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Katie Woolf spoke with Health Minister Natasha Fyles · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Hello, Katie Wolf and three point sixty online at Mix
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  Speaker 1: one O four nine dot com. The next two weeks
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  Speaker 1: are going to be massive.
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  Speaker 2: As Parliament sits today, the Northern Territory Budget's going to
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  Speaker 2: be handed down and territorians are set to get a
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  Speaker 2: better idea of exactly where we're placed when it comes
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  Speaker 2: to the level of debt and how it's going to
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  Speaker 2: be managed. Now joining me on the line is the
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  Speaker 2: Health Minister and Leader of Government Business, Natasha Files.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning, Good morning, Katie, Good morning listening now, Minister.
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  Speaker 2: I'm not anticipating that you're going to reveal any detail
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  Speaker 2: of that budget ahead of the Chief Minister doing that
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  Speaker 2: at eleven o'clock, but what is the process this morning?
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  Speaker 2: How long does it take for that budget to be
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  Speaker 2: handed down?
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  Speaker 3: Yes, Katie, I'll leave all for the Treasurer in Chief
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  Speaker 3: Minister to reveal at eleven am this morning. It might
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  Speaker 3: not be so great for me if I start feeling
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  Speaker 3: the secret, but we have a big week in parliament, Katie.
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  Speaker 3: The budget. The Parliament will will go to the budget
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  Speaker 3: at eleven am no matter what is being debated, and
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  Speaker 3: the Chief Minister will deliver the Territories budget. We have
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  Speaker 3: kept people say through COVID and so now we need
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  Speaker 3: to really focus on that economic rebuilding. And so he
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  Speaker 3: will outline the details in that budget at eleven am.
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  Speaker 3: Then the Parliament will adjourn until question time, which will
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  Speaker 3: be a little bit later too thirty it's a tradition,
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  Speaker 3: and then we'll get straight into the budget debate. But
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  Speaker 3: we've also got a number of other important bills, Katie.
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  Speaker 3: We will be bringing forward a bill around youth justice failed,
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  Speaker 3: so the Police Minister will be introducing that.
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  Speaker 2: So they also got it's sorry, minister is that today.
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  Speaker 3: She will be introducing that bill today and she'll be
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  Speaker 3: outlining the government's plans. She'll be giving notice, i should say,
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  Speaker 3: today and introducing that tomorrow. So that's the technical process
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  Speaker 3: for your listeners. You give notice of what you're going
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  Speaker 3: to do tomorrow and then provide the detail. We've also
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  Speaker 3: got debate of a number even important bills, the Health
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  Speaker 3: Services Bill which is integrating the top end in Central
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  Speaker 3: Australian health services into one governance structure. And there's an
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  Speaker 3: important Land Title amendment bill along with a number of
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  Speaker 3: other bills. So certainly busy fortnite. Two weeks of.
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  Speaker 2: Parliamentary fitting it certainly sounds like it now as you've
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  Speaker 2: touched on there. One of those pieces of legislation that's
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  Speaker 2: incredibly important to a lot of Territorians is that one
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  Speaker 2: which is in the Chief Minister's words, I will use
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  Speaker 2: from a pressure release that it issued at the time
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  Speaker 2: when he announced these changes would come into play, he
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  Speaker 2: said that they'd cut crime, keep the community safe and
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  Speaker 2: put victims first. He went on to say the measures
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  Speaker 2: will include tougher than ever consequences for breach of bail.
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  Speaker 2: This means if a young person commits a serious breach
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  Speaker 2: while on bail, their bail will be automatically revoked and
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  Speaker 2: they'll be taken into custody. Minister, is this legislation going
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  Speaker 2: to be passed on urgency?
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  Speaker 3: Yes, the Government will be seeking the urgency of the
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  Speaker 3: Parliament to pass the legislation.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, So that had been quite a contentious thing that
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  Speaker 2: the opposition, the Police Association and others had been wondering
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  Speaker 2: if would happen. So you can confirm for us this
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  Speaker 2: morning it is going to pass on urgency.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. So the Police Minister will provide that bill to
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  Speaker 3: the Parliament tomorrow and she will seek urgency to pass
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  Speaker 3: that so it will pass this parliamentary sittings period, it
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  Speaker 3: won't sit through until later in the year, when will.
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  Speaker 1: The opposition see that legislation.
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  Speaker 3: So the bill will be introduced tomorrow and then we'll
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  Speaker 3: be able to provide briefings not only to the opposition
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  Speaker 3: and independent members of the Parliament, but also to key stakeholders.
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  Speaker 3: They'll be able to see that technical detail that is
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  Speaker 3: prepared within that piece of legislation.
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  Speaker 2: So sorry, minister, can you just go back to something
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  Speaker 2: that you said just a moment ago. You said that
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  Speaker 2: the legislation will be introduced tomorrow, it's then going to
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  Speaker 2: be passing on urgency, and then I missed that last
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  Speaker 2: part of what you seed.
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  Speaker 3: So Katie, it's not that we will simply pass the
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  Speaker 3: legislation tomorrow. I imagine we'll bring it back early next
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  Speaker 3: week to pass it. So traditionally, legislation sits for thirty
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  Speaker 3: days on the notice paper. If it passes within thirty days,
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  Speaker 3: it's considered urgent. And so we won't be leaving this
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  Speaker 3: the parliamentary sittings in August. Do we passed during the
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  Speaker 3: May sitting?
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  Speaker 2: Okay, So it is going to go through in the
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  Speaker 2: May sittings. I know that some people listening this morning
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  Speaker 2: may be quite concerned with that. We had a pressure
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  Speaker 2: release come through last week from pediatricians, clinicians, lawyers and
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  Speaker 2: human rights experts had joined forces to condemn the Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory government's plans to introduce what they've said some of
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  Speaker 2: the most punitive youth justice laws in the country and
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  Speaker 2: reopen parts of don Dale that were shut down after
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  Speaker 2: the Royal Commission? Are these changes going to be watered down?
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  Speaker 3: So, Katie, it's incredibly complex and you.
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  Speaker 2: We seem to have lost the minister there. Hopefully we
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  Speaker 2: are able to hear her again. Minister Files, are you
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  Speaker 2: able to hear us? Sorry, I will just ask you
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  Speaker 2: that again. Is this legislation going to be watered down?
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  Speaker 2: We are having some phone issues there. Let's hope that
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  Speaker 2: we're able to sort that out. Let me just we'll
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  Speaker 2: just see if my producer Ronnie is able to get
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  Speaker 2: that sorted because I think it's pretty pivotal what we're
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  Speaker 2: asking there, and again just asking whether those changes to
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  Speaker 2: legislation are going to be watered down. I have hopefully
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  Speaker 2: got the Health Minister and Leader of Government Business back
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  Speaker 2: on the line.
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  Speaker 1: Minister, can you hear me.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm not sure what happens there, Katie. Sorry, So
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  Speaker 3: what I was saying with the legislation is, this is
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  Speaker 3: a small number of people that keep reoffending. We've got
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  Speaker 3: those long term plans in place, but we need to
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  Speaker 3: help these people. But also, you know, the community is
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  Speaker 3: incredibly frustrated by this reoffending and so that's specifically what
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  Speaker 3: our bill aims to achieve.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you're spot on.
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  Speaker 2: The community is incredibly frustrated, so are we. You know,
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  Speaker 2: the Chief Minister had said in that pressure relation, as
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  Speaker 2: I mentioned a little while ago, that that you know,
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  Speaker 2: essentially these measures are going to include tougher than ever
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  Speaker 2: consequences for breach of bail. It means if a young
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  Speaker 2: person commits a serious breach while on bail, their bail
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  Speaker 2: will be automatically revoked and they'll be taken into custody.
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  Speaker 2: Are we going to see that change come into play
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  Speaker 2: with this legislation?
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  Speaker 3: So the Minister will introduce the legislation to Marrow Katie,
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  Speaker 3: and I'm sure she'll be available to talk through that
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  Speaker 3: detail as the Minister for Police in what's in this
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  Speaker 3: legislation and what it aims to achieve. But We've certainly
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  Speaker 3: had that message from our community. They're sick and tired,
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  Speaker 3: they're frustrated, they're angry, and they want to see something
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  Speaker 3: change and we believe that this will allow.
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  Speaker 2: For that now, Minister, as I understand it, ABC News
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  Speaker 2: has been reporting this morning that the Indigenous Labor Network,
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  Speaker 2: which is part of the Labor Party, has written to
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  Speaker 2: the Territory government voicing their concerns on these changes in legislation.
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  Speaker 1: Have you seen that letter?
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  Speaker 3: I haven't seen. That the Labor Party has a number
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  Speaker 3: of subgroups, and there is the Indigenous group. I have
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  Speaker 3: not seen that correspondence that you're referring to.
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  Speaker 2: Has it been a tough juggle here and is it
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  Speaker 2: going to continue to be a tough juggle with this
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  Speaker 2: legislation around youth crime given the fact that you know,
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  Speaker 2: you've certainly got some pretty strong voices who are objecting
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  Speaker 2: to these changes, but you've then got a large majority
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  Speaker 2: of the community who is screaming out for help.
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  Speaker 3: It's always difficult, Katie, and it's always we want to
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  Speaker 3: stay vibrant community, and we have to bring people on
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  Speaker 3: the journey to have to understand what we're doing, and
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  Speaker 3: we have to make sure that We're always agile with legislation,
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  Speaker 3: so that's why we continually update legislation. But we've heard
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  Speaker 3: the message and the Minister for Police will bring that
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  Speaker 3: legislation in onn urgency to make these changes and we'll
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  Speaker 3: continue to work in this space across a number of areas.
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  Speaker 2: All right, Minister, let's move on to your health portfolio
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  Speaker 2: and that transition out at Howard Springs, Well, it happened
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  Speaker 2: as of yesterday.
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  Speaker 1: How many new staff started out there yesterday.
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  Speaker 3: So Katie, yesterday was the formal transition. So that means
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  Speaker 3: that we will start to come together under one banner,
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  Speaker 3: so that one model out there at Coward Springs for
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  Speaker 3: a sustainable model into the future. So one hundred and
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  Speaker 3: sixty staff started their orientation and training last week. They'll
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  Speaker 3: now start to fill those roles and also shadow the
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  Speaker 3: os maat team so that we can come together and
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  Speaker 3: provide that sustainable model to get these vulnerable Australians home
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  Speaker 3: whilst making sure we still keep those high clinical standards
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  Speaker 3: that OZMA has put in place.
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  Speaker 2: The Opposition leader is again questioning while the OZMAT team's
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  Speaker 2: being removed from the Howard Springs quarantine facility to an
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  Speaker 2: untested single governance model is what she's called it. Headed
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  Speaker 2: by the Northern Territory Police Commissioner Lea Finocchiaro, has said
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  Speaker 2: last week we had fifty four active cases in the
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  Speaker 2: Northern Territory. A global pandemic is not the time to
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  Speaker 2: be indulging the Chief Minister's inflated sense of importance, she says,
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  Speaker 2: and goes on to say international repatriations should be left
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  Speaker 2: to the professionals. Can I just ask how many of
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  Speaker 2: the ozmat team are still at Howard Springs.
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  Speaker 3: So the ozmat team is still there, Katie, just the
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  Speaker 3: same as it was last week. They're still there this week.
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  Speaker 3: But what we will do, there's no deadline for the
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  Speaker 3: ozmat team to leave. We will make sure that those
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  Speaker 3: high clinical standards. There's national standards, but they've always been
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  Speaker 3: a step on to a head of that and it's
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  Speaker 3: kept people safe. We're put in place a medical advisory
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  Speaker 3: group that Ozmat sit on so that we can continue
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  Speaker 3: those practices and make sure that we have the gold
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  Speaker 3: class facility that Howsprings has become known for into the future.
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  Speaker 1: So that whole ozmat team is still out there.
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  Speaker 3: So the Ozmat team are still on site. There's no
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  Speaker 3: deadline for them to leave. What we will do through
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  Speaker 3: May is transition the services across to the NTG model.
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  Speaker 3: Some of those Ozmat staff will come across and work
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  Speaker 3: under this new model and will absolutely make sure that
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  Speaker 3: the clinical practices that they are put in place continue
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  Speaker 3: and we've done that through the Medical Advisory Group, which
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  Speaker 3: is the Clinical Governance Framework, and Ozmat sit on that
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  Speaker 3: and will continue to sit on that. So we've got
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  Speaker 3: those highest standards of infection control.
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  Speaker 2: Can I just ask the anti health department going to
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  Speaker 2: be using equipment like the ozmat team had before, ie
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  Speaker 2: those bracelets that obviously test the oxygen levels and things
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  Speaker 2: like that without actually having to come into contact with
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  Speaker 2: the people who are staying there.
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  Speaker 3: So the telehealth model is staying and we've shifted across
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  Speaker 3: to a permanent facility at Casarina. In terms of the
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  Speaker 3: monitoring that was done through those bands that they were using,
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  Speaker 3: the arm bands, it has been successful in some parts.
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  Speaker 3: They're not compulsory that people have to wear them, and
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  Speaker 3: they have provided some important information. I would have to
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  Speaker 3: check the details around whether that would continue. But the
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  Speaker 3: clinical standards, the infection control processes that I was might
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  Speaker 3: have implemented and regularly change and update those practices will
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  Speaker 3: continue to keep the community safe as well as caring
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  Speaker 3: for these people.
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  Speaker 2: All right, Minister, we're fast running out of time. But
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  Speaker 2: what do you think of the Federal government delaying the
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  Speaker 2: flights from India. Do you think that they need to
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  Speaker 2: start sooner rather than later.
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  Speaker 3: It's really difficult, Katie heard some really horrible stories of
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  Speaker 3: local tratoriums caught up in this situation through no faults
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  Speaker 3: of their own, and they're desperate to get back home.
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  Speaker 3: At the same time, we saw such high rates of infectivity,
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  Speaker 3: so we'll work with the Commonwealth Government. The case numbers, Katie,
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  Speaker 3: I should update Territory have come down from over fifty
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  Speaker 3: to thirty five as of yesterday, thirty one repatriated Australians
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  Speaker 3: and five US Marines. They're being cared for at Howard Springs.
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  Speaker 3: So we're working with our health professionals and the Commonwealth
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  Speaker 3: Government to work out when it would be best to
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  Speaker 3: start those flights, and also noting the measures that the
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  Speaker 3: Commonwealth have said they'll put in place over in India
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  Speaker 3: so that we can try and get these people home.
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  Speaker 3: But our community safety absolutely comes first.
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  Speaker 2: Minister A very quick listener question. It says, Katie, can
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  Speaker 2: you please ask the Health minister is it two A
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  Speaker 2: or two B day for the over fifties for the
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  Speaker 2: COVID vaccination.
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  Speaker 3: So Katie, one A have been vaccinated. That's our frontline workers.
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  Speaker 3: One B was a second trunch. My understanding is as
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  Speaker 3: of today people over fifty come into one BEE so
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  Speaker 3: they're eligible for that astrozonic vaccination. That is eligible presently
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  Speaker 3: through the two respiratory clinics and Ola Springs and the
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  Speaker 3: one in Darwin. But a number of GP services have
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  Speaker 3: put their hands up to roll that out. It's scheduled
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  Speaker 3: to roll out in about a fortnight with the GP services,
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  Speaker 3: but I understand some are ready to go a little
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  Speaker 3: bit earlier. So people should go to the Commonwealth Government
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  Speaker 3: Department of Health web page, put in their coronavirus vaccine information,
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  Speaker 3: their age, their underlying health issues. It will put them
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  Speaker 3: into a category and provide them with a list where
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  Speaker 3: they can make a booking. So really important, there's more vaccination.
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  Speaker 3: Astra Zeneker is safe, effective, it's been rigorously tested and
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  Speaker 3: the older you get, unfortunately, the higher the risk of
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  Speaker 3: COVID if it was to come into the community and
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  Speaker 3: your personal impact, so please get vaccinated.
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  Speaker 2: Health Minister Natasha Files will leave it there, and also
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  Speaker 2: Leader of Government Business.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for your time today.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you