Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Minister for Health Natasha Fyles
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Let's get right into it. Joining us on the line
- 0:02Speaker 1: right now is the Health Minister Natasha Files.
- 0:05Speaker 2: Good morning from morning Katy, good morning.
- 0:07Speaker 1: Listen it now, Minister. Firstly, let's get an update on
- 0:10Speaker 1: the air. A few of games. It's been canceled, well
- 0:13Speaker 1: for the next next round at least you decided to
- 0:17Speaker 1: pull the pin given the fact that there's so much
- 0:19Speaker 1: uncertainty at this point.
- 0:22Speaker 2: Oh, Katie, For me, it's incredibly disappointing. I was able
- 0:25Speaker 2: to compete as a teenager, I helped manage sports and
- 0:29Speaker 2: was really proud to be the Minister for the Games
- 0:30Speaker 2: in twenty nineteen, so it's incredibly disappointing. But in light
- 0:34Speaker 2: of the continuing uncertainty around the COVID nineteen pandemic, we
- 0:37Speaker 2: have made a decision that the games won't go ahead.
- 0:39Speaker 2: And Katie, this is intended into the future, not just
- 0:42Speaker 2: the twenty twenty three We'd already deferred the twenty twenty
- 0:44Speaker 2: one game. And the basis of the games is so
- 0:48Speaker 2: much work, particularly with our near neighbors in Southeast Asia,
- 0:52Speaker 2: and that just can't be undertaken in a way that
- 0:54Speaker 2: it used to be. And even going forward, I think
- 0:56Speaker 2: there'll be changes around that so incredibly disappointing, and we'd
- 1:00Speaker 2: just like to thank everyone that's been involved in the games.
- 1:03Speaker 2: I've been trying to contact some of those key people
- 1:05Speaker 2: this morning, and particularly all those sport organizers and the
- 1:09Speaker 2: sports that put so much energy into the games.
- 1:12Speaker 1: So no games for twenty twenty three, I mean, does
- 1:16Speaker 1: this really spell the end of the ARA? A few
- 1:17Speaker 1: are games? So are you still confident that at some
- 1:19Speaker 1: point you might be able to bring them back?
- 1:22Speaker 2: No, Katie, for me, this spells the end of the
- 1:25Speaker 2: ARA if you're are games in the sense that we
- 1:27Speaker 2: just don't know as we move hopefully into a post
- 1:30Speaker 2: COVID space, what travel will be like. The are a
- 1:33Speaker 2: few are games? As I was just saying, we do
- 1:36Speaker 2: so much work with our Southeast Asian neighbors and we're
- 1:39Speaker 2: going to have to find a different way to do that.
- 1:41Speaker 2: So these large multi event sports, I don't see that
- 1:46Speaker 2: that you know for us the ARA, if you're a game,
- 1:48Speaker 2: we just felt that with COVID and it's continuing impact,
- 1:51Speaker 2: it just wasn't possible to deliver the games in the
- 1:54Speaker 2: way that we wish for them to be. A six there.
- 1:56Speaker 1: I mean, there are a lot of people that didn't
- 1:58Speaker 1: feel that it was economically viable or that it was
- 2:01Speaker 1: a good thing really for the economy. We know that
- 2:03Speaker 1: there was certainly a lot of goodness that came out
- 2:06Speaker 1: of it when it comes to sport and the development
- 2:08Speaker 1: of sport around the territory. But is COVID really just
- 2:13Speaker 1: a bit of an excuse here that realistically it wasn't
- 2:15Speaker 1: going to be economically viable to return Regardless.
- 2:19Speaker 2: To Katie, we did work and there was a strong
- 2:21Speaker 2: economic return on the investment made. It also helped us
- 2:24Speaker 2: build our relationships. But with COVID and the overlay of
- 2:28Speaker 2: COVID that we're going to have, you know, into the future,
- 2:30Speaker 2: even when we're fascinated and we're traveling internationally, it's going
- 2:33Speaker 2: to be a different way in which we deliver things.
- 2:35Speaker 2: But I'm very much committed to events. I believe that
- 2:37Speaker 2: events do bring tourism and they also provide opportunities for
- 2:40Speaker 2: locals and particularly sporting events. But there's the future of
- 2:44Speaker 2: there a few of games in the way that they were,
- 2:46Speaker 2: we just don't see it as feasible going forward.
- 2:48Speaker 1: Okay, Minister, I do want to ask about just moving
- 2:51Speaker 1: forward in terms of COVID. The situation in New South
- 2:53Speaker 1: Wales Regional New South Wales at this point is it
- 2:57Speaker 1: going to be declared a hot spot.
- 3:00Speaker 2: So we had a meeting of SEMSE and our Chief
- 3:02Speaker 2: Holes Officer and I just like to acknowledge how hard
- 3:05Speaker 2: the health team are working. They worked through the weekends.
- 3:07Speaker 2: They provided us with a briefing yesterday. We haven't added
- 3:10Speaker 2: Regional New South Wales, but we do wurge Territorius. If
- 3:13Speaker 2: you are in Regional New South Wales, now is the
- 3:15Speaker 2: time to come home. We've seen yesterday one hundred and
- 3:18Speaker 2: twelve new cases in Greater Sydney, but the show has
- 3:21Speaker 2: not declared Regional New South Wales a hotspot, and that's
- 3:25Speaker 2: based on the fact that there isn't any cases in
- 3:27Speaker 2: regional exposure sites and the wastewater signals in Regional New
- 3:30Speaker 2: South Wales have been negative to date, but they're watching
- 3:34Speaker 2: that very closely.
- 3:35Speaker 1: I do note that the governments sort of changed the
- 3:37Speaker 1: way that they're messaging with some of this stuff to
- 3:39Speaker 1: do with COVID, particularly in other states where we are
- 3:43Speaker 1: seeing increased numbers. Like we've just heard you say there,
- 3:47Speaker 1: if you are a territorium that is interstate in Regional
- 3:49Speaker 1: New South Wales look at coming back? Are you changing
- 3:53Speaker 1: that tact in an effort to sort of give people
- 3:55Speaker 1: a bit more time to get home rather than them
- 3:57Speaker 1: sort of getting on a plane and finding out while
- 4:00Speaker 1: they're up in the air or getting literally on that
- 4:02Speaker 1: plane or getting off that they're going to have to
- 4:05Speaker 1: go into quarantine.
- 4:07Speaker 2: So, Katie, the new delta variant has added another layer
- 4:11Speaker 2: of complexity to coronavirus and so for us, things have
- 4:14Speaker 2: to move very quickly with this delta variant. So we
- 4:17Speaker 2: want people to clearly understand that there is a significant
- 4:20Speaker 2: situation in Sydney Metropolitan and that we're watching those regional
- 4:24Speaker 2: areas very closely, and that if we have to call it,
- 4:28Speaker 2: we won't hesitate to make that decision quickly. We're also
- 4:32Speaker 2: watching Victoria. There's been three locally acquired cases in Victoria.
- 4:35Speaker 2: So the show will again today get information from HPBC
- 4:39Speaker 2: and Victoria so that we can make those decisions to
- 4:42Speaker 2: keep territory in.
- 4:42Speaker 1: Day Minister, one of the questions that we continually get
- 4:45Speaker 1: asked here at the station is when is there going
- 4:48Speaker 1: to be more vaccine appointments available?
- 4:51Speaker 2: So Katie, I've been working with the Department of Helston
- 4:53Speaker 2: I'm hopeful that by the end of this week we
- 4:56Speaker 2: can announce more appointments. We've seen the information come through
- 4:59Speaker 2: on our predicted plugs from the Commonwealth, and the department's
- 5:02Speaker 2: been doing the modeling and working to make sure that
- 5:04Speaker 2: we allocate those appointments as well as the second vaccinations,
- 5:08Speaker 2: and so we did. As you know, and I've spoken
- 5:10Speaker 2: to you, we put those appointments up just a week
- 5:13Speaker 2: or so ago. But we're hopeful by the end of
- 5:15Speaker 2: the week there'll be more appointments and we'll certainly let
- 5:17Speaker 2: territorians know we're also working on a longer term plan.
- 5:20Speaker 2: The Commonwealth have been able to provide more certainty around
- 5:24Speaker 2: their projected number of vaccines coming into Australia, which can
- 5:28Speaker 2: help us in our planning.
- 5:29Speaker 1: Okay, But so by the end of the week, hopefully
- 5:31Speaker 1: there will be more appointments available for territorians.
- 5:35Speaker 2: I'm hopeful that we'll have those appointments loaded. As I explained,
- 5:38Speaker 2: we did put up nearly two thousand appointments just a
- 5:40Speaker 2: week or so ago, but we did have to allocate
- 5:43Speaker 2: a number to people that were booked in that fifty
- 5:45Speaker 2: to fifty nine age group for Astra Zenica that needed
- 5:47Speaker 2: to go across to father, so I know that plenty
- 5:49Speaker 2: of people are still getting vaccinated. It's great to see
- 5:52Speaker 2: on social media, particularly people sharing that they're vaccinated, because
- 5:55Speaker 2: that is the message. We only need to roll up
- 5:57Speaker 2: our fleeve or arm ourselves. As a Commonwealth governor, saying.
- 6:00Speaker 1: Kinnister, we have received a few emails over the course
- 6:03Speaker 1: of the weekend about our church here in Darwin discouraging
- 6:08Speaker 1: people from wearing masks and also discouraging people from being vaccinated.
- 6:14Speaker 1: Is this something that you've been made aware of.
- 6:17Speaker 2: Yes, Katie, it is concerning The commonly used language is
- 6:21Speaker 2: anti vaxes, anti vaxx message. The vaccination is our key
- 6:25Speaker 2: to stepping forward out of this pandemic situation. It will
- 6:28Speaker 2: protect us, that will protect our loved ones. And so
- 6:31Speaker 2: we are working closely, Katie, and we're making sure that
- 6:35Speaker 2: we're pivoting our messaging to targeting different groups who might
- 6:38Speaker 2: be anxious. I can understand the vaccine was developed very quickly,
- 6:43Speaker 2: but it's still been through the robust processes and it
- 6:45Speaker 2: is safe. I'm vaccinated, my parents have had their vaccination.
- 6:49Speaker 2: So we need people to understand that the vaccination, you
- 6:53Speaker 2: can still become ill. With COVID nineteen, but you won't
- 6:56Speaker 2: become as catastrophically ill as what we're seeing, particularly in
- 6:59Speaker 2: New South Wales, numbers climbing every day and people ending
- 7:02Speaker 2: up in hospital and intensive care.
- 7:04Speaker 1: Now, yesterday, you know, we saw a situation where the
- 7:07Speaker 1: NRL is to is having to investigate the NRL here
- 7:12Speaker 1: in the territory is having to investigate one of the
- 7:13Speaker 1: football clubs that allegedly broke some of the rules and
- 7:17Speaker 1: restrictions that were in place when we were in lockdown
- 7:19Speaker 1: and when we had those restrictions that were still needing
- 7:21Speaker 1: to be adhered to. There are claims that are being
- 7:24Speaker 1: sent to me at the moment that not only did
- 7:28Speaker 1: we have a situation where the church here in Darwin,
- 7:30Speaker 1: one of these churches was discouraging people from getting the vaccine,
- 7:34Speaker 1: but they were being discouraged to wear those masks during
- 7:39Speaker 1: that period of time when it was something that we
- 7:41Speaker 1: were all supposed to be doing. Is that something that
- 7:44Speaker 1: the police are investigating.
- 7:46Speaker 2: To Katie, I'm not aware if there's a specific police
- 7:49Speaker 2: investigation into that matter, but police do put in place
- 7:51Speaker 2: the enforcement. They can review evidence, photographs for example, and
- 7:56Speaker 2: go back and there is significant fines and we saw
- 7:59Speaker 2: that last week with a local business who didn't want
- 8:02Speaker 2: to adhere to the rules. We try the educative approach,
- 8:04Speaker 2: but if that doesn't work, police won't hesitate to step
- 8:07Speaker 2: in and find individuals or businesses or community groups that
- 8:10Speaker 2: are doing the wrong things.
- 8:12Speaker 1: All right, The Chief Minister yesterday confirmed at a press
- 8:15Speaker 1: conference that those numbers aren't where we'd anticipated. When it
- 8:19Speaker 1: comes to those international repatriation flights, are flights arriving in
- 8:23Speaker 1: Darwin at the moment that are full or are they
- 8:25Speaker 1: half full? What's ago with these international flights?
- 8:29Speaker 2: So, Katie, we're seeing a regular arrival of international appatriation flights.
- 8:33Speaker 2: The depat Commonwealth Government organize the individuals for those flights,
- 8:38Speaker 2: but we do certainly see in some cases where those
- 8:41Speaker 2: flights aren't full. So we did with the India fights
- 8:44Speaker 2: spertifically specifically have a reduction because we had seen those
- 8:48Speaker 2: high rates of COVID. They have listed those numbers, but
- 8:51Speaker 2: people are tested in the periods leading up to the flight,
- 8:55Speaker 2: and so that could be a reason why people aren't
- 8:57Speaker 2: allowed to travel at the last minute and then so
- 9:00Speaker 2: there is logistics of people getting to those destinations. But
- 9:03Speaker 2: Jifat are working through. We've seen a tranch of flights
- 9:07Speaker 2: come out of London Frankfort, Paris for example. DEFAT are
- 9:11Speaker 2: now looking at other locations where Australians may be stranded,
- 9:14Speaker 2: and it's very difficult for them to get from a
- 9:17Speaker 2: specific location to where those flights are leaving from. So
- 9:21Speaker 2: can we take those flights closer to them? But yes,
- 9:23Speaker 2: you do see the flights not always full.
- 9:26Speaker 1: Are those flights going through the international Airport?
- 9:29Speaker 2: Yes?
- 9:29Speaker 1: Are they still going through the.
- 9:30Speaker 2: RAF part, Katie, My understanding is they're still going through
- 9:35Speaker 2: the wrath side. We are aiming to take them through
- 9:37Speaker 2: the Darwen International Airport terminal, but there has to be
- 9:40Speaker 2: those rectifications and we also need that signed off by
- 9:43Speaker 2: Health before we take them through and make that change.
- 9:46Speaker 1: So when are you anticipating that will be My understanding, Katie,
- 9:50Speaker 1: is a couple of weeks ago.
- 9:51Speaker 2: They had said about six to eight weeks. So I'm
- 9:53Speaker 2: happy to get some more specific information, but I can
- 9:56Speaker 2: assure the community that there was a number of health
- 9:58Speaker 2: reciplications that needed to be made and we won't be
- 10:02Speaker 2: making that change until we've been fully audited. That it
- 10:04Speaker 2: stays to shift that across.
- 10:06Speaker 1: All right, minister onto an issue which just isn't going
- 10:09Speaker 1: away the grandstand. We know the opposition leader Leofanocchiaro was
- 10:12Speaker 1: on the show yesterday and said Michael Gunner has repeatedly
- 10:16Speaker 1: stated that he is the chair of Cabinet and he
- 10:20Speaker 1: takes responsibility. She reckons these words are hollow garbage and
- 10:25Speaker 1: that he's not taking responsibility, that he's hiding behind cabinet
- 10:29Speaker 1: confidentiality to avoid taking responsibility for this dodgy deal. She
- 10:33Speaker 1: goes on to say, it's not only implausible that he
- 10:37Speaker 1: didn't know that the proper cabinet process hadn't applied, it's
- 10:41Speaker 1: downright impossible he didn't know on the information I have
- 10:46Speaker 1: before me. Now. She goes on to say that if
- 10:49Speaker 1: Michael Gunner disagrees with IKAC and claims that the proper
- 10:53Speaker 1: cabinet process was followed, no one's going to believe him.
- 10:57Speaker 1: She reckons that he needs to release the try Treasury analysis,
- 11:01Speaker 1: including the time and date that each department was given
- 11:05Speaker 1: an opportunity to provide comment on the cabinet submission and
- 11:09Speaker 1: what their response was. Is the government going to release
- 11:13Speaker 1: the Treasury analysis?
- 11:16Speaker 2: To Katie, we've seen an investigation and the icac's main recommendations.
- 11:19Speaker 2: There was no finding against the government or any minister.
- 11:22Speaker 1: But they couldn't look into that cabinet decision, like they
- 11:24Speaker 1: couldn't look into what had happened when it comes to
- 11:27Speaker 1: the cabinet making that decision. So you've got to admit
- 11:29Speaker 1: that there is a huge chunk that's missing here.
- 11:32Speaker 2: So, Katie, a capital grant was awarded. Is not uncommon
- 11:35Speaker 2: for capital grants to be awarded for infrastructure projects, to
- 11:38Speaker 2: community groups, to supporting organizations in the territory. But we
- 11:42Speaker 2: acknowledged at the time nearly two years ago, that the
- 11:44Speaker 2: process didn't meet the expectations of public had of us,
- 11:47Speaker 2: and we've began implementing a range of changes. There's also
- 11:50Speaker 2: recommendations from the ICAC that we're working to implement.
- 11:53Speaker 1: So why not why not release the treasury analysis?
- 11:57Speaker 2: So, Katie, the ICAC made no finding against the government
- 12:00Speaker 2: or any minister. So I think that you know their
- 12:03Speaker 2: hollow words coming from the CLP who refused to put
- 12:05Speaker 2: in place in I caack it took a labor government.
- 12:07Speaker 1: People like, can't you see them? I mean, at the
- 12:09Speaker 1: end of the day, they may well have done that,
- 12:12Speaker 1: but right now you guys are in a situation where
- 12:15Speaker 1: I've got to tell you most of the community doesn't
- 12:17Speaker 1: actually believe that the Chief Minister knew nothing about it.
- 12:21Speaker 1: So wouldn't it actually be a wise thing to do
- 12:24Speaker 1: to release that Treasury analysis and you know, make it
- 12:28Speaker 1: all nice and clear, so the community's got a fair
- 12:31Speaker 1: idea of exactly what's gone on.
- 12:34Speaker 2: To Katie, there has been a thorough investigation by the KAK.
- 12:36Speaker 2: They made no finding against the government or the minister,
- 12:39Speaker 2: and we're waiting to implement the recommendations was agreed in
- 12:42Speaker 2: principle to support that the attack have made all right.
- 12:44Speaker 1: On Friday we learned the Turf Club will spill the
- 12:47Speaker 1: board on August nine. I believe an interim chair is
- 12:50Speaker 1: in place. Does this go far enough for you as
- 12:52Speaker 1: the Racing Minister.
- 12:54Speaker 2: We need those Turf Club board members to resign now
- 12:57Speaker 2: so that we can have confidence that these measures will
- 12:59Speaker 2: be put in place immediately, and that we can have
- 13:03Speaker 2: confidence in the Churf Club the racing industry. We spoke
- 13:06Speaker 2: about this on Friday, Katie. You know there is really
- 13:08Speaker 2: good people involved in the industry and the Churf Club
- 13:11Speaker 2: board members all need to resign so that we can
- 13:14Speaker 2: have confidence going forward.
- 13:15Speaker 1: So as we know two existing board members mister Dale Baccino,
- 13:19Speaker 1: who I believe was not on the board when the
- 13:22Speaker 1: decision around the grandstand was made, but mister Damian Moriarty,
- 13:26Speaker 1: they are going to be staying on the board. Mister
- 13:28Speaker 1: O'Sullivan said it was necessary to have a core functioning
- 13:32Speaker 1: board leading up to the August nine Special General Meeting
- 13:35Speaker 1: and through to the Darwin Cup Carnival. As I said,
- 13:38Speaker 1: my understanding is that mister Bacino wasn't on the board
- 13:41Speaker 1: when that development process happened, but Damian Moriarty will remain
- 13:45Speaker 1: on the board despite a finding of improper conduct by
- 13:48Speaker 1: the IKAK. Do you think that it's appropriate for mister
- 13:51Speaker 1: Moriarty to stay on the board taking that into account.
- 13:55Speaker 2: No, So, Katie, we've made it quite clear our expectations.
- 13:58Speaker 2: We are recovering the twelve minus dollars from the Turf
- 14:00Speaker 2: Club we were lied to we when the Department of
- 14:03Speaker 2: Business went in and asked questions, and we need the
- 14:05Speaker 2: resignation of the entire board so that we can move
- 14:08Speaker 2: forward from this situation.
- 14:10Speaker 1: Now the Chief Minister has said that he'd changed that legislation.
- 14:13Speaker 1: If the board didn't resigned resigned. Do you think that
- 14:16Speaker 1: that now needs to happen when Parliament sits again.
- 14:20Speaker 2: So Katie, we haven't ruled that out. We still have
- 14:22Speaker 2: a few weeks ahead of the August sittings. We need
- 14:25Speaker 2: all members of the Dolen Turf Club board to resign.
- 14:28Speaker 1: So at this point, what you're saying, by the sounds
- 14:30Speaker 1: of it pretty clearly is that you reckon those other
- 14:32Speaker 1: two need to resign as well.
- 14:35Speaker 2: Yes, Katie, we've given in principal support for the eighteen
- 14:37Speaker 2: recommendations from the KA, noting that some are already being implemented.
- 14:42Speaker 2: We are taking steps to recover that twelve million dollars
- 14:45Speaker 2: and we need every board member to resign from the
- 14:47Speaker 2: Down Turf Club board.
- 14:49Speaker 1: So at this point in time, I know that you
- 14:51Speaker 1: had told me last week that you would be waiting
- 14:53Speaker 1: to see what the Turf Club, what decisions were made
- 14:56Speaker 1: around the board as to whether you would be attending
- 15:00Speaker 1: any Dar and Cup carnival events. Are you going to
- 15:02Speaker 1: be attending any of them based on the announcement that
- 15:05Speaker 1: was made on Friday?
- 15:07Speaker 2: So, Katie, there is, as I said, so many people
- 15:09Speaker 2: in racing that need support, and as a Minister for racing.
- 15:12Speaker 2: I want to get out there and support them, but
- 15:14Speaker 2: I can't in good faith. While there is current Turf
- 15:16Speaker 2: Club members who haven't resigned attend those events, so I'm
- 15:19Speaker 2: hoping that they will resign and then we can all
- 15:22Speaker 2: start to move forward.
- 15:23Speaker 1: Is there one of those parliamentary receptions that usually happens
- 15:26Speaker 1: for the dough and Cup carnival? Is that happening this.
- 15:28Speaker 2: Year, Katie, I'm not aware of that detail. I'm happy
- 15:32Speaker 2: to chase that up.
- 15:34Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I'd be interested. I would have thought that
- 15:36Speaker 1: if there was one happening that you, as the Racing Minister,
- 15:38Speaker 1: would be invited or aware of it.
- 15:42Speaker 2: I think it's typically been hosted by the Chief Minister
- 15:44Speaker 2: and that's going right back to Paul Henders, them, Adam Gilds, etc.
- 15:48Speaker 2: But I'd be happy to chase that up for you.
- 15:50Speaker 1: All right, Minister, we are going to leave it there.
- 15:52Speaker 1: Always appreciate your time. Thanks, thanks so much for having
- 15:55Speaker 1: a chat with us.
- 15:56Speaker 2: Thanks Katie.
- 15:57Speaker 1: That is the Minister for Health. There also the Minister
- 16:00Speaker 1: for Racing, Gaming and Licensing and major events and plenty
- 16:04Speaker 1: of other things.