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Katie spoke with CDU Vice Chancellor Scott Bowman about CDU mandating vaccines for workers · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: And we know that it has been announced that Charles
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  Speaker 1: Darwin University is going to mandate COVID nineteen vaccinations for
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  Speaker 1: all staff. Now joining me on the line to tell
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  Speaker 1: us more about the situation is Vice Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Scott, Hi ka the great to
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  Speaker 1: have you on the show. Now, why was that decision
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  Speaker 1: made to well to mandate the vaccine for all staff?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, look, all of.
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  Speaker 3: Our staff really come onto our campus and now our
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  Speaker 3: campuses are really meld in pots really for people from
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  Speaker 3: all over the NT to come into them. We have
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  Speaker 3: lots of Indigenous people coming in off of communities to
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  Speaker 3: teach or to be students. So we really thought it's
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  Speaker 3: a time that we followed the mandate of the Chief
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  Speaker 3: Minister and so basically that's what we're doing.
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  Speaker 1: And so I know that you of wanting to make
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  Speaker 1: sure that you keep all of those staff safe and
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  Speaker 1: hoping to do the same with all of the students
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  Speaker 1: coming into the campus as well. Will you be doing
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  Speaker 1: the same for the students.
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  Speaker 3: Well, look, that's something we're looking at, Kadie, and you
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  Speaker 3: know that is a big question for us. If you
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  Speaker 3: have a look at the Chief Minister's guidelines or well,
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  Speaker 3: in fact beyond guidelines really it talks about people that
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  Speaker 3: have jobs with organizations. Our students obviously don't work for us,
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  Speaker 3: so we are looking at that. At this point, we
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  Speaker 3: are strongly recommending to our students that they do get
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  Speaker 3: the vaccination, get fully vaccinated.
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  Speaker 2: But look, I.
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  Speaker 3: Think at some point we're going to have to say
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  Speaker 3: to our students if you come on campus, then you're
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  Speaker 3: going to need to be fully vaccinated or have one
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  Speaker 3: job by the twelve to November and fully vaccinated by
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  Speaker 3: Christmas Eve. And I think we will be talking to
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  Speaker 3: our students about that pretty soon.
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  Speaker 1: And do you reckon like obviously we'll be seeking some
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  Speaker 1: legal advice I'm assuming to make sure that it is
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  Speaker 1: something that you're able to actually do.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, look, we understand it is, and we've spoken to
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  Speaker 3: the staff representatives, you know, the unions about this. They
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  Speaker 3: also want to create this safe environment. We think that
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  Speaker 3: some well we know that some universities down south have
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  Speaker 3: already gone this way as well, those that are in
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  Speaker 3: sort of very high levels of COVID. In fact, we
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  Speaker 3: did this for our Sydney campus a few weeks ago.
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  Speaker 3: So we think we're on pretty strong ground.
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  Speaker 1: And Scott, have you had much pushback from staff? For
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  Speaker 1: most of the staff quite happy to have the vaccine?
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  Speaker 3: Oh, look, the vast, vast majority of staff are very happy.
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  Speaker 3: In fact, we a few weeks ago, as part of
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  Speaker 3: our encouragement to get the vaccine, we said that any
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  Speaker 3: staff member they've got fully vaccinated could an ad for
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  Speaker 3: an extra.
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  Speaker 2: Day's annual leave, and we've had a lot of.
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  Speaker 3: Staff sending in their certificates to get that annual leave.
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  Speaker 2: Look, I guess.
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  Speaker 3: There's going to be a few students, sorry, staff that
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  Speaker 3: can't get the vaccine for medical reasons, and as for
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  Speaker 3: the Chief Minister's guidelines, we're willing to make exemptions for them,
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  Speaker 3: and we're probably going to have a handful that we'll
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  Speaker 3: just say no, they don't want the vaccine.
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  Speaker 1: And so what will happen with that handful that say
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  Speaker 1: that they don't want the vaccine.
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  Speaker 3: Well, look, our advice to those members of staff at
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  Speaker 3: the moment is that if you're not fully vaccinated by
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  Speaker 3: Christmas Eve, you are putting your job at risk at
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  Speaker 3: the university. So you know, we're not saying at this
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  Speaker 3: point if you're not you're going to be sacked. But
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  Speaker 3: I think you know, if you're not fully vaccinated by
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  Speaker 3: christ and see if you really are putting your job
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  Speaker 3: at risk, and you know, we may well have to.
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  Speaker 2: Move that way.
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  Speaker 1: Now you said that obviously it offered that annual day
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  Speaker 1: additional annuals day leave for those that have been vaccinated
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  Speaker 1: and they've had to present their vaccination certificate. What percentage
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  Speaker 1: of staff are currently vaccinated?
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  Speaker 3: Look, I think the number of people that put they're
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  Speaker 3: fully vaccinated certificates in is about fifty five percent.
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  Speaker 2: Yep.
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  Speaker 3: I'm not sure how many people out there have actually
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  Speaker 3: been fully vaccinated and haven't given their certificates and how
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  Speaker 3: many have just had one jab. But I think looking
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  Speaker 3: at the vaccination rate for the cities like Darwin, I
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  Speaker 3: think you know it will be way higher than that.
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  Speaker 1: And how come you decided to sort of go with that?
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  Speaker 1: You know that bonus of having the extra day leave.
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  Speaker 1: Was it because you're sort of worried in case I
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  Speaker 1: are feeling a bit off to having it, or more
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  Speaker 1: so that you thought it was a reward for the
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  Speaker 1: staff for doing it.
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  Speaker 3: No, Look, I think it was more of a reward
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  Speaker 3: because that's just added to the leave they can you know,
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  Speaker 3: if they feel sick after the vaccination, then we've got
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  Speaker 3: pretty generous leave provisions, sickly visions.
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  Speaker 2: But no, this was just a bonus.
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  Speaker 3: And you know we put that in place at a
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  Speaker 3: time before there was the regulation around that you had
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  Speaker 3: to register your vaccination status with your employer. But you
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  Speaker 3: know we're not taking that away. That will continue. So
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  Speaker 3: as soon as people put in their certificate, then they
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  Speaker 3: get that extra day. And people are saying, oh, that'd
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  Speaker 3: be a good Christmas shopping day.
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  Speaker 1: Well, yeah, it is always good to get out and
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  Speaker 1: get your Christmas shopping done, Scott. I know that. In
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  Speaker 1: some good news as well, the tender has been awarded
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  Speaker 1: for Charles d Owen University's new City campus Halikos Group.
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  Speaker 1: I understand have been awarded that how soon is all
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  Speaker 1: the work going to get underway?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, go and have a lookdown the hole. I did
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  Speaker 2: last week.
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  Speaker 3: It's going so we did sign some advance work contracts
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  Speaker 3: so to start pouring the concrete. So they've had a
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  Speaker 3: lot of concrete trucks going in there pouring concrete. And
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  Speaker 3: I do want to apologize for any of our neighbors
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  Speaker 3: in that area because I think they have been pouring
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  Speaker 3: through till aid or nine o'clock at night because of
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  Speaker 3: the temperature. So I do apologize, but you are going
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  Speaker 3: to get a really fantastic building. So yeah, there's a
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  Speaker 3: lot of work going down in the hole, and you know,
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  Speaker 3: my hat goes up to the people or working down
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  Speaker 3: in that hole. There's no breeze down there or anything,
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  Speaker 3: but they're really working really hard at the moment.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, hats off to like any of those trades people
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  Speaker 1: that are working in the heat that we've got at
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  Speaker 1: the moment, but particularly you know down there without that
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  Speaker 1: breeze coming through and concreting, it would be tough going.
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  Speaker 2: Well.
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  Speaker 3: I was talking to one of the contractors who had
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  Speaker 3: been doing a lot of work down in Melbourne and
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  Speaker 3: he was just saying, people down south would not be
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  Speaker 3: working here in the conditions, and we just cannot believe
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  Speaker 3: the quality and the determination.
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  Speaker 2: Of the workers that we've got up here in the
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  Speaker 2: top end.
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  Speaker 3: So and looking at what they were doing, I quite agree.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Hey, and Scott, there's been some changes to the design,
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  Speaker 1: as I understand. I know when it first came out
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  Speaker 1: a lot of people were sort of looking at that
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  Speaker 1: design and going, oh, I'm not too sure about this
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  Speaker 1: but it has changed, hasn't that?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I must submit.
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  Speaker 3: When I first saw those designs before I was working
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  Speaker 3: at the university, I thought, oh, I'm not sure about that,
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  Speaker 3: because I've lived in the tropics for a long time,
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  Speaker 3: it looked a bit like a greenhouse. But no, the
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  Speaker 3: design has been completely revamped again.
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  Speaker 2: We've got a local builder.
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  Speaker 3: And we've had local architects and I think now it
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  Speaker 3: is a very tropical design building. You know, lots of
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  Speaker 3: shade in there, so I think it's really now fit
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  Speaker 3: for purpose, fit for the.
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  Speaker 1: Tropic And when are you going to see students inside
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  Speaker 1: that building and studying?
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  Speaker 3: Semester one twenty twenty.
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  Speaker 1: Four, all right, so still a while away with.
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  Speaker 3: It's still Yeah, it's a big building. But Helicoster, I
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  Speaker 3: think are going to do a great job. And they've
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  Speaker 3: got a reputation Helicost for delivering on time, so we're
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  Speaker 3: pretty confident.
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  Speaker 1: Oh well, good stuff. Vice Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman were
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  Speaker 1: making sure that we had your title right as well,
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  Speaker 1: because we'd seen we were seeing a couple of different
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  Speaker 1: areas for you or a different names for your title,
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  Speaker 1: so we thought we'd better get it right.
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  Speaker 2: Katie. You get it right if you just say, Scott,
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  Speaker 2: that's fine.
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  Speaker 1: Good stuff. Good on you, Scott, thanks so much for
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  Speaker 1: your this morning.
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  Speaker 3: Jeer, it's great talking to you as always. You two,
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  Speaker 3: thank you.