Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Health Minister Natasha Fyles addresses when the Emergency Declaration for Covid measures will be ending in the NT

Transcript

Health Minister Natasha Fyles addresses when the Emergency Declaration for Covid measures will be ending in the NT · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And the Minister for Health, Natasha Files, joins me on
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: the line right now. Good morning to your minister, and
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: happy International Women's Day.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Thanks to you, Katie, and I hope you're feeling that up.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Oh, thank you and welcome back. It is good to
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: have you back on the show.
• 0:14
  Speaker 3: Minister.
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  Speaker 1: It does seem as though those COVID numbers are well
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: and truly on the decrease. I know that we still
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: tragically had a desk yesterday, but do you feel as
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: though we've officially passed the peak and we're onto the
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: road of some kind of normality.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: Katie, I think that we are on that track, that trajectory.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: I'm not sure of what we're quite there that yet.
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: We have had many twists and terms with COVID, but
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  Speaker 2: I think the figure for your listeners that might interest
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: them is the seven day average. So, Katie, I've just
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: received a brief from Health. Today's case numbers is four
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: hundred and thirty seven cases, so a little more than yesterday,
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: but that's not to be unexpected. We see the case
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  Speaker 2: numbers ten to dip off on the weekend and Monday,
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  Speaker 2: and then that Tuesday Wednesday they sort of pick up
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  Speaker 2: a little bit but that seven day average is that
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: key figure, and that's sitting at four hundred and forty
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: eight today. Because we're such a small community, the peaks
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  Speaker 2: and troughs, that seven day average sort of flattens those
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  Speaker 2: out a little bit. So we still have a number
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  Speaker 2: of people, you know, receiving acute care in hospital, but
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  Speaker 2: it's certainly decreasing, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: It certainly is, and I think when you compare it
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  Speaker 1: to those numbers that were sitting at over one thousand
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  Speaker 1: for quite some time there, it has got a lot
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  Speaker 1: of people questioning when is the emergency Declaration for the
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory around COVID going to end?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, So we first signed that public Health Emergency
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  Speaker 2: Declaration back in March twenty twenty. When I signed that
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  Speaker 2: as a Minister for Health, I certainly didn't expect to
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: be still signing them some two years later. But Katie,
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  Speaker 2: I think that we're still using some aspects of that,
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  Speaker 2: but it's certainly not, you know, to the degree that
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: it was being utilized even just a month or so ago.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: So we're working with our health officials around what aspects
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: do we still need over the coming sort of weeks
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: and months. But how we can certainly ease off so
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: that we can set through to normality as we used
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: to know it.
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  Speaker 1: So is it due to end on March eighteen? Have
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: I got that date right?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah? Katie, I think that I haven't got it in
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  Speaker 2: front of me, but from memory it's around that middle
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  Speaker 2: part of March. So what happens is I get briefed
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: by the Department of Health, we take it into that
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: sensi emergency Cabinet and make the decisions. But Katie, even
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: if we do resign that for a period of time,
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  Speaker 2: as I just mentioned, there may be some aspects we need.
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  Speaker 2: And then also if there's some aspects that we need,
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  Speaker 2: is there a way to have those in place without
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  Speaker 2: having the full emergency? But I think territories can expect
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: over the next few months that we certainly would step
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: away from it that exact timing. I would have to
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: get further advice on.
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  Speaker 1: So what is the process though, Because if it's due
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: to end on March eighteen, is it something that then
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: needs to go back through Parliament.
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: No, Katie, So it's something that's signed by the Minister
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  Speaker 2: for help. So as I just mentioned, I have to
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: be fully briefed and informed and then I take it
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  Speaker 2: into that sense with the Chief Health Officer and the
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: Territory Controller. So there is a structure around it, but
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  Speaker 2: it is something that and will certainly let the community
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  Speaker 2: know it's actually been on something. I've had discussions around
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  Speaker 2: it about how we start to step out of this
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  Speaker 2: and how we let the community know well.
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  Speaker 1: And I think it's something that people are sort of wondering.
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  Speaker 1: I know in South Australia they're looking to lift that
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  Speaker 1: declaration by April one and a lot of people wondering
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: what it will mean in terms of the vaccine mandate.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Okatie, So there is certainly some aspects and vaccine
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  Speaker 2: mandate is one of them. I think that the mandate's
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  Speaker 2: on vaccine. They're in place for a few key reasons.
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  Speaker 2: They're too protect the vulnerable, protect those that work with
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  Speaker 2: the vulnerable, and so the vaccine mandate would probably be
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  Speaker 2: one of the last public health measures to go at
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  Speaker 2: some point. So we've seen an excellent response from territory
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  Speaker 2: and vaccine is that real key between COVID being a
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  Speaker 2: pandemic and then making it an endemic and within our.
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  Speaker 1: Community, well, I guess a lot of people are wondering
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  Speaker 1: why they still actually and you and I have discussed
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  Speaker 1: this before, so I don't want to sort of cover all,
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  Speaker 1: but why they do still have to get you know,
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  Speaker 1: the vaccine if they've had COVID or you know, why
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  Speaker 1: they can't just get back to work.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so the vaccine is really important, Katie. And we've
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  Speaker 2: seen vaccine you know, a lot of diseases that cause
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  Speaker 2: severe illness and in fact death, you know, decades ago.
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  Speaker 2: A vaccine is the key to ensuring that they're not
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  Speaker 2: a pandemic, and they're an endemic. So polio is one.
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  Speaker 2: The chicken pox is a vaccine that wasn't available when
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  Speaker 2: I was a child, but my children have adieved it.
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  Speaker 2: So vaccine will be important. And we've seen territorians you know,
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  Speaker 2: really step up and get vaccinated. And it's a reminder
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  Speaker 2: that the pediatric second doses are now eligible and that
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  Speaker 2: booster dose is also really important.
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  Speaker 3: Can I ask what is the rate of.
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  Speaker 1: Vaccination now for those that have actually had the three doses,
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  Speaker 1: so the booster as well around the territory, Katie, I think.
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  Speaker 2: It's about fifty five percent. We don't have the figures
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  Speaker 2: quite in front of me, but the booster dose is
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  Speaker 2: fifty five percent. We've got eighty eight percent of children
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  Speaker 2: age twelve to fifteen have had at least one dose,
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  Speaker 2: and close to eighty percent of them are fully vaccinated.
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  Speaker 2: We just need to actually cady that figure of fifty
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  Speaker 2: five percent. That's first dose for our five to eleven
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  Speaker 2: year olds. I apologize. I'll see if I can bring
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: up the figure of boosters while we're just.
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  Speaker 3: Chatting, okay, So we will see if we can get that.
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  Speaker 1: Because it does sound as though there's quite a large
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  Speaker 1: amount of work to go there. If you're hoping to
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  Speaker 1: have everybody well, you certainly still have that mandating place
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  Speaker 1: for workers.
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  Speaker 3: It sounds like there's quite a long way to go.
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  Speaker 2: A couple points on that that I think would be
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  Speaker 2: of interest to your listeners. I know many people, yourself
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  Speaker 2: and myself included, we've had COVID. There is a sixteen
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  Speaker 2: week grace period if you've had COVID to receiving your booster.
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  Speaker 2: So that's important for people to know you can safely
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: receive your booster shot, your dose of booster vaccine as
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: soon as your symptoms do disappear. Now, some people have
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: very minor symptoms and within a week they're gone. Other
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  Speaker 2: people that it does tend to lag a bit, so
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  Speaker 2: really encourage people to talk to their primary health care
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  Speaker 2: provider and make sure they get that boost. I was
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  Speaker 2: boosted when I had COVID and I certainly felt that
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  Speaker 2: have helped me with that third.
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  Speaker 3: Dough all right, Minister, I want to move along.
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  Speaker 1: We know over the weekend there were a number of
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  Speaker 1: locations targeted by crime. The COLP says that we've got
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  Speaker 1: a crime crisis. Your electorate was targeted by kids, as
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: I understand it, on the weekend. There is an issue
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: with youth crime. There's also an issue with a lot
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  Speaker 1: of people drinking in public places and engaging in what
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  Speaker 1: police described throughout last week as a borring behavior. Minister,
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  Speaker 1: have we got a crime crisis on our hands?
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  Speaker 3: Katie?
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  Speaker 2: Crime is unacceptable at any point and any incident of crime,
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  Speaker 2: whether you're a small territory business or a long term
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  Speaker 2: corporate business that's been here. We've put in place a
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  Speaker 2: number of measures to support the community. But the events
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  Speaker 2: over the weekend are extremely disappointing and we're looking at
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  Speaker 2: what further we can do, particularly around that vis secure
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  Speaker 2: to help businesses.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, do you feel as though the band Drinkers
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  Speaker 1: Register is working at the moment when we have got
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  Speaker 1: such large volumes of people you are drinking in public places.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, o, Katie. Alcohol abuse is one of the leading
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  Speaker 2: causes of crime, and that's why we have put in
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  Speaker 2: place some of the strongest alcohol reforms with the BDR.
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  Speaker 2: We are looking at the BDR around how we can
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  Speaker 2: make sure it is agile and response, but it does
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  Speaker 2: stop hundreds of people each week from accessing alcohol. So
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  Speaker 2: there is not one solution in this space. There is
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  Speaker 2: a number of measures and that's why we continue to work.
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  Speaker 1: When you look at those issues that we've got though
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  Speaker 1: right now on the streets with people drinking publicly. We've
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  Speaker 1: heard from Mission Australia last week that the Sobering Up
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  Speaker 1: shelter is full. We know that domestic violence rates are
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  Speaker 1: through the roof. Are there other measures that you're looking
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  Speaker 1: at right now when it comes to that alcohol misuse
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  Speaker 1: to try and deal with this very immediate issue, Yeah, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: So we've clearly given police more powers and working with
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  Speaker 2: those Larachean Nation patrols, we open the sobering Up shelters
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  Speaker 2: for twenty four hours so it's available at any time
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  Speaker 2: of the day, But of course we work with that
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  Speaker 2: NGO sector that provides those resources around being agile, and
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  Speaker 2: it's certainly, you know, it's a big resource. It's got
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  Speaker 2: the sobering up shelter, the detox in it, and you
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  Speaker 2: know it's all co located so that people can have
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  Speaker 2: that continual pathway of care. But alcohol abuse is a
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  Speaker 2: difficult issue to solve, but we're certainly throwing everything at it.
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  Speaker 1: So at the moment, I mean, do we have enough
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  Speaker 1: enough places for people to go that need to sober up?
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  Speaker 2: I haven't got advice to the country, and I'd be
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  Speaker 2: of course interested to hear from around the point that
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  Speaker 2: made that the sobering up shelter it is full. It's
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  Speaker 2: certainly got plenty of capacity, whether it's at certain times
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  Speaker 2: of the day and whether we need to look at that.
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  Speaker 2: But the advice I've received from the Department of Health
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  Speaker 2: is that the sobering up shelters have capacity. But of
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  Speaker 2: course that's always changes. But we certainly put in place
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: a number of measures. We've got the short term accommodation
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  Speaker 2: center at Baton Road also to help people when they're
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: in town. But we acknowledge the impacts of these issues
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  Speaker 2: across the community.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and when you look at some of the issues
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  Speaker 1: that we're seeing with alcohol issues on the streets at
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  Speaker 1: the moment, we know you may not have been in
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: town when we were told by the Territory Police that
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  Speaker 1: usually we'd have about seven hundred people in from various
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: communities in the likes of Darwin. At the moment there's
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  Speaker 1: more than two thousand. What kind of impact is that
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  Speaker 1: having on our hospital as well.
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, it's really important. And this is something where
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  Speaker 2: we have ensured that there's resources available. So we've got
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: the hospital and we've got the Lorraine brand and Center.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: The CLP used that for their failed alcohol mandatory treatment program.
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: We've got that fuss to make sure that it was
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: a step down facility. It's about making sure that the
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: hostels that care for people that don't need to be
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: in a hospital bed but have accommodation. But there is
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: a number of facilities across Darwin, and i'm talking Darwin here.
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: We also have facilities in other regional centers for people
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: that perhaps are sleeping rough and it's a difficult issue
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: in terms of homelessness in the territory. It's very different people.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: It's a transient population, so we're making sure that there
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: is a range of supported accommodation services.
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: Do you think enough is being done right now?
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: Though? When it ca it comes to the misuse of
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: alcohol issues that we're seeing on the streets and in turn,
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: you know that vision outside IgA of that violent brawl.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: We'll talk separately about the youth crime stuff, but with
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: that alcohol misuse and some really terrible situations that we
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: have seen unfold.
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: Katie, we've done more than any other government to curb it.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Are you're happy with what you're seeing on the streets
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: at the moment? Do you feel as though you know?
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: Do you feel as though it's working.
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: No, it's absolutely not acceptable to see the images we've seen.
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: But what I'm saying is you can never stop working
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: in this space and I will continue. And it's working
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: across health with police and also with the mgos, particularly
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: when you're talking about the issue of alcohol. It's multifaceted.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: We saw Katie Barunga community and have recently been given
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: a liquor license job of a club in their community,
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: and so I think that there is different solutions across
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: the territory. Of course, women and children in their space.
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: You have to come first, but you need to look
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: at people. They go to work, they want to be
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: able to have a drink and if they can't do
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: that in their community, it forces them into urban areas,
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: which brings other social issues. So how can we across
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: the board have measures to keep the community safe and
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: allow territorians to access up.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: So just very quickly, is that something that you're looking
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: at in other communities?
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, So we've spoken about this many times where
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: the liquor licenses need to be signed off by the
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: Commonwealth and the former Senator Nigel Scully and the Coop
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: just refused to engage the conversation. But I'm really pleased
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: that a mature conversation with women and children's safety coming
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: first is happening in a number of communities.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: Okay, well we will follow that one up just very quickly.
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: We know that the Northern Territory News is reporting that
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: there were fifty four incidents of self harm at don
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: Dale from July to December twenty one, compared to eight
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: from the same period of twenty twenty. Now, following this report,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: the Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency Chief Executive Priscilla Atkins
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: said that the situation was urgent, that there is a
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: high risk and it's happening right now. The number of
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: young kids with suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts has just tripled.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: What is happening here because I thought that out at
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: don Dale they did have a specific health service in
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: Danilla Dilber looking after those children.
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, that's one of the measures that we put
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: in place is Dania Dilbert do provide the primary health care.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: The reasoning behind that is people's young people being held
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: on remand or sentence. It would allow continuation of the
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: health care for them as they hopefully transition back into
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: our community. They do reach into MPG for specialists mental
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: health care, but they work with Danella Dilber as a
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: primary health care provider in the first instance, just like
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: a GP would And I understand territory families also provide
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: specialist clinicians and programs for kids in care too, So
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: it is complicated, but we certainly have got resources there.
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: Just very quickly.
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: We've been contacted by a mother about the inability to
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: be able to get her child in to see somebody
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: for mental health care, whether it's a counselor or a psychologist.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: This is stepping away obviously from the issue at don Dale,
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: but have we got a situation in the territory right
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: now where we don't have enough specialists in this space
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: for our youths, whether you're talking about children that are
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: in don Dale, whether you're talking about kids that are
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: at a school around Darwin.
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Okatie. So psychiatric assessment and workforce is an issue
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: right across Australia and it's something that I've been particularly
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: passionate about mental health, not only for adults but for
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: young people, knowing that it's a very difficult time in
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: their lives. And so it is around having as many
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: resources available. But I do acknowledge that it's not an
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: easy pathway. It's not easy to access those services. But
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: we're continuing to work in this space.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: All right, We'll talk more about that another day. Health
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: Medicine attash to file is good to have you back.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: Thanks for your time today.
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: Thanks Auviy