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Katie spoke with Senator Sam McMahon about amendments to the Territory Rights Bill · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Joining us in the studio right now is the Senator
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  Speaker 1: for the Northern Territory, the COLP Senator Sam McMahon.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you. Yeah, good morning, Katie. How are
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  Speaker 2: you very well now?
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  Speaker 1: Senator obviously just talking to Alex Bruce from Hospitality into
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  Speaker 1: about the need for a firm date, a freedom date,
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  Speaker 1: I think he's called it.
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  Speaker 2: When it comes to our borders.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think that the staged approach that the Chief
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  Speaker 1: Minister is taking right now is a good one or
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  Speaker 1: do we really need to lock in a firm date
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  Speaker 1: like we're seeing in other states around Australia.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Okatie.
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  Speaker 3: I mean the problem is there is no clarity at
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  Speaker 3: the moment. There absolutely is no clarity about when that
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  Speaker 3: date will be or even if we will have that date.
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  Speaker 3: I mean at the moment, we've got several Indigenous communities
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  Speaker 3: out there that have got vaccination rates in the single digits.
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  Speaker 3: So where a community, and these are sizeable communities, have
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  Speaker 3: less than ten percent people fully vaccinated. So if Michael
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  Speaker 3: Gunn is going to stick to what he's been saying
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  Speaker 3: and say that we need to get to eighty percent
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  Speaker 3: across all jurisdictions in the Northern territory.
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  Speaker 2: When is that date going to be? Nobody knows.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I mean he's flagged January eighteen as being when
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  Speaker 1: we do get there, but I suppose for some of
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  Speaker 1: those industries that's quite a while to wait.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, look, look it is. And also, you know, I
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  Speaker 3: think if he comes out with a hard and fast
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  Speaker 3: date and says, irrespective of where we're at with vaccination figures,
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  Speaker 3: this is the date that we're going to open our borders.
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  Speaker 3: This is a date that we're going to have people
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  Speaker 3: come in going freely, then at least industry and the
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  Speaker 3: general public out there has clarity. They know what's going on.
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  Speaker 3: But he keeps shifting the date because his vaccination rates
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  Speaker 3: aren't getting there.
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  Speaker 1: Well, it is something that's going to be a real focus,
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  Speaker 1: I think for so many as we lead into Christmas.
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  Speaker 1: It's something a lot of people are wondering when they're
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  Speaker 1: going to be able to have family come and visit,
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  Speaker 1: when they're maybe going to be able to travel around
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  Speaker 1: the nation to see family and then get back in
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  Speaker 1: to the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: But Senator I do want to ask you.
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  Speaker 1: We know that you are still holding out hope the
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  Speaker 1: Territory Rights Bill could still pass parliament. It is, despite
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  Speaker 1: the fact that the government that you're part of have
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  Speaker 1: said a couple of weeks ago that there's still no
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  Speaker 1: plans to help repeal the federal ban on the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory making our own euthanasia laws. Senator, why do you
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  Speaker 1: think that this time it could be different?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, Katie, Look, there's a lot of confusion out there. Yes,
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  Speaker 3: the government did come out and say that the government
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  Speaker 3: has no plans to repeal the laws, and that's quite
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  Speaker 3: correct because it wasn't the government that put the ban
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  Speaker 3: in place in the first place. It was the Parliament
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  Speaker 3: and that is quite different to the government. So the
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  Speaker 3: government didn't do it. The government isn't planning to repeal it,
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  Speaker 3: but obviously I am, and I am planning to put
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  Speaker 3: it before Parliament where the Parliament will decide.
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  Speaker 2: So, yes, how would that work? I suppose? How is
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  Speaker 2: that different?
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  Speaker 1: You know to lots of punters out there listening this morning,
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  Speaker 1: they might be thinking, how is it?
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  Speaker 2: You know, how is it different whether the government passes
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  Speaker 2: it or whether the Parliament passes it.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, as I said, that's what happened in the
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  Speaker 3: first place. It was Andrew's bill. It was a private
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  Speaker 3: member's bill and that passed through parliament. Obviously, the government
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  Speaker 3: is the coalition, whereas the Parliament is made up of
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  Speaker 3: Coalition members, Labor members, Greens.
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  Speaker 2: Et cetera.
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  Speaker 3: So they are two different bodies. And it was the
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  Speaker 3: Parliament that passed these laws in the first place, and
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  Speaker 3: it is the parliament that I'm intending to or that
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  Speaker 3: I am going to bring the bill before in this instance,
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  Speaker 3: so I will bring it to the Senate and the
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  Speaker 3: whole Senate will get to vote on it.
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  Speaker 1: I know that you hit a bit of a snag
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  Speaker 1: yesterday from what I can gather. According to a report
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  Speaker 1: in the Canberra Times, Labor have said that they won't
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  Speaker 1: support that private member's bill and as a result, you've
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  Speaker 1: actually made some changes.
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  Speaker 2: What have you changed? So, yes, look, it was disappointing.
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  Speaker 3: Labour talks the big game when it comes to territory rights,
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  Speaker 3: but when they had the opportunity to open the batting,
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  Speaker 3: they were nowhere to be seen. They'd abandon their crease.
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  Speaker 3: So you know, the things that they that I have
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  Speaker 3: heard reported that were sticking points for them were the
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  Speaker 3: two parts of the bill that dealt with the acquisition
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  Speaker 3: of property and also the ability to make legislation around
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  Speaker 3: fair work. Now, those are reasonably minor things in that
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  Speaker 3: bill to territorians, in fact, most territories. Why were they
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  Speaker 3: parts of that bill because this was a bill about
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  Speaker 3: territory rights, and so I looked into all of the
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  Speaker 3: aspects where the territory doesn't have the same rights as
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  Speaker 3: the states, and those were aspects that we don't have
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  Speaker 3: the ability to legislate on. So I put them into
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  Speaker 3: the bill as a territory rights bill. Now, unfortunately, Labor
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  Speaker 3: said they don't understand those things, so they're not going
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  Speaker 3: to support them. So I'm like, that's fine. I Am
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  Speaker 3: not going to die on a ditch over those aspects.
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  Speaker 3: I am happy to amend the legislation to take them
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  Speaker 3: out if that's what it's going to take to get
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  Speaker 3: this over the line.
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  Speaker 2: And do you reckon it's going to get it across
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  Speaker 2: the line?
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  Speaker 1: Do you think that, realistically, after all of these years,
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  Speaker 1: that we're going to get to the point where we
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  Speaker 1: have the right to choose.
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  Speaker 3: Well, look, I certainly hope so, and I believe so.
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  Speaker 3: It's it's obviously be very helpful if Labor senators and
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  Speaker 3: members are allowed to have a conscience vote on it,
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  Speaker 3: and that's what I'm hoping for. Now. They've put roadblocks
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  Speaker 3: around it. They say they support territory rights, but they
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  Speaker 3: put roadblocks there. But I'm happy to remove them. I'm
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  Speaker 3: happy to remove every roadblock i can to make it
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  Speaker 3: as easy as possible for them to step up and
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  Speaker 3: support this.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, it's not just labor members though, that you're
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  Speaker 1: going to need to support it. It is also are
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  Speaker 1: those in the coalition? Have you got their support?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, I've got I've got a lot of support.
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  Speaker 3: There's there's quite clearly some people that have said to
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  Speaker 3: me they can't support it because of their own personal beliefs.
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  Speaker 3: That's fine, I understand that. But overwhelmingly there is a
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  Speaker 3: lot of support out there amongst amongst many members and
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  Speaker 3: so so amongst the Coalition, amongst the Greens, and amongst
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  Speaker 3: individual labor.
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  Speaker 2: When's it going to happen?
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  Speaker 3: Look, I'm hoping it's going to happen at the next sittings. Obviously,
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  Speaker 3: we've just finished a week of sittings in Canberra. We're
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  Speaker 3: in Senate estimates this week, but Parliament will come back
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  Speaker 3: in November, so mid to late to November. There's a
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  Speaker 3: couple of weeks there, and that is when I propose
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  Speaker 3: to bring it on.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Senator Sam McMahon, please keep us up to date
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  Speaker 1: and let us know how it goes and whether that
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  Speaker 1: does indeed happen in November. I know that a lot
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  Speaker 1: of listeners will be very keen to find out and
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  Speaker 1: get that update as we get a bit closer to
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  Speaker 1: that date.
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  Speaker 2: Yep, absolutely thank you for your time this morning. We
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  Speaker 2: appreciate it.