Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Deputy Opposition Leader Gerard Maley

Transcript

Katie Woolf spoke with Deputy Opposition Leader Gerard Maley · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: But joining me on the line is the Deputy Opposition
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Leader and Shadow Minister for National Resilience, Jared Mayley.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Good morning, Katie, Good morning listeners.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Now Jared. Yesterday we spoke to the Health Minister Natasha
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Files about the number out there at Howard Springs and
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: there's certainly quite a few quarantining out there, but locals
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: continue to raise concerns about the changes to testing and
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: to PPE. Jared, the center, as I understand, correct me
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: if I'm wrong, is in your electorate. What are people
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: telling you?
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Yes, okay, the center is in my electure. It's only
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: about a couple of kilometers from the Howard Springs Phillage
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: Center and probably a couple of komeitters from Parmesan, so
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: it is in a pretty dent area and there's lots
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: of people going around Howard Springs and Parmesan as you know.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: But what we're concerned about is these changes that have
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: been brought by the NT government when NT Health are
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: taken over with the change the testing, the change the PPE.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: And I had a continuing come and see me about
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: his wife working there and having to not get other jobs.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Yet we hear that the directors based in the grass.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: So it's just really got to make sure that this
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: COVID nineteen we know is in that center and we
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: know what will happen if it comes out into the community,
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: will be in a world of hurt. This year is
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: looking for a great tourist season, a good drive with
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: all these people coming up from in the state or
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: the caravans on the road. If there's some sort of
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: lockdown in the Northern Territory, not only the effect of
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: that lockdown for that five or six days wherever it
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: might be, but the flow on effect will be catastrophic
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: because people will be uncertain and they won't come to Darlin.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: It won't come to the Northern Territory.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: And Jared, I know that, as I mentioned before, we
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: are going to get the latest Chief Healthless Officer directions
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: from the Melbourne situation in just a little while with
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: Matt Hepworth. But are you more concerned at this point
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: in time you know that we could potentially see somebody
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: get on a plane from Melbourne and you know that
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: we could see a spread of COVID in that way,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: or are you more concerned that really, if something is
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: going to get out into the community, that it's going
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: to come from the Howard Springs facility.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: Well, if it gets out, because the facility is now
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: one it's run by anti Health where it was where
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: os Matt we're running the quarantine, the international stuff which
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: we know the gold standard, and our INNT Health we're
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: just running the local stuff and anti Health have taken
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: over the whole facility. But we know from history that
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: these outbreaks that happened down south from security, from cleaners,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: from people working there. So if that virus breaks out
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: of how it springs, because we know it's there and
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: there's a lot of people coming in now, I think
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: you said there are seven hundred odd people. We're not
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: even sure how many of these staff out of the
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: four hundred have been recruited yet. I can only imagine
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: that all the OSMA staff would have come over that
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: would have been their first wave of recruitment, and how
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: much people have got now, So are they really keeping
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: territory and safe with these changes to procedure. We know
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: that the testing is different, the PPE is different, and
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: the health offic who goes out to base in the grass.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: Well, and look, I think it's a hard one because
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: you know, with the with the health officer, you know,
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: going out there with the person in charge of that facility,
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: going to you know, to base in the grass afterwards.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: Surely there's nothing sort of stopping her from being able
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: to do that, NASA Health Minister said yesterday she was
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: wearing full ppe. But you touched on the fact that
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: this has been raised with you by one of your constituents.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: We did have a message come through yesterday as well
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: from a listener on a similar, you know, on exactly
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: similar sort of situation where this person had said that
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: he's got a family member that works out at the
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Howard Springs facility. When she got that job, they had
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: to sign a form to say that this would be
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: their only job. At the same time, she did have
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: a part time job that she had to give up.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: So this person had questioned, then, how you can have
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: that person who's in charge, Die Stevens, who is in
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: charge of the facility, you know, having two jobs or
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: working in two different locations, when other workers out there
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: are apparently not able to do the same.
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: Well, it can't be one rule for somewhere one rule
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: for others. It easy right across the board. And if
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: I'm not sure who the listener was, but the person
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: who come and saw me was told, you know, don't
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: go to functions. And this person told me that they
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: didn't go to a child's birthday because of that fact
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: that they said, look, don't go because you're working in
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: an area. So this person was making sure that they
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: following the rules. And year we hear dice evens is
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: out a base in the grass. Just imagine if she
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: had a positive test and how many close contacts they
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: would have had to been tracing if that would have occurred.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: Jared, do you know if in the case of the constituent,
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: do you know if that was something that you know,
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: did they sign that document recently or was that something
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: that was signed off when Ozmat was in charge.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: No, from my understanding, it was they were working was
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: Matt When nt Health took over, they signed a new
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: contract for NTY.
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: Health And was it the same situation where you're not
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: able to have a second job.
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: Yes, that's what that I believe.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, goodness, may well, it's definitely something that that is
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: worth taking a closer look at. I mean, should this
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: be the case. Do you think that people that work
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: out there should be allowed to have a second job,
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: or do you think it's fair enough that they don't.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: Well, it's a catch twenty two situation. It's a really
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: important decision to make because what we don't want is
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: COVID breaking out into the community, and we know that
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: the breakouts in the state have been through these workers,
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: the security cleaners and people working. So it's I think
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: it's a real balance for me personally. If I had
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: to make that decision, I'd be really getting some health
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: advice from the experts, and then I'd be testing that
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: advice as well, not just saying that's what you told me.
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: If I'm going to li on it, we need to
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: go away and do some peer reviews and look into it,
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: because it is a million dollar question essentially, because you
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: can't have COVID breaking out, but you also people need
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: to be able to afford to live, all right, Jared.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: I do want to move along and talk about the
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: issue of Mick Dodson. It's been reported today in the
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: paper that he's yet to formally resign from his job,
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: despite the Chief Minister writing to Profess Dodson on Friday
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: to inform him that he'd lost his confidence. Jared, does
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: the professor need to stand aside or does he need
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: to stand down altogether.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: Well, I don't know the facts or the allegations, but
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: the Chief Minister needs to show some leadership. If he
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: says that he's lost trust, he needs to enforce that
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: and make mister Dowson resign.
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: I mean, if we don't all know the detail, though,
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: is that fair?
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: Well, mister the Chief Minister does. He knows the detail,
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: and he's seen the detail and made a decision to
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: write to him asay you've lost the confidence. So whatever
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: is in the detail, the Chief Minister knows, and I
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: accept that should be confidential and that doesn't need to
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: be out into the public. But if that information was
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: bad enough to make the Chief Minister write to him
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: and say you've lost my trust, he needs them to
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: show the leadership and follow up on that.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Correspondent Jared, just moving along. We spoke to the Northern
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: Territory Police Association yesterday about the increase that we've seen
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: on police assaults. Now, this is something that has been
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: reported in recent days. The number of assaults has gone
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: up over the last year or so in various locations,
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: Alice Springs being one of the more serious situations in
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: terms of those police assaults. Take a listen to what
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: the Police Association president Paul McHugh had to say on
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: the show yesterday.
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: I mean, obviously there's the deterrent factor of course in
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: terms of sentencing, which you know we've made submissions onto
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: the government back in November of last year around making
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: sure people are getting an actual term of imprisonment when
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: they're undertaking these cowardly assaults and not just a slap
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: on the wrist and walking out the court. I think
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: there's a real conversation to be had there because our
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: members are fed up. We're going to work and coming
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: home with injuries.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: Paul, you said there that those submissions were put forward
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: in November last year. Where is that inquiry or where
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: is all of that at at this point?
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we made a submission through to the Law Reform
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: Committee around it was to do with mandatory sentencing and
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: community based sentencing options, and we obviously met with that
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: Law Reform Committee in March of this year to make
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: fair verbal submissions in relation to what we would like
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: to see and we yet to hear back two or
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: three months down the track as to where that's at.
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: And obviously people are frightened when you talk about tangentcin
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: and making sure people go to prison, but let's not
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: forget we're talking about our frontline workers and the people
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: we need to protect.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: Jared. Should the penalties be increased? What do you think
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: needs to happen here?
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: Well, no one deserves to be assaulted at work, and
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: especially when your job is to keep the community safe.
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: So being a souldier, whether you're a police officer or
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: a security guard or just working in the shop is unacceptable.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: And what needs to happen is the government need to
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: again show some leadership and make the stronger terrent because
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: people need to be able to go to work, especially
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: the police and the ambos and the paramedics. They're our
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: frontline people. They're putting their lives on hold and helping
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: out kiving our community safe, and they just don't deserve
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: to be assaultier. They just needed whatever it needs to
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: be done to fixate to make sure that they go
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: to work and protect the community.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: Should it be mandatory imprisonment if somebody does assult to
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: frontline worker.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: Well, again I think we need to make it strong
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: to terrent, and it can't just be a slap on
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: the risk. And there's all sorts of different levels of
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: mandatary settencing, so you need to look at what level
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: we're talking about. But I certainly agree with Formque that
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: we need to be strong to Terrent and they're not
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: just a slap on the risk, and that's including mandatory imprisonment.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: I agree with that well.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Jeremy Lee, the Deputy Opposition leader, good to speak with
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: you this morning. We really appreciate your time. Thanks for
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: coming on
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: No problem, thank thanks to you.