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Katie Woolf spoke with Minister for Small Business Paul Kirby · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining us on the line to tell us more about
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: the situation is the Minister for Small Business, Paul Kirby.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Good morning thanks Katie. Chiz.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Minister talk us through exactly who's going to be eligible
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: for the latest round of lockdown payments.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, we've tried to make it as simple as we
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: can for people, Katie, to just mimic the terms and
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: conditions that we had in the recent lockdown, so people
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  Speaker 2: will remember that there was one thousand dollars available. All
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: of the information is on the Business Recovery dot nt website,
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  Speaker 2: so people can go on there, they can lodge their application.
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  Speaker 2: We'll get those payments done as quickly as we can.
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  Speaker 2: People have to have a turnover of over seventy five
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: thousand dollars. That's just a bar that we've had to
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  Speaker 2: set to acknowledge that business is a small business and
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  Speaker 2: we've used what the federal government used as the trigger there,
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: that's seventy five thousand dollar mark. And yeah, people need
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: to have less than twenty employees, so it is targeted
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  Speaker 2: that small to medium enterprises and we just we know
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  Speaker 2: it's not enough to help people, you know, to pay
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: for what some businesses will miss over the next few days,
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  Speaker 2: but it just is a bit of a help to
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: get them back up and running and hopefully that'll be
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: Thursday afternoon.
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  Speaker 1: Minister, is there anything available for those who were under
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  Speaker 1: seventy five thousand dollars? That's one of the biggest questions
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: that I've been asked this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, certainly the federal government kick in with a lot
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  Speaker 2: of those initiatives around job keeper and wage support and reimbursement.
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  Speaker 2: As much as a territory government, we would dearly love
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: to be able to pay everybody for every cent that
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: they lose out of lockdowns like this, we just physically
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: can't do that. So some of those initiatives from the
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  Speaker 2: federal government do rely on us being declared as a
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  Speaker 2: hotspot from the federal government, and we know that our
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  Speaker 2: Health Minister works really really closely with all of their
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: counterparts with the Chief Health Officer to dictate when that
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: may happen if it's necessary. Hopefully, if we have a
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  Speaker 2: shorts up lockdown like we have had, that's probably the
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  Speaker 2: best way to get our businesses back up and running
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: is to make sure that we're not bogged down in
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: this for too long and hopefully we've reacted quickly enough
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: to make sure that's the case.
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  Speaker 1: Minister. It does seem as though though there is some
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  Speaker 1: that slipped through the cracks, you know, particularly when you're
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: talking about some of those smaller businesses like I've touched
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  Speaker 1: on those under the seventy five thousand dollar mark. What
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  Speaker 1: would you say to those businesses that are listening this
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  Speaker 1: morning and are feeling a bit neglected.
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  Speaker 2: We feel for every business, Kadie that has to shut
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  Speaker 2: down under these circumstances. I guess if you talk to
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  Speaker 2: the businesses in Sydney that didn't go through a sharp lockdown,
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  Speaker 2: they took their time down there and they're still dealing
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  Speaker 2: with it months later. Were as our last lockdown we
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: did in a very similar manner to this. We did
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  Speaker 2: it really quickly and it was the best way to
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  Speaker 2: get everybody back up and running. But absolutely, look if
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  Speaker 2: people are struggling with their rents or with anything else,
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  Speaker 2: or if people have applied and they think they are
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  Speaker 2: over that seventy five thousand dollars threshold, but they're not
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  Speaker 2: accepted initially. Sometimes they're asked to supply some more information.
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  Speaker 2: I would just ask people to be patient and supply
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  Speaker 2: the information. It did take a little while to work
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  Speaker 2: through all of people's applications last time, but we just
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  Speaker 2: want to help as many people as we can. But
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  Speaker 2: we understand there will be some that won't actually qualify
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: if people need to work with them with their landlords
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  Speaker 2: to get some relief from their rent. We just urge
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  Speaker 2: everybody to try and pitch in and help out as
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  Speaker 2: much as they can.
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  Speaker 1: Minister I did get a call from one of our
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  Speaker 1: listeners a bit earlier on the show and he said
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  Speaker 1: with the one thousand dollar grant for small businesses, he
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: got it last time and he's gone online to apply again,
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  Speaker 1: but he hasn't been able to Is there a glitch
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  Speaker 1: in the system or if you've got it last time,
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  Speaker 1: are you not able to get it this time? Do
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  Speaker 1: you know what the go is there?
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  Speaker 2: Certainly if people got it last time doesn't disqualify them.
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  Speaker 2: It should be available to people again this time. So
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  Speaker 2: there's absolutely no qualifications around only getting at once. Certainly,
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  Speaker 2: if people have had it last time, they should be
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  Speaker 2: able to get it again this time. I haven't been
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  Speaker 2: made aware of any glitches with the system. So it
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  Speaker 2: is through that Business Recovery dot NT dot gov dot
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  Speaker 2: au website. There is a phone number down the bottom
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  Speaker 2: of that website page which is one eight hundred one
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  Speaker 2: nine to three triple one. I would urge people if
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  Speaker 2: they have had a bit of trouble to go back
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  Speaker 2: and try again. If it still doesn't work, perhaps give
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  Speaker 2: that number a ring and we'll just double check with
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  Speaker 2: the department and make sure that we're not having any grief.
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  Speaker 2: But no grief that I'm of at this stage. It's
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  Speaker 2: all hopefully working.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, all right, Minister. Quite a few questions coming through
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  Speaker 1: from our listeners. I've got one here from Craig. It says,
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  Speaker 1: good morning, Katie. Could you please ask the Minister for
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: answers as to whether there's support available for casual workers.
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  Speaker 1: My wife lost twenty hours this week and possibly more,
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  Speaker 1: which makes which makes up a portion of our income.
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  Speaker 1: There was support for these people down south, but nothing
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  Speaker 1: available if you reside in the Northern Territory on our
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  Speaker 1: last lockdown. That one there from Craig.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and we knew, I guess from eighteen months ago
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  Speaker 2: that we have a high proportion of casual workers and
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  Speaker 2: a high proportion of people that are on visas and
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  Speaker 2: different anomalies that make them unavailable for the longer term,
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  Speaker 2: job keeper payments and things like that, which are a
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: federal government initiative. We know that the federal government did
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  Speaker 2: acknowledge after or during our last lockdown that they needed
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: to enact some initial payments for people. As I'd mentioned before,
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  Speaker 2: that does rely on us being acknowledged by the FEDS
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  Speaker 2: as a hot spot. Now, my understanding is that hasn't
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  Speaker 2: happened at this stage, or if that was to happen,
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  Speaker 2: then there are some payments that are available to people
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  Speaker 2: under the federal government schemes, but we haven't been acknowledged
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  Speaker 2: as a hot spot yet. That normally happens if there
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: are more cases that come or if the lockdown has
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: to be extended. But my understanding is then they can
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  Speaker 2: be paid back to the first day if we are
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: developed or identified as a hot spot by the federal government.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Minister, we did catch up with Greg Ireland a
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  Speaker 1: little bit earlier on the show from the Chamber of
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  Speaker 1: Commerce and spoke about some of those businesses that are
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  Speaker 1: doing it really tough during these three days of lockdown
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  Speaker 1: and about the possibility of them still being able to
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  Speaker 1: operate even though they're not deemed essential under that click
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  Speaker 1: and collect banner. I know I'd seen on social media
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  Speaker 1: there was a florist who was operating who'd been told
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  Speaker 1: that they were able to operate, but then they'd been
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  Speaker 1: contacted telling them that they needed to lock down, despite
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: the fact that they were providing click and collect. Now,
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  Speaker 1: without sort of going into specific businesses, do you think
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  Speaker 1: that there is capacity here for us to look a
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  Speaker 1: little bit more at some of the businesses that are
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  Speaker 1: able to operate and still provide those click and collect services,
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  Speaker 1: even if they're not deemed essential here.
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  Speaker 2: Certainly, and that will certainly be something that we do
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  Speaker 2: if we need to go beyond these first few days.
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  Speaker 2: The absolute message that we are pleading with the public
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  Speaker 2: and with businesses is just the lack of movement is
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  Speaker 2: what has helped us out. For people to just stay
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: stay home, don't move around, give our contact traces, the
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  Speaker 2: capacity and the ability to make sure that we know
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: exactly where this has moved, as we've seen down South.
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  Speaker 2: If you don't do that initially, it's then too late.
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  Speaker 2: So we certainly will have another look at all of
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  Speaker 2: our businesses how they operate. I know, when you put
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  Speaker 2: blanket over arching conditions in place like this that there's
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  Speaker 2: always going to be some anomalies. People will look at
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  Speaker 2: a particular type of food business say and say, well,
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  Speaker 2: you know, is that essential, does that need to be
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: often open? Does that or should that comply? But realistically
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  Speaker 2: we're you know, we are just asking people to stay
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  Speaker 2: home to make sure to help let's keep people safe,
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  Speaker 2: that we need to do this for a few days.
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  Speaker 2: We know that down South when they have got into
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  Speaker 2: those longer term lockdowns, there are a range of other
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  Speaker 2: businesses that they allowed to operate through Click and collects.
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  Speaker 2: You know, We've had a lot of discussions with Dave
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  Speaker 2: Malone after the last one, from the building industry and
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  Speaker 2: the construction industry people, and if it does go on,
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  Speaker 2: we'll certainly do all we can to get as many
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  Speaker 2: businesses back up and running safely as we possibly can.
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  Speaker 2: We're just asking people in this initial stage to just
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  Speaker 2: bear with us and just try and lay as low
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  Speaker 2: as it possibly can.
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  Speaker 1: Minister, we know that in Queensland, I am reading in
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  Speaker 1: the CANS posts this morning that a vaccine passports a
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  Speaker 1: step closer for Queenslanders after the Palachet government dramatically mandated
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: precedents setting COVID jabs for workers crossing the border. Now
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  Speaker 1: the premiere there issued well a change on Monday saying
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  Speaker 1: that all essential workers wanting to cross the border from
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: Friday are going to have to have had at least
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: one coronavirus shot. Do you reckon that this is something
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  Speaker 1: that we need to look at doing for the territory
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  Speaker 1: or is it a bit heavy handed?
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  Speaker 2: Well, we're certainly keeping all of our options open. We
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: know that territoriings have been really good on the uptake
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  Speaker 2: and have really lent in and got behind the JAB
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  Speaker 2: and to make sure that they do keep themselves and
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  Speaker 2: I think we're probably more aware of people within our
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: community and out in remote communities and trying to keep
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  Speaker 2: them as safe as we possibly can. The data and
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: digital side of things as a portfolio sits with me
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: as well, where in regular meetings with Stuart Robert, our
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: federal minister, around how that might play out. Whether there
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: is a capacity to link in through the COVID checking
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  Speaker 2: to highlight that people have had their jobs to make
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: sure they have been immunized. That's something that we're only
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  Speaker 2: in the initial stages of discussing, but that might need
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: to be something into the future if there are essential
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  Speaker 2: workers that can only go to a particular location if
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  Speaker 2: they have been immunized, and that might be a way
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: that we can use to highlight that. So yeah, I
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  Speaker 2: think as the rollout progresses and as people are now
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: starting to understand, particularly in New South Wales and places
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  Speaker 2: like that, that they do need to fast track that
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: that this version the delta strain probably has got away
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: from them, that the munization becomes more and more important then,
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  Speaker 2: particularly for us into workers.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and I guess when you look at the situation
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: that we're in here in the Northern Territory right now,
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  Speaker 1: obviously the three day lockdown, and yesterday when we spoke
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: to the Chief Minister Michael Gunner, he had said that
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: the one thing that the individual who obviously traveled to
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory with COVID wasn't overly cooperative on throughout
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: the interviewing was whether they'd had that vaccine or not.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: So you do just wonder whether, you know, the reality
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: of it is if someone's traveling into the territory, you know,
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: if they've decided not to have the vaccine, Okay, no worries,
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: but actually, like you've pointed out there, does it you know,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: do we need to actually be able to freely see
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: that whether someone has or or hasn't been vaccinated.
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  Speaker 2: And I think our discussions at this stage has been like,
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: for our front line workers, should we make the vaccine
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: available to them, you know, up front for their safety.
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: But at some stage during this ongoing scenarios it will
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: turn to employers saying no, you must be vaccinated before
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: you can work in our space, or even and even
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: go further than that. But yeah, it is interesting. I
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: think it sounds like hopefully this gentleman hasn't moved around
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: too much as much as we know that he has
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: gone to Catherine and we certainly know what we were
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: put to the test. You couldn't get a bigger scenario
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: that we worked through with the Tannami mind, and congratulations
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: to everybody that worked their way through that. But somebody
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: coming from in the state tour and we're a remote
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: part of the territory then with hundreds of people leaving
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: there and spreading out a very complex way, and yeah,
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: real thank you to all of the people at the
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: Tannai and all of our health professionals that help get
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: on top of that as quickly as we did.
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: Well, Minister Paul Kirby. We better leave it. They're good
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: to catch up with you this morning. Thanks so much
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: for your time.
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: Thanks for your time, Katie, good luck and we were
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: everyone welcome.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: Thank you. It is just on twenty minutes after ten
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: o'clock and that was the Minister for Small Business there,
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: Paul Kirby.