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Katie Woolf spoke with Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The opposition leader. Leah Fanoc Guiaro joins me in the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: studio right now.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Good morning Katie and to your listeners.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Leah. Firstly, this morning, it is being reported by Sky
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: News that the Department of Chief Minister and Cabinet is
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: investigating an incident involving the Northern Territory's Treaty Commissioner Mick
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Dodson now Professor. Dodson's been accused of threatening to assault
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: a woman and using sexually degrading language towards her at
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: a football.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: Game in Darwin.
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  Speaker 1: The former Australian of the Year has not denied the allegations,
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  Speaker 1: but says he has no recollection of the incident. So
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  Speaker 1: obviously an investigation is currently underway. Leah, what do you
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: think needs to be happening in this space?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it was certainly very concerning information that's been reported
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: this morning. We think while the investigation takes place, the
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: Commissioner should stand asign and allow that process to happen. Obviously,
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: as a commissioner you hold a very high offers and
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  Speaker 3: standing in our community, and so while something like this
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: is underway and being investigated, that he should step aside.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: But we've also serious concerns.
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  Speaker 3: Around when government knew about this and what they've done
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  Speaker 3: about it. Obviously there is that investigation, but you know,
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  Speaker 3: this is a government who are happy to go out
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: and march for women's rights and undertake all those sort
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: of public statements around violence against women. But have they
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  Speaker 3: called for the commissioner to stand aside during the investigation?
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  Speaker 2: And that's my question.
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  Speaker 1: So do you think that long term he should remain
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  Speaker 1: in this position?
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  Speaker 3: Well, I think obviously the investigation needs to play out,
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: but certainly at this point in time, I would expect
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: that government would be saying to the Commissioner that, you know,
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: while the investigations on foot, he needs to stand aside.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: So you really think that at this point he should
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: be standing down while that investigation takes place.
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: Absolutely, I mean as treaty commissioner that is a very
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: important role. This is a person who has to be
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  Speaker 3: out right across the territory, meaning with territorians about how
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: we form our treaty or treatise right across the territory.
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  Speaker 3: And you know, when you hold very high office, you're
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: held to a very high standard, and so of course,
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: making no judgment the investigations underway, but I'd be very
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: interested to know what the Treaty Minister Selena Yubo is
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: doing about this.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: Well, my understanding is that the government has known about
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: this since the end of March. I mean, what does
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: that say to you? Why do you think that this
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: has not been made public?
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  Speaker 3: Well, if the government have known about it since the
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: end of March, then why have they been hiding this?
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  Speaker 3: Why is the commissioner not you know, stood down and
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: have a point in acting commissioner in the interim while
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: the investigation takes place. Why is the investigation taking so long?
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  Speaker 3: I mean, we literally haven't heard anything about it until
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: this morning. So if government's known since March, then it
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: seems to me like it's just another opportunity for them
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: to cover up and lack transparency and decency.
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  Speaker 1: My understanding is that he can be removed from his
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: position without a two thirds majority of Parliament. Would the
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: opposition support a motion to remove him?
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  Speaker 3: Well, if the government put forward emotion to remove the
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  Speaker 3: Treaty Commissioner as a result of the investigation, then I
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: think we would have to look very seriously obviously at
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  Speaker 3: supporting that.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, it looks as though and it certainly sounds as
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  Speaker 1: though there's going to be quite a bit more to
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: this story, but Lea, I do want to cover off
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: on a number of things today. Quite a few things
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: that have concerned territorians are throughout the week, and we
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: are of the understanding that we've only utilized fifty eight
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: percent of our vaccines at this point with our vaccine rollout. Now,
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: the Chief Minister gave us an explanation on the show
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  Speaker 1: yesterday which I played just a little while ago in
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  Speaker 1: the opener, and it does follow that news obviously that
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  Speaker 1: we are the worst performing jurisdiction now, Leah, obviously we
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  Speaker 1: would like more people to be vaccinated at this point,
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  Speaker 1: but you know, is it really such a big concern
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  Speaker 1: do you think this is a huge concern.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, the role out of the vaccines for COVID
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  Speaker 3: is what is going to get our entire nation back
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  Speaker 3: on track and back to normal, so it's critically important.
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  Speaker 4: Now.
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  Speaker 3: What we've seen is that we're again the slowest duration
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  Speaker 3: to roll out COVID, which is ridiculous given our population.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, honestly, we should be able to vaccinate every
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  Speaker 3: territory and well and truly before other jurisdictions have even
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  Speaker 3: come close to that. So the fact that the Chief
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  Speaker 3: Ministry is going against the National Health advice and the
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: federal government's advice and not delivering the doses because he
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: wants to save them for the second dose is just wrong.
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  Speaker 3: That those vaccines need to be out the door. More
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  Speaker 3: supply is coming and by the time that period rolls
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  Speaker 3: around where people need their second JAB, more vaccines will arrive.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: Do you think, though, that it's fair enough that they
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: are making sure that there's enough vaccine obviously to roll
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: out to those remote communities and vaccinate those whole communities
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: at once.
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  Speaker 3: I think that's a great idea that you know, especially
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  Speaker 3: because of the resources it takes. You know, obviously, if
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  Speaker 3: you're sending teams out to a remote community, it could
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: take days to get there, So while you're there, why
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  Speaker 3: not do everyone. I fully support and understand that, and
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  Speaker 3: I think people in Alice Springs are probably very excited
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  Speaker 3: by the fact that now if you're over sixteen, you
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  Speaker 3: can go and get your JAB. But the concern still remains.
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  Speaker 3: And of course people who don't live in Alice Springs
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: are a remote community. You know, why is the territory
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  Speaker 3: government holding back vaccines? We could be pumping out nearly
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  Speaker 3: double the amount of vaccines, and then by the again
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  Speaker 3: it's I think for Astrazenka, it's a couple of month
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  Speaker 3: period before you need your second one, so there's time
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  Speaker 3: to get more lea.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: Do you think, as you've just mentioned there, and we've
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: spoken about over the last couple of days, that if
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  Speaker 1: you're over the age of sixteen now in Alice Springs
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: and a lot of the Northern Territory aside from the
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: Greater Darwin region, you're actually able to go and get
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: that vaccination.
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  Speaker 2: Do you reckon?
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  Speaker 1: We need to bite the bullet here and make the
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  Speaker 1: whole of the Northern Territory eligible.
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  Speaker 3: Now, I think that would be fantastic, and really I'd
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  Speaker 3: love to know from the Chief Minister why we can't
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: do that, But ultimately he's not even allowing us to
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  Speaker 3: vaccinate the number of people we can with the vaccines
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  Speaker 3: we've got, I mean, stockpiling of vaccines.
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  Speaker 2: It's just not the way to do it.
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  Speaker 3: It's not the health advice, it's not the federal government
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  Speaker 3: of advice, and it's not in the best interests of Territorians.
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  Speaker 3: If we have vaccines, they should be in people's arms
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  Speaker 3: and they should be in people's arms quickly, not in
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  Speaker 3: cupboards now.
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  Speaker 1: Leah did also speak a little bit earlier this week
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  Speaker 1: to leading epidemiologist Mary Louise mclaus. She had this to
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  Speaker 1: say to us on Monday.
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  Speaker 2: Take a listen.
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  Speaker 1: I know some people listening this morning might be thinking
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  Speaker 1: to themselves, well, you know, as so long as we're
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  Speaker 1: testing the staff out there, and so long as we
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  Speaker 1: are testing people when they arrive, it should be okay.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, to anybody out there that is thinking that
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: this is sort of fear mongering, what would you say
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  Speaker 1: to them?
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  Speaker 4: I'd say to them. The twenty fourth breach in a
• 6:30
  Speaker 4: hotel quarantine that occurred in South Australia occurred because the
• 6:35
  Speaker 4: PCR test couldn't pick up this Mann's infection early. I
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: believe he was tested around day thirteen, he had a
• 6:44
  Speaker 4: negative test. He then left on day fourteen and went home.
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  Speaker 4: He then got symptoms five days later and the PCI
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  Speaker 4: didn't pick it up. If he hadn't had a rapid
• 6:56
  Speaker 4: antigen test, it is more than likely that he would
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: have been pickup and there would have been no anxiety
• 7:03
  Speaker 4: and no threat of a three day lockdown.
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  Speaker 1: Leah a lot of talk this week about the changes
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  Speaker 1: to the testing regime out there at Howard Springs. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: is this all just a bit of a storm in
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  Speaker 1: a teacup, Given the fact that the Chief Health Officer
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  Speaker 1: and others have said what we're doing out there is
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  Speaker 1: the right move.
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  Speaker 2: This is no storm in a teacup. This is very
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  Speaker 2: very serious.
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  Speaker 3: Of course, Ozmat have managed international quarantine to the gold standard.
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  Speaker 3: The Gunner government, after all these months, has now come
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: in and decided to completely dismantle that gold standard process.
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  Speaker 2: So they've kicked out Ozmat.
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  Speaker 3: They've now got Antea Health running the International Quarantine facility,
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  Speaker 3: which is our most highest risk chance of getting COVID
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  Speaker 3: into our community. Under OSMAT, all staff were double tested,
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  Speaker 3: so rapid Antigen tested, which returned a result within fifteen minutes,
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  Speaker 3: and then also PCR tested, which was return a result
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  Speaker 3: within twenty four hours, so it was a double safety check.
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  Speaker 3: The rapid Antigen has now been removed by the Gunner government,
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  Speaker 3: so that's no more fifteen minute check for staff. They've
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  Speaker 3: also made changes to ppe that the staff are wearing
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: out there. So under OSMAT there was a particular type
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  Speaker 3: of mask that was being used.
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  Speaker 2: Now under the Territory model. There's a variety of mins.
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  Speaker 1: Saying that they've made a number of changes out there.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, have you got staff out there raising this
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  Speaker 1: with you? Well, how do you know this?
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  Speaker 3: Yep, We've got people who talk to us in various
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  Speaker 3: ways as they do Katie, I'm not.
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  Speaker 1: Expecting you to reveal those sources or anything, but obviously,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, are you saying to me that people that
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: are working out there are concerned enough that they're going
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: to you as the opposition leader to tell you.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, people are absolutely consumed. We've had bus drivers getting
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: contact about concerns they've had with the changes to their regime,
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: and we asked the Chief Minister point blank in Parliament
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  Speaker 3: last week, you know, why have you changed the masks?
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  Speaker 3: I mean he put on this ridiculous spectacle of a
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  Speaker 3: performance answer where he said, well, under out you know,
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  Speaker 3: everyone's got a different shape face, so that's why we've
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: got different marks. So I'm thinking to myself, we didn't
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  Speaker 3: osmat people have different shape faces.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, what are ridiculous answer? What do you think
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  Speaker 2: they're doing here?
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  Speaker 4: Leo?
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  Speaker 1: Though, Let's like, you know, just to really get down
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  Speaker 1: to it, do you think that they're making these changes
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: for cost cutting measures.
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  Speaker 3: I can't think of any other reason why you would
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  Speaker 3: do it. I mean, it just it just defies logic
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  Speaker 3: that you would have a gold standard, you would put
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: yourself out and herald it as the pinnacle of COVID.
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  Speaker 2: International quarantine management.
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  Speaker 3: The nation and the world are looking at how it springs, like, wow,
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  Speaker 3: that's an incredible model, and then the territory government boot
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: out the very people who've made it that incredible model,
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: and then not even just copy how they're doing it,
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: but change a lot of things. Now, changing your mask
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: and changing testing minds sound in isolation simple things, but
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  Speaker 3: they're just the things we know about.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: What else is going on out there that we don't
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: know about.
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: And we also know that they don't have the volume
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: of staff that they need, so they consider.
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: They say though, that they're taking the advice of the
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: chief Health officer. So would you not take the advice
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: of the chief health officer?
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  Speaker 3: Sure, I'm sure the new I mean, is this the
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: acting chief Health officer, whoever it is, thinks that that's
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: the right way to go. Well, who knows what's motivating that?
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: And again, is cost coming into it? All I know
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: is under os Matt it worked really really, really really good,
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: and I'd like to see it stay exactly that way.
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  Speaker 2: I know people in the community want to see it
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: stay that way.
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: I mean, when I was out with the seniors yesterday, Katie,
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: it was the number one thing people talk to me
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: about was why is the government taking over how it
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: brings them? Why are they changing the clinical practices and
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: the ppe within that facility?
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: And the question is no one knows.
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: It defies logic and it I mean, time will tell,
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: and I certainly hope I'm wrong.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: Let's move along, because there is some pretty interesting news
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: this morning emerging from the ABC News. JOHNO. Gibson is
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: reporting well that publicly funded staff working in the electorate
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: offices of politicians we're given significant pay rises last year
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: that were not justified nor sustainable, according to the independent
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: body that determines in titlements in the Northern Territory. Now,
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: these changes introduced last year increased electorate office officer salaries
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: up to one hundred and two thousand dollars. Now, the
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: Renumeration Tribunal says the clerk had no authority to make
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: the changes. The Clerk, though, has rejected the claim and
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: says the Tribunal's own changes will increase some salaries. Further lea,
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: we're talking about a pay rise here across the board,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: whether it's COLP, the ALP, independence for those electorate and
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: liaison officers to the tune of twelve percent. As I
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: understand it now, this actually happened as well. The positions
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: are paid for by the taxpayer. They're not categorized as
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: public servants, but they're obviously which means that they're not
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: not subjected to that four year pay freeze which is
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: put in place by the government. Does this pass the
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: pub test?
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: Well, look, I'm not aware of that level of detail, Katie,
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: so I couldn't comment on on what the pay rise
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: is there, anything like that.
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: But what I do know is the Remuneration.
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: Tribunal is established as an independent body that sets the
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: salaries of Members of Parliament and then electric office staff
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: and electric office staff for the people who are out
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: in our local offices, out literally in the electorate. And
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: so if there's been some disparity between or changes in
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: pay over the last you know, since the election, then
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: I'm not across all of the detail on that, but
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: certainly we've had a lot of talk about the Gunner
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: government freezing public service salaries.
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: We know that that.
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: Hasn't happened yet, and of course that's something that will
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: the governmentor looking to do come much. But of course
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: they've got to get through they're union mates to get
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: that one over the line.
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: And look, this is the thing. As you said, there
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: is plenty more to it.
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: I will go into further depth through it throughout the morning,
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: but like at the end of the day, we're talking
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: about you know, it's twenty five members. Obviously they all
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: employ all of you employ a full time electorate officer
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: and a part time is distant electoral officer. As I
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: understand it, now these changes have come into place. To me,
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: I think what I find quite astonishing is the fact
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: that before the election we were told that public servants
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: will be getting a pay freeze, and then now we're hearing,
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: you know, that these salaries have gone up. Like to me,
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: it just seems it just like it just seems quite
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: unbelievable that that's actually happened. When we've got you know,
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: a politician saying well, we're taking a pay freeze and
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: we're going to do this.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: We're going to do that.
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: I know that that's obviously the government. But to me
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: it then just seems quite unbelievable. And I'm not disputing
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: that those electoral offices work incredibly hard.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: I know that they do.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: But the rest of us, you know, as we've spoken
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: about on numerous occasions, taking a massive pay cut. Then
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: you're talking about fifteen percent on top of their base
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: rate in lieu of previous overtime allowance as well.
• 13:49
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: Look, and certainly you know, I can understand that people
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: will think that that's out of whack. I guess all
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: I can say is it's a matter for the Remuneration Tribunal.
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: That's something that's their jurisdiction and it's not something that
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: members of Parliament have any control over.
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: LEA. Just finally, this morning some pretty shocking vision violence
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: at school. It's emerged from Darwin High on Monday. Have
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: you seen the vision and what was your reaction?
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: No?
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: I haven't, but I heard it on the news this morning, Katie,
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: and certainly it's horrific, and of course it just reminded
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: me of that university. I think the CDU did that
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: study earlier in the year. Are they are school children,
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: what's their biggest worries? In life and their biggest worries
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: are their own personal safety, and you know above there
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: at their schoolwork and everything else the child could worry about.
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: They're worried about being safe. And so I think this
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: just reinforces and harks back to that. And I think
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: it's incredibly disappointing that the Education Minister or the Education department.
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: Aren't running up to you this morning on that.
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: It just shows this is another thing they want to
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: bury under the carpet and not talk about. Of course,
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: we know assaults on teachers and staff is at levels
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: that we just cannot are not sustainable and cannot be condoned.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: So big issues are in that uth space for sure.
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: Opposition leader Leofanocchiaro, we will leave it there. If anybody
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: can hear those bird sounds in the background, there is
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: a curlew that it's not mere visiting with the wildlife.
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: Can I do a.
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: Quick shout out because it is s CES day, It's
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: orange day, It's orange day, So to all our sees volunteers, thank.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: You and you have got a bright orange dress. I'm
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: good on your lessik. So much for your time this morning.