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Katie spoke with Opposition Leader Lia Finochiarro · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line is the Opposition leader, Leah Fanochiaio.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Leah.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and to your listeners.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Now, Leah. Over the weekend we knew there was positive
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: wastewater testing, but until Monday, we really didn't know how
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: this situation was going to unfold. Are you concerned that
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: we're on the verge of a major outbreak?
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: Well, I certainly hope that with all the measures we've
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: now put in place, that it's really going to slow
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: down any spread of the virus. Of course, it's really important,
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: particularly for people in Catherine and Robinson River and surrounding
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: areas to be extremely vigilant, but for every territory, and
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: it's our turn now to make sure that we are
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: wearing masks and sanitizing our hands properly and getting tested
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: if we have any symptoms at all. And it's just
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: a really important measure to take so that we can
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: hopefully minimize the spread.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: From your perspective, as the opposition leader, do you feel
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: as so enough as being done at this point.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Well, it looks certainly. We're very pleased with the rapid
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: response teams that have been deployed. Of course, our police
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: and other healthcare workers will be working around the clock
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: at the moment to contact trays, to set up roadblocks
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: and all of those other types of measures. It's just
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: really important that communication is clear. We're certainly getting feedback
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: out of Catherine that some people are finding it confusing,
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: and of course the information is ever changing and it
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: just requires people to be keeping abreast of those public
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: health channels. But that's why it's so important that the
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: Chief Minister isn't leading with his Facebook page on communications
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: when it comes to people getting a very serious disease
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: in our community. This has got to be led by
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: the health professionals so that people can get the accurate
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: advice from the official channels.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: Well, I one hundred percent agree with that. I mean,
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: even over the last twenty four hours, we know that
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: the situation with the hospitals has indeed changed, visiting and
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: visitation to the hospitals has changed, as had the situation
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: with electives surgeries. We all understand that this is an
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: ever evolving situation. But do you think that it's appropriate
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: that those messages then are posted on department Facebook pages only?
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: Well, look, we know that there's a lot of people
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: who are on Facebook but there's a lot of people
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: who aren't, and this is something incredibly serious. And what
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: you don't want is to have people visiting loved ones
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: in hospital, taking all that time to get to hospital,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: thinking that they're going to be supporting their loved one,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: only to be turned around at the door. You know,
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: this is a health pandemic. We've got to be making
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: sure our lines of communication are clear, that officials are
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: providing that information in every format possible, and that it
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: is consistent, and that's what's most important. And certainly these
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: changes to hospital visitation arrangements are going to really severely
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: impact some people and it's a very difficult process. Of course,
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: the cancelation again of elective surgeries, it just reinforces how
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: the government have had eighteen months to prepare our health
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: system for this, and of course we've seen the four
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: Code yellows at Royal dau And Hospital this year without
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: having any COVID impact in our hospital system. So the
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: fragility of our healthcare system is there, and we haven't
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: seen the government provide a bailout or any additional enhancement
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: and support like we have seen in other jurisdictions, which
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: of course is probably because they spend all our money
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: on shade structures and we're stone cold broke.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: Well Lea, I guess you know the situation right now
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: with COVID, while it is a concerning one, there'll be
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: a lot of people listening this morning thinking is it
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: just a situation that we're realistically going to have to
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: learn to live with? I mean, the home quarantine trial
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: is due to end next week and we are looking
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: towards opening up those borders.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, and the government are finally starting to talk
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: about that. They're starting to say that this is something
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: we are going to have to live with. But it's
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: still really important our response, and it's still really important
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: how we have those social measures which of course help
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: slow down and stop the spread of the disease, but ultimately,
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: something like our health system has to be robust enough
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: to provide everyday care to Territorians because people will still
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: unfortunately be involved in car crashes, people will still have
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: heart attacks, people will still need a health system there
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: for them that's non COVID related. And every single time
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: we have cases that it's not sustainable, that elective surgeries
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: and everything else is scaled right back, and that just
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: shows that the government haven't planned ahead for this crisis
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: despite having eighteen.
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: Months to do though, so obviously at this point in time,
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: you're feeling as though there hasn't been enough redundancy planning
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: for want of a better word, when it comes to
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: our health system.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: No, we haven't strengthened it at all. We haven't provided
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: that additional funding that it required. We haven't been able
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: to get the additional staff in To have four code
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: yellows this year with no COVID is appalling, and of
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: course now COVID is. You know, this is the most
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: cases we've seen in the territory and hopefully it doesn't grow,
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: but I'm sure we're going to get some more numbers
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: in at the press conference today.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: The question mark then becomes what kind of pressure will
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: this put on the health system that is already crippled
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: under the pressure. So it's a very challenging time and
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: we certainly hope that this is a bit of a
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: wake up call for the Gunner government that they can't
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: just sit around, you know, they've got to be taking
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: action now. Leah.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: I know that you are actually in Alice Springs at
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: the moment. How are people feeling in Alice at this
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: point in time. I know that they are quite a
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: distance away from Catherine, but are they feeling concerned about
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: this current situation?
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: Yes, well I'm back now, but yeah, people in Alice
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: Springs are concerned, certainly. Everyone that I saw yesterday was
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: wearing masks as required from that lunchtime on. When people
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: are really concerned. It's a very you know, tight knit,
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: small community and of course you know they're taking those
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: obligations really seriously. But yeah, they are concerned as well.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: And of course being so far away means that any
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: additional pressure on their health system is also a huge concern.
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: You know, they are a regional area and I know
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: when there's pressures in the top hand, it makes you know,
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: it puts pressure in Central Australia as well. So people
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: are waiting anxiously and hoping that this becomes gets under
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: control soon.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: Lea, I'm getting a lot of messages this morning from
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: our listeners saying, you know, I thought that once we
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: were double vaxed we wouldn't have to worry about these
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: lockdowns anymore. They're obviously concerned and people are feeling quite worried.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: I think at this point in time, this morning, wondering
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: what it's all going to mean for Darwin. We know
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: that obviously the situation in Catherine is ever changing and
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: very concerning. So there are people listening this morning in
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: Catherine feeling that way. Obviously in Darwin, they're wondering what
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: it's all going to mean for them. I mean, do
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: you think that realistically, once we do get to that
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: stage which we apparently have, of eighty percent double vaccination,
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: that we shouldn't have lockdowns anymore and shouldn't have to
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: wear those masks.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: Well, the chiefiness certainly does keep changing the goalposts on this,
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: and we've been saying for a long time that there's
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: been a lot of change really in a short period
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: of time. Of course, we've had the mandatory vaccination policy,
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: we've had the quarantine at home trial, We've got half
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: a plan to get us through to January, but people
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: are really really unclear on the detail. There's government talks
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: a lot about incentives for people who are double vags,
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: but a lot of people don't feel like that incentivization
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: is actually there. It is a balancing act. And of
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: course we don't have access to the health advice like
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: the Gunner government do. We have to beg kick and
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: screen to get briefings, Katie, which is entirely unacceptable. But
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: we will continue to get as much information from the
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: Deputy Chief Health Officer as government will allow. But in
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: the meantime, what we really need is the government and
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: Michael Gunner to stand up at a press conference and
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: give a level of detail that people deserve, because often
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: the important points are glossed over at these ceremonious press
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: conferences with flags flying high, but the detail that people
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: need to either implement what the Chiefminess is saying or
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: to understand a pass so they can plan forward is lacking.
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: And that's just a fundamental problem in the Gunner Government's
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: communication at the moment, Leah, we.
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: Are going to have to get ready to wrap up,
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: but I know that. Earlier in the week, the Shadow
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: Minister for Territory Families, Josh Burgoyne, had said that the
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Gunner government needed to explain why it didn't oppose an
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: extension for teenage criminals to sign up to a thirty
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: five million dollar payout, and whether it will scale back
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: that payout figure if the expected twelve hundred eligible detainees
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: from don Dale aren't found. Why do you think that
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: the Gunner government needs to explain why it didn't oppose
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: that extension.
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: Well, we can't understand why the government isn't finding this
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: thirty five million dollar payout to use criminals as hard
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: as it possibly can. To agree to a thirty five
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: million dollar settlement is atrocious and just shows how a
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: fender focus rather than victim focus they are. We've said
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: right from the start that if these criminals are getting
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: any payout, they should be paying their victims back first,
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: and that's thing the Gunner government aren't forcing them to
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: do as part of the settlement. But what was revealed
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: is that the legal team for the youth criminals has
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: only found about a third of the number of criminals
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: that they anticipated would be able to access that thirty
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: five million dollars. And so we're saying the government should
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: one be fighting this as hard as they can at
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: number two, if they're not going to, then they need
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: to cut the settlement figure down to a third because
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: it's you know, they've originally anticipated twelve hundred offenders to
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: get a share of thirty five million. There's only about
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: four hundred and fifty offenders now, So scale that money
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: right back and make sure that their victims are paid first.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: Well, I know that there will be so many people
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: in the community who agree with that. So many of
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: our listeners obviously impacted by very senseless crime and would
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: be feeling that any payout that occurs that they need
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: to be actually compensated for what they've been through as well. Leah,
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: we are going to have to leave it there. Thank
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: you very much for your time this morning.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: Thank you, take care everyone. You two