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

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  Speaker 1: If you want to know what's happening on the local
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  Speaker 1: political landscape, Katie Wolf has it covered on three sixty.
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  Speaker 2: Every one is listening Mixed one oh four point nine.
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  Speaker 1: We weren't due to catch up with the Health Minister
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  Speaker 1: Natasha Files this morning, so we very much appreciate her time.
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  Speaker 1: It is going to be limited as Parliament is due
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  Speaker 1: to go in in about eight minutes. But the Health
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  Speaker 1: Minister Natasha Files joins us on the line right now.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to your minister.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and those bells will start ringing soon,
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  Speaker 2: so I apologize when.
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  Speaker 1: They do, Minister. A little bit earlier this morning, we
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  Speaker 1: received a call from a listener saying that a flight
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  Speaker 1: was due to land in Darwen from New Delhi. Now,
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  Speaker 1: after some investigating, we have found out that a Quantus
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  Speaker 1: flight arrived at the Darwin Airport this morning at seven
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  Speaker 1: forty five from New Delhi. It contained crew only. What's
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  Speaker 1: the situation from your perspective, so Katie, yes.
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  Speaker 2: You're correct, there was a flight that arrived in Darwin.
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  Speaker 2: The flight was authorized by dfat the Federal government. There
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  Speaker 2: was nine crew members on board and that flight left
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  Speaker 2: Australia and delivered support aid to India. The crew, as
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  Speaker 2: I understand, remained isolated. They didn't get off that plane,
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  Speaker 2: but they are in quarantine at Howard Springs. So that
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  Speaker 2: flight provided some vital aid into India acknowledging what they're
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  Speaker 2: going through over there.
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  Speaker 1: Right now, Okay, now, just taking a look at those
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  Speaker 1: active cases of COVID at the moment, twenty nine active
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  Speaker 1: cases of COVID. It's gone down out of Howard Springs. Minister,
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  Speaker 1: we understand that those flights from India are going to
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  Speaker 1: resume on the fifteenth of May. Is their discussion with
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  Speaker 1: your government at the moment, with the Territory government at
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  Speaker 1: the moment to increase the number of those Aussies coming
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  Speaker 1: back from India and going through Howard Springs.
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  Speaker 2: So, Katie, I don't believe there's been a confirmed flight schedule.
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  Speaker 2: We're working closely with the Commonwealth Government. When we agreed
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  Speaker 2: to repatriate these Australians into Australia via Howard Springs, it
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  Speaker 2: was always with the proviso that if we got to
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  Speaker 2: high numbers that we could defers lights and that's exactly
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  Speaker 2: what happened. When we reach fifty we've come down to
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  Speaker 2: around thirty cases presently and so we're working closely with
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  Speaker 2: the Commonwealth. They have indicated there'll be some pre screening
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  Speaker 2: measures on board for flights coming from high risk countries
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  Speaker 2: such as India. So we saw high rates of interfectivity
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  Speaker 2: originally out of Europe. Those numbers have dropped off as
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  Speaker 2: the virus has come under control there. So we'll continue
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  Speaker 2: to work with the Commonwealth to make sure we put
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  Speaker 2: in place as many measures as possible.
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  Speaker 1: By the look of it though, the government, the Federal
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  Speaker 1: Government is considering use it using how it springs to
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  Speaker 1: only quarantine Indian return travelers as a way of expediting things.
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  Speaker 1: How do you feel about that as the Health minister
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  Speaker 1: and you know with your department managing that facility now.
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  Speaker 2: So Katie, there has been since the media commentary around
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  Speaker 2: that the Commonwealth Government has not confirmed that in terms
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  Speaker 2: of the flights coming in. We don't mind where those
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  Speaker 2: flights are coming from. It's the infectivity rates and the
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  Speaker 2: numbers of people infected that we need to focus on.
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  Speaker 2: So for us, we are building to one thousand people
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  Speaker 2: per week, but when we reach a certain threshold of
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  Speaker 2: people that are infected, it impacts that overall ability because
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  Speaker 2: we don't want to put a burden on the facility
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  Speaker 2: and most importantly the territory health system. But there's a
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  Speaker 2: number of measures in place that would help us if
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  Speaker 2: we didn't reach that. But that's what we're working through
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  Speaker 2: with the Commonwealth presently.
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  Speaker 1: Now I can hear those bells ringing, so I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to keep my next couple of questions brief. NT Farmers,
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  Speaker 1: in partnership with Hospitality NT are urging the Territory and
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  Speaker 1: Commonwealth governments to utilize the Blading Point worker Village as
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  Speaker 1: a quarantine facility. I just spoke to Paul Burke. He
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  Speaker 1: said that they really need to work something out here
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  Speaker 1: for their industry. Is this something that you're looking at?
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  Speaker 2: It's the Katie. We don't own the Blading Point facility.
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  Speaker 2: It's privately owned, So who would pay for the quarantining
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  Speaker 2: to be set up at that facility? It's an enormous
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  Speaker 2: cost to have the health and security and all the
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  Speaker 2: response around it. Additionally, where NT health would become involved
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  Speaker 2: in if there was rates to be infect activity, what
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  Speaker 2: impact would that have on our health system? So I
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  Speaker 2: think the first question is who would pay for the
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  Speaker 2: facility before anything happened?
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  Speaker 1: Now, I do want to just ask you very quickly.
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  Speaker 1: I know that yesterday in parliament it well, without warning,
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  Speaker 1: it was announced that the Member for Blaine, Mark Turner.
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  Speaker 1: We know that he was referred to the Privileges Committee
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  Speaker 1: the Government. Well, the government announced after question time, as
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  Speaker 1: I understand it, that that report now would not be
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  Speaker 1: handed down until early next year.
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  Speaker 2: Why so, Katie, The Privileges Committee confined in what I
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  Speaker 2: can say, but it is looking into a matter and
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  Speaker 2: that's public knowledge. The ka has already indicated they are
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  Speaker 2: doing an investigation. They have far reaching powers and investigative
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  Speaker 2: research tools, and so that report from Privileges was deferred
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  Speaker 2: till the first parliamentary sittings next year, and that committee
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  Speaker 2: will now work towards that deadline.
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  Speaker 1: A lot of people listening though, we're going to be
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  Speaker 1: thinking to themselves, why has it been delayed to that extent?
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  Speaker 2: So, Katie, as we are aware, there is also an
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  Speaker 2: IKAQ investigation taking place. I do have to be careful
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  Speaker 2: with my comments as the chair of the Privileges Committee.
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  Speaker 2: It's an important parliamentary committee. But the matter is still
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  Speaker 2: and has been referred to that committee. But equally we
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  Speaker 2: have this other investigation presently.
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  Speaker 1: So is it delayed because of the IKAC investigation.
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  Speaker 2: So, Katie, we have a concurrent investigation and the Privileges
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  Speaker 2: Committee has sought an extension for their investigation report to
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  Speaker 2: be handed down.
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  Speaker 1: All right, Natasha File's Leader of Government Business, I know
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  Speaker 1: that you need to go. We need to get to
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  Speaker 1: the news. Thank you very much for joining us this morning.
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  Speaker 1: No doubt it will be something that we'll discuss again
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  Speaker 1: tomorrow morning on the week that was.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Thank you.