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Katie Woolf spoke with Opposition Minister for Health Bill Yan · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Now joining us on the line right now is the
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  Speaker 1: member foran Nemajira, Bill Yan. He's also the opposition spokesperson
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  Speaker 1: for Health. Good morning to you, Bill, good.
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  Speaker 2: Morning, and good morning to your listeners as well, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: And look, I was listening to Shelley before as well,
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  Speaker 2: but that absolutely heartbreaking to listen to what she's had
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  Speaker 2: to go through.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I felt really quite sad listening to her. I
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  Speaker 1: think everybody probably did, because you think we're already kind
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  Speaker 1: of in lockdown and business is already struggling. And now
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  Speaker 1: I know that obviously an IgA is able to continue operating,
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  Speaker 1: but it's just unfair that this kind of thing happens
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  Speaker 1: to hard working people who are trying to run a business.
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  Speaker 2: And it's the fact that it's not just a once off.
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  Speaker 2: This is here the second time that they've been hit.
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  Speaker 2: And it's not just them, there's so many of those
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  Speaker 2: small businesses right across the territory that the suffering not
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  Speaker 2: only from the COVID stuff and the lockdowns and a
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  Speaker 2: lack of business and a lack of travel, but that
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  Speaker 2: criminal element. It just it just really really must push
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  Speaker 2: people right to the absolute edge.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Look, I can't begin to imagine how Shelley in the
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  Speaker 2: family feels.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, lots of you know, our heart felt. Well,
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  Speaker 1: we're really our hearts go out to Shelley and Kenny
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  Speaker 1: and their families, their whole family, I should say, and yeah,
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  Speaker 1: we're all really thinking of them today and hoping that,
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  Speaker 1: you know, that they're able to really sort that out
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  Speaker 1: this morning and be able to get operating again. But Bill, unfortunately,
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  Speaker 1: you know, this kind of thing is not an isolated incident.
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  Speaker 1: I know that that in Central Australia. A bit earlier
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  Speaker 1: in the week or yesterday we caught up with Robin
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  Speaker 1: Lamley and she told us about that terrible situation in
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  Speaker 1: the car park at Cole's. The police have now have
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  Speaker 1: now arrested and charged somebody, but it must have been
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  Speaker 1: a pretty frightening situation for those in Central Australia.
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  Speaker 3: Oh absolutely.
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  Speaker 2: If you look at the Coles car park there that
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  Speaker 2: end of the day, so busy, lots of young families
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  Speaker 2: in and around the place. It's directly across the road
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  Speaker 2: from my electric officin next door to Robin, so it's
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  Speaker 2: sort of in our front slash backyard and look absolutely frightening.
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  Speaker 2: But I just I can't believe that no one was
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  Speaker 2: more seriously certain. It's so fortunate that the people weren't
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  Speaker 2: and then for the out of the car park and
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  Speaker 2: run through a red light, cause another accident. This is
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  Speaker 2: ten thirty in the morning. The alcohol involved, like the
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  Speaker 2: blood alcohol content point one eight.
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  Speaker 3: At that hour of the day, that.
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  Speaker 2: Is absolutely mind boggling. You've got to think about our
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  Speaker 2: alcohol policies that are being put in place by government working.
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  Speaker 2: Do we need to go back some managery alcohol treatment
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  Speaker 2: because obviously the message is not getting through and we're
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  Speaker 2: still seeing these horrible, horrible and frightening issues in our community,
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  Speaker 2: in our springs, a lot of springs across the territory.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Bell, you are obviously the opposition spokesperson for health,
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  Speaker 1: and I know that all of the discussion throughout this
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  Speaker 1: week has been around COVID, but following on from that
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  Speaker 1: incident and also following on obviously from the discussion with
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  Speaker 1: Shelley this morning where they are trying to get their
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  Speaker 1: hands on alcohol. I mean, do you feel as though
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  Speaker 1: those policies around alcohol at the moment are working.
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  Speaker 2: No, No, I don't think they are, Katie, And look,
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  Speaker 2: it takes courage to stand by decisions and the government
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  Speaker 2: is standing by their decisions I suppose around our alcohol policy.
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  Speaker 2: But it takes much more courage to admit that your
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  Speaker 2: decisions are not working and that you need to change
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  Speaker 2: your approach. And I think this government needs to pluck
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  Speaker 2: up a little bit more courage than it currently has
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  Speaker 2: and actually face the hard facts that their alcohol policies
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  Speaker 2: are failing territories. You've only got to look at the
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  Speaker 2: alcohol related harm in our communities, offenses against the person
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  Speaker 2: which involve alcohol. It's not working and territories can't put
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  Speaker 2: up with it any longer. So I think they need
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  Speaker 2: to go back to the drawing board and have a
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  Speaker 2: really close hard look at what is going on in
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  Speaker 2: the community and what's working and what's not because I'll
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  Speaker 2: tell you what territories are telling us that what's happening
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  Speaker 2: out there as far as alcohol policy is not working.
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  Speaker 1: Bill, I do want to talk a bit more about
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  Speaker 1: the COVID situation currently. Obviously we are expecting or we
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  Speaker 1: understand that the Chief Minister and others are in that
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  Speaker 1: SMC meeting right now. We're anticipating that there's going to
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  Speaker 1: be a bit of an update, well, sooner rather than later.
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  Speaker 1: Hopefully if we are going to see that lockdown lift
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  Speaker 1: at midday, and you know, I suppose once we get
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  Speaker 1: a better lay of the land for today, we'll then
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  Speaker 1: know where we're going in terms of those restrictions lifting
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  Speaker 1: and what restrictions may stay in place, i e. Masks
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  Speaker 1: and that kind of thing. Do you think the government
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  Speaker 1: made the right decision in you know, locking down and
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  Speaker 1: locking down hard early despite there only being that one case.
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  Speaker 2: I think the decision was right, Katie, because the opportunity
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  Speaker 2: was for increased spread of COVID, and as the government
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  Speaker 2: has come out and said that it gives out contact
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  Speaker 2: crisis that time to do those checks to see where
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  Speaker 2: people have been.
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  Speaker 3: I'd hate to.
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  Speaker 2: Be in a position where we didn't do that hard
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  Speaker 2: lockdown and we allowed someone to move around the community
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  Speaker 2: and then spread COVID further afield, only to look at
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  Speaker 2: what's happening to poor people down in New South Wales.
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  Speaker 2: At the moment, I think the decision for the hard
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  Speaker 2: lockdown was correct. It's tough to do, It's tough on everybody,
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  Speaker 2: but it's three days. We may be able to get
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  Speaker 2: out and move around today and I think it's probably
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  Speaker 2: the wise.
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  Speaker 1: Choice now Alice Springs and also Darwin. Obviously we've seen
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  Speaker 1: at different times strain on the hospital. We caught up
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  Speaker 1: with the Health Minister earlier in the week and asked
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  Speaker 1: how things were going following on from that Code Yellow.
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  Speaker 1: I had been told over the weekend by somebody who
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  Speaker 1: works in the health sector that Royal Darwin Hospital is
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  Speaker 1: still strained at this point. Bill, I'm not sure if
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  Speaker 1: you've seen some of those photos that have been shared
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  Speaker 1: on social media with our paramedics, those ambulances lined up
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  Speaker 1: waiting to get into into emergency. How do you think
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  Speaker 1: we're going at the moment when we talk about the
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  Speaker 1: capacity at Royal Darwin Hospital.
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  Speaker 2: Look, I think, based on those phart days and the
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  Speaker 2: discussions I've had with a few people that the challenges
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  Speaker 2: are well and truly still there for Royal Darwin and
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  Speaker 2: our bed capacity and of course those bedflows. The only
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  Speaker 2: reason those ambulances are sitting outside A and E there
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  Speaker 2: is that there's no beds for them to go into it.
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  Speaker 2: And I know for many months now, probably over twelve months.
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  Speaker 3: Have been doubling up people in cubicles and A and E.
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  Speaker 3: We asked the.
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  Speaker 2: Question of the Health Minister back in estimates last year.
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  Speaker 3: Doing to address that, and there was no answer.
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  Speaker 2: Was I know, we're not putting any extra money towards
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  Speaker 2: addressing that particular issue. There's plenty of money for grand
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  Speaker 2: stands and pay us to criminals. So yeah, could the
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  Speaker 2: money be better spent at a at RDH. I certainly
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  Speaker 2: think so.
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  Speaker 1: Now. We just caught up with Senator Sam McMahon, the
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  Speaker 1: CLP Senator Sam McMahon a bit earlier this morning and
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  Speaker 1: she confirmed that or she said that the Federal Health
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  Speaker 1: Minister Greg Hunt had confirmed with her that there is
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  Speaker 1: just twelve beds in the ICU unit. Did you ask
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  Speaker 1: this question throughout estimates and were you given a similar response.
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  Speaker 3: There are the twelve ic you've been there.
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  Speaker 2: But there is capacity, of course to expand. I know
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  Speaker 2: that from my work talking to the minister and my
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  Speaker 2: tours around the hospital. So there's a private hospital next
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  Speaker 2: door which they can push out into if need be.
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  Speaker 2: So yeah, it's always concerned we've only got twelve ice
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  Speaker 2: of your beds.
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  Speaker 3: Is it enough? Hopefully? I think it should be.
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  Speaker 2: But if you've got COVID and you throw that into
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  Speaker 2: the mix with a few other things, it's going to
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  Speaker 2: stretch the capacity of RDH, but I know that they
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  Speaker 2: do have contingency plans in place, but it will make
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  Speaker 2: an already overworked and over burdened health system just that
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  Speaker 2: much more difficult, particularly for the staff they who are
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  Speaker 2: going absolutely above and beyond on a daily basis for
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  Speaker 2: the health of US territories.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Bill Yan, the member for Namajurra and also the
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  Speaker 1: opposition spokesperson for Health, we really appreciate your time this morning.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for having a chat with us.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks Katie, great to talk to you again.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.