Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Opposition Leader Lia Finochiarro has concerns for how the Government is supporting the healthcare system with a "code brown" being called for

Transcript

Opposition Leader Lia Finochiarro has concerns for how the Government is supporting the healthcare system with a "code brown" being called for · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line is the opposition leader
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Leah Finocchiaro. Good morning to you, Leah.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and to your listeners.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Now, Leah, yesterday those COVID numbers were back over one thousand.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: There were one thousand and eighty six new cases of
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: COVID in the Northern Territory. There's currently one hundred and
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: fifty six patients in hospital, with twenty two of those
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: requiring oxygen.
• 0:21
  Speaker 3: There is that one patient in icee.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: You, Leah, does a Code brown need to be declared
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: at the hospitals?
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: Well, I think the very fact that the nurses union
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: and of course the doctor's union are talking about this
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: shows just how crippled our health system is. Of course
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: it's an extreme move, of course for people who don't understand.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: A CO Brown really is pulling back anything that is
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: non essential services. So it means thousands of territories would
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: be turned away from hospital. It also means that the
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: government can cancel nurses and doctors leave and bring them
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: back to be able to deal with the crisis. So
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: it's not something that can be taken lightly. But of
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: course we've had two years to prepare for this. We
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: have not had COVID through our hospitals, through our community
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: for two long years, and now that it's been two months,
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: the whole thing has fallen apart, and I just think
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: it is a terrible shame and an indictment on this
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: government for not being better prepared.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Leah, we have spoken about this at length so over
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: the last few days and also last week we asked
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: both the Chief Minister and the Health Minister when elective
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: surgery is set to return. Now there seems to be
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: no answer yet, but by the sounds of it, the
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: hospitals are under a lot of stress. What do you
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: think needs to happen here?
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: Well, we need some form of urgent influx of staff
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: and I don't know where we get those from, whether
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: we have to look to double vaccinated nurses and doctors overseas,
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: but we need some desperate support on the ground. But
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: this isn't new. We have needed this for years. I
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: mean I think it was late you know, mid last
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: year we were talking about there being one hundred nursing
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: positions needed. It ruled hospital. We also need to make
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: sure that we're providing respite for people who have been
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: working back to back to back shifts repeatedly. It's not
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: a sustainable or safe situation for anyone. And I honestly,
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: at this point, what do you do when you have
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: been so when the government has been so badly prepared,
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: at this point, now when we need our health network
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: to be humming and running as efficiently and effective as possible,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: we have run down the very people we need to
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: support us at this time. And it's just absolutely at christ.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: So Lea, are you realistically here calling for the Northern
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: Territory government to call in some help.
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: Did they need to ask the Feds.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: We need help? I know, I think it was in
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: Victoria and New South Wales they were able to mobilize
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: the military to provide some support. I don't know if
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: that is a viable option. But all we're hearing from
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: government is that everything's okay. We stood in parliment yesterday
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: and ask questions about this question after question, and all
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: we got back from the Health Minister is everyone's working
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: really hard and everyone's doing a great job, and the
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: government's done a great job. I mean, these types of
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: pleasantries are not going to cut the mustard. It doesn't
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: mean people are going to be able to get their
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: heart surgery done, or their knee surgery done, or their
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: cancer treatment. You know, we need a lot more than
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: just slogans. At this point. Things are really at a
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: crisis and the government needs to put a plan for it,
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: a real genuine plan forward that people can understand and
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: work to.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that that is the concerning part here
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: is that we've now got the AMA, the Australian Medical
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: Association here in the Northern Territory and indeed the Nursing
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: Federation saying that they need a Code Brown called, that
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: they need that support. But then you've got the Health
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: Minister and other ministers saying that everything is under control.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: However you look at it, I think that we should
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: be listening to those people on the front.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: Line, oh, without question, and we know. I mean, I'm
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: sure our police are suffering exactly the same. You know,
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: we've been working these people really hard, understand, after under
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: resource for a long period of time because the Gunner
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: government has blown our budget and has not been able
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: to afford to put the money in that we need it.
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: And so here we are two years later without we
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: haven't had COVID for two years and now we do,
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: and the wheels completely fall off. I mean, let's not
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: forget last year we had four Code yellows. Again without
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: COVID in our community. Nothing has seemed to have been
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: a trigger for this government to get its act together
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: on our health system. And now it's too little, too late.
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: Now we are seeing strikes or a Code brown. I mean,
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: it's an untenable situation.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: So you think that we need to realistically here look
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: at mobilizing the military.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: If that's an option that's happened in other stays. I
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: don't know if that is a possible thing, but if
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: it is, we need to be exploring. I mean the
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: issue is if government are just turning around saying everything's fine,
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: does that mean they're not trying to fix the problem.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: And I think that's what's giving people very little hope
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: and raising huge concern because we're not hearing suggestions or
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: plans being put forward by the Gunner government. We're just
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: being told things great and things are definitely not great.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: Yesterday the Opposition revealed that the Northern Territory government could
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: be spending up to one hundred and thirty million dollars
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: on rapid antigen tests. We know that a tender to
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: supply the territory with the COVID tests for up to
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: three years is now open forbidding. The government was forced
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: to clarify details of this enormous tender after you'd questioned
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: whether we really needed one hundred and thirty million dollars
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: worth of rats delivered in just twelve months. The Health
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Minister yesterday joined us on the show and said that
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: a three year worst case scenario really or supply estimate
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: was released to market to ensure that only suppliers able
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: to meet the highest possible long term supply volume tender
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: were available. I mean, is that reasonable from your perspective?
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: Well, I don't know if it's true, whether that's spin
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: to get out of the situation, Katie, and perhaps neither
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: of us will ever know, but one hundred and thirty
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: million dollars is a lot of money. There's no doubt
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: RAT tests are an important feature of our lives at
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: the moment. Does that mean they're going to be an
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: important feature of our lives for the next three years
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: raises some alarm bells for people, for sure. But again,
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: if we spent one hundred and thirty million last year
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: or the year before hiring more nurses and doctors, and
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: ensuring our health system was robust, we might be in
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: a bit of a better situation than we are today.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: But Leah, surely you think though, that we do need
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: to be organized to make sure that they've got rats organized.
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: Oh, we absolutely do, because we know people are not
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: able to get their hands on them when they need them,
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: and we know the government has been woefully underprepared when
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: it comes to its testing requirements on territories and then
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: people not being able to meet those requirements because the
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: government hasn't put in place, you know, the testing facilities
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: that we need. So it's good to see. I suppose
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: in one way that they're front footing it, but one
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: hundred and thirty million dollars, you know, that's nearly thirty
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: thousand tests a day over that twelve month period, So
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: it's a lot.
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: There's no doubt about that, Leah.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: Another question that has been raised with us on a
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: few occasions over the last couple of days, but particularly
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: after yesterday we didn't get those latest COVID numbers from
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory government or from Anty Health until after
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: three o'clock yesterday afternoon. Do you think that these COVID
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: numbers should be released at the same time every day.
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: They should be released at the same time every day.
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: We have not seen the government put any of the
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: six chief Health officers forward since the fourth of February,
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: and we have not had a dedicated COVID press conference
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: for nine days. So, you know, last what do.
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: You think's happening here? What do you think's happening?
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: I think the honeymoon's over, Katie. I think they were
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: very happy to trot out every day and sing their
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: own praises and pat themselves on the back for saving
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: lives and saving jobs and kitchen thinks and every other
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: ridiculous saying you could think of. And now that things
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: have hit the fan in the most extreme of ways,
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: I mean, we're literally in every form of chaos you
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: can think of. There are running and hiding. It's the
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: true gunner government. Foreman. If you've got six chos, I'm
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: pretty sure one of them can make themselves available, and
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: you've got nine ministers and fifteen in a labor team,
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: not one of them can roll out and have the
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: courtesy of informing territories about what's going on now that
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: COVID is in our community. Liad joke.
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: I did notice yesterday it almost seemed as though you
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: were suggesting that they were hiding the Chief Health officer.
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: They're all hiding.
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  Speaker 2: The government's hiding. They're not rolling out. It's been nine
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: days for them and the chows haven't been rolled out
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: since the fourth of February. I mean, it's not one show.
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  Speaker 2: It's not just doctor Heggy, there's six of them. It's
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: a complete nuttered joke. You know, this is the worst
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: period of COVID in our history and no one's to
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: be seen. And yet you flick back a couple of
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: months and daveryone was happy prancing around telling us how
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: wonderful they're doing. Or you know, it just doesn't pass
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: the pub test.
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  Speaker 1: I'm just mindful of time because we've got such a
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: busy morning lined up and you've got to get to Parliament.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: Just finally, this morning yesterday we spoke about the release
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: of a video purportedly showing a Labor staffer and nt
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: young Labor president snorting a white substance. Leah, you've said
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: that this video is for the proof of Labour's toxic culture,
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: which is led by a chief minister who you say
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: has a shameful legacy with crime cocaine and cover ups.
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: I mean, is that really the case or.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: Is this a young person who's done something really bad,
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: illegal in fact, but he wasn't a staffer or in
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: the young labor position at that time. And is the
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: CLP just trying to push this issue for political gain.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: Well, I think what this shows is a broader issue.
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: It's not even about the individual necessarily, It's about what
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: is going on with labor and Michael Gunner. Now, he
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: has time and time again shown that he is happy
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: to turn a blind eye to bad behavior. It's exactly
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: one year, almost to the day, Katie, that the Territory's
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: jaws hit the floor over the labor cocaine sex scandal.
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: Of course, Michael Gunner repeatedly tried to cover that up,
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: turned a blind eye to bad behavior, and sent a
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: message to every business and every employer and manager that
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: you don't need to investigate these types of allegations in
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: your own workplace. Of course, Michael Gunner had to commission
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: Dan Andrew's chief staff do a review here.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: I guess the situation with this one is it does
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: seem as though this person has been stood down from
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: that job, and that's the appropriate actions being taken.
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: Well, what has Michael done. Has he got on the
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: phone to Erin Early, the president of Labor and said
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: that he needs to be removed from his presidential position
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: with Young Labor, Then he needs to be removed as
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: a member of the party. What was Leke Gosling's involvement
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: in this? Did he have knowledge of this type of behavior?
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: Well, it'd said that he found out.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: He said that he'd found out this week and that
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: that person then obviously was no longer in the position
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: on that day.
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: Essentially, I think this.
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: Has broader implications for the Chief Minister in terms of
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: his turning a blind eye. He wants to wipe his
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: hands of a lot of things, and ultimately all roads
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: keep pointing back to him. Katie, So you know, we
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: think the Chief Minister needs to be doing more about this.
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: We know he had to have a report into his
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: own office about bad behavior and that report accidentally somehow
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: got in the bin. It just doesn't stack up. He's
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: repeated behavior in running from these types of scandals. It
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: just again doesn't meet the pub.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: Well, Lea Finocchiaro, we are going to have to leave
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: it there. Good to speak with you will no doubt
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: talk to you again very soon.
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: Thank you, thank you, Bye.