Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / The Week That Was 11th February 2022

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The Week That Was 11th February 2022 · 360 with Katie Woolf

0:00
Speaker 1: And it's Friday morning and it is time for the
0:02
Speaker 1: Week that was, and a bit of a different line
0:04
Speaker 1: up this morning. We have got the Colps Marie Claire
0:07
Speaker 1: booth be good morning to you.
0:08
Speaker 2: Good morning everybody, and good morning everyone out of Parmiston.
0:11
Speaker 3: Lovely to have you on the show.
0:12
Speaker 1: And we have got Kezier Puiic, the Independent member for Goider.
0:16
Speaker 3: Good morning to.
0:17
Speaker 4: You, morning, Katie, Morning bush people.
0:19
Speaker 3: And we've got Kate Warden, the Minister for Territory Families.
0:22
Speaker 5: Of course, good morning, Katy, and I have to follow
0:24
Speaker 5: one and say good morning to everybody in Sanderson.
0:28
Speaker 3: I'm making his debut on the Week that was.
0:30
Speaker 1: This week, we've got Thomas Morgan, the political reporter for
0:33
Speaker 1: the Northern Territory News.
0:34
Speaker 6: Good morning to you, morning, Katy, morning everyone.
0:36
Speaker 1: Lovely to have you all on the show today. And
0:38
Speaker 1: I tell you what, it has been an incredibly busy week.
0:41
Speaker 1: It's been an incredibly busy start to the year, I
0:43
Speaker 1: think you'd have to say. And unfortunately we learned yesterday
0:46
Speaker 1: that another two people have died with COVID nineteen in
0:49
Speaker 1: the Northern Territory. A woman in her sixties who had
0:52
Speaker 1: an underlying health issue passed away at URDH on Tuesday,
0:56
Speaker 1: and then another woman, also in her sixties with a
0:59
Speaker 1: medical condition and died in intensive care on Wednesday. Now
1:04
Speaker 1: there were oney one hundred and sixty one new cases
1:07
Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory. Hospitalization rates have decreased. It looks
1:11
Speaker 1: as though with one hundred and sixty eight patients in
1:14
Speaker 1: hospital down from one hundred and seventy four yesterday. There
1:17
Speaker 1: are thirty people receiving oxygen and three patients in ICU,
1:21
Speaker 1: and I guess you'd have to say that, however you
1:24
Speaker 1: look at it, we certainly are not past the peak
1:27
Speaker 1: when it comes to COVID and we kick the week
1:30
Speaker 1: off with amsand expressing some serious concern at the description
1:35
Speaker 1: of the COVID nineteen outbreakers being under control. So John
1:39
Speaker 1: Patterson from AM SAND had joined us on the show.
1:41
Speaker 1: He spoke to all the media and said that the
1:43
Speaker 1: COVID outbreak has demonstrated that complacency and overly optimistic assurances
1:49
Speaker 1: present a real risk of avoidable adverse consequences and really
1:54
Speaker 1: pointed to some different areas where we are struggling at
1:58
Speaker 1: the moment, particular ularly in our hospitals and particularly with
2:02
Speaker 1: things like elective surgery being canceled, and also with some
2:07
Speaker 1: of those specialist outpatient outpatient services being canceled as well.
2:12
Speaker 1: However you look at it, COVID is having an impact
2:15
Speaker 1: in so many different ways right now.
2:18
Speaker 5: Absolutely, and I guess i'll kick off this morning Cuddy. Absolutely,
2:22
Speaker 5: But that's why we planned very carefully to get the
2:25
Speaker 5: vaccination right up and all due respect to Paddo, who
2:30
Speaker 5: I have a lot of respect for in a close
2:31
Speaker 5: working relationship with. You know, he's representing the most vulnerable
2:36
Speaker 5: of territories. That's why we talked about all of that
2:39
Speaker 5: suite of measures. It's not just about one thing. There's
2:41
Speaker 5: a range of actions that we as a community individuals
2:46
Speaker 5: can continue to do and be vigilant about. We just
2:48
Speaker 5: had a chat before we all walked in here about
2:50
Speaker 5: how many people we know that have had COVID. But
2:52
Speaker 5: I think when you look at the statistics particularly, and
2:55
Speaker 5: it's really sad that anybody loses their lives at all.
2:58
Speaker 5: I say that, you know, right up front, the statistics
3:01
Speaker 5: around the loss of lives in the Northern Territory is
3:03
Speaker 5: actually significantly lower proportionally than anywhere else. And I think
3:07
Speaker 5: that's a testament to the fact we could not. You know,
3:10
Speaker 5: we spent all that time keeping COVID out for a reason,
3:14
Speaker 5: because we needed to get ourselves ready. We need to
3:16
Speaker 5: make sure that enough people were vaccinated as possible, because
3:19
Speaker 5: we know vaccination doesn't stop you getting COVID, but it
3:21
Speaker 5: actually stops you know, or reduces the risk of serious
3:25
Speaker 5: COVID within people. And I just want to remind people
3:28
Speaker 5: about long COVID. I don't think I think we've sort
3:30
Speaker 5: of walked away from not walked away, but nobody's really
3:32
Speaker 5: talking about long COVID. But that can be you know,
3:35
Speaker 5: young people particularly can get long COVID, which will have
3:38
Speaker 5: an impact going into the future. So really reducing the
3:41
Speaker 5: severity of COVID with what we were doing, we did
3:44
Speaker 5: that and I think that, you know, John does have
3:47
Speaker 5: a position to keep advocating. I love the fact that
3:50
Speaker 5: he advocates. He is a great voice for the Peak
3:54
Speaker 5: organizations and for Indigenous people like the work costs, and
3:57
Speaker 5: I think.
3:57
Speaker 1: He hit the nail on the head for a lot
3:58
Speaker 1: of people though earlier this week, because it's not just
4:01
Speaker 1: you know, people aren't just concerned about COVID at this point.
4:04
Speaker 1: It's now sort of moving on to the fact that
4:06
Speaker 1: they're very worried about not being able to have their
4:08
Speaker 1: elective surgeries, with their elective surgery obviously either canceled or
4:12
Speaker 1: being paused. I've dealt with the issue on the show
4:16
Speaker 1: this week as well, about visitors not being able to
4:19
Speaker 1: go up to the hospital to see loved ones who
4:21
Speaker 1: are incredibly unwell, and then those specialist outpatient services. These
4:26
Speaker 1: types of things are going to have an impact longer
4:29
Speaker 1: term as well, and trying to catch up then on
4:32
Speaker 1: the likes of elective surgery is.
4:33
Speaker 3: Going to be a really tough touch task.
4:36
Speaker 7: And Katie, I think what we've got to be very
4:38
Speaker 7: clear about elective surgery. People think it's because it uses
4:41
Speaker 7: that word elective somehow you elect to have surgery.
4:43
Speaker 4: It's not.
4:44
Speaker 7: It's about people who need surgery.
4:46
Speaker 4: They've got.
4:48
Speaker 7: Disability in their limbs, they've got pain, they've got suffering,
4:51
Speaker 7: whether it be knees or hips or whatever else, things
4:54
Speaker 7: that need to be replaced as you get older, or
4:56
Speaker 7: things that need to be removed that you know are
4:58
Speaker 7: not life threatening, but they are causing hurt and harm
5:02
Speaker 7: and disability to a lot of people. So correct me
5:05
Speaker 7: if I'm wrong. But the decision to cancel elective surgery
5:08
Speaker 7: is usually the medical people do that, not government, not ministers.
5:12
Speaker 7: So they're doing that because clearly they have to balance
5:16
Speaker 7: the priorities at their hospital in regards to care. But
5:19
Speaker 7: like you said, it's still not good for the people
5:21
Speaker 7: who have been sometimes particularly in the public system, they've
5:24
Speaker 7: been waiting two years for a hit replacement or knee
5:26
Speaker 7: replacement or whatever, and then to keep waiting that then
5:30
Speaker 7: puts them into a vulnerable position like they might trip
5:32
Speaker 7: it home and you have even more serious injury. So
5:35
Speaker 7: you know, I don't know what the answer is, but
5:37
Speaker 7: you're right, it's going to have a legacy that we
5:38
Speaker 7: haven't really thought about much.
5:40
Speaker 4: I don't think Katie.
5:41
Speaker 2: The Gunner government's had two years, more than two years
5:43
Speaker 2: now to plan for this. So it's unbelievable that it's
5:47
Speaker 2: such a shock to the government that these problems are happening.
5:49
Speaker 2: I mean, it's the inaction and failures of that our
5:52
Speaker 2: holcism is struggling because it's COVID outbreak. I mean, you
5:54
Speaker 2: only have to look back to the numerous failings of
5:56
Speaker 2: the government such as the bungled remote vaccine rollout and
6:00
Speaker 2: Kate's laughing, but this is really serious.
6:03
Speaker 3: This is despite all.
6:05
Speaker 2: I've got a list territories to know this information. You know,
6:11
Speaker 2: we had the bungled remote vaccine roll out in the
6:13
Speaker 2: communities of four code yellows. I mean, what is the
6:15
Speaker 2: difference between cancelations of elective surgery for weeks on end
6:18
Speaker 2: and code yellows? Like, what does that actually mean? The
6:21
Speaker 2: closure of multiple remote health clinics. And I wonder John
6:24
Speaker 2: Patterson's upset when his clinics are being closed everywhere. We
6:27
Speaker 2: have a health minister who doesn't even know her own
6:30
Speaker 2: staff shortages. Remember that a few weeks back, the Chief
6:33
Speaker 2: Minister who just rants. He's hypocritical, he's divisive and unhelpful.
6:38
Speaker 1: And look, I suppose you know at the end of
6:40
Speaker 1: the day, for me, where I'm hearing it is on
6:42
Speaker 1: the phone lines.
6:42
Speaker 4: Tom.
6:43
Speaker 1: I know that you certainly have had people get in
6:44
Speaker 1: contact with you at the end news as well about
6:46
Speaker 1: some of those different issues that they've got.
6:49
Speaker 3: I think you had a story earlier in.
6:50
Speaker 1: The week about somebody's elective surgery had been canceled for
6:53
Speaker 1: an extended period.
6:54
Speaker 3: It's a worry for a lot of people.
6:55
Speaker 6: Right now, and there's an issue as well that they're
6:58
Speaker 6: already long wait time reluctive surgery before COVID, before December,
7:03
Speaker 6: when we started to see cases in the territory. I
7:05
Speaker 6: was doing stories last year about the annual report that
7:08
Speaker 6: Anti Health put out where they were missing their deadlines
7:11
Speaker 6: for you know, surgeries that had to be completed within
7:14
Speaker 6: thirty days. They were doing, you know, maybe up to
7:16
Speaker 6: two months after surgeries it had to be done within
7:20
Speaker 6: a year. Wait time was two to three years. So
7:22
Speaker 6: this was before we started to see a large number
7:25
Speaker 6: of cases of COVID in our hospital system, and that's
7:30
Speaker 6: just been completely compounded. A lot of people now are
7:32
Speaker 6: going to be waiting even longer because of this blanket
7:34
Speaker 6: ban on elective search.
7:35
Speaker 5: So my understanding is though that I mean obviously sought
7:38
Speaker 5: some briefes, not I'm not the Health minister, sort some
7:43
Speaker 5: advice around it, because nobody, you know, I don't think
7:46
Speaker 5: anybody in this room wants anybody waiting for longer than
7:49
Speaker 5: they have to. We need to get through. I think
7:51
Speaker 5: staff shortages across Australia in the nursing and health area.
7:54
Speaker 5: People are being poach left, right and center, particularly through COVID.
7:58
Speaker 5: But my understanding is now they've got some they have plans.
8:01
Speaker 5: I refute that we had plans. These are what you're
8:03
Speaker 5: seeing now are plans coming out around the tho'ts that
8:06
Speaker 5: were put in place and the things that you'll see
8:10
Speaker 5: happen once. You know, back in twenty twenty, we saw
8:12
Speaker 5: the Comwealth government stop elective surgery across Australia as well.
8:16
Speaker 5: So it's not unique. And as Kezier did rightly point out,
8:20
Speaker 5: it's the health professionals calling this And I'm not going
8:22
Speaker 5: to second guess a health professional, but I believe that
8:24
Speaker 5: there's planning for when you know, elective surgery can come back,
8:28
Speaker 5: that they'll open additional theaters to really ramp it up
8:32
Speaker 5: to get as much of that backlog through. So I
8:34
Speaker 5: accept that, and I mean my heart goes out to
8:36
Speaker 5: anybody waiting. It's nothing worse waiting for shoulder issues for
8:40
Speaker 5: myself for a long time, lucky enough at that point
8:42
Speaker 5: to then be able to have the option to go private.
8:45
Speaker 5: But it's for those people waiting, you know, obviously we
8:49
Speaker 5: feel for them. There is a lot of compassion around
8:52
Speaker 5: that those decisions aren't taken lightly, and I.
8:54
Speaker 1: Do think that that is going to be the next
8:56
Speaker 1: step here, is it Some of these underlying health conditions
8:58
Speaker 1: that people have got some of these surgeries that they're
9:00
Speaker 1: having to wait for. If there isn't a ramping up
9:03
Speaker 1: once this peak passes, and if we then don't have
9:08
Speaker 1: that workforce to be able to get some of these
9:10
Speaker 1: elective surgeries and and you know, to get those different
9:14
Speaker 1: outpatient services and things like that back underway, I wonder,
9:17
Speaker 1: you know how much greater the impact then is going
9:20
Speaker 1: to be on our health system longer term, as people
9:23
Speaker 1: wait for that treatment and as they unfortunately get sicker
9:27
Speaker 1: while they wait.
9:27
Speaker 2: O Katie.
9:28
Speaker 5: We've got obviously an escalation of staff numbers for the
9:31
Speaker 5: COVID response, so obviously as those numbers come down, you'll
9:34
Speaker 5: need less people there. And it's my understanding that there
9:37
Speaker 5: is planning well ahead now about getting onto that backlog.
9:41
Speaker 5: They're talking about opening theaters out in Palmerston to make
9:45
Speaker 5: sure that we can attend to that as quickly as possible.
9:48
Speaker 5: You know, health professionals don't want people waiting for time.
9:52
Speaker 1: They don't, but I do think that in some ways
9:54
Speaker 1: as well. You know, our health professionals. Yes, it is
9:56
Speaker 1: obviously their decision the operational side of things inside the hospital,
10:00
Speaker 1: but they are very much bound as well at the
10:02
Speaker 1: moment by different decisions that are being made by the
10:04
Speaker 1: Chief Health Officer, so I think that we certainly have
10:08
Speaker 1: to put that on the table as well. And I
10:09
Speaker 1: know that the COLP yesterday called for greater transparency from
10:14
Speaker 1: the government about the state of our public health emergency
10:18
Speaker 1: well introducing a bill next week in Parliament to ensure
10:21
Speaker 1: regular reporting from the Chief Health Officer to Territorians through Parliament.
10:26
Speaker 1: Marie Claire, why does the CLP think that this needs
10:29
Speaker 1: to happen.
10:30
Speaker 2: So, Katie. Before March twenty twenty, which was the start
10:33
Speaker 2: of the global pandemic, there was an emergency declaration that
10:36
Speaker 2: lasted only five days and only to be extended five
10:39
Speaker 2: days at a time. So then in the side of
10:42
Speaker 2: the pandemic, they went to Parliament and they changed that
10:44
Speaker 2: so that it was then ninety days, and it was
10:48
Speaker 2: all about making sure that we could be really swift
10:52
Speaker 2: moving in the pandemic. What has happened now is this
10:55
Speaker 2: pandemic has gone on for more than two years and
10:59
Speaker 2: we have a Chief Health so that only comes out
11:01
Speaker 2: sometimes and that information is confusing. The government come out
11:05
Speaker 2: and talking in a press conference about all these different
11:07
Speaker 2: things we have to do, but we don't have the
11:09
Speaker 2: information from the health departments to be able to back
11:12
Speaker 2: up those informations to be able to give territorians confidence.
11:15
Speaker 3: So what do you reckon they should be doing? How
11:16
Speaker 3: should this work?
11:18
Speaker 2: So the change needs to be that a report should
11:21
Speaker 2: be tabled in Parliament ninety days ninety days at a time,
11:26
Speaker 2: because the emergency Health Measures is extended by ninety days
11:29
Speaker 2: at a time. So if that report can come to Parliament,
11:31
Speaker 2: it means it can be debated. It means that Territorians
11:34
Speaker 2: have a really good understanding of what's going on and
11:36
Speaker 2: that it's not going to just go on for years
11:37
Speaker 2: and years and years with no end in sight and
11:40
Speaker 2: no information to back up why those emergency powers keep
11:42
Speaker 2: being extended.
11:44
Speaker 3: Tom, what do you think about this?
11:45
Speaker 1: I know that obviously you're going to be covering politics
11:48
Speaker 1: very extensively. I would suspect next week. What do you
11:51
Speaker 1: think about this bill that they want to introduce.
11:53
Speaker 6: Well, I was pretty surprised that there had been no
11:56
Speaker 6: reports that that was a feature of the legislation that
11:59
Speaker 6: you It was only I think three months after the
12:03
Speaker 6: State of Emergency Declaration finished that the report was released
12:06
Speaker 6: at all. Whereas you know we've had a state of
12:09
Speaker 6: emergency now for two years, you'd surely think that it
12:11
Speaker 6: have to be some sort of review into it. And
12:15
Speaker 6: I imagine that the report when it comes out after
12:17
Speaker 6: two years of a pandemic declaration will be huge and
12:22
Speaker 6: it will be a lot to digest.
12:23
Speaker 1: I'm going to call it early and say that I
12:25
Speaker 1: think they're going to say that it can't happen because
12:27
Speaker 1: the Chief Health Officer is too busy and that the
12:30
Speaker 1: health our health you know, sector are too busy. But
12:34
Speaker 1: I don't think that that's going to be acceptable for
12:36
Speaker 1: a lot of power.
12:37
Speaker 2: There are six acting chief health goes on.
12:40
Speaker 7: Even when you have a person that's very busy, if
12:42
Speaker 7: there's a reporting requirement, doesn't matter what the job is,
12:45
Speaker 7: then that should be done. The other thing I'd be
12:48
Speaker 7: interested in to know in regards to this report is
12:51
Speaker 7: what's actually come from the medical people for recommendation and
12:55
Speaker 7: what has been actually policy from the government.
12:57
Speaker 2: And that's the bit we don't know it Kesier.
12:59
Speaker 4: I'm in a decision.
13:00
Speaker 7: Let's say the Chief Minister comes out and says X
13:02
Speaker 7: y Z, is that based on something that Chief Health
13:04
Speaker 7: Officer has recommended or the Department from Health or is
13:08
Speaker 7: it a policy position?
13:09
Speaker 4: And that's what we don't know.
13:10
Speaker 7: And so I've actually written to the Chief Minister in
13:12
Speaker 7: regards to something about a week ago now trying to
13:15
Speaker 7: find out what was actually based on a chose direction
13:18
Speaker 7: and what was based on labor government policy direction.
13:21
Speaker 6: I would be interested in finding out who recommended the
13:23
Speaker 6: outdoor mask mandate that was.
13:25
Speaker 3: Pretty health for all.
13:26
Speaker 5: Well, you you would, you would actually know that that's
13:29
Speaker 5: that's a Sempsey decision. And I think that there are
13:32
Speaker 5: rules in place and once the public emergency does end,
13:35
Speaker 5: there will be a full report within three months. That's
13:38
Speaker 5: what the legislation says.
13:39
Speaker 3: I'm they could take forever, like who's going to help.
13:45
Speaker 5: We will come to the end of this pandemic statement. Yeah,
13:50
Speaker 5: but you guys have sat in here. I've sat right
13:52
Speaker 5: next to Tom where Tom was sitting right now. Your
13:55
Speaker 5: leader sat there and said that she would have opened
13:57
Speaker 5: the doors where nobody in the territory was basically vaccine.
14:00
Speaker 5: So we know what your decision making is. It's actually
14:02
Speaker 5: in this studio.
14:03
Speaker 3: But let's talk about right now. Every single is.
14:10
Speaker 1: Cherry picked and where information is cherry picked, and the
14:13
Speaker 1: Chief Minister determines exactly what information does and does not
14:17
Speaker 1: I don't and yesterday, for example, we didn't get that
14:20
Speaker 1: until three o'clock in the afternoon.
14:22
Speaker 3: Despite the.
14:24
Speaker 5: Moving, every single day is different. Nobody has been in
14:28
Speaker 5: a pandemic like this before. And those decisions are made
14:31
Speaker 5: by a group of people with the Territory Controller along
14:34
Speaker 5: with our Chief Health Officer, and they have made they
14:36
Speaker 5: make decisions constantly. I think you have to look back
14:39
Speaker 5: and see how safe in so many ways the Northern
14:42
Speaker 5: Territory has been. We've made decisions in the best interest
14:44
Speaker 5: of territories all the way through, not just gut feelings
14:49
Speaker 5: and all those so we kept our vaccines for our
14:53
Speaker 5: most vulnerable. You guys wanted to give them away.
14:56
Speaker 3: I think this is why it's so important.
14:58
Speaker 1: People want to know whether they're political decisions or whether
15:01
Speaker 1: they're decisions of the chief every day.
15:04
Speaker 5: On the Chief Health Officer or somebody that representing for him,
15:08
Speaker 5: because he's extremely busy. If you think about the quantum
15:11
Speaker 5: of decisions this group has to make, the quantum of
15:14
Speaker 5: people everybody in their electorate knows of somebody that's seeking
15:17
Speaker 5: an exemption or doing those All those decisions are made
15:20
Speaker 5: by the Chow. He's not going to sit down every
15:23
Speaker 5: three months and provide a report.
15:25
Speaker 3: So that the COLP you will get one.
15:30
Speaker 5: At the end of the pandemic, you will get one,
15:34
Speaker 5: which could be three months. It is legislated for it
15:37
Speaker 5: will occur and every single day. I suggest that you
15:41
Speaker 5: actually wake up Murray Claire, you guys are in opposition.
15:44
Speaker 5: I just wonder what you do all day listen to
15:47
Speaker 5: those really important messages every day. I've got people that
15:50
Speaker 5: do it every day and if it's not on, they
15:52
Speaker 5: sort of get a bit nervous. They want to hear
15:54
Speaker 5: those messages. They do them every single day, and I
15:57
Speaker 5: think they do an exemplary job.
15:58
Speaker 6: Will I doubt that the show doctor Hegy will be
16:01
Speaker 6: the one who sits down and writes someone.
16:04
Speaker 5: And here's the second guess.
16:07
Speaker 3: But how would you know he'd sign off?
16:09
Speaker 1: Surely wet stuff like there is definitely staff there. It's
16:12
Speaker 1: not as if you know, he's working on his own
16:14
Speaker 1: on absolutely everything that happens. And I do think I
16:18
Speaker 1: do think that it's you know, it's not a situation.
16:21
Speaker 3: Okay.
16:21
Speaker 1: The Seal piece come out and made this announcement and
16:24
Speaker 1: said that they're going to introduce this into Parliament next week.
16:26
Speaker 1: But I do think that there needs to be a
16:28
Speaker 1: bit of an understanding as well that Territorians want to
16:31
Speaker 1: know the answer to some of these questions to our
16:33
Speaker 1: different industries. Whether you're talking about likes of answer, whether
16:36
Speaker 1: you're talking about hospitality, whether you're talking about the disability sector,
16:41
Speaker 1: all of them have still got questions right now in
16:43
Speaker 1: relation to some of those show directions. There is still
16:46
Speaker 1: confusion out there. But when those reports are able to
16:49
Speaker 1: actually be compiled, when people get a better understanding of
16:52
Speaker 1: why decisions are made and the impacts that some of
16:55
Speaker 1: those decisions have had and the impact that it's having
16:58
Speaker 1: on our health system. I know staff and I know
17:01
Speaker 1: that we're in an emergency situation, but it is also
17:04
Speaker 1: about being accountable to Territorians.
17:06
Speaker 2: And if territorians if they felt confident that the decisions
17:10
Speaker 2: being made were for the benefit of themselves because they
17:13
Speaker 2: had that information readily available, not cherry peaks, not different
17:16
Speaker 2: every single day, then they would have confidence to continue
17:19
Speaker 2: along this path and to do the right thing. But
17:21
Speaker 2: right now they have so many questions. You're dead right, Katie.
17:25
Speaker 2: Every one of those sectors that you mentioned are in disarray.
17:27
Speaker 2: They're trying to provide their services to their people and
17:29
Speaker 2: their customers, and they are struggling.
17:32
Speaker 5: They are not in disarray, and they do get their
17:34
Speaker 5: questions answered.
17:35
Speaker 3: They ask questions on.
17:36
Speaker 5: A regular basis. They come through all our offices. The
17:38
Speaker 5: opposition have ample opportunity to put red questions in writing,
17:42
Speaker 5: which I know you do. You have questioned time coming
17:45
Speaker 5: up next week. Ask all those questions. I dare you,
17:47
Speaker 5: because you'd actually are just being scurriless, You're actually try
17:51
Speaker 5: to check up and give the.
17:53
Speaker 3: Constant talk quickly. Then will take a quick break.
17:57
Speaker 7: Katie, Katie this and I've about this before and I'll
18:01
Speaker 7: continue to speak about it. The communication strategy and the
18:04
Speaker 7: communication processes from the government to the community are poor.
18:09
Speaker 7: And we get the Chief Minister saying one thing at
18:11
Speaker 7: press conferences and that's all very fine. He puts different
18:14
Speaker 7: things on Facebook and uses that. Now, Facebook is a
18:16
Speaker 7: good medium, but he is only one medium. Things go
18:19
Speaker 7: in the newspaper, things go out by email, press releases
18:21
Speaker 7: go out, all that sort of stuff, but it is
18:22
Speaker 7: never properly coordinated. Now and accept what both parties are
18:28
Speaker 7: saying in regards to how they operate and what the
18:30
Speaker 7: government's doing. And the chief medical officer. But the average
18:33
Speaker 7: punter out there just wants succinct information that they can understand.
18:37
Speaker 7: So it's not only getting the communication out in a
18:40
Speaker 7: good way, it's about putting it out in a style
18:43
Speaker 7: that the average person can understand. And that's why I
18:45
Speaker 7: can't speak for the two members. That's why we get
18:47
Speaker 7: a lot of questions trying to explain to people what
18:50
Speaker 7: they are required to do.
18:51
Speaker 1: Now.
18:51
Speaker 7: So just just so for ex timme, I'll just give
18:53
Speaker 7: you an example. The licensed cafe here has to do
18:57
Speaker 7: a certain thing and show vaccination.
18:58
Speaker 3: Now that it doesn't.
19:00
Speaker 4: License cafe here doesn't.
19:01
Speaker 7: So was that a government decision or was that from
19:03
Speaker 7: the medical officer's decision maker. I suspect it's not the latter,
19:07
Speaker 7: but I don't know if it was the former. That
19:09
Speaker 7: kind of sort of irrational thinking is what is really
19:13
Speaker 7: confusing people and making it divisive. The other thing is
19:16
Speaker 7: you know the hotels, all the hotel places that have
19:18
Speaker 7: to check for the mandated vaccination, and now they're going
19:21
Speaker 7: to have to check for the third one, and the
19:23
Speaker 7: third one can't be uploaded because there's a problem with
19:25
Speaker 7: the app.
19:25
Speaker 1: Well, but then you've also got other sectors who don't
19:28
Speaker 1: even know exactly what date their mandated staff need to be.
19:32
Speaker 3: That third years haven't come out, and this is the thing. Sorry, Tom.
19:38
Speaker 6: Can I just please beg the government to put out
19:40
Speaker 6: the COVID numbers every day at a consistent early time
19:43
Speaker 6: in the day, because the numbers are finalized at eight
19:46
Speaker 6: pm the night before. I've not taken till three pm.
19:50
Speaker 5: I think, Tom, for my understanding, some of that information
19:53
Speaker 5: comes through later than the eight pm and they want
19:56
Speaker 5: to make sure that everybody's getting an accurate number. And
19:58
Speaker 5: you'll see that there's been some chaine retrospectively because those
20:02
Speaker 5: late numbers have come through. I understand what you're saying,
20:04
Speaker 5: but that having something on a set time and having
20:08
Speaker 5: the same people available on the same time every day
20:11
Speaker 5: is just not reality. So I think they shift as
20:13
Speaker 5: much as little as they can under the circumstances, and
20:16
Speaker 5: they try to do.
20:17
Speaker 1: That'sn't an issue for us here in the territory, but
20:19
Speaker 1: not in other states to do it at the same time.
20:21
Speaker 5: Can I just give you an example. I'll just give
20:23
Speaker 5: you a little example. On days where we sit as cabinet.
20:26
Speaker 5: What you're asking is for perhaps one of the ministers
20:29
Speaker 5: to be out to go and do that.
20:32
Speaker 3: We don't need a prescott. It's just the numbers in.
20:33
Speaker 6: South Wales put out a tweet every morning at nine
20:36
Speaker 6: am with how many cases they've had, how many deaths.
20:38
Speaker 5: I am. I am not the health minister, but I'm
20:41
Speaker 5: sure she's listening right now because she's home in isolation.
20:45
Speaker 5: And I'll take that back, very happy to take that back.
20:48
Speaker 5: I'm not entirely sure of the entire circumstances because I
20:51
Speaker 5: am not the Healthy Minister. But what I will say
20:53
Speaker 5: is that those you know, those numbers are worked on
20:57
Speaker 5: and the schedule isn't always capable of being as tight
21:00
Speaker 5: as everybody wants it, but it is consistently every day
21:03
Speaker 5: that you get that information.
21:05
Speaker 1: So we are going to have to take a very
21:07
Speaker 1: short break. You are listening to Mix one oh four
21:09
Speaker 1: point nine three sixty. It is the week that was,
21:14
Speaker 1: It is just on nine thirty. It is the week
21:16
Speaker 1: that was in the studio this morning. Kate Warden, KEESI, Epuric,
21:20
Speaker 1: Thomas Morgan and Marie Claire Boothby and well, an interesting,
21:25
Speaker 1: an interesting piece of information that started to flow through yesterday.
21:29
Speaker 3: Tom.
21:30
Speaker 1: I know that you've reported on this this morning that
21:32
Speaker 1: the Speaker of the Northern Territories Legislative Assembly, Niri R.
21:35
Speaker 3: Kit, has ruled that public galleries.
21:37
Speaker 1: Are going to be closed for next week's sittings and
21:40
Speaker 1: it's an unprecedented move. She's also bart journalists from sitting
21:46
Speaker 1: in the in the dedicated media gallery.
21:49
Speaker 3: We know that a notice from the.
21:50
Speaker 1: Speaker's office was released on Thursday and said the decision
21:53
Speaker 1: was made in light of COVID nineteen outbreaks across the territory.
21:56
Speaker 3: I know you were pretty surprised when you learned that
21:58
Speaker 3: this was going to happen.
22:00
Speaker 6: So the statement that's been released is that there'll be
22:02
Speaker 6: a TV set up in the foyer, of which there
22:04
Speaker 6: always is. Yes, there always is, but it makes no
22:08
Speaker 6: sense for me as a journalist when I'm sitting up there.
22:11
Speaker 6: Oftentimes I'm the only journalist who's sitting up in that
22:13
Speaker 6: media gallery socially distanced from everyone, to have to then
22:17
Speaker 6: go downstairs and watch it with twenty other people in
22:19
Speaker 6: front of a television or fifty.
22:22
Speaker 7: It's not the first time galeries have been closed the case.
22:26
Speaker 7: What's thet of reasons as an speaker, as an ex speaker,
22:29
Speaker 7: sometimes it is for security sometimes there's some real rat
22:31
Speaker 7: bags going to cause trouble, and you know, sometimes you've
22:33
Speaker 7: had to remove someone from the galleries. And it happens
22:35
Speaker 7: elsewhere in our country. But the media gallery in particular,
22:38
Speaker 7: which is behind the Speaker's chair is huge, and Tom's correct,
22:42
Speaker 7: it's usually him. Occasionally there might be Channel nine person
22:45
Speaker 7: or someone else, but you could fit one hundred people
22:47
Speaker 7: up there. So I'm a bit unclear as to I'd
22:51
Speaker 7: be interested to get if there was a risk assessment.
22:54
Speaker 4: Does is it about security?
22:55
Speaker 7: Is it about the anti vaxxers the speakers concerned about,
22:58
Speaker 7: or is it just COVID.
23:00
Speaker 3: In your time? Would you have I mean, if you
23:02
Speaker 3: were speaker, would you have done?
23:03
Speaker 7: But I would have asked the staff to ensure that
23:05
Speaker 7: people had to distance and of course they have to
23:07
Speaker 7: have their masks on and people go through security and
23:10
Speaker 7: that security is pretty good. I don't know if people
23:12
Speaker 7: are fully aware how good our security is. It's exactly
23:15
Speaker 7: the same, if not better than what you get at
23:17
Speaker 7: the airport, and the machines are calibrated regularly, as are
23:21
Speaker 7: the ones at the airport. So I know there's been
23:24
Speaker 7: events at Parliament House. The speakers had events, the ministers
23:26
Speaker 7: have had events government events in the hall every couple
23:29
Speaker 7: of days, probably in the Elsie room or literally wherever
23:35
Speaker 7: they're doing it. So I'm a bit unclear as to
23:37
Speaker 7: the rational I'd like to.
23:39
Speaker 3: Do you think it's like a close you know, like a.
23:42
Speaker 4: Media yeah, close off to.
23:44
Speaker 2: The Katie, I'd like to say that given given the
23:48
Speaker 2: track record of they're going to government, you know, this
23:50
Speaker 2: is just another step towards closing down territorians being able
23:56
Speaker 2: to see what's happening. I mean, this is a government
23:57
Speaker 2: that promised open and transparent government and it's done everything
24:01
Speaker 2: but that, and this is another step. You know. The
24:03
Speaker 2: closing the gallery is one thing if there's a safety issue,
24:05
Speaker 2: and I know that has happened in the past, but
24:07
Speaker 2: then to block out the journalists that this isn't the
24:09
Speaker 2: first time journalists have been blocked out from the gunn
24:11
Speaker 2: of government.
24:11
Speaker 3: So I'll just well, usually it's just I don't get
24:13
Speaker 3: responses to question.
24:15
Speaker 5: Well, I mean, Katie, the broadcast is broadcast live all
24:19
Speaker 5: the time anyway, but I can't speak for the speaker
24:22
Speaker 5: because the speaker is independent of government. I do understand,
24:25
Speaker 5: because I obviously ask some questions about this myselfe that
24:29
Speaker 5: there is security and health advice that she's been provided.
24:32
Speaker 3: Tom, I do take your point.
24:33
Speaker 5: You do press conferences every day, but that's for a
24:36
Speaker 5: very short amount of time. I can't speak for the
24:39
Speaker 5: speaker because she is independent, as you would know, Kesier.
24:42
Speaker 5: She has made those decisions with her seeking her own advice,
24:47
Speaker 5: and I guess you know, all of us can ask
24:49
Speaker 5: her those questions next week if that's what we want
24:51
Speaker 5: to do. But I guess in the press gallery you
24:54
Speaker 5: would be in there for a much longer amount of
24:56
Speaker 5: time than you usually would be in press conferences. That's
24:58
Speaker 5: all I'm you know, I'm not speaking for the speaker
25:01
Speaker 5: at all. She has obviously made her own decisions around Parliament.
25:05
Speaker 5: There's a lot of changes around this parliament. We know
25:07
Speaker 5: people are online themselves, but I think people are going
25:10
Speaker 5: to be dialing in and on TVs and those sorts
25:13
Speaker 5: of things, and she's had to think about she's actually
25:15
Speaker 5: had to be very very agile. I don't think, you know,
25:17
Speaker 5: no disrespect. Keyser was a good speaker and in there
25:21
Speaker 5: for a long time and knows the ins and outs.
25:23
Speaker 1: But it's more I guess you know, it is the
25:26
Speaker 1: concern you know that, like people thinking to themselves will
25:29
Speaker 1: hang on a second, why does Parliament need to be
25:31
Speaker 1: closed off entirely? It is meant to be, you know,
25:34
Speaker 1: a place where the people are able to actually view
25:37
Speaker 1: and see exactly what's going on.
25:38
Speaker 7: When it comes to Parliament. They've been encouraged to gather
25:40
Speaker 7: in the main hall. Yeah, because why the TV is
25:43
Speaker 7: always there, which is good. But let's let's assume there's
25:46
Speaker 7: a lot of people that wanted.
25:47
Speaker 3: To want to people come in.
25:48
Speaker 7: Yeah, but let's assume there was a lot a problem
25:51
Speaker 7: gather on the main hall, but not okay to sit gary.
25:53
Speaker 7: So it's just it's unusual and it's different.
25:56
Speaker 1: And I guess Prime call less than one hundred meters
26:01
Speaker 1: away is sitting with public invited and COVID in a
26:04
Speaker 1: partisan environment. Yet the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
26:10
Speaker 1: and have the courage to allow. Why don't the Northern
26:12
Speaker 1: Territory Legislative Assembly have the courage to allow something similar?
26:15
Speaker 1: This is just another example of government avoiding scrutiny, says
26:18
Speaker 1: one listener.
26:21
Speaker 7: The Supreme Court makes its own decisions clearly, but of
26:24
Speaker 7: course trials and hearings and court stuff continues to go
26:27
Speaker 7: on and has to go on. But I think it's
26:30
Speaker 7: you know, behold it upon the members and don't forget
26:32
Speaker 7: the Speaker makes decisions on behalf and in the interests
26:35
Speaker 7: of members and people who come into that building.
26:37
Speaker 2: Yep.
26:38
Speaker 7: And it might be that the sea or opposition needs
26:41
Speaker 7: to ask the question the Speaker a question in regards
26:43
Speaker 7: to her responsibilities as the as the manager of the precincts.
26:46
Speaker 6: Well, one point that I want to raise is that
26:50
Speaker 6: you know, they're apparently a security concerns. I don't know
26:54
Speaker 6: what security concerns would relate to me being in the
26:57
Speaker 6: press gallery where you know, I need my own past
26:59
Speaker 6: to get in there.
27:00
Speaker 8: About you, Thomas, everything too though, is that even when
27:06
Speaker 8: the public galleries were closed last year because there were
27:08
Speaker 8: anti mandate protests out of the front of Parliament, the
27:11
Speaker 8: media gallery wasn't closed off then.
27:14
Speaker 6: So what's what's changed now with tomas.
27:16
Speaker 7: I suggestion to get your newspaper to write to the
27:18
Speaker 7: speaker directly.
27:19
Speaker 1: Well, I reckon that's probably a good idea, and it
27:21
Speaker 1: is about you know, the media being able to obviously
27:24
Speaker 1: report on issues that are important too.
27:26
Speaker 3: Territories. We're going to take a really short break when
27:28
Speaker 3: we come back.
27:29
Speaker 1: I'm very keen to discuss the check in app and
27:32
Speaker 1: those international borders opening as well. You are listening to
27:35
Speaker 1: Mix one oh four point nine three sixty it is
27:38
Speaker 1: the week that was. Well, just making sure I've got
27:42
Speaker 1: those microphones turned on. It is twenty minutes away from
27:45
Speaker 1: ten o'clock. You are listening to the Week that was.
27:47
Speaker 1: Kate Warten, Keesyerpuric, Thomas Morgan at Murray, Claire Boothby in
27:50
Speaker 1: the studio with me. Now, a topic that got everybody
27:54
Speaker 1: talking earlier in the week was when we'd asked the
27:56
Speaker 1: question online should the check in app be scrapped? Now
28:00
Speaker 1: the QR code check in app is going to be
28:03
Speaker 1: scrapped or scaled back for businesses in Queensland who aren't
28:06
Speaker 1: covered under the vaccine mandate. Other businesses such as bars,
28:10
Speaker 1: clubs and pubs are still using that for the purpose
28:12
Speaker 1: of checking vaccine statuses in Queensland. And I'll tell you what,
28:17
Speaker 1: it was a big fat yes from our listeners in
28:19
Speaker 1: terms of whether they wanted to keep the check in
28:21
Speaker 1: app or get.
28:22
Speaker 3: Rid of it. I know that a lot of people
28:24
Speaker 3: sort of.
28:24
Speaker 1: Contacting us saying, you know, it was good at the time,
28:27
Speaker 1: when Delta was the strain that we were concerned about
28:30
Speaker 1: and we just had a few cases popping up here
28:32
Speaker 1: or there. But now we're in a situation where there
28:35
Speaker 1: are cases absolutely everywhere. Shouldn't we all just be monitoring
28:38
Speaker 1: for symptoms and if we test positive, staying home.
28:41
Speaker 2: Katie, I agree with what you're saying. Back in the
28:43
Speaker 2: day when we first had those smaller outbreaks, and remember
28:46
Speaker 2: the words where that we were going to trace and
28:48
Speaker 2: trap the virus, So of course it was helpful at
28:50
Speaker 2: that time, But now that we have COVID basically everywhere,
28:54
Speaker 2: I guess the question is if the checking app is
28:56
Speaker 2: helpful and it's better thing all territories, And of course
28:59
Speaker 2: that's one thing, but if it's not, then territories deserve
29:02
Speaker 2: to know what considerations are being made by government and
29:05
Speaker 2: come be really clear about that and what's going to
29:07
Speaker 2: be expected, not only for territorians but for the businesses
29:10
Speaker 2: who are having to police that check in And if.
29:14
Speaker 5: I could just contribute, I think I think we're just
29:17
Speaker 5: looking at it simply as a check in out.
29:19
Speaker 3: It's one of a number of tools.
29:21
Speaker 5: I was in somewhere the other day and I used
29:23
Speaker 5: the checking out and somebody said, can I see your vaccine?
29:25
Speaker 5: I had turned it around, and of course it's green.
29:27
Speaker 5: I think that it's helpful for that as well. And
29:29
Speaker 5: I also know that it's a really gentle reminder for
29:33
Speaker 5: you know, those read we just had a chat about
29:35
Speaker 5: the red where it comes up red the way you've
29:37
Speaker 5: been a reminder to make sure that if you've been
29:39
Speaker 5: in an exposure site, that you continue to monitor for symptoms.
29:42
Speaker 5: I like it. I think it's I find it an impost.
29:46
Speaker 5: Don't get me wrong, I don't. It's you know, it's
29:49
Speaker 5: a new habit that we're having to form, but I
29:52
Speaker 5: think that it's a tool that has a broad ranging assistance.
29:56
Speaker 5: It's not just therefore we've obviously moved past track and trace.
30:00
Speaker 5: I think it's just that reminder that we need to
30:02
Speaker 5: keep vigilant. And it certainly reminds me every time I
30:05
Speaker 5: go in somewhere and I've just recently traveled and they
30:07
Speaker 5: were a lot more vigilant than we are here and
30:10
Speaker 5: had somebody in fact at the door saying make sure
30:13
Speaker 5: you check in? Have you checked in? Could you please?
30:16
Speaker 5: What do your hands? And so the whole range of
30:18
Speaker 5: things that are in place, and I think you have
30:21
Speaker 5: to think of them as part of a suite of
30:24
Speaker 5: responses to COVID, And for me, I'm very comfortable to
30:27
Speaker 5: continue with the check and app. It's just been updated.
30:30
Speaker 5: We can see those red zones and it's that reminded.
30:33
Speaker 1: Like for me, I was at a gym sash and
30:35
Speaker 1: somebody that I was training with I made that sound.
30:39
Speaker 1: I was in a gym section and one of someone
30:43
Speaker 1: who I was training with ended up with COVID. A
30:45
Speaker 1: couple of hours later, she messaged and said, hey, I've
30:47
Speaker 1: got COVID. She was training with us. We knew, like,
30:50
Speaker 1: let's say it was on the Wednesday.
30:52
Speaker 3: It didn't go up on the app until the Friday afternoon,
30:55
Speaker 3: so you sort of go. Then if you're two days later,
30:57
Speaker 3: what's the point.
30:58
Speaker 2: It tells you that you need to check the symptoms.
31:01
Speaker 2: I mean, as a human, if you feel sick, you stay.
31:05
Speaker 2: That's right, you know if you've got symptoms. So why
31:07
Speaker 2: do we need the government to remind us if we've
31:09
Speaker 2: got symptoms to get tested.
31:11
Speaker 6: I treated myself to a shopping spree Cas Square over
31:13
Speaker 6: the weekend and I got a notification and that's great.
31:19
Speaker 3: It's huge, it is huge.
31:21
Speaker 6: That's the same with Bunnings or gas. Actually helpful section, just.
31:27
Speaker 5: That gentle reminder that you do need to be a
31:29
Speaker 5: bit more vigilant around. I've been one of those people that's,
31:33
Speaker 5: you know, maybe had a sniffle and still gone to work.
31:35
Speaker 5: So I think, you know, you really have to be
31:38
Speaker 5: a bit more vigilant.
31:38
Speaker 3: Now than we were before.
31:40
Speaker 5: People are then it's.
31:41
Speaker 3: A reminder to test.
31:43
Speaker 2: So we have a checking out for a reminder for people.
31:46
Speaker 2: But it's the businesses you have to shoulder the burden
31:48
Speaker 2: of having to check those face fines if they're caught,
31:52
Speaker 2: you know, not getting someone to check in. I mean
31:53
Speaker 2: that's a massive burden on businesses that are already suffering
31:56
Speaker 2: and have been for many years now.
31:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's a good point.
31:59
Speaker 6: There was a story in today's pay for actually that
32:01
Speaker 6: businesses are only today, i believe, now being told that
32:04
Speaker 6: they're an exposure site. So before today they weren't even
32:07
Speaker 6: being alerted to the fact that they were being deemed
32:10
Speaker 6: an exposure site by antihelp.
32:12
Speaker 1: Yeah, and so then you go like it does sort
32:14
Speaker 1: of just make me go. I think we're reaching a
32:15
Speaker 1: point now with COVID where it's like, if you have
32:17
Speaker 1: symptoms you need to make sure that you.
32:19
Speaker 3: Get a test and stay home. But look, it's not
32:22
Speaker 3: the only confusion.
32:23
Speaker 1: We know that there is a lot of confusion at
32:25
Speaker 1: the moment when it comes to the vaccine status and
32:28
Speaker 1: what's considered now to be fully vaccinated, particularly as we
32:31
Speaker 1: look at opening up those international borders towards the end
32:34
Speaker 1: of this month. I know that we are all hoping
32:36
Speaker 1: that we'll see some more tourists around the place, certainly
32:39
Speaker 1: for our hospitality and tourism industry, that's what we're hoping for.
32:43
Speaker 1: But what exactly does define being fully vaxed? And there's
32:47
Speaker 1: still a bit of confusion here. I know that, you know, Tom,
32:51
Speaker 1: You've got a story today double vaccinated international tourists might
32:54
Speaker 1: actually be subject to restrictions or even fourteen days quarantine
32:58
Speaker 1: if they fly into the North.
33:00
Speaker 3: Territory during the dry season. What would be the point
33:02
Speaker 3: in coming here?
33:03
Speaker 6: Yeah, well, I mean gonna have sort of had a
33:05
Speaker 6: press conference earlier this week raised the prospect that the
33:07
Speaker 6: definition of fully vaccinated may change when the booster mandate
33:12
Speaker 6: comes into to force for most people, most employees on
33:15
Speaker 6: I think April twenty second, and in that case, as
33:20
Speaker 6: soon as you like, you can go through Federal Customs.
33:22
Speaker 6: You can go through like you know customs, which is
33:25
Speaker 6: managed by the Australian government. But as soon as you
33:27
Speaker 6: step foot on Northern Territory soil, you may be barred
33:31
Speaker 6: from going to hospitality venues or you may require to
33:35
Speaker 6: actually be going to Howard Springs, which is like it's
33:38
Speaker 6: just it's well.
33:39
Speaker 1: It's more uncertainty as well for those tourism operators because
33:42
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, if you're trying to
33:43
Speaker 1: get international tourists here to the Northern Territory, if we
33:46
Speaker 1: don't know exactly what the rule is going to be,
33:48
Speaker 1: and if they are going to be able to just
33:51
Speaker 1: traveling freely or if they're going to have to do
33:53
Speaker 1: fourteen days quarantine, how on earth can we market.
33:55
Speaker 5: To think, Katie, this a lot of this. You know,
33:58
Speaker 5: Tom may have been operating on what was yesterday, and
34:02
Speaker 5: we know this is constantly moving. A National Cabinet met
34:04
Speaker 5: yesterday and I was listening very carefully to their changes
34:06
Speaker 5: and definition of fully vaccinated and it's quite clear now
34:10
Speaker 5: they've come to a position that everybody over sixteen, if
34:14
Speaker 5: your jee for your booster and you don't have it,
34:18
Speaker 5: the terminology is over due, so you are fully vaccinated.
34:22
Speaker 5: If you've had your two you had your second vaccine yesterday,
34:24
Speaker 5: you're considered fully vaccinated. If you are due for your
34:28
Speaker 5: booster and you haven't had it, they're no longer using
34:31
Speaker 5: that terminology. This is National Cabinet, this is in the
34:33
Speaker 5: Northern Territory. It's very clear, and it does take a
34:35
Speaker 5: little bit after National Cabinet meets for this information to
34:39
Speaker 5: go through. And I know that Tom you are saying,
34:41
Speaker 5: you know you could only go on yesterday's information. So
34:44
Speaker 5: that's the status we're with today. It will be about
34:47
Speaker 5: so if you're due for your booster and you choose
34:49
Speaker 5: I guess to fly into Australia, you haven't had your booster,
34:53
Speaker 5: you've come with two vaccines, you are over jew. I
34:56
Speaker 5: think that we would rightly consider about whether what situation
35:00
Speaker 5: is best here for territorians. But I don't want to
35:03
Speaker 5: move into a space where you know, we're making things
35:06
Speaker 5: up today, because that's what we're talking about. But it's
35:09
Speaker 5: best that we wait for that now to work its
35:12
Speaker 5: way through and how that will impact people. But I
35:15
Speaker 5: welcome international travelers. Our tourism sector need them. We just
35:20
Speaker 5: we have to find a way. You know, the terminology
35:23
Speaker 5: living with COVID is probably a little bit overused now,
35:26
Speaker 5: but we do have to find a way to get
35:28
Speaker 5: back to some normal transactions that keeps territorians safe, but
35:32
Speaker 5: also you know, invests back into our tourism operators because
35:35
Speaker 5: they really they have done the heavy lifting, you know,
35:40
Speaker 5: and absolutely we've helped them as much as we can
35:42
Speaker 5: as a government, but we need to make sure that
35:45
Speaker 5: we welcome international travelers back as best we can.
35:48
Speaker 2: Yeah, Kate, and Kate is right on that sense about
35:50
Speaker 2: the tourism industry. But what we don't want to see, Kate,
35:55
Speaker 2: is our borders opening internationally and then Michael Gunner coming
35:58
Speaker 2: out and changing the rules so that they have it's
36:01
Speaker 2: got to be implied the travelers that come and the
36:03
Speaker 2: businesses that provide services to them, they need certainty. They
36:07
Speaker 2: have had a long, terrifying tunnel and they need light
36:11
Speaker 2: at the end of that.
36:12
Speaker 4: They need hope, that magic word communication.
36:14
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
36:15
Speaker 1: It's another sector that's spoken to me about some confusion
36:18
Speaker 1: around that vaccine status is the mandate on the booster,
36:22
Speaker 1: particularly those in those frontline, you know, in those frontline positions.
36:26
Speaker 1: So I understand that it's April the end of April
36:29
Speaker 1: if you're an everyday territory and is it April twenty
36:32
Speaker 1: two top.
36:33
Speaker 6: If you're a worker who's deed so the essential front lines. Yeah,
36:36
Speaker 6: so people work in age care settings or at the
36:38
Speaker 6: hospital I believe have to get their booster by March eleventh. Yes,
36:42
Speaker 6: and it's April twenty second for every other worker who Yeah.
36:45
Speaker 3: And we've spoken about this, we're actually due to catch up.
36:47
Speaker 1: As well after eleven o'clock or after ten o'clock this
36:50
Speaker 1: morning too with the disability sector or someone in the
36:53
Speaker 1: disability sector, because they there is a bit of confusion
36:56
Speaker 1: for some of those operators in terms of it not
36:58
Speaker 1: quite lining up with when the initial mandate was.
37:03
Speaker 5: With the second dose, I think National Cabinet Cabinet has
37:06
Speaker 5: clarified that yesterday Katie. If they've just had their second dose,
37:09
Speaker 5: so they're not due for their booster, they are considered
37:12
Speaker 5: fully vaccinated and that message will take a few days
37:14
Speaker 5: to get through. The disability sector raised a very good point. Obviously,
37:18
Speaker 5: I am the Minister for Disabilities. I did and I
37:21
Speaker 5: have had some intersection with them around it. It's not
37:24
Speaker 5: just the disability sector. There is the same for hospitality
37:26
Speaker 5: workers at which point are they considered fully vaccinated? That's
37:31
Speaker 5: obviously a national issue. It got championed yesterday. They've made
37:34
Speaker 5: that new ruling about what whether you're considered fully vaccinated
37:39
Speaker 5: or not. And I would suspect the territory will head
37:41
Speaker 5: that way.
37:42
Speaker 1: When will something like that then go up as a
37:45
Speaker 1: chow direction, because that's where it needs to be there
37:47
Speaker 1: in black and white then for those different industries.
37:49
Speaker 5: So this is a confusion he made nationally yesterday. Stempsey
37:53
Speaker 5: Meat will meet and make that determination, I would suspect
37:56
Speaker 5: as quickly as possible as they do on a daily basis.
38:00
Speaker 3: All right, Sorry, Tom.
38:01
Speaker 6: I just think it would be really good if the
38:04
Speaker 6: Chief Minister stood up sometime in the next month and
38:07
Speaker 6: just clarified and laid out a really clear plan roadmap
38:11
Speaker 6: yes for how tourism will reopen to that.
38:16
Speaker 1: Well, we're going to take a very short break. You
38:18
Speaker 1: are listening to mix ONEOW four point nine three sixty
38:21
Speaker 1: is the week that was. Well, it has been an
38:25
Speaker 1: interesting week and politically it's been an interesting.
38:28
Speaker 3: Couple of weeks for the CLP.
38:29
Speaker 1: We know that Senator Sam mcmaht this week sat in
38:32
Speaker 1: Federal Parliament as an independent after leading, after leaving I
38:37
Speaker 1: should say the party. We also obviously had La Finocchiaro
38:41
Speaker 1: on the show earlier in the week and we'll really
38:45
Speaker 1: had to hose down those those concerns that have been
38:48
Speaker 1: raised that the CLP has a problem with women. We
38:52
Speaker 1: had messages coming through from some of the women who
38:55
Speaker 1: are part of the of the CLP, one in particular,
38:59
Speaker 1: who had said that she and other members have personally
39:04
Speaker 1: complained of bullying to the CLP management and nothing's been
39:07
Speaker 1: done to try and address the bullying. I think we
39:09
Speaker 1: all understand that every political party has issues, there is
39:13
Speaker 1: no doubt about that. But for many people they will
39:15
Speaker 1: be questioning how after the decimation that the COLP had
39:20
Speaker 1: just you know, a few years ago in the Northern
39:22
Speaker 1: Territory election before you were in there obviously, Mari Claire,
39:26
Speaker 1: that you know how the COLP is in a situation
39:29
Speaker 1: again where there seems to be issues internally and that
39:34
Speaker 1: in fighting. Like I say, I know every party certainly
39:37
Speaker 1: has it, but does the party have a problem with women?
39:41
Speaker 2: No, Katie. I've been a member of the CLP since
39:43
Speaker 2: twenty sixteen and I've always felt supported and I've never
39:47
Speaker 2: observed or experienced anything about women being bullied in the party.
39:52
Speaker 1: Does the party just have a problem with a rift,
39:55
Speaker 1: like you've got one side that you know that wants
39:57
Speaker 1: to muck rake and one side who he doesn't, or
40:01
Speaker 1: is that what's the.
40:02
Speaker 7: Go I just think if I can I jump in,
40:04
Speaker 7: I just I just think it's it's a bit of
40:07
Speaker 7: a there's a bit of a story there. Clearly Sam
40:09
Speaker 7: Mant has has issues. And I take it at face
40:11
Speaker 7: failure that she says there's a problem. She said a problem,
40:14
Speaker 7: but it's been reported on and you know, and I
40:16
Speaker 7: spoke to you about this, Katie. This this is calling
40:18
Speaker 7: out of bullying.
40:20
Speaker 5: You know.
40:20
Speaker 7: I think we've got to be very clear. And I've
40:21
Speaker 7: said it before and I'll say it again.
40:23
Speaker 4: Bullying versus social conflict. Like if the person.
40:26
Speaker 7: Who rang you in, if they had experienced repetitive type
40:29
Speaker 7: of behavior, well, yes, that's bullying. But if it's just
40:31
Speaker 7: a big ship fight over something, well that's just huge
40:35
Speaker 7: social conflict or meanness or rudeness or aggression.
40:38
Speaker 3: I guess this as well. It's like the story is
40:41
Speaker 3: sort of evolved in as well with the.
40:43
Speaker 1: Facebook page that was set up Tom and you know,
40:47
Speaker 1: and people posting on their time for the party to change.
40:53
Speaker 3: Think that has been around for a while from.
40:57
Speaker 2: And any or goingation are going to have robust discussions.
41:03
Speaker 2: I mean we in Parliament have robust discussions all of
41:06
Speaker 2: the time.
41:07
Speaker 3: On a Friday.
41:09
Speaker 2: That is part of being in an organization and being
41:11
Speaker 2: passionate about what you believe in what you been.
41:13
Speaker 5: Going on for a very long time for the CLP
41:17
Speaker 5: and it doesn't seem to be able to keep its
41:19
Speaker 5: house in order. And you know, you've had a few
41:22
Speaker 5: shots at me today, Murray Claire. I'm just sort of
41:25
Speaker 5: having a moment myself because usually it's us being attacked
41:29
Speaker 5: in the room.
41:29
Speaker 7: But you know, you are in government.
41:34
Speaker 3: Position, I think.
41:35
Speaker 5: For a reason, and I think you know there's just
41:38
Speaker 5: constant chaos going on in the CLP, and of course
41:41
Speaker 5: you know you expect me to say that this morning,
41:43
Speaker 5: but it does seem to be lurches from one to
41:46
Speaker 5: the other and where a woman, particularly as a Minister
41:49
Speaker 5: for turtary Families, is raising issues where they don't feel safe.
41:53
Speaker 5: You know, in all my time in Parliament now as
41:55
Speaker 5: a Minister with domestic violence and family violence, the only
41:59
Speaker 5: question that's ever been on that topic has been asked
42:01
Speaker 5: to the Minister for women. That's not me. It's been
42:03
Speaker 5: asked to the wrong minister, and it's really not being
42:06
Speaker 5: raised as an issue by the COLP.
42:08
Speaker 3: I think they just need to.
42:09
Speaker 5: Have a really good hard look at themselves around this issue.
42:12
Speaker 3: I certainly feel safe.
42:13
Speaker 5: I know that you know that every party has those conflicts,
42:16
Speaker 5: but I have to tell you, in all these years,
42:18
Speaker 5: I've never felt unsafe. I've been a member of the
42:20
Speaker 5: ALP for a very long time now, I've never felt unsafe,
42:24
Speaker 5: and I've always had room to be able to champion
42:26
Speaker 5: my issues. And here back from the executive, you need
42:29
Speaker 5: to get your house in order. The CLP, clearly it's
42:32
Speaker 5: still in disarray.
42:33
Speaker 2: Okay, thank you for putting that out. I was actually
42:36
Speaker 2: the shadow minister asked that question about women, So I
42:39
Speaker 2: take that very seriously. But if you want to take
42:42
Speaker 2: pop digs at the CLP, maybe you should look in
42:45
Speaker 2: your own house. I mean, we have the disgraced member
42:47
Speaker 2: for Playing which you still support, who was part of
42:49
Speaker 2: the Labor cocaine sex scandals. Well, you're still supporting it's still.
42:53
Speaker 4: A Labor member.
42:54
Speaker 5: Absolutely, He's decision for the party that is not a
42:56
Speaker 5: decision for the parliamentary win Tom Well.
42:58
Speaker 6: I mean, I think that a lot of people who
43:01
Speaker 6: are making commentary on Facebook pages about the future of
43:03
Speaker 6: the CLP, they pose an interesting question as to whether
43:07
Speaker 6: a party based solely in the territory is relevant anymore
43:12
Speaker 6: at a time when places like dar And and Alice Springs
43:14
Speaker 6: is so transient. There was one CLP member, a quite
43:18
Speaker 6: prominent person in the party, who said to me he
43:21
Speaker 6: would be working at boots and such and people would
43:24
Speaker 6: come up to him and ask, oh, where are the Liberals.
43:26
Speaker 4: I've had that in the past.
43:28
Speaker 7: I knew people come but you know, look, the seal
43:30
Speaker 7: has been around it and I think as a a
43:31
Speaker 7: political party, you know, it will continue to chug along
43:33
Speaker 7: and it'll have problems, just like you know the lad
43:35
Speaker 7: of Party or Nationals you know, for a fee, didn't roll.
43:42
Speaker 4: For a fee.
43:50
Speaker 7: But you know, I think it's time from as an independent,
43:54
Speaker 7: as a member of the partner, I think it's time
43:55
Speaker 7: to just move on. I mean, clearly the party's got
43:57
Speaker 7: their issues. I think if I've got issues, I've got
44:00
Speaker 7: to have the conflict resolution processes in place, which I've
44:02
Speaker 7: talked about before. Do they have a code of conduct.
44:05
Speaker 4: For their Party members.
44:06
Speaker 7: Does the Labor Party have a code of conduct for
44:08
Speaker 7: I don't know. So, you know, there are ways within
44:10
Speaker 7: an organization that they should fix these up. And if
44:13
Speaker 7: that's a problem, then they need to look at the
44:14
Speaker 7: structure and they look at the people who are the
44:16
Speaker 7: president and on the manager committee or whatever else it's
44:18
Speaker 7: in there. You know, I just think it's time to
44:19
Speaker 7: get on with more serious issues.
44:21
Speaker 1: Unfortunately we've run out of time. Murray Claire Boothby, Always
44:24
Speaker 1: lovely to have you on the show. Thank you very much.
44:27
Speaker 1: Tom Morgan, well done on your debut. Mate, Thanks very
44:29
Speaker 1: much for your time this morning. Katy, we'll see you
44:31
Speaker 1: again soon. Keesy appearance and Kate Warden, thank you for
44:35
Speaker 1: your time this morning.
44:36
Speaker 3: Always a pleasure. And I was going to say as well,
44:38
Speaker 3: this step challenge is well and try honey c LP.
44:44
Speaker 1: Yeah, we're about to bully to us there joining the
44:46
Speaker 1: team as well, the Hot Steppers, the three sixty Hot Steppers,
44:49
Speaker 1: that's the team around the property Step.
44:54
Speaker 3: You are listening to Mix one O four point nine.
44:56
Speaker 3: That was the week that was