Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Chief Minister Michael Gunner talks current pressures on the health system, whether he'll enforce lock-ins in biosecurity zones, and whether the Territory really is hitting its Covid peak

Transcript

Chief Minister Michael Gunner talks current pressures on the health system, whether he'll enforce lock-ins in biosecurity zones, and whether the Territory really is hitting its Covid peak · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now, the Chief Minister, Michael Gunner has been delivering a
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: State of the Territory address this morning's brooking projects and
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: possibilities for the Northern Territory.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: But as much as many.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Of us would like to forget COVID and move on,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: and we will definitely need to pivot right now, the
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: COVID cases around the Northern Territory continue to grow, seven
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: three hundred and thirty two active cases as of yesterday,
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty four patients in hospital, twenty one
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: patients requiring oxygen, one patient in ICU, and the death
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: of a woman in her fifties. Questions are being raised
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: about the management of the virus and the health system's
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: ability to cope. You just heard from Steve Edgington, the
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: opposition spokesperson for Indigenous Affairs. He's calling on the Gunner
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: government to implement a fortnight of lock ins for communities
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: inside the current biosecurity boundaries to stop movement between communities
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: within these zones. Now joining me in the studio the
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Chief Minister, Michael Gunner.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you now, Chief Minister.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: We know last time you were on the show you
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: said that you didn't expect to rise in COVID cases
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: with school returning, and that you were hopeful that we'd
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: reached that COVID peak. Since then, though, those numbers have
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: consistently risen. The number of people needing care in hospital
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: continues to grow, and ten lives have now been lost.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: How can we expect these numbers to keep growing? Based
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: on modeling which has been done by the Chief Health
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: Officer and your team.
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: Those numbers have been high but stayed higher. So it's
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: one of those ones where I say they've been rising,
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: they've more been hit at that thousand, around that thousand
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: and over a thousand mark and stayed consistent the last
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: two days. So sorry, today's numbers I'm confirmed that have
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: come in. I'll wait till they're confirmed. Very similar to
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: yesterday's numbers, which are obviously down a bit, and there
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: was a duplication in the day before's numbers which actually
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: took about two hundred high hundreds off the total.
• 1:52
  Speaker 4: So there's some work to be done there.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: So do you think we're going down?
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: So I haven't talked to the chode yet today, but
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: yesterday's numbers and today's numbers indicate that direction. And obviously
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: the shows look to this and considerable detail. He feels
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: that we obviously have reached that cap and are trending down.
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: As we know, hospitalizations and tragically deaths follow usually after
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: you've hit a reasonable number of cases, which we did do.
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: COVID is very severe for some. We know that from
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: many ninety eight percent of people out there, you can
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: treat it at home, but for some you need to
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: be in our hospitals. I've always been very conservative about
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: how who we take into our hospitals, so we've taken
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: more in than other jurisdictions, but there's only one in
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: the ICU at the moment. Those device current numbers I have,
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: So from that point of view, if you look at
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: having an oxygen, how many nice you that's been trending
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: down as well. So our ICU has never actually gotten
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: to beyond our what we're allowed for.
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: We had eight beds around I think the highest we
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: ever reached at six and we're currently at one.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: So by the sounds of it, you feel as though
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: we've hit our peak.
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: Well, the advice from the chow is that we've hit
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: the highest. Left was in a looking probably to trend down.
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: The signal strength for wastewater is higher back in January,
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: not where it is now where else. You keep a
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: very close eye on it. The most important figure though
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: for me is hospitalizations, not cases. And hospitalizations have been
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: steady in the ICUs only one.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: I mean there are still a number of patients so
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: in hospital at the moment.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: I'm going to get to that in just a second.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: The situation that we've seen over the last couple of
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: weeks has seen the COLP call for your government to
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: implement a fortnite of lock ins for communities inside those
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: current biosecurity boundaries. Steve Edgington just joined us on the
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: show and he said that this would stop the widespread
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: movement within those zones and possible spread of the virus
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: two communities as well as outstations and homelands with low
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: vaccination rates. Is this something that you're going to look
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: at doing so, I'll.
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: Take this suggestion seriously and then work through why we're
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: not doing it. First of all, lock downs, lockouts or
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: lock ins are based on the health of Bius at
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: the moment. The health advice isn't we haven't got any
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: community I think in a lock in scenario we also
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: had two years ago the biosecurity zones. That's before there
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: was any community transmission in Milan Territory. We ccentially gave
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: this a practice run. We had police stationed borders all
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: through the territory, so many intra territory board of points yep.
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: The lesson from that is, if we do implement a
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: territory wide lock in now on all these remote communities,
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: would take a lot of police away from their actual
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: day jobs to staff border points where everyone's going to
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: drive around it. Anyway, we know that people drive around
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: these things, so it'd be a lot of police work,
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: taking police off the beat essentially to enforce something that
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: is not.
• 4:34
  Speaker 4: Going to work. So for I appreciate where they're coming from.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: So the horse has bolted really well.
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: Imicron is super fast, and that's the thing. Ninety out
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: percent people who get it are fine. What our priority
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: is is making sure anyone who needs the care gets
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: the care that they need.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: Do you have any idea how many patients within the
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: hospital right now? I mean, I know those numbers are
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: really quite high. We read them out just a couple
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: of moments ago, one hundred and sixty four of them
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: in hospital. How many of those patients are here from
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: other communities or are they you know, like people that
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: live in Darwin.
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: What the breakdown is.
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: They're probably too fluid for me to give you a
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: reliable remote versus urban though. Well we'll say is urban
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: cases are obvious significantly higher than remote cases. So I
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: think three percent of cases are remote. So my understanding
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: is most of those urban cases, it probably be hard
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: to give you.
• 5:26
  Speaker 4: A reliable breakdown. It does change from day to day.
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: But there is a case study from Galawinku that DOTR
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: Marco has been working on. I think most of those
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: cases out there didn't require severe care, so were as
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: ninety a percent of cases don't need hospital attention.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: All right, The NLC is obviously indicating that they would
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: support this proposal for these lock ins.
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: So have you spoken to the NLC and what are
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: they saying to you.
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: I met with the chairman of the NLC last week,
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: and I acquit up with the CEO of the CLC
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: the week before. We obviously we talked with them repeatedly,
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: so it's not just and whit conversations with them. Wells,
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: you have the bio security zones in place. I explained
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: in detail to the NLC chair why and how the
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: lock ins the site is so it's healthy and healthy
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: bias is the Chief Health Office direction is given a
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: call law and so the healthy bias backs is up.
• 6:15
  Speaker 4: It doesn't believe that the healthy bias currently back.
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: So that when you look at movement of the virus
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: and the other thing is the Territory Controller have to
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: say I can enforce it.
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: This would be very very difficult to enforce obviously.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: Now I know that it said with those the number
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: of patients that we've got in hospital that it's going down,
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: but at the moment it's currently one hundred and sixty
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: four patients in hospital. However, you look at that, that's
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: going to be having a massive impact on our health
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: system in terms of pushing back elective surgeries and in
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: terms of people presenting to hospital and not being able
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: to get a beat. With these elective surgery numbers. We
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: know that, you know, we know that. Right now, the
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory News is reporting that the territory recorded the
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: highest number of patients suffering extended wait times for elective
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: surgery in ten years now, according to the Productivity Commission.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: In twenty twenty to twenty twenty one, twenty two point
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: three percent of patients in Category one, thirty three point
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: nine percent of patients in Category two, and thirty four
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: point two percent of those patients in Category three elective
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: surgeries or on standby longer than the routine wait time.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: When are we going to see elective surgery resume again?
• 7:26
  Speaker 4: That is a good question.
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: I'd will obviously rely on the Chief Officer for advice here,
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: But we made the decision to defer elector surgery about
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: for about a week or two periods, so we have
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: to keep looking at the case numbers. At the moment,
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: there's a lot of people in general emission but not
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: in the ICU beds, So obviously we'll worry there's going
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: to be a way of people into the ICU beds,
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: which would then potentially be the impact on the surgery
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: because that's obviously where the surgery impact is. So based
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: off the current case load around ICU, we're probably not
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: as worried as we had been when we made that
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: decision around pausing the elective surgery the one hundred and
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: sixty four general emission bed. So I'll give you I'll
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: give you an idea about how this works. So in
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: Alice Springs one in four people who present for other
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: reasons also have COVID and therefore acknowledged is a COVID
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: patient in our bed. So just because the listen is
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: a COVID this that's complexely right. Just because this is
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: a COVID patient in our hospital system, they're also there
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: for other reasons and so we've got to keep that
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: in mind.
• 8:20
  Speaker 4: It's not a neat COVID non COVID situations.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: So patients right now in hospital of those one hundred
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: and sixty four that don't actually realistically need a huge
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: amount of care, but they've got nowhere else to go.
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: So renal is probably the best way of looking at this.
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: There's obviously a huge complexing heat deal of people were
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: on dialysis. There's about a third of the people in
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: our hospital system are actually renal patients with COVID. Lorraine Brennan,
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: that's the medi hotel out at the already h is
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: mainly for renal patients as well. We're being extremely cautious
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: and how we treat anyone with who's.
• 8:52
  Speaker 4: On dialysis and has COVID, and they obviously need a
• 8:56
  Speaker 4: chair and they need their dialysis treatments as well. So
• 8:59
  Speaker 4: there's about a third.
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: You could argue maybe could be cared for in other scenarios,
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: but you've got to in this. I don't question the
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: clinic clinical advice here. By the way, at the moment,
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: they believe the health the hospital bed is the best
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: way of treating it.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: I mean that's a huge number, a third of these
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: patients that could potentially be cared for in other scenarios.
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: It's a huge pressure on our system right now.
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: So is there something else that we can look at
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: here to try and ease up some of that pressure
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: and backlog within our hospital and have those patients cared
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: for somewhere else.
• 9:26
  Speaker 4: So we do do that work.
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: So you've got the CNR available as well as the
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: Media hotel, so this is where the clinical determination is
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: still they would rather have the approach of having that
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: renal patient in that hospital bed. So we've got those
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: resources available in our springs would be the Todd facility,
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: so we've got some ability to move patients as needed.
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: But we're being more conservative, and I don't dispute, I
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: don't have problem with this. We'll be more conserved about
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: who we have in our hospital system.
• 9:49
  Speaker 4: And I think if.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: There's actually more there's some out of how It Springs
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: as well.
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: So we have seen our available to provide subacute treatment.
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: So for someone who might need care from CO but
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: they necessary required the hostible treatment seeing can do that,
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: the top tillity.
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: Can do that.
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: How many are out there?
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: The last advice I had was around five hundred people
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: at CENA. How many there christally because they've got COVID,
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: I have to go get advice on but I think
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: majority would because the unavaccinated. The rival who would otherwise
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: need Howse Springs is very low number.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: So essentially we've got around five hundred people in Howard
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: Springs at the moment, and the large majority of them
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: are COVID there for COVID.
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: Till double check that number that's a few days old and.
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: Have some massive number.
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: It was up at eight hundred at one stage. It's
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: been higher as we manage people with COVID. There was
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: also obviously are.
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: They having to pay for themselves out there or what?
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: This is public health system?
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: We're looking after the people when we need to look
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: after them. There was a push on it one stage.
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: You were back in early January into I look track
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: of time up in mid to late January do you
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: need with every positive ou of community or not. So
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: we're obviously providing care for people who probably have stayed
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: at home, and obviously we've recalibrated around that.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: Okay, I'd be very keen to get those numbers because
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: I mean, we're, yeah, when we're talking about one hundred
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: and sixty four patients in hospital, but based on what
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: you've just said, there five hundred odd people out at
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: Howards Brings and a large portion of those being cared
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: for out there within the health system.
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: And you've also at the media hotel and Todd I mean,
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: I've talked about those.
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: Numbers in other settings, So we're very happy to give
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: you those numbers now.
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: There is no doubt, like we've discussed on so many occasions,
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: that COVID is having an impact in so many different ways.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: One of the other ways is obviously on business and
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: on industry. This morning, you've been out delivering the State
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: of the Territory speech. I've watched most of that, and
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: it certainly seems as though you're feeling very positive about
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory right now.
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: I understand that there's.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: Going to be a well, there has been a significant
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: tourism funding announcement made this morning.
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: But in addition to that, I believe Alan Joyce is
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: going to be here making an announcement.
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: There is a lot going on at the moment when
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: it comes to the economy. We grew domestic economy grew
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: by eight point four percent last year. We're predicted to
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: be the strongest growing economy this year at six point
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: nine percent. Our biggest challenges growth challenges are getting the
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: workers to take up those jobs and having the houses
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: of the land available for them to live in. They're
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: all good problems to have. Obviously, Alan Joyce is going
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: to be in town tomorrow. I can't that's obviously his
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: announcement with us tomorrow, so I won't spoil that one today.
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: But there is a lot but we need to find
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: the workers. So the package announced today wasn't just for tourism.
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: It was also for migration attraction. Mister Kirby's got a
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: great laship with mister Hawk. Where we nearly get our
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: thousand skilled migrants, we're looking at double it, you know,
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: let's get the two thousand. Let's make sure we get
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: workers in here to take up all the opportunities we
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: have in the territory.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: And what's the go at the moment with the international
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: arrivals obviously not just if you're talking about those coming
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: across to work, but also with the international borders opening
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: twenty first to February. I believe for tourism, do they
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: need to be triple vaxed or double vaxed? What's the go?
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: Because there's a lot of confusion here.
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: That's an excellent question. Please let me try my best
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: to clear it up today.
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: Because obviously TAGI gave advice that you need two doses
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: to enter the country, but fully vaccinated is three doses,
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: So we always have a mandate in place for workers
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: to go up to three doses, and all the medical
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: advice is three doses fully vaccinated. It's not booster anymore.
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: You need a third dose to be fully vaccinated. To
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: be a way of looking at it, But from a
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: practical point of view, I think the only place is
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: if backed us in the territory will be the vax
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: pass And I can't see any way that you can
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: differentiate or should discriminate between someone who had three doses
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: local and following the advice, and you have to have
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: three doses to be fully vaccinated, and the international visitor
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: on two doses.
• 13:29
  Speaker 4: So I think we're going to have to keep it
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: simple at the Vacks pass and make it two doses
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: the only way to two doses on way toad.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: Honestly, otherwise this is giving no confidence, I would think
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: to people wanting to book a flight right now.
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: So the international rules are two doses, so I think
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: we're going to have to match that.
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: I think the only impact for us in the territory
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: is around how the backspace there.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: Then, considering that you know here in the Northern Territory
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: locals have to be triple vas to be able.
• 13:52
  Speaker 4: To work well. Every Australian if they listen to a
• 13:55
  Speaker 4: target in the advice is you should all be triple
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: vacs because that's the only way you have the proper
• 13:59
  Speaker 4: protection from from COVID. So the target device is clear.
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: Three doses is fully vaccinated.
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: I think every jurisdiction has some form of booster mandate
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: so or vaccine mandate. Now this Have Wales has on
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: a much smaller category than the mast beven. This Have
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: Wales has a mandate for some category of workers. Three
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: doses is fully vaccinated.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: So I just want to make it one hundred percent
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: clear for all those in the tourism industry, particularly because
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: there's going to be some massive tourism announcement I would
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: suspect over the next couple of days with this twelve
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: million dollars and also with Alan Joyce arriving to town,
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: double vaxed is all you'll need to be if you
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: are an international traveler coming into the Northern Territory.
• 14:37
  Speaker 4: That's correct, that's the it targe device.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: Two doses gets you into the country and we'll go mate. Well,
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: I think the obvious thing is to make that as
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: practical as possible for our systems and two doses of
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: what makes things on the vacs passwork.
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: Okay, can you talk us through very quickly exactly with
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: this twelve million dollars what it's going to see and
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: what it's going to mean for tourism.
• 14:56
  Speaker 4: So additional marketing for tourism marketing.
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: I think the most obvious thing to take advantage of
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: is the leg dull in London that we have at
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: the moment, which I think is highly likely to be extended,
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: but at the moment goes to the end of March.
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: But you know, we're working us about how we can
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: extend that marketing into key migration areas and obviously again
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: the down London routes and obvious one.
• 15:14
  Speaker 4: But obviously we're.
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: Doing more gentional marketing than just London. We're doing more
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: migration marketing and just London as well. The other thing
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: is obviously we're working to double us skilled migration intake.
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: That requires assessments. Obviously requires the strain Coverment to agree,
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: which I think they will, but it also requires us
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: to do assess the applications. You don't just apply and
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: get in.
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: You have to be assessed that they're probably some of
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: the main bits of the plan that we're working on.
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: All right, someone's text through.
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: There's a lot of messages coming through, but someone's messaged
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: and said, can the Chief Minister give us some good
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: news about quantas maintaining these direct flights to London too early?
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: Oh, it's publicly to the end of March. I think
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: we're right in the hunt for that extending. You just
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: look at what's happening in WA. I think where I
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: think you know.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: The difference it gets extended, you'd have to think we're
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: a definite Continuing considering the fact that Mark mcgallan's like
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: in definitely keeping those borders closed.
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: We've had excellent conversations with Quantus. Obviously that's an announce
• 16:11
  Speaker 3: we've got to work together on. But where I'm very
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: confident we've going ton excellent case for it going to
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: beyond much.
• 16:16
  Speaker 4: All right much.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: Now we know that parliament's resuming this week and the
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: Oppositions introducing a bill in an effort to ensure regular
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: reporting from the Chief Health Officer to Territorians through Parliament.
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: It's not happening, they say under current legislation. They reckon
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: that territorians and businesses, which were forced to bear the
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: burden of implementing the vaccine mandate, deserve to know what
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: actions being taken, the outcomes of those actions, and the
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: health advice being provided to the government during the state
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: of emergency. Is the government going to agree to the
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: chow providing regular reports to Territorians through this bill?
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: I think we have arguably the hardest working Chief of
• 16:54
  Speaker 4: the through No.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: One's disputing that. What they're asking for is if there'll
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: be regular.
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: Reporting and is extremely transparent and my opinion reports several
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: times a week.
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: I'm not looking to add to his burdens.
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: So you don't think that it's appropriate that some of
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: the decisions that have been made under you know, that
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: emergency declaration, that some of those decisions do deserve a
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: bit more scrutiny.
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: I think he provides that regularly through press conferences in
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: the other forums. I think he's a very available, transparent
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: chief officer who gives very long answers when he's asked
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: a question.
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: So why not why not every few months allow this
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: to happen. I mean, there are businesses that have literally
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: been at a stan still as a result of some
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: of the directions that have been made.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: Industries as well.
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: The disability sector, for example, on Friday spoke to me
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: again on the show, needing clear information about those vaccine mandates.
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: So why not?
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: I think the show is very transparent and available and
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: does a lot of work. I see the hours he
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: does to add an additional reporting thing that I don't
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: think is necessary on top of him just to satisfire
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: some political request, I don't think so.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: Ultimately, any decision can be made and there's no accountability
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: through the Parliament.
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: I know there's plenty of cannability to the department. I'm
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: not taking any the departmentary accountability things. SELP he can
• 18:05
  Speaker 3: ask questions, they can do motions, they can do all
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: sorts of stuff.
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: So you don't feel, you know, I guess just to
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: really break this down and this is the COLP calling
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: for this, but I know that there's plenty of people
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: with plenty of questions out there around some of those
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: show directions and the decisions that have been made. You
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: don't feel that there could be some more transparency rather
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: than a press conference. You know that he is at
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: sometimes he hasn't been out I don't think for the
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: last week though with you.
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: So there's obviously an office of chose that this is
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: a measure of his workload. Sometimes it's doctor Paine or
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: doctor Marco or Dotor Murdock, but usually it's doctor Heggy
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: because he has actually other judis besides COVID. He is
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: an extremely busy person. I believe he's very transparent, answers
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: a lot of questions. I also know he goes regularly
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: along to other forums, not Press Conscience obviously with industry
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: or stakeholders or the land councils or amsance or I
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: know he's repeatedly met with a number of different business groups.
• 18:55
  Speaker 4: So he is available and talks through things a lot.
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: So when does that report needs to be handed down?
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: My understanding is that it's at the end of the emergency,
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: when the end of the emergency declaration, when it ends,
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: So when would that happen.
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: I don't know when the emergency is going to end.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: So basically there'll be no further scrutiny at all of
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: any of those decisions until this has ended.
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: Obviously, the current significant scrutiny that occurs not on top
• 19:21
  Speaker 3: of that, so.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: Ruling it out yes, Okay, Speaking of transparency, why is
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: it that Parliament's closed to the public and journalists this week?
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: Yet the Supreme Court just meet us away, can still
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: operate as normal.
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: So understand it's the gallery that speakers made a decision
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: to close. So Parliament's still going to be broadcast and
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: publicly available. You just physically can't sit in the gallery.
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: Understanding is the speaker's decision. She's apparently made that on
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: health and security advice.
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: I obvious in what advice that she's received.
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: Obviously I'm aware of personally aware of some of the
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: security concerns that are around. But I think it's the
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: galleries that are as opposed to parliaments still publicly available.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: Do you reckon it passes the pub test when every
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: other workl surround the territory is operating as best they
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: can with the public health measures which have been put
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: in place.
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: So understand, there's going to be no impact on how
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: Parliament runs itself and that will still be streamed as normal.
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: We still have question times as there's no change to
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: any of the work that I've got to go do
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: as Chief in the Chamber.
• 20:17
  Speaker 4: So no change to that. Understand, it's just the galleries
• 20:19
  Speaker 4: that have been shut. All right.
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: There's just a couple of very quick listener questions. One
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: here it is being reported that you've reaffirmed your commitment
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: to raise the age of criminal responsibility. Why is this
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: a priority for you right now when there are cars
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: being stolen by ten and eleven year olds and the
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: community is hurting as a result of some of that
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: senseless crime.
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: So I understand nationally they're working around age of criminal
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: responsibility being fourteen. That's a national agenda. Oral Commission recommended twelve.
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: In the Northern Church without five years ago they recommended that.
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: We've said I've said personally, I understand the science says
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: that children haven't formed the mental capacity for it to
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: be a wrong thing to do, but can't be a
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: criminal act. Why I've said those I want to know
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: what the consequence is and that it's in place prior
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: to any change. And so the challenge to the churchary families,
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: Minister previously Minister Wakefield, now Minster Warden is show me
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: and show territorians that we have got a consequence in
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: place and the evidence stacks up that it works, and
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: then we raise the age. So I said, we've got
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: to have the program in place first. You can ever
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: do something wrong and then not be a consequence and
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: a measure of getting that child back on track. So
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: raising the age then is a program reform that is
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: then met by ledgis to reform.
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: That the way around.
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: So are you raising the age once.
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: That program works? So you think back on track and
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: those things like that. We're getting the evidence space together
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: that shows if you have this consequence, this diversion, this
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: alternative sensing, this thing in place, bush camps, boot camps,
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: whatever it happens to be, and at work, it sort
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: of sounds like.
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: The government's having its cake and eating it too, you know, Like, yep,
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: we want to raise the age of criminal responsibility, but
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: we've got to make sure all these other things are
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: in place first.
• 21:56
  Speaker 3: Well, yeah, absolutely, Like why would I do this in
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: a vacuum?
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: You raise the criminal age of responsibility at twelve, and it.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: Sounds as so you're saying, you know that you want
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: to raise the age of criminal responsibility, but the reality
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: is we've still got a real issue with crime in
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: the Northern territory right now. So you you know, you're
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: sort of saying it to please one group of people,
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: but there's a whole influx of territories that are saying,
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: hang on, this isn't right.
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: I'm saying, I'm only going to do something that works.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: All right, fair enough, Well let's see how we go. Hey,
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: one more question, when will you scrap the check in app?
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: That haven't got a date, but obviously makes sense at
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: some stage that it moves on as we normalize. We've
• 22:33
  Speaker 3: COVID it is the most convenient way to do the
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: vax pass. So if you look at our measures this way,
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: you've got a reducing risk of incursion that was basically
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: territory borders that's kind of gone. Then you're looking at
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: moderating rate of spread that's the mass so we've still
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: got the indoor mass mandate, but with outdoor mass mandate,
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: and then you've got measures deal severity a case, that's
• 22:49
  Speaker 3: the vaccines, the booster mandate and vax pass.
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: That last kagar is probably the most important category.
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: So it's still a couple of weeks away.
• 22:56
  Speaker 4: Oh maybe more, maybe more, all right, not a rush
• 22:59
  Speaker 4: to give.
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: With the one last question, when are you getting rid
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: of that mullet?
• 23:03
  Speaker 3: The wife has said there can be no baby father
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: with a mullet, no baby fair mutt.
• 23:09
  Speaker 4: I think that's a very affair, So somewhere in April,
• 23:11
  Speaker 4: all right.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: Michael goun A, Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, thanks
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: so much for your time this morning.
• 23:15
  Speaker 4: Thank you,