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Speaker 1: Joining me in the studio right now, as he does

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Speaker 1: most Wednesday mornings. It is the Assistant Commissioner for Greater

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Speaker 1: Darwin Road Safety and Support, Travis Wurst.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you morning, Katie.

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Speaker 1: Now Assistant Commissioner. Firstly, I will just go to the

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Speaker 1: emergency declaration declared late yesterday for Tenant Creek. We know

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Speaker 1: that the situation there with the fires, it is indeed ongoing,

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Speaker 1: and you know we are all keeping a very close

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Speaker 1: eye on things. We're going to catch up with Tony

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Speaker 1: Fuller from Bushfires into in about half an hour's time.

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Speaker 1: But from a policing perspective, I would imagine that there

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Speaker 1: is quite a bit of preparatory work happening there in Tenant.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look absolutely so.

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Speaker 3: Tony will be the best person to speak about the

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Speaker 3: specifics and the exact warning locations, et cetera within the

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Speaker 3: Tennant Creek and Barkley area. But acknowledging that there are

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Speaker 3: a number of fires still burning, there are still significant

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Speaker 3: risk associated with those fires and the infrastructure around the

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Speaker 3: Tenant Creek area. Lots of engagements happening between all of

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Speaker 3: the engaged authorities under the Emergency Management construct. We've also

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Speaker 3: got lots of assistance that's coming either in through the ADF.

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Speaker 3: We've got some South Australian support resources coming as well.

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Speaker 3: But I'll arrive and Alice springs today, I believe, and

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Speaker 3: we deployed tomorrow, which is great. All the resources we

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Speaker 3: can get, the better to make sure that that Tenet

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Speaker 3: Creek environment and those surrounding locations are safe. Well, we'll say,

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Speaker 3: and Tany will touch on this tour and imagine that

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Speaker 3: the fire risk for Darwin over the coming days into

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Speaker 3: the weekend is going to increase just simply because of

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Speaker 3: the temperatures increasing, winds are up and it's not as humid,

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Speaker 3: so that always increases our fire risks. So I ask

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Speaker 3: everyone to be very careful, look out for the warnings,

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Speaker 3: make sure if you're see any fireman, you wouldhere to them.

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Speaker 2: They're there for a reason.

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Speaker 1: Well, absolutely, And the last thing that we need at

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Speaker 1: this point in time, when our resources are indeed stretched.

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Speaker 1: You know, we have got so many volunteers on the ground,

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Speaker 1: so many of our fires people coming in from interstate

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Speaker 1: to help with the situation in you know, in the

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Speaker 1: Barkley region that the last thing we need is for

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Speaker 1: a fire up here in the top end, because somebody

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Speaker 1: does something that's you know, that's either through ignorance or

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Speaker 1: stupidity really that that sees a fire lit.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and if you see it, report it.

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Speaker 3: If you see someone doing something that doesn't look right suspicious,

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Speaker 3: please report it because there are a very small group

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Speaker 3: in the community that well known colloquially as firebugs and

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Speaker 3: that is the last thing we need as well. An

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Speaker 3: accidental fire is one thing. A suspicious or deliberately lit

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Speaker 3: fire that leads to a wildfires is exactly what we don't.

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Speaker 1: Need, Assistant Commissioner have additional police resources had to be

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Speaker 1: sent to tenant as well or not at this stage, so.

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Speaker 3: That most of the police resources are placed into the

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Speaker 3: coordination functions. So the emergency Operations Center is operating in

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Speaker 3: that we have police that are fulfilling all the functional

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Speaker 3: groups within that environment. It's less so police on the ground,

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Speaker 3: so to speak, but there are still plenty of police

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Speaker 3: Intendant Creek who are actively involved in mitigating, managing, communicating,

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Speaker 3: engaging to make sure that this fire doesn't call any

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Speaker 3: catastrophes in that environment.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Now, I do want to see if there is

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Speaker 1: a bit of an update on the terribly tragic situation

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Speaker 1: where we saw a toddler a toddler's death at a

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Speaker 1: Humpty Dow child care center last week. Is there any

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Speaker 1: update from the Northern Territory Police perspective.

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Speaker 3: The update is the matter is currently on an investigation

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Speaker 3: on behalf of the coroner and there's a little more

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Speaker 3: that can be provided the station.

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Speaker 1: All right, And I do want to make sure that

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Speaker 1: I respect and I know you know that the station

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Speaker 1: respects that that family of that young person, that little

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Speaker 1: that child as well at what must be an incredibly

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Speaker 1: difficult time. Now, I want to go to a couple

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Speaker 1: of different situations that had unfolded last week that the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory Police have obviously been out to. And we

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Speaker 1: saw last week that the Northern Territory Police charge multiple

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Speaker 1: people with serious offenses committed throughout the daily region. Now

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Speaker 1: members of the Drug and Organized Crime Squad apprehended firstly

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Speaker 1: a toy Land Cruiser on Port Keats Road. The drug

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Speaker 1: detection dog Rambo located three point six kilos of cannabis

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Speaker 1: and a large quantity of cash. Now there are a

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Speaker 1: number of offenses then, or a number of charges against

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Speaker 1: a twenty nine year old man. But the arrest also

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Speaker 1: came after a number of recent disturbances throughout the Daily

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Speaker 1: River region, and what we eventually saw, or what we'd

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Speaker 1: actually seen, is that ten males were arrested in relation

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Speaker 1: to a number of different different disturbances that have occurred

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Speaker 1: in the region. Assistant Commissioner obviously noting the fact that

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Speaker 1: you are indeed the Assistant Commissioner for Greater Darwin, but

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Speaker 1: this is a pretty significant arrest, isn't it. I mean

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Speaker 1: ten people being arrested, and by the look of it,

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Speaker 1: a number of charges. You would hope that it's going

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Speaker 1: to go some way in terms of in terms of

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Speaker 1: calming things down in locations like pepperminati Yere.

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Speaker 3: Look, we did arrest ten people. A number of those

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Speaker 3: were dealt with and there obviously before the court. Now

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Speaker 3: they related to disturbances within Pepper Binnardi and also the

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Speaker 3: unlawful use of motivehicles that have occurred from Darwin and

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Speaker 3: the other rural areas Bachelor as well. It's disappointing for

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Speaker 3: that community because that's ten people now that are probably

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Speaker 3: not in that community that should be there helping that

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Speaker 3: community to manage this unrest and rebuild support the community

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Speaker 3: support the local traditional owners to make sure that they

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Speaker 3: can resolve what the issues are. Now police continue to

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Speaker 3: work closely with that community and the traditional owners. It's

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Speaker 3: going to be a long term process and it's all

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Speaker 3: part of this longer term funding model that'll have a

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Speaker 3: police station built there. The police station that's currently Pepperardi

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Speaker 3: is a very poor, old femist type model, so the

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Speaker 3: shipping container model. When we've had additional resources out there

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Speaker 3: to support that community in the recent past, we've had

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Speaker 3: police sweeping and swags, which is not ideal for anyone,

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Speaker 3: but it happens. It happens from time to time, has

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Speaker 3: happened ever since I've been in the job, and it

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Speaker 3: will continue to happen from time to time when we

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Speaker 3: need to deploy resources to these remote locations to support communities.

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Speaker 1: It seems so like the compound out there has been

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Speaker 1: targeted at different times too. I mean, are the officers

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Speaker 1: safe out there?

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Speaker 3: The compound needs compound has been targeted, The officers are safe.

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Speaker 3: They're targeting not the officers, but they've targeted cars within

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Speaker 3: the compound. So it's a different scenario in that regard.

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Speaker 3: What is also been targeted at times not in relation

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Speaker 3: to the officers, but in relation to motivehicles that have

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Speaker 3: been seized and contained within there is that obviously, as

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Speaker 3: I said, that plan to build a new police station,

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Speaker 3: which is long overdue and fantastic, and we need that

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Speaker 3: obviously up and running sooner rather than later. It takes time.

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Speaker 3: We know that we'll continue to serve as that community

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Speaker 3: in the interim period regardless.

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Speaker 1: Do you reckon what impact though, do you reckon that

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Speaker 1: these arrests are going to have on that crime that

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Speaker 1: has been experienced in the.

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Speaker 3: Region, Well, it'll create a short term circuit breaker. If

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Speaker 3: there are people that are involved in so those broader services,

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Speaker 3: I don't know who they are and what their involvement was.

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Speaker 3: But unfortunately, if that's what's required to give that community

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Speaker 3: some respite, then that's what needs to happen. Disappointing from

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Speaker 3: our point of view that we've got to do that.

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Speaker 3: We don't need to be arresting any more people than

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Speaker 3: we have to wel.

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Speaker 2: Our prison system is already.

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Speaker 3: At a breaking point from a prisoner point of view,

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Speaker 3: and we don't need any more people in custody.

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Speaker 1: Oh, this is probably this may be more so a

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Speaker 1: question for corrections, but just after what you'd said there.

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Speaker 1: I mean, if we've still got a situation where we've

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Speaker 1: got you know, where we have got prisoners being housed

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Speaker 1: in the watchhouses.

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Speaker 2: Yes, we do.

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Speaker 3: So there are still prisoners in our Day and Watchhouse

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Speaker 3: and we have the smaller facility at Peter McCaulay Center

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Speaker 3: that also has some prisoners that are all managed by

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Speaker 3: correction stuff.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, look, we might put in a call to Corrections

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Speaker 1: to see if we can get somebody on to talk

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Speaker 1: a little more about that. I do want to ask you.

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Speaker 1: There's been also a number of alcohol halls in the

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Speaker 1: last couple of weeks, but one in particular which had

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Speaker 1: seen well one a large number of well quite a

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Speaker 1: large amount of alcohol seized on its way out to

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Speaker 1: Adelaide River. By the look of things, has there been

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Speaker 1: quite a focus for the Northern Territory Police on alcohol

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Speaker 1: and getting into communities where it shouldn't be.

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Speaker 3: So we've had two significant sieges in the last week.

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Speaker 3: The one you just spoke of was actually on its

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Speaker 3: way out into the West Daily area, but the one

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Speaker 3: of most significance was from Cogra down in Central Australia

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Speaker 3: and over two hundred leters of cast wine was seized

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Speaker 3: from a vehicle that was traveling back up from South Australia,

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Speaker 3: and that alcohol was destined for remote communities within the

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Speaker 3: Central Australian region. Now that matter is still on an investigation.

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Speaker 3: Obviously you've got a driver of that vehicle that's been managed.

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Speaker 3: But the impact that has on the remote community is

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Speaker 3: that is a significant amount of alcohol. Trafficking that much

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Speaker 3: alcohol into vulnerable remote communities just causes nothing but harm.

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Speaker 2: I didn't for a reason.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, one hundred percent. I didn't even realize that you

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Speaker 1: could still by cask wine.

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Speaker 3: Yes, you can certainly buy four letter cask wine anywhere

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Speaker 3: outside of the Northern Territory and unfortunately people are going

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Speaker 3: to extraordinary links to access alcohol.

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Speaker 1: Yeah right, so it wasn't probably wasn't actually purchased. Well,

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Speaker 1: it wasn't purchased in the Northern Territory from ye.

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Speaker 3: And it's been traffic back into the territory. It's not

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Speaker 3: the first time that's occurred. We're alive to this concern. Obviously,

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Speaker 3: Central Australia has particular alcohol restrictions in place already I

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Speaker 3: thought already put my hand sorry, but we've seen it

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Speaker 3: also coming in from the Eastern side as well. So

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Speaker 3: we're alive to those concerns as well, because if we're

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Speaker 3: managing alcohol in a community in a particular way, this

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Speaker 3: influx of unregulated alcohol is something that causes massive concern

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Speaker 3: for the community.

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Speaker 2: The harm that's causes extraordinary.

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Speaker 1: Hey, just from overnight, I understand there have been a

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Speaker 1: couple of incidents from overnight. One in particular I think

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Speaker 1: where the Palmerston Pool was targeted.

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Speaker 2: Yes, there was an unlawfully unlawful entry there. Sorry, and.

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Speaker 3: Amongst other things, a lot of property damage occurred to

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Speaker 3: a lot of the computers and.

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Speaker 2: Whatnot in the administration area.

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Speaker 3: Just want an unnecessary damage matter as under investigation by

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Speaker 3: trying and will continue to investigate that particular matter.

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Speaker 1: So by the sounds of it, quite a significant amount

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Speaker 1: of damage.

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Speaker 3: I don't know the exactly dollar figure, but certainly smashing

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Speaker 3: up the computers, laptops, monitors in that administration area and

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Speaker 3: it's just entirely unnecessary.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well it just makes it Well, it's then an

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Speaker 1: absolute hindrance on them trying to work today or trying

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Speaker 1: to get anything done.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, and they're trying to do good work for

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Speaker 3: the community. It's a great it's a great community space,

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Speaker 3: the way they're developing that environment there, and it's designed

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Speaker 3: for particularly young people who need a place that's safe

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Speaker 3: and some respite. And I'm not saying it was young

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Speaker 3: people who did this, but to derail a lot like

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Speaker 3: that is actually a slap in the face for the

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Speaker 3: good work those good people at Palmers and are doing well.

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Speaker 1: Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst, we really appreciate your time this morning.

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Speaker 1: Thank you very much for coming in and having a

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Speaker 1: chat with us. Thank you