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Katie Woolf spoke with Federal Senator Sam McMahon · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf thanks to Joyce Main Darwin
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  Speaker 1: Homes on Stuart Highway, Beerrima.
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  Speaker 2: Joining us on the line right now is Colp Senator
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  Speaker 2: for the Northern Territory, Doctor Sam McMahon.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning, Good morning, Katy, morning to you listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Great have you on the show? Senator?
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  Speaker 2: Can I ask you first, there's been quite a bit
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  Speaker 2: of discussion in recent days about the situation at the
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  Speaker 2: Howard Springs quarantine facility and the increased numbers that we
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  Speaker 2: are seeing in repatriated Australians, particularly from India, coming back
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  Speaker 2: testing COVID positive. We have got twenty four active cases
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  Speaker 2: at Howard Springs at the moment, twenty two of which
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  Speaker 2: are travelers from India, which is recording two hundred and
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  Speaker 2: fifty thousand new cases daily. Senator, we know that the
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  Speaker 2: Cabinet or the National Cabinet is due to meet later today.
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  Speaker 2: Do you think we need to look at either halting
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  Speaker 2: these flights from India or at least slowing the number down.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, Loo, Katie. This will be something that'll be discussed
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  Speaker 3: and there'll be health advice being sought from our chief
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  Speaker 3: medical officers on this issue, and no doubt input from
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  Speaker 3: Howard Spring's management itself as to how many they can
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  Speaker 3: cope with, and their opinion would probably be the one
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  Speaker 3: that I would give the most weights to. I'm sure
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  Speaker 3: then Nataris will have a very good handle on what's happening,
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  Speaker 3: and his opinion of what he can cope with and
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  Speaker 3: what the facility can cope with should form the basis
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  Speaker 3: of that decision. We need to when we're talking about
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  Speaker 3: halting or suspending flights, we just do need to remember
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  Speaker 3: that these are actually ousies that are trying to get
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  Speaker 3: home and we want to get them home as quickly
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  Speaker 3: as we can whilst maintaining our health and our security.
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  Speaker 2: We did just catch up with Hospitality into CEO Alex Bruce,
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  Speaker 2: and he spoke about the fact that they've got this
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  Speaker 2: real shortage at the moment when it comes to workers
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  Speaker 2: in hospitality. Also in tourism. We know that it's a
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  Speaker 2: similar situation with our farmers. But there was that initiative
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  Speaker 2: couple of weeks ago announced to hopefully try and help
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  Speaker 2: and tea farmers in that space.
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  Speaker 1: But he had asked.
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  Speaker 2: Whether it would actually be possible if we do see
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  Speaker 2: a decrease in the number of flights coming from India.
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  Speaker 2: Could we maybe look to fill some of those planes
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  Speaker 2: with bringing over workers for those different different sectors that
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  Speaker 2: require them.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, look, it's a major problem right across the board
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  Speaker 3: in the Northern Territory. I get daily calls from people
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  Speaker 3: on stations and farms, also from hospitality restaurants, cafes, tourism operators, manufacturers.
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  Speaker 3: There's a worker shortage right across almost every industry in
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  Speaker 3: the Northern Territory. And yes, look, I would be very
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  Speaker 3: happy to be able to bring in more workers. One
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  Speaker 3: thing I called for during the week was also to
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  Speaker 3: look at bringing in international students and housing them at
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  Speaker 3: the Bladon Village Commodotation Complex source of work, particularly for
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  Speaker 3: the hospitality industries. We know a lot of university students
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  Speaker 3: do work part time in that industry, so that could
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  Speaker 3: also be a source of workers. But yes, I would
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  Speaker 3: be very supportive of bringing in as many workers as
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  Speaker 3: we can.
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  Speaker 2: Now. Is this something though, that you actually need to
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  Speaker 2: take up with the federal government because the number of
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  Speaker 2: international people that were able to bring across is a
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  Speaker 2: federal issue, isn't it. Yeah?
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, And I've written to all the ministers involved. There
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  Speaker 3: are quite a few ministers that would be involved in
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  Speaker 3: that decision. I've written to all of them, but they
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  Speaker 3: would also need to make that decision in consultation with
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  Speaker 3: the NT government because ultimately quarantine is a function of
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  Speaker 3: the NT government, so the n T would have to
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  Speaker 3: be supportive.
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  Speaker 1: But it's something that you are keen to see happen.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, very keen to see happen. You know, we're
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  Speaker 3: looking at the collapse of many of our industries if
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  Speaker 3: they can't get staff. I was in Alice Springs last
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  Speaker 3: weekend and some properties are only operating at twenty five
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  Speaker 3: percent capacity just purely because they can't get the staff.
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  Speaker 3: And over the weekend every single room in our springs
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  Speaker 3: that was available was booked out.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Senator, I do think that it's something that we're
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  Speaker 2: going to have to take a closer look at.
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  Speaker 1: There's no doubt about that.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, we can't have a situation were we're heading
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  Speaker 2: into the dry season, particularly up here in the top end,
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  Speaker 2: where we don't have enough workers to get some of
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  Speaker 2: those wonderful events running.
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  Speaker 1: And really, you.
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  Speaker 2: Know, for those businesses that have been struggling for quite
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  Speaker 2: a long period of time to be able to make
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  Speaker 2: sure that they take advantage of all of those all
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  Speaker 2: of those visitors being able.
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  Speaker 1: To get here.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely. Look, we're saying to people from in the state,
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  Speaker 3: you know, come to the Northern Territory, as you know,
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  Speaker 3: you and I worked on getting dar and included as
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  Speaker 3: a destination with the half priced flights. So we're saying,
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  Speaker 3: come to the NT. But then we can't accommodate or
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  Speaker 3: fee them. So yeah, it's a really big problem at
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  Speaker 3: the moment that we need to get sorted as quickly
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  Speaker 3: as possible.
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  Speaker 1: Senator, let's move along.
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  Speaker 2: I do still on the same theme though, and I
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  Speaker 2: want to talk about the Howard Springs quarantine facility. We
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  Speaker 2: know that it is due on the third of May
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  Speaker 2: well to change overhands to some degree. Certainly the international
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  Speaker 2: side of things is going to go from the National
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  Speaker 2: Critical Care and Trauma Response Center across to NT Health.
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  Speaker 2: The Health Minister Natasha Files revealed on the show earlier
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  Speaker 2: in the week, we've only got seventy of those four
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  Speaker 2: hundred workers required for that facility.
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  Speaker 1: Are you worried about this?
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  Speaker 3: I'm absolutely worried.
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  Speaker 2: You know.
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  Speaker 3: I spoke out when it was first announced and said
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  Speaker 3: that I was concerned that this would be an issue one,
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  Speaker 3: I don't think that they will be able to get
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  Speaker 3: the four hundred workers that well enough trained and qualified
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  Speaker 3: as they need to be to fulfill that role, and
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  Speaker 3: that's certainly seeming to be the case. I mean there's
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  Speaker 3: reports that they've only got seventy and also handing over
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  Speaker 3: the management of a incredibly professional and competent outfit in
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  Speaker 3: Lenna Taras and osmad So the Northern Territory Government I
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  Speaker 3: was always concerned that this could turn into a disaster,
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  Speaker 3: and I think it's very much heading down that path.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Senator.
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  Speaker 2: The other issue that we have heard quite a bit
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  Speaker 2: about this week, and we've seen a number of statements
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  Speaker 2: come out from you is that issue of remote policing
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  Speaker 2: and that funding for remote policing. I know that you
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  Speaker 2: have said that you'll be pushing for that funding to
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  Speaker 2: be extended, but there are some caveats there, or certainly
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  Speaker 2: some things that you would like the Northern Territory Government
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  Speaker 2: to be fulfilling, and one of those is the infrastructure
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  Speaker 2: that's associated with those police officers working in various communities.
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  Speaker 1: Talk us through what you want to see.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, look, Katie, absolutely I want to see the funding
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  Speaker 3: maintained or even increased and I will be fighting very
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  Speaker 3: hard for that. But yes, as you've said, I definitely
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  Speaker 3: want to see conditions attached to that because there's very
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  Speaker 3: little clarity at the moment over how that money actually
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  Speaker 3: is spent. We don't know where it's going. Is it
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  Speaker 3: going on police officers, It wouldn't seem so because there's
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  Speaker 3: a great shortage. Is it going on infrastructure Again, it
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  Speaker 3: wouldn't seem so because police accommodation in the bushes is
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  Speaker 3: falling down around their ears. So we need to have
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  Speaker 3: some oversight and some conditions around how that money is spent.
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  Speaker 3: And yes, I've been touring around in the bush and
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  Speaker 3: listening to the troops on the ground and one of
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  Speaker 3: the really big problems that they have in attracting police
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  Speaker 3: to go to bush stations is the deplorable standard of
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  Speaker 3: the accommodation out there.
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  Speaker 2: Senator, what has the Minister ken Wyatt said about this
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  Speaker 2: issue when you've discussed it with him.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, Look, he's aware of the issue. He's very much
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  Speaker 3: aware of the fact that pulling out this funding would
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  Speaker 3: be a great disserve to the Northern Territory. He would
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  Speaker 3: like the Northern Territory government to be able to stand
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  Speaker 3: on its own two feet and support and fund itself
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  Speaker 3: in this area. But he's also very aware of the
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  Speaker 3: fact that they can't and that the damage that pulling
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  Speaker 3: this funding would cause. So he's keen to reach an
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  Speaker 3: agreement with the Northern Territory Government that will see them
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  Speaker 3: funded adequately, but also see them be accountable for the
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  Speaker 3: funding they receive.
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  Speaker 2: Senator, when are you anticipating that we are going to
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  Speaker 2: know exactly how much funding there's going to be over
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  Speaker 2: the coming years. When are you anticipating that announcement.
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  Speaker 3: Looks that we just added at the beginning of this year,
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  Speaker 3: the current funding doesn't run out until the end of
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  Speaker 3: June next year, so I would expect, depending on how
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  Speaker 3: the negotiations with the Northern Territory Government go, I would
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  Speaker 3: expect that to be sort of concluded towards the end
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  Speaker 3: of this year.
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  Speaker 2: All right, well, no doubt we'll we'll talk to you
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  Speaker 2: about that again in the near future, Senator for the
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  Speaker 2: Northern Territory CLP. Senator for the Northern Territory, Doctor Sam McMahon,
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  Speaker 2: good to speak with you this morning.
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  Speaker 1: I appreciate your time, no worries.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you very much. Katie always a pleasure.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you,