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

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, as you've heard, a history making by election on
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: the weekend, with Labour's Duran Young taking the seat from
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the COLP. Now, the reason it's being described as historic
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  Speaker 1: is because it's the first time ever that a government's
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  Speaker 1: won a seat of the opposition in a by election.
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  Speaker 1: The opposition leader Leafanocchiara joins me on the show right now.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Leah.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katy and to your listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Have you monday, Leah, what do you think this victory
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  Speaker 1: serves for the cel peak?
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  Speaker 3: Look, it's clearly not the result that we wanted over
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  Speaker 3: the weekend, Katie, and we thank everyone who did come
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  Speaker 3: out and vote and did show their support. It is
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  Speaker 3: very clear to us though that whilst out in the
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  Speaker 3: daily area we maintained our vote, we certainly increased our
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  Speaker 3: margin in the Darwin rural areas and ultimately that low
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  Speaker 3: voter turnout in the rural area of over eight hundred
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  Speaker 3: people didn't vote, you know, which obviously has a significant
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  Speaker 3: impact on the outcome. But we're really buoyed by the
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  Speaker 3: fact that our message around you know, the government gutting
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  Speaker 3: the Territory Wildlife Park, poor telecommunications, roads services are clearly
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  Speaker 3: the issues that people are really concerned about.
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  Speaker 1: I guess you can polish it however you like, or
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  Speaker 1: you know, come up with the positives however you like.
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  Speaker 1: But at the end of the day, it was still
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  Speaker 1: a historic loss for you guys.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, talk about polishing, Katie, this historic loss line
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  Speaker 3: is as polished as it gets from the Gunner government.
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  Speaker 3: Of course, this has been a volatile seat for its
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  Speaker 3: entire lifetime. It's been liberal, it's been labor backwards and forwards,
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  Speaker 3: and it's always been held by you know, pretty tight margins. Ultimately,
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  Speaker 3: what we saw is a very high vote in the
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  Speaker 3: bush and a low voter turnout in the rural area.
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  Speaker 3: And ultimately we increase our margin in the rural area,
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  Speaker 3: and we've got more work to do in that water region,
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  Speaker 3: and that's that's okay with us. We take that challenge
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  Speaker 3: head on. But I don't think Michael Gunner should be
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  Speaker 3: walking around like a peacock today. I think there's lessons
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  Speaker 3: in this for them.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think, though, that you that the COLP focused
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  Speaker 1: too much energy on the rural area rather than also
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  Speaker 1: focusing some of that energy on the likes of what No.
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  Speaker 3: Look, we had a fantastic group of volunteers come out
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  Speaker 3: and our candidate, Chris Sivitries, just works so hard. You know,
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  Speaker 3: we had teams out everywhere. Ultimately, it was a three
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  Speaker 3: week election, Katie. It was incredibly quick, and you know,
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  Speaker 3: the labor candidate had had lived out in the what
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  Speaker 3: I region for some time, was clearly well known out there,
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  Speaker 3: and had been prepping to take on that seat for
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  Speaker 3: some time. So you know, we gave it everything we had.
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  Speaker 3: And ultimately, even our messages were very strong, you know, Katie,
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  Speaker 3: when we're out and I was at in what I,
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  Speaker 3: any you and other places, and you know when you
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  Speaker 3: talk to Aboriginal people about the state of their housing,
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  Speaker 3: about the poor condition of the roads services, you know,
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  Speaker 3: they are important messages for people out there. And so
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  Speaker 3: you know, we certainly put our best foot forward. It
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  Speaker 3: didn't work out on the day, Katie, and that's democracy.
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  Speaker 3: We respect the voters and the way it turned out,
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  Speaker 3: and we'll just keep pushing on.
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  Speaker 1: The wrong move though, to run a candidate from Tenant Creek.
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  Speaker 3: No, Chris was an exceptional candidate. He'd lived and worked
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  Speaker 3: in the Bush for fifteen twenty years. He understands just
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  Speaker 3: how hard you have to fight to have you know,
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  Speaker 3: the voice of people below the bear Maligne heard, and
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  Speaker 3: ultimately he was able to come in with just a
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  Speaker 3: three week campaign and identify all of those key issues
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  Speaker 3: as being most important to voters out there, and that
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  Speaker 3: shone through those are the issues and for us to
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  Speaker 3: actually increase our margin despite the low voter turnout, you know,
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  Speaker 3: shows that we were bang on and what's important to
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  Speaker 3: people out in that elector.
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  Speaker 1: But doesn't really I mean, you're still lost. And again
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  Speaker 1: I'll say, you know, as much as you sort of
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  Speaker 1: tried to polish it one way, you still lost. And
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  Speaker 1: it doesn't sound as though, you know, there's much sort
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  Speaker 1: of looking back and thinking how could we do it
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  Speaker 1: differently next time? It's more you know that it is
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  Speaker 1: all attributable to a low voter turnout. Is that really
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  Speaker 1: the case?
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  Speaker 3: No, No, we absolutely accept the vote. And I've already
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  Speaker 3: said Katie that we've got more work to do in
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  Speaker 3: that daily region.
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  Speaker 2: It was a very quick election.
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  Speaker 3: We had three weeks to be on the ground and
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  Speaker 3: explain to people why we're the best team for the job.
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  Speaker 3: But ultimately there are good takeaways and then there are
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  Speaker 3: constructive things you have to work through. We know our
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  Speaker 3: issues were correct. We know we had a fantastic candidate.
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  Speaker 3: We know in some areas we increase our margin and
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  Speaker 3: in other areas we just held our vote. So you know,
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  Speaker 3: there's always more work to be done. We'll continue to
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  Speaker 3: be out there listening and we'll continue to hold the
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  Speaker 3: government to account. They now will have a sitting member
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  Speaker 3: of government in that seat, and so if there's not
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  Speaker 3: improvement in the bush around housing and services, if there's
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  Speaker 3: not improvement in the rural area, you know, if they
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  Speaker 3: continue to gut the wildlife Park, we'll be there every
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  Speaker 3: step of the way to hold them to account.
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  Speaker 1: Leah, what does this say about your leadership? The Deputy
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  Speaker 1: Chief Minister Nicole Madison was on the show on the
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  Speaker 1: Week That Was with You on Friday and said that
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  Speaker 1: this would be a test of your leadership because you
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  Speaker 1: were front and center of the campaign. Does this result
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  Speaker 1: say that you're not resonating as the preferred leader for.
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  Speaker 3: Look, I'm incredibly proud to be le parliamentary leader of
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  Speaker 3: the Country Liberal Party and to have the support of
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  Speaker 3: the party and of my parliamentary team, and we go
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  Speaker 3: out every single day and our job is to hold
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  Speaker 3: the Gunner government to account on their failures, and of
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  Speaker 3: course to make sure we're the voice of people who've
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  Speaker 3: been forgotten by labor. I think the Gunner government scrambling
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  Speaker 3: to do anything they can to deflect this result onto
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  Speaker 3: other areas. But ultimately I don't think the result is
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  Speaker 3: a reflection on either my leadership or Michael Gunners for
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  Speaker 3: that matter. People weren't voting for Michael Gunner. They had
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  Speaker 3: a candidate who was well known in an area and
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  Speaker 3: he pulled that vote. And the flip side of that
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  Speaker 3: is that we pulled a strong vote in the rural area.
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  Speaker 2: So what we need to do now going forward is
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  Speaker 2: just ensure.
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  Speaker 3: We keep being out there right across the territory as
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  Speaker 3: we do every day, listening to people about what's important
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  Speaker 3: to them and finding on those issues, and we will
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  Speaker 3: always be the voice of people who've been forgotten.
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  Speaker 1: So Lea, you are safe as the leader of the CLP.
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  Speaker 3: Of course, it's you know, it's a blessing to have
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  Speaker 3: the support of the team and of course the party
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  Speaker 3: and you know, the broader community.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we get a lot of really strong feedback.
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  Speaker 3: We're always happy to take on the criticism to Katie,
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  Speaker 3: but you know, our job as an opposition is really important.
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  Speaker 3: We have to shine a light in the areas that
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  Speaker 3: the Gunner Government would rather keep dark. We have to
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  Speaker 3: fight for people who've been forgotten. We have to make
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  Speaker 3: sure that we're pointing out their failures and driving the
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  Speaker 3: Gunner government to be better. It's a big job and
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  Speaker 3: it's a job we don't take lightly. We've got Parliament
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  Speaker 3: coming up next week and we'll be doing it all again, Katie,
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  Speaker 3: and so whilst we've gone from eight to seven, we
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  Speaker 3: maintain our strength and we won't let a day go
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  Speaker 3: by without calling out this government.
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  Speaker 1: Who's going to take on the shadow portfolios which were
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  Speaker 1: held by Ian Sloane.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'll need to sit down this week and sort
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  Speaker 3: all of that out and then provide that to the
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  Speaker 3: Parliament next week. Leah.
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  Speaker 1: One of the criticisms that we get a view on
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  Speaker 1: the show sometimes is that you are negative and people
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  Speaker 1: feel as oh, you don't have other alternatives in some
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  Speaker 1: of the areas where you're critical of the government on.
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  Speaker 1: Is that something that maybe you need to take a
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  Speaker 1: relook at.
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  Speaker 3: Oh, look, I think you know, sometimes people do think
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  Speaker 3: I'm negative and unfortunately that is the job of opposition
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  Speaker 3: leader and opposition is to oppose government and to shine
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  Speaker 3: a light in an expose government.
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  Speaker 2: Now, they're very good at spinning it.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, the fact that they've even managed to spin
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  Speaker 3: a code yellow just shows how good at garbage they are.
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  Speaker 3: And it's our job to fight really hard to try
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  Speaker 3: and expose the wrongdoings. But you know, we do have
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  Speaker 3: fantastic policies. They're all on our Country Liberal Party website,
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  Speaker 3: but always happy to do more to make sure people
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  Speaker 3: know them and understand the proposition we're offering. And of
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  Speaker 3: course we're always developing new policies. That's why we're out
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  Speaker 3: on the ground all the time, talking to stakeholders, talking
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  Speaker 3: to people in the community.
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  Speaker 2: Because nothing's set in stone for us.
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  Speaker 3: We're looking to develop even more fantastic policies as we
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  Speaker 3: move towards twenty twenty four.
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  Speaker 1: Lea, I am going to move along. There is one
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  Speaker 1: last thing that I want to ask you about this
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  Speaker 1: morning before we've up, and that is the fact that
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  Speaker 1: the Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, was on the show a
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  Speaker 1: little bit earlier this morning about these vaccine rates and
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  Speaker 1: what is going to actually change when we get to
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  Speaker 1: the eighty percent vaccination rate. If you miss that interview.
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  Speaker 1: Take a listen to what he had to say.
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  Speaker 4: Now, the only jurisdictions that have gone to this lockout
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  Speaker 4: phase to borrow that phrase, Victoria and arguably New have Wales.
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  Speaker 4: They're doing it not to get to COVID zero. They're
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  Speaker 4: doing it to manage the growth of coronavirus. Will going
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  Speaker 4: to be clear here, a lockout might be a scenario
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  Speaker 4: where we have community transmission non territory and we can't
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  Speaker 4: get it back to zero. That's why a lockdown probably
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  Speaker 4: remains the best most effective method.
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  Speaker 1: So what exactly is going to change here?
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  Speaker 4: Well, territory is head of the nation, so we unlike
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  Speaker 4: the rest of the country, we have no restrictions here.
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  Speaker 1: But so what's like once we get to eighty percent
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  Speaker 1: vaccination rate? What exactly is going to change? Is it
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  Speaker 1: just going to be that you can maybe quarantine from home? Yes,
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  Speaker 1: So there you go, realistically hearing this morning that the
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  Speaker 1: only thing that is going to change when we get
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  Speaker 1: to that eighty percent vaccination rate is that we'll be
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  Speaker 1: able to quarantine from home. Still, no idea exactly how
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  Speaker 1: much that is going to cost. Leah, do you think
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  Speaker 1: that provides our industry leaders and various industries enough to
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  Speaker 1: really be able to plan for the future.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I think this is the first time we've heard
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  Speaker 3: Michael Gonna say that, so I imagine people will be
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  Speaker 3: having different reactions. Some people will probably be very glad
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  Speaker 3: Katie and others will be furious. So again, it's really
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: around transparency of decision making.
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  Speaker 2: It's about knowing what the health advice is.
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  Speaker 3: Of course, the Gunner government have us captive on all
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  Speaker 3: of that information. We have to absolutely take their word
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  Speaker 3: for it. So you know, it'd be good to hear
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  Speaker 3: from doctor Hugh Hegey there's chow about what that plan is,
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  Speaker 3: and to hear from the Gunner government about that what
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  Speaker 3: the plan is officially. You know, if that's the official advice,
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  Speaker 3: let's not read about it on his Facebook page. Let's
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  Speaker 3: see it on the proper communication channels, so that there's
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  Speaker 3: full transparency around what the future looks like.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Lea finoki Aro, the opposition leader, as always, appreciate
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  Speaker 1: your time. We'll catch up with you again like that
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  Speaker 1: work you season. Thank you