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Katie Woolf spoke with AMSANT CEO John Paterson · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf. Join the conversation with Katie Wolf.
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  Speaker 1: You are our eyes and ears in the territory Mixed
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  Speaker 1: one oh four point nine.
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  Speaker 2: Now, as we've heard throughout the morning, Victoria was declared
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  Speaker 2: a COVID hotspot overnight, in addition to the Greater Melbourne
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  Speaker 2: and local government area of Bendigo. The Acting Chief Health
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  Speaker 2: Officer last night said that the remainder of Victoria is
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  Speaker 2: now a COVID nineteen hot spot. It is effective from
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  Speaker 2: twelve noon today. Now joining me on the line to
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  Speaker 2: talk further about this and some of the concerns which
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  Speaker 2: have been raised in recent days, it is the VCE
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  Speaker 2: of amsand John Pattison.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, John, Katie great have you on
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  Speaker 1: the show. John.
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  Speaker 2: We know that obviously the whole state of Victoria has
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  Speaker 2: now been declared a COVID nineteen hotspot.
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  Speaker 1: Do you feel as though this has happened soon enough?
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  Speaker 3: Look from our perspective, should have been announced a little
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  Speaker 3: bit earlier. I'm not that they're saying now that anybody
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  Speaker 3: who left to Victoria around about the twentieth of May,
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  Speaker 3: and you know, maybe traveling in the northern Turfy or
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  Speaker 3: to be gone having appropriate tests done. So I think
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  Speaker 3: it may have been a bit late to declare the
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  Speaker 3: hot spots. We don't support you know, the discreete you know,
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  Speaker 3: Prian cafe, Prian hotel or Merbourne NG shopping center. We've
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  Speaker 3: got to cover local government areas. That's the catchment areas
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  Speaker 3: that we should be declaring hotspots, not these small, dedicated
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  Speaker 3: discreet venues that people might have paid visit to, you know.
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  Speaker 3: So I think we need to start declaring hotspots again
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  Speaker 3: on local government areas. We need that territory border and
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  Speaker 3: South Australia border, Katie. We need police presence, police or
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  Speaker 3: other you know authorities that can could pull up and
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  Speaker 3: you know, undertake the appropriate testing and questioning of travelers
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  Speaker 3: that are coming in. I imagine thousands of people now,
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  Speaker 3: not all from Victoria obviously, but many from Victoria in
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  Speaker 3: the northern Turkey that may have come across from the
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  Speaker 3: twentieth mate how we you know, I mean the licensing
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  Speaker 3: plate process detection I don't think is as effective as
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  Speaker 3: having manual, you know, personnel.
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  Speaker 1: On the border, Well and John.
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  Speaker 3: Asking people where they've been, how long they've been on
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  Speaker 3: the territory, where they come from. I mean that's the
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  Speaker 3: preferred process that we would support well.
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  Speaker 2: And that's always the concern and certainly the concern that
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  Speaker 2: we've heard raised is that people are worried, is that
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  Speaker 2: there is that room for error, you know, without actually
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  Speaker 2: having people on the border. We caught up with the
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  Speaker 2: Territory Police yesterday and they explained to us how the
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  Speaker 2: number plate recognition works. They also went through some of
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  Speaker 2: the numbers over the last week or so of who'd
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  Speaker 2: come across the border or how many had come across
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  Speaker 2: the border. But John, I, you know, I certainly take
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  Speaker 2: on board that that point that you're making, and I
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  Speaker 2: know that it's one that's not lost on a lot
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  Speaker 2: of Territorians. Even the COLP today is really calling on
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  Speaker 2: the government to have public health officials they say should
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  Speaker 2: be on the.
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  Speaker 1: Borders during these hot spot lockdowns.
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  Speaker 2: They reckon that would ensure that there's no confusion for
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  Speaker 2: people entering the territory from hot spots and lessens any
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  Speaker 2: possible links.
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  Speaker 1: What do you think about that idea?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, Look, any any process and personnel that can
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  Speaker 3: undertake the appropriate testing and ensuring that people that are
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  Speaker 3: coming in COVID free and if they're showing signs of
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  Speaker 3: any of those symptoms and the appropriate referrals are made.
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  Speaker 3: The other one that we're really concerned about is this
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  Speaker 3: relaxing or doing away with this rapid testing, rapid antigin
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  Speaker 3: testing housing precinct there. We've got to, you know, maintain
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  Speaker 3: that very high standard, the gold standard that Ozmat was processing,
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  Speaker 3: had all those processes and systems in place. It's not
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  Speaker 3: good enough with the slav of testing, which takes you know,
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  Speaker 3: longer time than the rapid and you're testing. It's the
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  Speaker 3: rapid eMagin testing is fairly accurate as I understand it.
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  Speaker 3: And given the influx of people now in the Northern Territory,
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  Speaker 3: the vulnerable situations that we're in, by totally agree territories
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  Speaker 3: are saying and that the Aboriginal community is saying that
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  Speaker 3: we're a little bit lapsidaizing. You know, we've taken a
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  Speaker 3: sitting on her hands and like nothing's going to happen
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  Speaker 3: here in the Northern Territory. Well, this is the most
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  Speaker 3: vigilant time or time of the year that we ought
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  Speaker 3: to be vigilant and taking all the caution that we
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  Speaker 3: possibly can. That's the one point by you know, mina
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  Speaker 3: washing of hands, that basic messaging that we had, you know,
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  Speaker 3: the pick of COVID last year. So we've got to
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  Speaker 3: get back to those basic safety measures that kept kept
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  Speaker 3: our safe today. So relaxing of any of these process
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  Speaker 3: in system, and it does.
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  Speaker 2: Seem as though there has been a relaxing of some
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  Speaker 2: of these processes. I know that the government would argue
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  Speaker 2: that that's not the case and that it's still at
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  Speaker 2: gold standard. But you know, we spoke a couple of
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  Speaker 2: weeks ago to an epidemiologist about the changing of those
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  Speaker 2: of those tests. Marie Luise mcclau's joined us on the show,
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  Speaker 2: and she had said that, you know, she she wondered
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  Speaker 2: whether it was as a result of, you know, of
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  Speaker 2: the cost of those tests, whether that had been the
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  Speaker 2: reason for the change. The Health Minister said that no,
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  Speaker 2: that was not the case. But you know, between the
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  Speaker 2: tests and obviously the changeover Ada Howard Springs.
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  Speaker 1: Earlier in the week we had the revelation from the
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  Speaker 1: Health Minister as well about about the airport.
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  Speaker 2: You know, at some point down the track we're going
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  Speaker 2: to see the change with those flights no longer going
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  Speaker 2: through the raff and actually going through the international side
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  Speaker 2: of the airport.
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  Speaker 1: All of these things they do concern people.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, absolutely, we did not support the current arrangements at
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  Speaker 3: the international airport where they're screaming and processing people on
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  Speaker 3: the rap side of the airport there. That's again kept
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  Speaker 3: those safe, kept us separate from the patriots that are
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  Speaker 3: coming back from overseas. You just increase the risks enormously
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  Speaker 3: if you bring them into the domestic terminal where domestic
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  Speaker 3: passengers are coming in and out. You know, you've got
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  Speaker 3: the same air conditioning, the same building that circulated and
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  Speaker 3: the air conditioning there. We do not support it, and
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  Speaker 3: we would not recommend government change that international screening process
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  Speaker 3: at all.
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  Speaker 2: John, what is your message this morning for the government,
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  Speaker 2: you know, with some of these changes that are coming
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  Speaker 2: into play, particularly as we see what's going on in
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  Speaker 2: Victoria right now.
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  Speaker 3: Look, we just need to revert back to those safety
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  Speaker 3: and health measures that kept us safe today. As I
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  Speaker 3: said the QRE, I'm hearing chatter, you know, throughout the
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  Speaker 3: media on the QRE. Is it the code that you
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  Speaker 3: get to check in that restaurant. We've got to make
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  Speaker 3: that compulsory. I'm hearing that some shops and some precincts
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  Speaker 3: and you know news don't even have a list, we
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  Speaker 3: write your name and give you contact detail, let alone
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  Speaker 3: QR code. So with governments have to make that compulsory
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  Speaker 3: in all public venues where people frequent, you know. So
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  Speaker 3: it's that sort of stuff. No watering down of that
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  Speaker 3: osmat I mean, you know how it springs as pretty
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  Speaker 3: choppers at the moment. Yeah, and we need to ensure
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  Speaker 3: that those workers out there, you know, have the best
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  Speaker 3: protection as possible, that the daily check with this rapid
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  Speaker 3: engine testing rather than the slava stuff. I heard that
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  Speaker 3: the slava stuff, you know, there might be a bit
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  Speaker 3: of revenue for those that are service providers that are
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  Speaker 3: doing that testing. You know, I heard the minister say
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  Speaker 3: she said that wasn't the case, but you know there
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  Speaker 3: is that perception. The reason why they're doing the slava
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  Speaker 3: testing is because of the medicare revenue that they can
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  Speaker 3: you know get from that. Let's get that rapid eigine testing,
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  Speaker 3: maintain aimed and kept at that very very effective and
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  Speaker 3: you know it's the best. There's no doubt it's the
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  Speaker 3: best quarantine center around the country. Why everybody else is
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  Speaker 3: calling for one. Yes, we've got to maintain that reputation,
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  Speaker 3: maintain the standards that are out there, get those border
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  Speaker 3: you know, get those you know, security or police presence
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  Speaker 3: at the borders checking those vehicles rather than the number
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  Speaker 3: plate identifying system.
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  Speaker 1: To do our best to keep everybody size.
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  Speaker 3: And we've got a lot of people in the in
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  Speaker 3: the at the number influx of you know, tourists and
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  Speaker 3: we welcome back. Let's make sure we have the appropriate
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  Speaker 3: systems and train works around that's going to keep us
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  Speaker 3: all safe.
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  Speaker 2: Well yeah, John Patterson, it is always great to catch
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  Speaker 2: up with you, the head of am SANCE, the Aboriginal
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  Speaker 2: Medical Services Alliance of the Northern Territory. Thank you so
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  Speaker 2: very much for your time today.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you