1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,160
Speaker 1: Obviously, we've been talking about the events that have unfolded

2
00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,520
Speaker 1: over the course of the weekend in Alice Springs, and

3
00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:09,959
Speaker 1: calls are again mounting this morning for a curfew in

4
00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,159
Speaker 1: the Red Center town after those four police officers were

5
00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:17,119
Speaker 1: assaulted by a group of twenty youths. We also know

6
00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:21,440
Speaker 1: there was another police officer run over on Friday. There

7
00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:25,239
Speaker 1: was also an alleged stabbing in the town. Joining me

8
00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,280
Speaker 1: on the line right now is you bring your school principal,

9
00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:29,840
Speaker 1: Gavin Morris. Good morning to you.

10
00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:32,680
Speaker 2: Gavin, Morning, Katie mony listeners.

11
00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:36,199
Speaker 1: Gavin, how are things going in Alice Springs after what

12
00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:38,840
Speaker 1: sounds like a chaotic weekend?

13
00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:44,000
Speaker 2: Chaotic is one way to describe it, extremely disappointing and

14
00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:48,960
Speaker 2: disheartening another way. Yeah, what we've seen across the last

15
00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,720
Speaker 2: sort of seventy two hours, Katie, has been absolutely behavior

16
00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:59,920
Speaker 2: around young groups of people involving themselves with gang activity

17
00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,800
Speaker 2: and taking majority of Alice Springs hostage. You know, we

18
00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,880
Speaker 2: saw some of that violence at the Alic Springs show.

19
00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:11,560
Speaker 2: I've got, you know, my phone sort of digging every

20
00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:14,080
Speaker 2: fifteen minutes at the moment with new footage around some

21
00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:18,200
Speaker 2: of our very young people involving themselves in extremely dangerous behavior,

22
00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,520
Speaker 2: whether that's violence against police officers or stealing cars or

23
00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:26,680
Speaker 2: breaking into homes. And yeah, it's been a really chaotic

24
00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:31,440
Speaker 2: few days and our community is looking for strong leadership now.

25
00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,720
Speaker 1: Gavin, you know we've spoken to the police minister. Earlier

26
00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,480
Speaker 1: on the show, he made it sound as the actual

27
00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:40,959
Speaker 1: Alice Springs show, so it could have been a success

28
00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:43,160
Speaker 1: and that things were pretty calm. But from what you're saying,

29
00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:45,199
Speaker 1: it doesn't really sound like that was the case.

30
00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:50,080
Speaker 2: Oh look, I think overall, Katie, you know the showfact

31
00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:53,440
Speaker 2: was a great success in trying circumstances, I mean absolutely

32
00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,160
Speaker 2: freezing conditions here and now Springs across that week. But yeah,

33
00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:00,240
Speaker 2: certainly there's footage that comes to service around you know,

34
00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:04,720
Speaker 2: all En Rawles going on, you know, inside show alleys,

35
00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,160
Speaker 2: and it's just not behavior that should be accepted. And

36
00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:11,480
Speaker 2: you know, once again, Katie, I'll go back to saying that,

37
00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,000
Speaker 2: you know, this is the stuff that happens day in,

38
00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,239
Speaker 2: day out, weekend, weekend in the town camps. We're allowed

39
00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,679
Speaker 2: to happen. We walk past that standard. You know, we

40
00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:23,240
Speaker 2: we've either got our head in the sand or you know,

41
00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,359
Speaker 2: we're doing something about it. But it's when we get

42
00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:28,800
Speaker 2: ex escalation coins and it starts to flow into the

43
00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,840
Speaker 2: broader Alan Springs community that we consider it a crisis.

44
00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,280
Speaker 2: But the reality is this is the day to day

45
00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:36,960
Speaker 2: experience of young people in the town camps and no Spring.

46
00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,680
Speaker 1: It's happening all the time. Now, tell me, Gavin, in

47
00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,720
Speaker 1: terms of the incidents from over the weekend, my understanding

48
00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,240
Speaker 1: is it, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but

49
00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:50,840
Speaker 1: my understanding is that these twenty youths that were involved

50
00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,839
Speaker 1: in the assaulting of the four police officers, the off

51
00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:58,120
Speaker 1: duty police officers, that they were visitors to town. Is

52
00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:00,800
Speaker 1: that your understanding or is it unknown at these points?

53
00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:05,120
Speaker 2: I look, the identity of a majority of that group

54
00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:10,280
Speaker 2: is largely unknown. Certainly we'd like there will be some

55
00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,840
Speaker 2: other Springs people involved with that. We know that. You know,

56
00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:18,320
Speaker 2: there's half a dozen games now, Katie, are actively roaming

57
00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:23,680
Speaker 2: the streets at night. You know, teenage kids who are

58
00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,639
Speaker 2: now recruiting eight, nine ten year olds to be part

59
00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:32,200
Speaker 2: of their gang, and certainly very active. And whilst a

60
00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,040
Speaker 2: majority it seems as a majority of the group involved

61
00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,200
Speaker 2: with the floor off duty police officers were out of town,

62
00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,880
Speaker 2: it's aside the point. It's you know, if you're coming

63
00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:46,120
Speaker 2: into Alice Springs and you're coming off country into our

64
00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:49,119
Speaker 2: Springs and you play up, you run a mark, well,

65
00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:51,640
Speaker 2: then people need to be had to account. We can't

66
00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:55,040
Speaker 2: keep going over the same ground time after time after

67
00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:59,680
Speaker 2: time without strong leadership and action being taken. And you know,

68
00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,800
Speaker 2: I speak to my parents and families at the Pretty

69
00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:06,720
Speaker 2: Community and we do consist of a majority of the

70
00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,440
Speaker 2: seventeen town games. In fact, all of them there are

71
00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:13,560
Speaker 2: a crisis point. They are calling for a curfew, they

72
00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:17,000
Speaker 2: are calling for a police intervention. These parents are absolutely

73
00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:22,880
Speaker 2: breaking point, living in abject poverty with the words can't

74
00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,920
Speaker 2: describe how poor the living standards are. And we get

75
00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:29,039
Speaker 2: these flash points in our list Spring's community where it

76
00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,839
Speaker 2: becomes a crisis. But in between that, there's this this

77
00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,839
Speaker 2: radio silence and what it feels like a cultural amnesia

78
00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,840
Speaker 2: is going on in terms of addressing the underlying issues

79
00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:42,280
Speaker 2: here and that one hundred percent there's organizations in hour

80
00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:44,800
Speaker 2: of Springs who are getting paid hundreds of millions of

81
00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:49,039
Speaker 2: dollars to take charge and to service and manage and

82
00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:53,440
Speaker 2: support these families who absolutely needed a crisis point, and

83
00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:56,880
Speaker 2: we just don't see any action. What's happened with the

84
00:04:56,880 --> 00:04:58,960
Speaker 2: two hundred and fifty million dollars which came out of

85
00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,400
Speaker 2: the crisis money last year? Where's that money gone to?

86
00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:04,719
Speaker 2: The forty million dollars which has been carved off that

87
00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:09,120
Speaker 2: for education that was meant to go to disadvantage, disengage

88
00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:11,839
Speaker 2: kids for on country learning, which ended up going to

89
00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:16,920
Speaker 2: literacy coaches and predominantly non indigenous schools. There's so much

90
00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:20,080
Speaker 2: here that's going wrong, Katie, that we need to address.

91
00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:22,320
Speaker 2: And if we don't, we're just going to see this

92
00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:29,480
Speaker 2: constant cycling of of of escalated violence, and someone will die.

93
00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:32,680
Speaker 1: Well, and they have you know, in the past, like

94
00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,360
Speaker 1: this is. This is the frightening past, isn't it. And

95
00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,960
Speaker 1: we're still we are still on this cycle.

96
00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:41,520
Speaker 2: We are well, you know, we just buried a very

97
00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:45,000
Speaker 2: young person the last day of this term two, which

98
00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,960
Speaker 2: closed the year previous school down. Such was the significance

99
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,279
Speaker 2: of this funeral, you know. And I've got footage this morning, Katie,

100
00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:54,080
Speaker 2: since I'm a phone of eight, nine, ten eleven year

101
00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,320
Speaker 2: olds hanging out of the window of stolen cars, vanishing

102
00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:03,120
Speaker 2: weapons and threatening oncoming big cool. I mean, it's a

103
00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:08,440
Speaker 2: very visual it's a very visual sort of manifestation of

104
00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:10,520
Speaker 2: what's going on in the town camps and in the

105
00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:14,000
Speaker 2: Alice Springs community that's just below the surface. But we

106
00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:17,600
Speaker 2: can't accept we can't accept that behavior. I mean, we

107
00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,320
Speaker 2: also can't accept the living standards which are original population

108
00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,919
Speaker 2: of forth believing in these town camps. And myself and

109
00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,920
Speaker 2: counselor a little glass Alice Springstown Council meeting move the

110
00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,920
Speaker 2: motion to tear up the MAU twenty five year MoU

111
00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,480
Speaker 2: were taking to your council because the time for symbolism,

112
00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:42,280
Speaker 2: the time for rhetoric and virtual signaling is over. It

113
00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:44,960
Speaker 2: doesn't change the lives of any of our families that

114
00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:49,520
Speaker 2: are living in absolute, abject poverty, and that poverty is

115
00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:53,800
Speaker 2: generational and we're seeing very young people now undertaking extreme

116
00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:55,880
Speaker 2: behavior as a result of living in each condition.

117
00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:58,960
Speaker 1: Kevin, in your role as a counselor on the Alice

118
00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:03,880
Speaker 1: Springstown Council, with that motion, has there been any movements?

119
00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,520
Speaker 1: Has Tongue and Gear come back and come to the

120
00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:10,600
Speaker 1: table with the Ella Springstown Council or anything like that

121
00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:12,040
Speaker 1: after that motion?

122
00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:17,080
Speaker 2: We've heard absolutely nothing from nobody, and that's a part

123
00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:20,760
Speaker 2: of the problem. We've got some very significant Aboriginal organizations

124
00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:25,200
Speaker 2: in Central Australia, specifically al of Springs, who aren't participating

125
00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:28,920
Speaker 2: in conversation and aren't functioning at the peak of their powers.

126
00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:30,840
Speaker 2: And that's the long and short of it. You know,

127
00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:33,760
Speaker 2: these are hard conversations they have, Katie. But whilst we

128
00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:36,680
Speaker 2: pretend that these organizations are doing their work and doing

129
00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:41,360
Speaker 2: their job, we've got fool's goals in terms of what's

130
00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:43,920
Speaker 2: going on in the town camp and supporting these kids

131
00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,600
Speaker 2: in the family. To our crisis point, who you know,

132
00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:48,800
Speaker 2: where one hundreds of millions ago is I thing pumped

133
00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:51,760
Speaker 2: in is to deal with these issues, But there's just

134
00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,320
Speaker 2: no outcomes on the ground. There's no accountability to where

135
00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:58,440
Speaker 2: that money is going to and where there's no action

136
00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:01,920
Speaker 2: going on where we've attracted that money. Then someone needs

137
00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,160
Speaker 2: to be had to account in terms of what's going on,

138
00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:06,800
Speaker 2: where's the money going, and if you're not prepared to

139
00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,120
Speaker 2: do the work with these families, then move on let

140
00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:09,800
Speaker 2: someone else do it.

141
00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:12,080
Speaker 1: Who is Yeah, well, I think that's a fair enough

142
00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:15,560
Speaker 1: call to make, Davin, before I let you go. You know, obviously,

143
00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,880
Speaker 1: again just going back to that point about the curfew

144
00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,200
Speaker 1: potentially being called do you think that that's going to

145
00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:23,480
Speaker 1: be a good move to quieten things down for a

146
00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:25,400
Speaker 1: few days or is it really just putting a band

147
00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:25,960
Speaker 1: aid over it.

148
00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:28,840
Speaker 2: I putting a band aid over it. But it is

149
00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,440
Speaker 2: a great move. And you know, in the times of crisis, Katie,

150
00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:35,440
Speaker 2: our community is looking for strong leadership and band aid

151
00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:37,840
Speaker 2: solutions aren't one of them. But the carefew is certainly

152
00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:42,400
Speaker 2: something that our family support. It's not appropriate for our

153
00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:44,720
Speaker 2: kids to be walking around unsupervised in the middle of

154
00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:46,439
Speaker 2: the night. It doesn't happen in any other place in

155
00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:48,880
Speaker 2: around Australia and why is it accepted here? And our

156
00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:51,960
Speaker 2: families want their kids at home. So Carefew needs to

157
00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:54,600
Speaker 2: be a part of a group of strategies which goes

158
00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:57,800
Speaker 2: on to support these children and their families. And it's

159
00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:01,560
Speaker 2: not just children, but that group of us on the weekend,

160
00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,560
Speaker 2: you know there's young adults amongst that. But occur to

161
00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:12,160
Speaker 2: something that I certainly support and say to your prenant community, well.

162
00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,040
Speaker 1: Gavin, I appreciate your time. As always. I guess you

163
00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:18,400
Speaker 1: know we're going to see sort of what moves the

164
00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,559
Speaker 1: the police and Northern Territory government make I'm assuming over

165
00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:25,280
Speaker 1: coming hours, but yeah, look, I just you know, we're

166
00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:27,760
Speaker 1: just for you guys. It just seems like you're on

167
00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:31,640
Speaker 1: this roller coaster that you know, it gets better for

168
00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:34,240
Speaker 1: a little while, then it really doesn't.

169
00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,400
Speaker 2: Exactly. We're in a cycle where we get these escalation

170
00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:41,840
Speaker 2: points and then we get a reaction and then things

171
00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:45,520
Speaker 2: simmer down. But when things are shimmering down, that's just

172
00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:47,960
Speaker 2: the stuff that's visible on the streets of our Springs.

173
00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,840
Speaker 2: What's going under the town camps continue, you know, the

174
00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:54,240
Speaker 2: extreme rates of poverty, the extreme rates of lack of

175
00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,600
Speaker 2: through security, the domestic violes are sexual assault, sexual violence,

176
00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:00,000
Speaker 2: all extreme levels just goes on in the town care,

177
00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:02,480
Speaker 2: which it doesn't feel through it into the Old Springs community.

178
00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:05,880
Speaker 2: And you know, the Chief Minister Law has been fantastic

179
00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,520
Speaker 2: in terms of being providing some direction and some leadership

180
00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:13,200
Speaker 2: from the NTG, but also calling on the federal government

181
00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,800
Speaker 2: here around ensuring the two hundred and fifty million dollars

182
00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:19,679
Speaker 2: which got allocated to the last crisis, well we'll two

183
00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:24,040
Speaker 2: or three crisis as a go get spent and those

184
00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:27,600
Speaker 2: outcomes get met. You know, we spoke as lead as

185
00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:29,600
Speaker 2: last week KDE in terms of you know, why are

186
00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:32,400
Speaker 2: we waiting for the funding of the boarding school. For example.

187
00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,840
Speaker 2: You know we should be able to position our families

188
00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:40,319
Speaker 2: now to get here's some safe, free, cultural appropriate accommodation

189
00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:42,200
Speaker 2: which is on site to get thro in that. And

190
00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,440
Speaker 2: as you continue to choose to leave your children camping

191
00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:47,679
Speaker 2: on the tanks of the camping on the banks of

192
00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:51,800
Speaker 2: the Todd River, unsupervised and leaving them the harms way, well,

193
00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:54,520
Speaker 2: then it provides a stronger case MS in terms of

194
00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:57,800
Speaker 2: child protection to ensure that we have an option here

195
00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:00,800
Speaker 2: for these families which is appropriate, It is free, it

196
00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,720
Speaker 2: is clost effective, and if these families aren't taking that option,

197
00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:07,600
Speaker 2: then action needs to be taken to ensure those kids

198
00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:08,520
Speaker 2: are kept safe.

199
00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:12,080
Speaker 1: Well, Gavin Morris, I always appreciate your time. Thank you

200
00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:13,959
Speaker 1: very much for having a chat with us this morning,

201
00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:16,960
Speaker 1: and I'm sure we'll probably talk again this week actually

202
00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,560
Speaker 2: Thanks so much, Katie, thank you, thanks mate,