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KARA:

Filling in for Ruby Jones, I’m Kara Jensen-Mackinnon. This is 7am.

A crime wave in Alice Springs grew into a national crisis this week, with politicians jumping on planes to make a last ditch effort to listen to a community, whose concerns have fallen on deaf ears. But how did the crime rate in Alice Springs become an issue for Anthony Albanese? And how could the situation have deteriorated without coming to the attention of our leaders?

Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Chris Wallace, on how giving communities a voice, could stop politicians from avoiding complex challenges.

It’s Friday, January 27.

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KARA:

Chris, this week a situation involving break-ins and alcohol fuelled violence in Alice Springs spiralled into national politics and the situation had the Prime Minister making a last ditch visit there to try and solve the crisis. So firstly, what exactly happened and why has this become a federal issue?

CHRIS:

Of course the Northern Territory is a territory so it doesn't have full statehood legality, as it were. So anything that happens in the NT in terms of a political crisis always triggers the attention of the Federal government, which is ultimately still responsible for it. There's been some form of alcohol ban across many remote communities in the Northern Territory for quite some time, you know, a decade plus, and those bans exist under federal laws. But when those bills were passed and became law, they included sunset clauses that set the expiry date for the restrictions in July 2022.

Archival Tape - News Host:

“The Northern Territory has lifted laws banning the sale of alcohol in more than 400 remote communities for the first time in 15 years-...”

Archival Tape - News Reporter:

“The NT Government says the Commonwealth laws were racist blanket measures. It recently passed legislation requiring affected communities to opt in to liquor restrictions if they wanted them to continue beyond when they expired last week…”

CHRIS:

This happened under the Morrison Government's watch in the sense that they knew the expiry was coming. They did nothing about it. Since then, the security situation in Alice Springs has deteriorated quite seriously and many local Indigenous leaders there have been asking the Albanese Government to pay attention to do something about it. It wasn't on their radar in a way that caused the Minister or the Prime Minister to act.

Archival Tape - Peter Dutton:

“Now it was clear to me when we went up to Alice Springs that this issue was beyond the resources of the Northern Territory Government. When I came back I met in private with the Prime Minister and I pleaded with him to say this is not a partisan issue.”

CHRIS:

That changed over the last several days when Peter Dutton, the Opposition Leader, stated very prominently in the media calling attention to it. And as a result, Anthony Albanese visited with a phalanx of federal Labor MPs Pat Dodson, Linda Burney, Marion Scrymgour, one of the local MPs, to see how the situation could be improved.

KARA:

Okay and so they all flew to Alice Springs together. But do you think that was just a political Band-Aid or do you think we're actually going to see the kind of thorough consultation that it sounds like the communities in and around Alice Springs are actually asking for?

Archival Tape - Anthony Albanese:

“Well, this is my third visit to the Northern Territory as Prime Minister. I intended to come to Alice Springs in December, but COVID got in the way…”

CHRIS:

It was a case of, you know, better late than never, the Prime Minister's visit.

Archival Tape - Anthony Albanese:

“Today we have some significant announcements to make, but also some foreshadowing of future activity to deal with the pressures which clearly have been felt here in Alice Springs…”

CHRIS:

You would have seen the pictures, of course, arising from the visit. And you know, that very sombre look on Anthony Albanese's face, contemplating the quite serious security situation for residents there.

Archival Tape - Anthony Albanese:

“These are complex problems and they require a full solution which won't be immediate, which require different levels of government to work together…”

CHRIS:

So what the Prime Minister did with Indigenous Minister Linda Burney was put in place a kind of an emergency package, more spending to support the police on the ground, more spending for domestic violence services, more CCTV around the community, better support services. And significantly, they appointed a really experienced Indigenous NT public servant Dorrelle Anderson.

Archival Tape - Anthony Albanese:

“Dorrelle is the right person for the job, someone who is experienced and someone who is very familiar with this local community, but someone who will have responsibility to make sure that we get federal and state programs coordinated in the best possible way…”

CHRIS:

She's been appointed as the Central Australian Regional Controller to come up with a near-term plan that can really change things on the ground. Now, she's a terrific appointment and she will come up with good recommendations. Unfortunately, she's saddled with a very bad job title. You know, did they have to use the word ‘controller’ in it? I mean, it's just redolent of the worst kind of indigenous policy falls from federal governments in the past. Surely there could have been a more sensitive name chosen. But Anthony Albanese, once he was paying attention, has taken this seriously. He's marshalled the best Indigenous Labor members in caucus, dealt with the local NT Chief Minister as well as he could. And Dorrelle Anderson now is going to be the one who's responsible in practical terms for coming up with a plan that can actually make a difference to community safety in Alice Springs.

KARA:

And Linda Burney said this week that the Voice could have prevented a crisis like this from developing, that a Voice to Parliament would be able to clearly articulate the urgent but complex needs of these communities and get policymakers to actually act. But at the same time, I suppose allowing this situation to spiral in the first place probably isn't the best look for the government as they push towards the referendum this year. So what do we make of how the government is communicating the need for the Voice now?

CHRIS:

I think Linda Burney is absolutely right. This does exactly underline the need for the Voice to be supported and to be happening.

Archival Tape - Linda Burney:

“There was a great deal of collaboration between the NT government, the federal government and the local government about a way forward. We are in this for the long haul and yesterday is a very important first step…”

CHRIS:

People in Alice Springs were making earnest trips, intentions to government in the usual way, you know, phone calls, letters. But if there had been a Voice and in Canberra, people, not least journalists, could have been getting the message loud and clear that this situation was really, you know, getting out of hand. People would have had to have paid attention sooner and more seriously, just to the extent that The Voice can really throw spotlights faster and louder on big problems. You know, it's got to be a good thing in terms of how well the government is handling the prosecution for the Voice, you know, the ‘Yes’ Case for the voice. Everybody's still worried about how easily Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has injected discord into the government’s still pretty nebulous-worthy presentation of what the Voice is and why we should support it. The criticisms aren't all entirely fair to Anthony Albanese I've got to say though. I mean, it's not like he hasn't given it some thought. The Prime Minister told a meeting of cross-benchers before Parliament rose at the end of last year, for example, that he sees the Voice campaign as more like an election campaign than a traditional referendum campaign. This is why, amongst other things, the Government doesn't want to circulate a pamphlet to voters presenting the yes and no cases for the referendum question as is actually required under federal law. And of course, you know, in terms of basic politics for the cross-benchers, they're especially the teals who'd quite like to get elected and all of that, all of those safe blue ribbon conservative seats that they took off the Coalition, took off the Liberal Party at the last election. This really gives them a chance to re-engage with their community and get the Marshall beyond an issue of genuine national interest.

KARA:

We’ll be back after this.

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KARA:

Chris, you were talking about this meeting that the Prime Minister had with the cross-bench about the Voice to Parliament and particularly how the two independents took that meeting. I mean, it's no secret that they have been enthusiastic supporters of the Voice, but what does this support really mean though? Because at the end of the day this will come down to a referendum, ultimately not a vote in Parliament.

CHRIS:

The thing about referendums that make them so difficult to get up is that success requires what's called a double-double. So for a referendum to be approved, a majority of voters nationally, as well as a majority of states have to vote yes. And that's a very hard task to achieve. So, you know, you might think, well, you know, the teals advocating for the Voice in their six seats in metro Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, big deal. But actually, you know, it might seem a bit niche but in a tight count and referendum votes typically are tight, maximising the vote in those seats could, in a tight count, be a real contribution to the national interest. So it's a genuinely good thing to do and it's also good, very good for the teals themselves. They've been a bit quiet. And this really gives them a chance to get back on the ground in their own communities and really rev up some excitement and activism around something that's genuinely important.

KARA:

Because last year was obviously huge for them. I mean, many didn't expect to win their elections and there was a large amount of legislation to vote on once they got to Canberra. So looking back, what's the feeling about how they've handled themselves and do you think we might see a couple of changes to their approaches once they return to Parliament in February?

CHRIS:

It's interesting, the Teals have been on a steep learning curve. You know, in the run up to the 2022 election and since, none of them have been politicians before and crucially, their staff have also had to learn on the job too. The Teals haven't been able to draw on the usual pipeline of staff as the established parties can. And of course, you know, some people have come in, some people are already leaving. Sally Rugg, one of the actually few experienced Teal staffers, a very renowned activist herself, proved to be not quite a comfortable fit with the Kooyong electorate. She's not going to continue as Monique Ryan’s Chief of Staff. Jim Middleton, a very esteemed former ABC journalist, is finding the Canberra commute a bit onerous and he'll shade out of his role as Zoe Daniels’ senior advisor after the May budget.

KARA:

But with an issue like The Voice, which is obviously such a crucial part of the government's agenda this year, it really should be communicated by First Nations people, right? So I guess the enthusiasm that the Teals are bringing to this issue will have to be managed so they don't put their foot in it…

CHRIS:

Those teal MPs are pretty sophisticated individuals, and I'm sure they will understand the need to platform indigenous voices absolutely centrally in what they do. In fact, it's really interesting just talking about how well or badly the government itself is making the case for the Voice so far. So, you know, doing some incredibly great long form pieces published. You know, Marcia Langton and others have just done some really beautiful writing around this...

Archival Tape - Linda Burney:

“The whole point of the voice to Parliament is to improve the lives of First Nations people so the Parliament and the executive government can make better decisions in relation to policies and programs…”

CHRIS:

…But Linda Burney, finally in the last week, cracked a really concise definition of it that very clearly explains what it is and why it should be supported. She did it in one tweet:

‘The Voice will be an advisory body to government and parliament on matters affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. The Voice will make a practical difference on the ground. By listening to communities, we can make better policies to help close the gap.’

This is a winning definition. Clear. Simple. Easily understood. Non-threatening. Supportable.

Archival Tape - Linda Burney:

“For those people who are opposing that. I think they are holding back the country because for me this is a really unifying moment for Australia. It's something that will make Australia proud.

CHRIS:

She then went on to have lots of linked tweets, you know, expanding on it. But that crucial encapsulation that Linda Burney has now done, every Albanese Government minister and most importantly, Anthony Albanese himself needs to remember that Linda Burney script and repeated ad-nauseum to deal with the fake nebulous fear campaign opponents have effectively got up.

KARA:

And finally, Chris, after a long summer break, Parliament will be returning in a couple of weeks. And so do you think the summer break has given the government a chance to change their approach to anything? What sorts of changes do you think we're going to see heading into 2023?

CHRIS:

I think ministers really needed to just draw breath and digest the very hectic and very positive start to the first. Albanese Government. You know, it was only elected in May last year, but they've not been in office, not even for a year and I think they've made constructive use of this time. The Prime Minister's office has actually initiated a process where over the break, ministers have each been providing a snapshot of where their portfolios are at and what the key initiatives they want to achieve between now and the next election are. That will create much greater internal visibility across government about what's going on. So I think that's a very sensible thing for the Government to do. Interestingly, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has not had his feet up over the break. He's penned an extraordinary 5000+ word piece that will be published in The Monthly in the coming week. In a really bold discussion of just how inadequate existing economic models are to deal with contemporary challenges. I can't think of a serving politician who's really dived into the depths of their own portfolio and confronted it in this way constructively, positively, imaginatively. But drawing on some really innovative economic thinkers to try and get us past same old, same old in terms of economic policy.

KARA:

Chris, thank you so much for your time.

CHRIS:

Pleasure.

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KARA:

Also in the news today…

The resources company Adani, has had its value plummet by more than $9 billion US dollars, after an investment firm published the results of a two-year investigation that claims its founder is committing the largest scam in corporate history.

Gautam Adani, who is believed to be the third wealthiest person in the world, is accused of stock price manipulation, accounting fraud and money laundering in the papers released by Hindenburg Research. Adani himself has denied all accusations, and in a statement called them “baseless and discredited allegations.”

And…

The doomsday clock has moved to 90 seconds to midnight.

The clock, which is administered by atomic scientists and Nobel laureates, is used as a warning of how close humanity is to a doomsday scenario. Rachel Bronson, the president of the body of experts, said the decision was not taken lightly to move the clock closer to midnight. The current position is the closest the doomsday clock has ever been to midnight since its inception in 1947.

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7am is a daily show from The Monthly and The Saturday Paper

It’s produced by me, Kara Jensen-Mackinnon, Alex Tighe, Zoltan Fecso, and Cheyne Anderson.

Our technical producer is Atticus Bastow.

Our editor is Scott Mitchell. Erik Jensen is our editor-in-chief.

Mixing this week from Zoltan Fecso and Atticus Bastow.

Our theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan of Envelope Audio.

I’m Kara Jensen-Mackinnon, this is 7am - see you next week.

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