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Speaker 1: Now, the Chief Minister, Michael Gunner has been delivering a

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Speaker 1: State of the Territory address this morning's brooking projects and

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Speaker 1: possibilities for the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 2: But as much as many.

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Speaker 1: Of us would like to forget COVID and move on,

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Speaker 1: and we will definitely need to pivot right now, the

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Speaker 1: COVID cases around the Northern Territory continue to grow, seven

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Speaker 1: three hundred and thirty two active cases as of yesterday,

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Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty four patients in hospital, twenty one

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Speaker 1: patients requiring oxygen, one patient in ICU, and the death

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Speaker 1: of a woman in her fifties. Questions are being raised

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Speaker 1: about the management of the virus and the health system's

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Speaker 1: ability to cope. You just heard from Steve Edgington, the

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Speaker 1: opposition spokesperson for Indigenous Affairs. He's calling on the Gunner

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Speaker 1: government to implement a fortnight of lock ins for communities

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Speaker 1: inside the current biosecurity boundaries to stop movement between communities

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Speaker 1: within these zones. Now joining me in the studio the

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Speaker 1: Chief Minister, Michael Gunner.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you now, Chief Minister.

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Speaker 1: We know last time you were on the show you

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Speaker 1: said that you didn't expect to rise in COVID cases

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Speaker 1: with school returning, and that you were hopeful that we'd

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Speaker 1: reached that COVID peak. Since then, though, those numbers have

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Speaker 1: consistently risen. The number of people needing care in hospital

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Speaker 1: continues to grow, and ten lives have now been lost.

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Speaker 1: How can we expect these numbers to keep growing? Based

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Speaker 1: on modeling which has been done by the Chief Health

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Speaker 1: Officer and your team.

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Speaker 3: Those numbers have been high but stayed higher. So it's

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Speaker 3: one of those ones where I say they've been rising,

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Speaker 3: they've more been hit at that thousand, around that thousand

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Speaker 3: and over a thousand mark and stayed consistent the last

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Speaker 3: two days. So sorry, today's numbers I'm confirmed that have

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Speaker 3: come in. I'll wait till they're confirmed. Very similar to

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Speaker 3: yesterday's numbers, which are obviously down a bit, and there

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Speaker 3: was a duplication in the day before's numbers which actually

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Speaker 3: took about two hundred high hundreds off the total.

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Speaker 4: So there's some work to be done there.

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Speaker 2: So do you think we're going down?

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Speaker 3: So I haven't talked to the chode yet today, but

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Speaker 3: yesterday's numbers and today's numbers indicate that direction. And obviously

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Speaker 3: the shows look to this and considerable detail. He feels

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Speaker 3: that we obviously have reached that cap and are trending down.

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Speaker 3: As we know, hospitalizations and tragically deaths follow usually after

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Speaker 3: you've hit a reasonable number of cases, which we did do.

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Speaker 3: COVID is very severe for some. We know that from

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Speaker 3: many ninety eight percent of people out there, you can

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Speaker 3: treat it at home, but for some you need to

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Speaker 3: be in our hospitals. I've always been very conservative about

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Speaker 3: how who we take into our hospitals, so we've taken

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Speaker 3: more in than other jurisdictions, but there's only one in

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Speaker 3: the ICU at the moment. Those device current numbers I have,

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Speaker 3: So from that point of view, if you look at

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Speaker 3: having an oxygen, how many nice you that's been trending

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Speaker 3: down as well. So our ICU has never actually gotten

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Speaker 3: to beyond our what we're allowed for.

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Speaker 4: We had eight beds around I think the highest we

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Speaker 4: ever reached at six and we're currently at one.

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Speaker 2: So by the sounds of it, you feel as though

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Speaker 2: we've hit our peak.

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Speaker 3: Well, the advice from the chow is that we've hit

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Speaker 3: the highest. Left was in a looking probably to trend down.

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Speaker 3: The signal strength for wastewater is higher back in January,

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Speaker 3: not where it is now where else. You keep a

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Speaker 3: very close eye on it. The most important figure though

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Speaker 3: for me is hospitalizations, not cases. And hospitalizations have been

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Speaker 3: steady in the ICUs only one.

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Speaker 1: I mean there are still a number of patients so

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Speaker 1: in hospital at the moment.

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Speaker 2: I'm going to get to that in just a second.

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Speaker 1: The situation that we've seen over the last couple of

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Speaker 1: weeks has seen the COLP call for your government to

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Speaker 1: implement a fortnite of lock ins for communities inside those

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Speaker 1: current biosecurity boundaries. Steve Edgington just joined us on the

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Speaker 1: show and he said that this would stop the widespread

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Speaker 1: movement within those zones and possible spread of the virus

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Speaker 1: two communities as well as outstations and homelands with low

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Speaker 1: vaccination rates. Is this something that you're going to look

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Speaker 1: at doing so, I'll.

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Speaker 3: Take this suggestion seriously and then work through why we're

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Speaker 3: not doing it. First of all, lock downs, lockouts or

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Speaker 3: lock ins are based on the health of Bius at

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Speaker 3: the moment. The health advice isn't we haven't got any

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Speaker 3: community I think in a lock in scenario we also

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Speaker 3: had two years ago the biosecurity zones. That's before there

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Speaker 3: was any community transmission in Milan Territory. We ccentially gave

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Speaker 3: this a practice run. We had police stationed borders all

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Speaker 3: through the territory, so many intra territory board of points yep.

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Speaker 3: The lesson from that is, if we do implement a

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Speaker 3: territory wide lock in now on all these remote communities,

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Speaker 3: would take a lot of police away from their actual

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Speaker 3: day jobs to staff border points where everyone's going to

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Speaker 3: drive around it. Anyway, we know that people drive around

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Speaker 3: these things, so it'd be a lot of police work,

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Speaker 3: taking police off the beat essentially to enforce something that

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Speaker 3: is not.

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Speaker 4: Going to work. So for I appreciate where they're coming from.

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Speaker 2: So the horse has bolted really well.

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Speaker 3: Imicron is super fast, and that's the thing. Ninety out

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Speaker 3: percent people who get it are fine. What our priority

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Speaker 3: is is making sure anyone who needs the care gets

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Speaker 3: the care that they need.

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Speaker 1: Do you have any idea how many patients within the

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Speaker 1: hospital right now? I mean, I know those numbers are

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Speaker 1: really quite high. We read them out just a couple

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Speaker 1: of moments ago, one hundred and sixty four of them

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Speaker 1: in hospital. How many of those patients are here from

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Speaker 1: other communities or are they you know, like people that

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Speaker 1: live in Darwin.

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Speaker 2: What the breakdown is.

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Speaker 3: They're probably too fluid for me to give you a

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Speaker 3: reliable remote versus urban though. Well we'll say is urban

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Speaker 3: cases are obvious significantly higher than remote cases. So I

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Speaker 3: think three percent of cases are remote. So my understanding

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Speaker 3: is most of those urban cases, it probably be hard

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Speaker 3: to give you.

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Speaker 4: A reliable breakdown. It does change from day to day.

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Speaker 3: But there is a case study from Galawinku that DOTR

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Speaker 3: Marco has been working on. I think most of those

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Speaker 3: cases out there didn't require severe care, so were as

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Speaker 3: ninety a percent of cases don't need hospital attention.

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Speaker 1: All right, The NLC is obviously indicating that they would

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Speaker 1: support this proposal for these lock ins.

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Speaker 2: So have you spoken to the NLC and what are

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Speaker 2: they saying to you.

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Speaker 3: I met with the chairman of the NLC last week,

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Speaker 3: and I acquit up with the CEO of the CLC

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Speaker 3: the week before. We obviously we talked with them repeatedly,

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Speaker 3: so it's not just and whit conversations with them. Wells,

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Speaker 3: you have the bio security zones in place. I explained

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Speaker 3: in detail to the NLC chair why and how the

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Speaker 3: lock ins the site is so it's healthy and healthy

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Speaker 3: bias is the Chief Health Office direction is given a

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Speaker 3: call law and so the healthy bias backs is up.

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Speaker 4: It doesn't believe that the healthy bias currently back.

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Speaker 3: So that when you look at movement of the virus

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Speaker 3: and the other thing is the Territory Controller have to

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Speaker 3: say I can enforce it.

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Speaker 4: This would be very very difficult to enforce obviously.

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Speaker 1: Now I know that it said with those the number

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Speaker 1: of patients that we've got in hospital that it's going down,

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Speaker 1: but at the moment it's currently one hundred and sixty

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Speaker 1: four patients in hospital. However, you look at that, that's

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Speaker 1: going to be having a massive impact on our health

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Speaker 1: system in terms of pushing back elective surgeries and in

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Speaker 1: terms of people presenting to hospital and not being able

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Speaker 1: to get a beat. With these elective surgery numbers. We

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Speaker 1: know that, you know, we know that. Right now, the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory News is reporting that the territory recorded the

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Speaker 1: highest number of patients suffering extended wait times for elective

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Speaker 1: surgery in ten years now, according to the Productivity Commission.

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Speaker 1: In twenty twenty to twenty twenty one, twenty two point

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Speaker 1: three percent of patients in Category one, thirty three point

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Speaker 1: nine percent of patients in Category two, and thirty four

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Speaker 1: point two percent of those patients in Category three elective

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Speaker 1: surgeries or on standby longer than the routine wait time.

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Speaker 1: When are we going to see elective surgery resume again?

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Speaker 4: That is a good question.

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Speaker 3: I'd will obviously rely on the Chief Officer for advice here,

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Speaker 3: But we made the decision to defer elector surgery about

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Speaker 3: for about a week or two periods, so we have

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Speaker 3: to keep looking at the case numbers. At the moment,

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Speaker 3: there's a lot of people in general emission but not

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Speaker 3: in the ICU beds, So obviously we'll worry there's going

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Speaker 3: to be a way of people into the ICU beds,

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Speaker 3: which would then potentially be the impact on the surgery

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Speaker 3: because that's obviously where the surgery impact is. So based

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Speaker 3: off the current case load around ICU, we're probably not

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Speaker 3: as worried as we had been when we made that

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Speaker 3: decision around pausing the elective surgery the one hundred and

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Speaker 3: sixty four general emission bed. So I'll give you I'll

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Speaker 3: give you an idea about how this works. So in

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Speaker 3: Alice Springs one in four people who present for other

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Speaker 3: reasons also have COVID and therefore acknowledged is a COVID

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Speaker 3: patient in our bed. So just because the listen is

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Speaker 3: a COVID this that's complexely right. Just because this is

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Speaker 3: a COVID patient in our hospital system, they're also there

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Speaker 3: for other reasons and so we've got to keep that

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Speaker 3: in mind.

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Speaker 4: It's not a neat COVID non COVID situations.

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Speaker 1: So patients right now in hospital of those one hundred

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Speaker 1: and sixty four that don't actually realistically need a huge

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Speaker 1: amount of care, but they've got nowhere else to go.

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Speaker 4: So renal is probably the best way of looking at this.

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Speaker 3: There's obviously a huge complexing heat deal of people were

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Speaker 3: on dialysis. There's about a third of the people in

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Speaker 3: our hospital system are actually renal patients with COVID. Lorraine Brennan,

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Speaker 3: that's the medi hotel out at the already h is

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Speaker 3: mainly for renal patients as well. We're being extremely cautious

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Speaker 3: and how we treat anyone with who's.

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Speaker 4: On dialysis and has COVID, and they obviously need a

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Speaker 4: chair and they need their dialysis treatments as well. So

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Speaker 4: there's about a third.

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Speaker 3: You could argue maybe could be cared for in other scenarios,

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Speaker 3: but you've got to in this. I don't question the

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Speaker 3: clinic clinical advice here. By the way, at the moment,

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Speaker 3: they believe the health the hospital bed is the best

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Speaker 3: way of treating it.

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Speaker 1: I mean that's a huge number, a third of these

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Speaker 1: patients that could potentially be cared for in other scenarios.

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Speaker 2: It's a huge pressure on our system right now.

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Speaker 1: So is there something else that we can look at

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Speaker 1: here to try and ease up some of that pressure

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Speaker 1: and backlog within our hospital and have those patients cared

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Speaker 1: for somewhere else.

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Speaker 4: So we do do that work.

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Speaker 3: So you've got the CNR available as well as the

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Speaker 3: Media hotel, so this is where the clinical determination is

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Speaker 3: still they would rather have the approach of having that

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Speaker 3: renal patient in that hospital bed. So we've got those

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Speaker 3: resources available in our springs would be the Todd facility,

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Speaker 3: so we've got some ability to move patients as needed.

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Speaker 3: But we're being more conservative, and I don't dispute, I

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Speaker 3: don't have problem with this. We'll be more conserved about

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Speaker 3: who we have in our hospital system.

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Speaker 4: And I think if.

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Speaker 2: There's actually more there's some out of how It Springs

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Speaker 2: as well.

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Speaker 3: So we have seen our available to provide subacute treatment.

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Speaker 3: So for someone who might need care from CO but

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Speaker 3: they necessary required the hostible treatment seeing can do that,

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Speaker 3: the top tillity.

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Speaker 4: Can do that.

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Speaker 2: How many are out there?

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Speaker 3: The last advice I had was around five hundred people

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Speaker 3: at CENA. How many there christally because they've got COVID,

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Speaker 3: I have to go get advice on but I think

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Speaker 3: majority would because the unavaccinated. The rival who would otherwise

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Speaker 3: need Howse Springs is very low number.

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Speaker 1: So essentially we've got around five hundred people in Howard

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Speaker 1: Springs at the moment, and the large majority of them

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Speaker 1: are COVID there for COVID.

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Speaker 4: Till double check that number that's a few days old and.

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Speaker 2: Have some massive number.

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Speaker 3: It was up at eight hundred at one stage. It's

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Speaker 3: been higher as we manage people with COVID. There was

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Speaker 3: also obviously are.

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Speaker 2: They having to pay for themselves out there or what?

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Speaker 4: This is public health system?

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Speaker 3: We're looking after the people when we need to look

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Speaker 3: after them. There was a push on it one stage.

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Speaker 3: You were back in early January into I look track

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Speaker 3: of time up in mid to late January do you

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Speaker 3: need with every positive ou of community or not. So

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Speaker 3: we're obviously providing care for people who probably have stayed

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Speaker 3: at home, and obviously we've recalibrated around that.

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Speaker 1: Okay, I'd be very keen to get those numbers because

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Speaker 1: I mean, we're, yeah, when we're talking about one hundred

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Speaker 1: and sixty four patients in hospital, but based on what

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Speaker 1: you've just said, there five hundred odd people out at

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Speaker 1: Howards Brings and a large portion of those being cared

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Speaker 1: for out there within the health system.

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Speaker 3: And you've also at the media hotel and Todd I mean,

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Speaker 3: I've talked about those.

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Speaker 4: Numbers in other settings, So we're very happy to give

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Speaker 4: you those numbers now.

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Speaker 1: There is no doubt, like we've discussed on so many occasions,

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Speaker 1: that COVID is having an impact in so many different ways.

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Speaker 1: One of the other ways is obviously on business and

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Speaker 1: on industry. This morning, you've been out delivering the State

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Speaker 1: of the Territory speech. I've watched most of that, and

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Speaker 1: it certainly seems as though you're feeling very positive about

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory right now.

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Speaker 2: I understand that there's.

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Speaker 1: Going to be a well, there has been a significant

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Speaker 1: tourism funding announcement made this morning.

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Speaker 2: But in addition to that, I believe Alan Joyce is

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Speaker 2: going to be here making an announcement.

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Speaker 3: There is a lot going on at the moment when

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Speaker 3: it comes to the economy. We grew domestic economy grew

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Speaker 3: by eight point four percent last year. We're predicted to

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Speaker 3: be the strongest growing economy this year at six point

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Speaker 3: nine percent. Our biggest challenges growth challenges are getting the

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Speaker 3: workers to take up those jobs and having the houses

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Speaker 3: of the land available for them to live in. They're

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Speaker 3: all good problems to have. Obviously, Alan Joyce is going

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Speaker 3: to be in town tomorrow. I can't that's obviously his

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Speaker 3: announcement with us tomorrow, so I won't spoil that one today.

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Speaker 3: But there is a lot but we need to find

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Speaker 3: the workers. So the package announced today wasn't just for tourism.

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Speaker 3: It was also for migration attraction. Mister Kirby's got a

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Speaker 3: great laship with mister Hawk. Where we nearly get our

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Speaker 3: thousand skilled migrants, we're looking at double it, you know,

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Speaker 3: let's get the two thousand. Let's make sure we get

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Speaker 3: workers in here to take up all the opportunities we

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Speaker 3: have in the territory.

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Speaker 1: And what's the go at the moment with the international

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Speaker 1: arrivals obviously not just if you're talking about those coming

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Speaker 1: across to work, but also with the international borders opening

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Speaker 1: twenty first to February. I believe for tourism, do they

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Speaker 1: need to be triple vaxed or double vaxed? What's the go?

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Speaker 2: Because there's a lot of confusion here.

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Speaker 4: That's an excellent question. Please let me try my best

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Speaker 4: to clear it up today.

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Speaker 3: Because obviously TAGI gave advice that you need two doses

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Speaker 3: to enter the country, but fully vaccinated is three doses,

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Speaker 3: So we always have a mandate in place for workers

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Speaker 3: to go up to three doses, and all the medical

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Speaker 3: advice is three doses fully vaccinated. It's not booster anymore.

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Speaker 3: You need a third dose to be fully vaccinated. To

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Speaker 3: be a way of looking at it, But from a

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Speaker 3: practical point of view, I think the only place is

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Speaker 3: if backed us in the territory will be the vax

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Speaker 3: pass And I can't see any way that you can

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Speaker 3: differentiate or should discriminate between someone who had three doses

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Speaker 3: local and following the advice, and you have to have

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Speaker 3: three doses to be fully vaccinated, and the international visitor

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Speaker 3: on two doses.

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Speaker 4: So I think we're going to have to keep it

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Speaker 4: simple at the Vacks pass and make it two doses

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Speaker 4: the only way to two doses on way toad.

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Speaker 1: Honestly, otherwise this is giving no confidence, I would think

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Speaker 1: to people wanting to book a flight right now.

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Speaker 3: So the international rules are two doses, so I think

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Speaker 3: we're going to have to match that.

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Speaker 4: I think the only impact for us in the territory

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Speaker 4: is around how the backspace there.

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Speaker 1: Then, considering that you know here in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: locals have to be triple vas to be able.

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Speaker 4: To work well. Every Australian if they listen to a

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Speaker 4: target in the advice is you should all be triple

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Speaker 4: vacs because that's the only way you have the proper

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Speaker 4: protection from from COVID. So the target device is clear.

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Speaker 4: Three doses is fully vaccinated.

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Speaker 3: I think every jurisdiction has some form of booster mandate

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Speaker 3: so or vaccine mandate. Now this Have Wales has on

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Speaker 3: a much smaller category than the mast beven. This Have

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Speaker 3: Wales has a mandate for some category of workers. Three

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Speaker 3: doses is fully vaccinated.

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Speaker 1: So I just want to make it one hundred percent

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Speaker 1: clear for all those in the tourism industry, particularly because

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Speaker 1: there's going to be some massive tourism announcement I would

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Speaker 1: suspect over the next couple of days with this twelve

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Speaker 1: million dollars and also with Alan Joyce arriving to town,

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Speaker 1: double vaxed is all you'll need to be if you

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Speaker 1: are an international traveler coming into the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 4: That's correct, that's the it targe device.

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Speaker 3: Two doses gets you into the country and we'll go mate. Well,

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Speaker 3: I think the obvious thing is to make that as

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Speaker 3: practical as possible for our systems and two doses of

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Speaker 3: what makes things on the vacs passwork.

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Speaker 1: Okay, can you talk us through very quickly exactly with

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Speaker 1: this twelve million dollars what it's going to see and

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Speaker 1: what it's going to mean for tourism.

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Speaker 4: So additional marketing for tourism marketing.

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Speaker 3: I think the most obvious thing to take advantage of

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Speaker 3: is the leg dull in London that we have at

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Speaker 3: the moment, which I think is highly likely to be extended,

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Speaker 3: but at the moment goes to the end of March.

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Speaker 3: But you know, we're working us about how we can

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Speaker 3: extend that marketing into key migration areas and obviously again

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Speaker 3: the down London routes and obvious one.

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Speaker 4: But obviously we're.

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Speaker 3: Doing more gentional marketing than just London. We're doing more

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Speaker 3: migration marketing and just London as well. The other thing

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Speaker 3: is obviously we're working to double us skilled migration intake.

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Speaker 4: That requires assessments. Obviously requires the strain Coverment to agree,

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Speaker 4: which I think they will, but it also requires us

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Speaker 4: to do assess the applications. You don't just apply and

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Speaker 4: get in.

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Speaker 3: You have to be assessed that they're probably some of

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Speaker 3: the main bits of the plan that we're working on.

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Speaker 2: All right, someone's text through.

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Speaker 1: There's a lot of messages coming through, but someone's messaged

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Speaker 1: and said, can the Chief Minister give us some good

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Speaker 1: news about quantas maintaining these direct flights to London too early?

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Speaker 3: Oh, it's publicly to the end of March. I think

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Speaker 3: we're right in the hunt for that extending. You just

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Speaker 3: look at what's happening in WA. I think where I

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Speaker 3: think you know.

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Speaker 1: The difference it gets extended, you'd have to think we're

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Speaker 1: a definite Continuing considering the fact that Mark mcgallan's like

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Speaker 1: in definitely keeping those borders closed.

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Speaker 3: We've had excellent conversations with Quantus. Obviously that's an announce

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Speaker 3: we've got to work together on. But where I'm very

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Speaker 3: confident we've going ton excellent case for it going to

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Speaker 3: beyond much.

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Speaker 4: All right much.

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Speaker 1: Now we know that parliament's resuming this week and the

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Speaker 1: Oppositions introducing a bill in an effort to ensure regular

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Speaker 1: reporting from the Chief Health Officer to Territorians through Parliament.

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Speaker 1: It's not happening, they say under current legislation. They reckon

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Speaker 1: that territorians and businesses, which were forced to bear the

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Speaker 1: burden of implementing the vaccine mandate, deserve to know what

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Speaker 1: actions being taken, the outcomes of those actions, and the

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Speaker 1: health advice being provided to the government during the state

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Speaker 1: of emergency. Is the government going to agree to the

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Speaker 1: chow providing regular reports to Territorians through this bill?

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Speaker 4: I think we have arguably the hardest working Chief of

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Speaker 4: the through No.

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Speaker 1: One's disputing that. What they're asking for is if there'll

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Speaker 1: be regular.

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Speaker 3: Reporting and is extremely transparent and my opinion reports several

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Speaker 3: times a week.

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Speaker 4: I'm not looking to add to his burdens.

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Speaker 1: So you don't think that it's appropriate that some of

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Speaker 1: the decisions that have been made under you know, that

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Speaker 1: emergency declaration, that some of those decisions do deserve a

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Speaker 1: bit more scrutiny.

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Speaker 3: I think he provides that regularly through press conferences in

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Speaker 3: the other forums. I think he's a very available, transparent

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Speaker 3: chief officer who gives very long answers when he's asked

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Speaker 3: a question.

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Speaker 1: So why not why not every few months allow this

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Speaker 1: to happen. I mean, there are businesses that have literally

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Speaker 1: been at a stan still as a result of some

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Speaker 1: of the directions that have been made.

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Speaker 2: Industries as well.

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Speaker 1: The disability sector, for example, on Friday spoke to me

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Speaker 1: again on the show, needing clear information about those vaccine mandates.

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Speaker 2: So why not?

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Speaker 3: I think the show is very transparent and available and

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Speaker 3: does a lot of work. I see the hours he

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Speaker 3: does to add an additional reporting thing that I don't

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Speaker 3: think is necessary on top of him just to satisfire

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Speaker 3: some political request, I don't think so.

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Speaker 1: Ultimately, any decision can be made and there's no accountability

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Speaker 1: through the Parliament.

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Speaker 3: I know there's plenty of cannability to the department. I'm

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Speaker 3: not taking any the departmentary accountability things. SELP he can

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Speaker 3: ask questions, they can do motions, they can do all

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Speaker 3: sorts of stuff.

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Speaker 1: So you don't feel, you know, I guess just to

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Speaker 1: really break this down and this is the COLP calling

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Speaker 1: for this, but I know that there's plenty of people

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Speaker 1: with plenty of questions out there around some of those

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Speaker 1: show directions and the decisions that have been made. You

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Speaker 1: don't feel that there could be some more transparency rather

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Speaker 1: than a press conference. You know that he is at

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Speaker 1: sometimes he hasn't been out I don't think for the

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Speaker 1: last week though with you.

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Speaker 3: So there's obviously an office of chose that this is

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Speaker 3: a measure of his workload. Sometimes it's doctor Paine or

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Speaker 3: doctor Marco or Dotor Murdock, but usually it's doctor Heggy

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Speaker 3: because he has actually other judis besides COVID. He is

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Speaker 3: an extremely busy person. I believe he's very transparent, answers

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Speaker 3: a lot of questions. I also know he goes regularly

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Speaker 3: along to other forums, not Press Conscience obviously with industry

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Speaker 3: or stakeholders or the land councils or amsance or I

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Speaker 3: know he's repeatedly met with a number of different business groups.

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Speaker 4: So he is available and talks through things a lot.

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Speaker 2: So when does that report needs to be handed down?

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Speaker 1: My understanding is that it's at the end of the emergency,

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Speaker 1: when the end of the emergency declaration, when it ends,

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Speaker 1: So when would that happen.

446
00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:09,400
Speaker 4: I don't know when the emergency is going to end.

447
00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:13,720
Speaker 1: So basically there'll be no further scrutiny at all of

448
00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:16,040
Speaker 1: any of those decisions until this has ended.

449
00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:21,240
Speaker 3: Obviously, the current significant scrutiny that occurs not on top

450
00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:22,000
Speaker 3: of that, so.

451
00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:26,639
Speaker 1: Ruling it out yes, Okay, Speaking of transparency, why is

452
00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,879
Speaker 1: it that Parliament's closed to the public and journalists this week?

453
00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:32,680
Speaker 1: Yet the Supreme Court just meet us away, can still

454
00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:33,520
Speaker 1: operate as normal.

455
00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,440
Speaker 3: So understand it's the gallery that speakers made a decision

456
00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,399
Speaker 3: to close. So Parliament's still going to be broadcast and

457
00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:42,600
Speaker 3: publicly available. You just physically can't sit in the gallery.

458
00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:45,960
Speaker 3: Understanding is the speaker's decision. She's apparently made that on

459
00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:48,080
Speaker 3: health and security advice.

460
00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:50,040
Speaker 4: I obvious in what advice that she's received.

461
00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:52,440
Speaker 3: Obviously I'm aware of personally aware of some of the

462
00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:54,720
Speaker 3: security concerns that are around. But I think it's the

463
00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,520
Speaker 3: galleries that are as opposed to parliaments still publicly available.

464
00:19:57,560 --> 00:19:59,440
Speaker 1: Do you reckon it passes the pub test when every

465
00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:02,280
Speaker 1: other workl surround the territory is operating as best they

466
00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:04,640
Speaker 1: can with the public health measures which have been put

467
00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:05,040
Speaker 1: in place.

468
00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:06,960
Speaker 3: So understand, there's going to be no impact on how

469
00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:11,119
Speaker 3: Parliament runs itself and that will still be streamed as normal.

470
00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,000
Speaker 3: We still have question times as there's no change to

471
00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:16,000
Speaker 3: any of the work that I've got to go do

472
00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:17,160
Speaker 3: as Chief in the Chamber.

473
00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:19,639
Speaker 4: So no change to that. Understand, it's just the galleries

474
00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:20,760
Speaker 4: that have been shut. All right.

475
00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:23,520
Speaker 1: There's just a couple of very quick listener questions. One

476
00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:27,280
Speaker 1: here it is being reported that you've reaffirmed your commitment

477
00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,399
Speaker 1: to raise the age of criminal responsibility. Why is this

478
00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:32,840
Speaker 1: a priority for you right now when there are cars

479
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:35,560
Speaker 1: being stolen by ten and eleven year olds and the

480
00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:37,720
Speaker 1: community is hurting as a result of some of that

481
00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:38,600
Speaker 1: senseless crime.

482
00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:42,000
Speaker 3: So I understand nationally they're working around age of criminal

483
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:46,840
Speaker 3: responsibility being fourteen. That's a national agenda. Oral Commission recommended twelve.

484
00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,320
Speaker 3: In the Northern Church without five years ago they recommended that.

485
00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:55,119
Speaker 3: We've said I've said personally, I understand the science says

486
00:20:55,119 --> 00:20:59,240
Speaker 3: that children haven't formed the mental capacity for it to

487
00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:01,000
Speaker 3: be a wrong thing to do, but can't be a

488
00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:03,280
Speaker 3: criminal act. Why I've said those I want to know

489
00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:05,800
Speaker 3: what the consequence is and that it's in place prior

490
00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:08,439
Speaker 3: to any change. And so the challenge to the churchary families,

491
00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:11,840
Speaker 3: Minister previously Minister Wakefield, now Minster Warden is show me

492
00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:14,960
Speaker 3: and show territorians that we have got a consequence in

493
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:16,879
Speaker 3: place and the evidence stacks up that it works, and

494
00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:18,480
Speaker 3: then we raise the age. So I said, we've got

495
00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:20,640
Speaker 3: to have the program in place first. You can ever

496
00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,600
Speaker 3: do something wrong and then not be a consequence and

497
00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,119
Speaker 3: a measure of getting that child back on track. So

498
00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:30,320
Speaker 3: raising the age then is a program reform that is

499
00:21:30,359 --> 00:21:31,680
Speaker 3: then met by ledgis to reform.

500
00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:32,119
Speaker 4: That the way around.

501
00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:35,120
Speaker 2: So are you raising the age once.

502
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:37,240
Speaker 3: That program works? So you think back on track and

503
00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:39,440
Speaker 3: those things like that. We're getting the evidence space together

504
00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:43,119
Speaker 3: that shows if you have this consequence, this diversion, this

505
00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,240
Speaker 3: alternative sensing, this thing in place, bush camps, boot camps,

506
00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:48,440
Speaker 3: whatever it happens to be, and at work, it sort

507
00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:48,919
Speaker 3: of sounds like.

508
00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,600
Speaker 1: The government's having its cake and eating it too, you know, Like, yep,

509
00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:53,919
Speaker 1: we want to raise the age of criminal responsibility, but

510
00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:55,560
Speaker 1: we've got to make sure all these other things are

511
00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:56,359
Speaker 1: in place first.

512
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,359
Speaker 3: Well, yeah, absolutely, Like why would I do this in

513
00:21:59,359 --> 00:21:59,920
Speaker 3: a vacuum?

514
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,159
Speaker 4: You raise the criminal age of responsibility at twelve, and it.

515
00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:03,960
Speaker 1: Sounds as so you're saying, you know that you want

516
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,280
Speaker 1: to raise the age of criminal responsibility, but the reality

517
00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:09,040
Speaker 1: is we've still got a real issue with crime in

518
00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:11,480
Speaker 1: the Northern territory right now. So you you know, you're

519
00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:13,600
Speaker 1: sort of saying it to please one group of people,

520
00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:16,880
Speaker 1: but there's a whole influx of territories that are saying,

521
00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:18,120
Speaker 1: hang on, this isn't right.

522
00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:20,159
Speaker 4: I'm saying, I'm only going to do something that works.

523
00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:22,800
Speaker 1: All right, fair enough, Well let's see how we go. Hey,

524
00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,600
Speaker 1: one more question, when will you scrap the check in app?

525
00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:30,560
Speaker 3: That haven't got a date, but obviously makes sense at

526
00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:33,520
Speaker 3: some stage that it moves on as we normalize. We've

527
00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:35,919
Speaker 3: COVID it is the most convenient way to do the

528
00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:38,120
Speaker 3: vax pass. So if you look at our measures this way,

529
00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:40,439
Speaker 3: you've got a reducing risk of incursion that was basically

530
00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:42,760
Speaker 3: territory borders that's kind of gone. Then you're looking at

531
00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:44,640
Speaker 3: moderating rate of spread that's the mass so we've still

532
00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:46,800
Speaker 3: got the indoor mass mandate, but with outdoor mass mandate,

533
00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:49,040
Speaker 3: and then you've got measures deal severity a case, that's

534
00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:52,359
Speaker 3: the vaccines, the booster mandate and vax pass.

535
00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:54,920
Speaker 4: That last kagar is probably the most important category.

536
00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:56,680
Speaker 2: So it's still a couple of weeks away.

537
00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:59,600
Speaker 4: Oh maybe more, maybe more, all right, not a rush

538
00:22:59,640 --> 00:22:59,800
Speaker 4: to give.

539
00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:01,879
Speaker 2: With the one last question, when are you getting rid

540
00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:02,520
Speaker 2: of that mullet?

541
00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:07,400
Speaker 3: The wife has said there can be no baby father

542
00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:09,080
Speaker 3: with a mullet, no baby fair mutt.

543
00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:11,080
Speaker 4: I think that's a very affair, So somewhere in April,

544
00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:11,639
Speaker 4: all right.

545
00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:13,920
Speaker 1: Michael goun A, Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, thanks

546
00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:15,160
Speaker 1: so much for your time this morning.

547
00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:15,439
Speaker 4: Thank you,