where the TPS have been operating.

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Speaker 3: No, I haven't heard as many issues from those other areas.

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Speaker 3: The Northern Suburbs seem to keep having the same level

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Speaker 3: of service that they've had, and Palmerston as well, that's

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Speaker 3: my understanding. If any of my members are listening and

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Speaker 3: they want to raise concerns, you know, you need to

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Speaker 3: call me. But that's It's the really acute issue now

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Speaker 3: is the city and I think if there are people

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Speaker 3: going out for a meal or for a nice night out,

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Speaker 3: I'd be interested to see if they've noticed it.

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Speaker 2: Too, Kathy.

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Speaker 1: The government says that patrol scheduling changes in response to

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Speaker 1: spikes in anti social behavior is you know, is the

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Speaker 1: reason why there might be some changes. They've also pointed

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Speaker 1: to the fact that the City of Darwin made the

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Speaker 1: decision under the former mayor to cut that funding contribution

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Speaker 1: last year. I mean, what do you say to that, Oh.

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Speaker 3: It's definitely a I believe it was definitely an idea

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Speaker 3: that the previous council had come up with to support

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Speaker 3: the city in this way and the inner city in

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Speaker 3: this way, and it was a great idea then. And

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Speaker 3: I don't understand why council would have chosen to cut

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Speaker 3: the services. No doubt, it's a money thing. But the

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Speaker 3: NTG at the time stepped in to continue those services

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Speaker 3: and ensure there was that service coverage for these lower

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Speaker 3: level incidents that really are so every day that you know, again,

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Speaker 3: territories hardly see them, but it's important to.

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Speaker 2: Keep addressing them.

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Speaker 3: It really is important, and it's very important for my

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Speaker 3: members that people can kind of go out and have

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Speaker 3: a good time, and that's locals and visitors. And just

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Speaker 3: in response to the seasonality, Okay, we've had a wonderful

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Speaker 3: dry season, nice extensive dry season, and you know, visitors

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Speaker 3: are actually still here. It's been quite quite a good

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Speaker 3: dry season, and they seem they'll still be here for

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Speaker 3: maybe another week or two and then then we'll start

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Speaker 3: seeing everything quiet.

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Speaker 2: Off in terms of visitors.

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Speaker 3: But this is also the time when things ramp up

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Speaker 3: from an antisocial behavior perspective.

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Speaker 2: This is when we need the nighttime services back.

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Speaker 1: And so what is your message this morning? First off,

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Speaker 1: for the Northern Territory Government. What needs to happen here?

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Speaker 1: Would you like to see those services ramped back up?

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Speaker 3: By the sounds of it, My call is for both

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Speaker 3: Counsel and the NTG to talk to each other and

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Speaker 3: to us about this and to bring back those services absolutely.

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Speaker 3: You know, I think that there is a space here

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Speaker 3: for Counsel to contribute as well. It was their policy

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Speaker 3: to start with, and i'd love to see it come back,

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Speaker 3: and I've written to the new Lord Mayor about this.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, look, I think it is it's you know, on

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Speaker 1: everybody issue, right. We all need to make sure that

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory, our CBD, our capital City of the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory, and it's CBD is inviting for everybody to

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Speaker 1: be here and that we don't have antisocial behavior right

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Speaker 1: there on our streets that we've become accustomed to now.

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Speaker 1: I know the time when the Council pulled back that funding,

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Speaker 1: Convat Scalas had joined me in the studio and had said,

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Speaker 1: you know, the reason for it was because he felt

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Speaker 1: that it was the job of the Northern Territory Police,

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Speaker 1: that the police needed to be doing their job, and

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Speaker 1: if they were doing the job that they've been given

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Speaker 1: record funding to do, that that private security wouldn't be needed.

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Speaker 1: I had argued that, you know, we weren't quite there yet.

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Speaker 1: We still need to boost those police numbers and if

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Speaker 1: we do get to the point, you know where we

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Speaker 1: can have some of the you know, some of the

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Speaker 1: anti social patrols that we maybe used to see back

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Speaker 1: in the day with our on horseback on the segues,

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Speaker 1: you know out and about now CBD, then maybe you know,

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Speaker 1: we could get rid of the private security, but.

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Speaker 2: I don't think we're quite there. Yes, that's right. It's

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Speaker 2: about visibility.

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Speaker 3: And you know, as you say, we don't have the

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Speaker 3: police numbers up to where we where we want them

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Speaker 3: to be. And you can throw another billion dollars at

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Speaker 3: the same number of police officers that we have right

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Speaker 3: now and they still won't be able to address every crime.

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Speaker 3: So until we have that, let's get the private security

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Speaker 3: back in to address these laws level issues. Have that

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Speaker 3: visibility that the police numbers that we have can't quite cover.

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Speaker 3: And then yeah, and then the problem addresses itself a

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Speaker 3: little bit more. That's the thing, right, Like we had

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Speaker 3: this service before, now we don't have it at this time,

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Speaker 3: and the incidents are ramping up.

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Speaker 2: Let's keep the momentum going. Bring back the services at night, Kathy.

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Speaker 1: Before I let you go, we're a few days in

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Speaker 1: now to the luxA Festival. How are things going? According

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Speaker 1: to the hospitality workers, everybody working in hospitality across the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory, but well up here in Darwin where we

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Speaker 1: love our luxA.

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Speaker 3: Everyone talks a big game about the weather in the

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Speaker 3: dry season. But honestly, October is my favorite time of

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Speaker 3: the year. I love the luxA Festival and I was

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Speaker 3: just at copy stop this morning. Yep, probably a little

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Speaker 3: bit too early on a workday to be having a LUSA,

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Speaker 3: although I'm not afraid of a breakfast lucks so as well.

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Speaker 3: But I did get their lucks of cookies smash they are.

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Speaker 1: I tried those the other day and they're quite delicious.

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Speaker 1: A bit different.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, they had a luxA muffin last year and

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Speaker 3: they bring that back occasionally as well, but that is.

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Speaker 1: The luxA muffin is my favorite. But I love a

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Speaker 1: good lux up Kathy. I've been pushing for it for

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Speaker 1: the last few days and I'm gonna continue my push.

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Speaker 1: Why do we not have a luxA bib and how.

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Speaker 2: Do we get on? I completely agree.

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Speaker 3: I think I think there is a revenue measure to

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Speaker 3: be established here. Lux of Festival organizers, come on, make

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Speaker 3: a bib, branded bib, change it.

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Speaker 2: Every year. People are by people collected.

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Speaker 1: Look, I do the old you know, do it myself

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Speaker 1: tissues like into my show myself. But we need a

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Speaker 1: bi We need a proper bib.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, I think this is a great idea. Yeah, I'm

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Speaker 3: expecting a station kickback here.

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Speaker 2: From the concepts or now.

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Speaker 1: Look. I'm happy for whoever wants to run public service.

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Speaker 2: The idea is a public service. It is make a

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Speaker 2: golden one for you.

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Speaker 1: Okay, be good to catch up with you this morning.

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Speaker 1: We'll catch up with your very soon. Thank you, Thanks

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Speaker 1: so much,