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Speaker 1: We know that the latest flight of repatriated OSSI's has

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Speaker 1: arrived in Darwin from India this morning with about one

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Speaker 1: hundred and seventy Australian citizens on board. Joining me on

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Speaker 1: the line to talk more about this is the Health

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Speaker 1: Minister Natasha Files.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Good morning, Katie, Good morning listeners.

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Speaker 1: Now, Minister, the flight arrives this morning as I understand it,

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Speaker 1: and there's more on the way later in the week.

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Speaker 3: I haven't had an update yet from the National Critical

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Speaker 3: Care and Trauma Response and to her running that quarantine

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Speaker 3: facility Howard Springs, but I'm sure that they'll get information

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Speaker 3: to me. But that program has seen hundreds of Australians,

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Speaker 3: Katie who's been caught up overseas vulnerable people have spoken

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Speaker 3: to you about some of those heartbreaking stories of young

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Speaker 3: children separated from their parents and elderly grandparents who really

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Speaker 3: need to be cared for. So the Northern Territory is

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Speaker 3: certainly playing its part in getting these Australians home and

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Speaker 3: will continue to work with the commonwealths government.

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Speaker 1: It does seem to be something that's happening really rather regularly.

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Speaker 2: Now it's flowing quite smoothly. You would have to.

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Speaker 1: Say, in terms of the quarantining where the international repatriation

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Speaker 1: flights are coming through and then staying out at Howard Springs.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Katie, it's certainly from my perspective, going smoothly, but

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Speaker 3: it is a significant effort and I think we need

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Speaker 3: to acknowledge all involved. There's DEFAT and Foreign Affairs officials

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Speaker 3: on the ground overseas. The flight today arrived from India,

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Speaker 3: the flight on Saturday will be from London, so there's

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Speaker 3: those people. It's working in with the professionals as I

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Speaker 3: just said, from OSMAT and Critical Care and Trauma Response Center,

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Speaker 3: and then our government and the federal government and also

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Speaker 3: quantest As the airline that the commonwealths have engaged to

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Speaker 3: bring them home. So it's an enormous effort and it

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Speaker 3: is getting these people that have been identified as vulnerable

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Speaker 3: stuck in those situations, getting them home to Australia. I've

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Speaker 3: certainly had feedback, you know, from the and I've been

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Speaker 3: able to visit the facility and looking at Howard Springs

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Speaker 3: from the outside and it's very professionally run. So all

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Speaker 3: territories should.

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Speaker 2: Be proud, Minister.

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Speaker 1: We are back open to South Australia and we're going

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Speaker 1: to be real happening to Melbourne next week. How are

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Speaker 1: authorities preparing for that?

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Speaker 3: So we saw last week what can happen when people

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Speaker 3: provide misleading information to those contact traces, and the South

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Speaker 3: Australian authorities will be dealing with that. But it certainly

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Speaker 3: caused a significant impact in South Australia and right across

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Speaker 3: the country with the information that initially came through. Once

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Speaker 3: that medical advice was updated, we were able to remove

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Speaker 3: that hot spot declaration and people were able to leave

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Speaker 3: quarantine and other people who were able to fly in.

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Speaker 3: But ahead of next week's arrival and I guess learning

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Speaker 3: to Live with COVID, Katie will have the Territory check In,

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Speaker 3: which will be an app based system that people will

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Speaker 3: be able to access for free that people can use

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Speaker 3: to check in if they're at a location for more

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Speaker 3: than fifteen minutes. And so this is to help industry

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Speaker 3: to help venues. If they have a current system, they

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Speaker 3: don't need to change that. We just want to have

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Speaker 3: the information available for up to twenty eight days to

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Speaker 3: give to our contact traces. Yeah, so this is a

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Speaker 3: step forward in making sure that we've got measures in

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Speaker 3: place to protect the community as we learn to live

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Speaker 3: with this virus.

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Speaker 1: Now, Minister, with those QR codes and with that system,

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Speaker 1: has there been a centralized system that businesses have to

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Speaker 1: use or are they able to use whatever system best

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Speaker 1: works for them, Katie.

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Speaker 3: They're able to use whatever system best works for them.

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Speaker 3: We just need the information. Potentially, if we're to see

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Speaker 3: any cases, then we need to be able to get

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Speaker 3: that quickly to our contact traces. So we issued the

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Speaker 3: draft directions, which is the public Health Advice which establishments

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Speaker 3: have to adhere by, so that they had time to

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Speaker 3: work that into their COVID safety plans. And Katie, many

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Speaker 3: businesses already do this. Gyms, for example, collect that information.

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Speaker 3: This is for anyone that might not be collecting that information.

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Speaker 3: They can use their own system, or they can utilize

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Speaker 3: this system that will make available for free.

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Speaker 1: And Minister, are there rules in there that prevent those

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Speaker 1: businesses then from being able to use the information that

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Speaker 1: they gather for marketing purposes?

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Speaker 3: Yes, Katie, this is very much designed and around having

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Speaker 3: information for public health officials if they're needed. It's an

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Speaker 3: industry have certainly cadium my meetings with them, they've been

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Speaker 3: really clear on that point that they want to have

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Speaker 3: a system that will allow for the public health officials

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Speaker 3: to get the information and that the consumer doesn't feel

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Speaker 3: might be a back way way of getting their details

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Speaker 3: for marketing. And so i've certainly from hospitality and Tea

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Speaker 3: they've given me their absolute assurances they want to work

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Speaker 3: with the health authorities and they're not interested in trying

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Speaker 3: to get that information. So territories can be reassured of that,

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Speaker 3: and if they do have any instances, which I think

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Speaker 3: would be rare, they can reach out and that will

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Speaker 3: certainly put a stop to that.

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Speaker 1: Well, that is good news now, Minister. I've still got

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Speaker 1: a few questions I want to get through. I know

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Speaker 1: you are pressed for time, but as you mentioned before,

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Speaker 1: we saw in South Australia someone lie about where they've

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Speaker 1: been and lie about that contact tracing. It caused serious

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Speaker 1: issues the whole state to go into lockdown. We're here

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Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory considering changes to legislation or to

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Speaker 1: rules to find people who do this in the North Territory.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, that's something that I very much when it

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Speaker 3: became apparent on Friday that we had that, and I

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Speaker 3: do need to be careful with my comments because in Victoria,

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Speaker 3: in South Australia, they're obviously assessing what's happened and seeing

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Speaker 3: if an individual can be charged. But I brought it

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Speaker 3: back to the territory because all of this is under

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Speaker 3: the Public un Environmental Health Act and the notifiedble Diseases Act.

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Speaker 3: I've asked that question, do we need to look at

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Speaker 3: what's in place presently and would we need further measures?

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Speaker 3: So I've certainly asked my Agency Health about that and

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Speaker 3: will continue that conversation as a government, and if we

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Speaker 3: need to make changes, I'm sure the Cabinet would consider it.

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Speaker 2: So it's not off the table. Certainly.

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Speaker 1: If we do end up in a situation here where

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Speaker 1: somebody were to lie about their contact tracing, they could

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Speaker 1: be significantly fine.

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Speaker 3: Katie's completely unacceptable. What that individual did they know? It

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Speaker 3: caused such a huge impact. People couldn't attend funerals, they

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Speaker 3: had to cancel their weddings and parties, not to mention

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Speaker 3: the impact on business and community generally. And so for me,

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Speaker 3: I want to look at what we have in place,

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Speaker 3: and this is complicated space. None of us have been

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Speaker 3: in a pandemic before, and so I want to see

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Speaker 3: how our legislation that we currently had has stacks up,

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Speaker 3: and if we have advice that we need a stronger

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Speaker 3: penalties in place to deter that, we certainly will consider it.

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Speaker 2: As a cabinet I reckon it'd be bloody essential.

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Speaker 1: Like honestly, if we end up in a situation in

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Speaker 1: the territory like they had in South Australia, I would

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Speaker 1: be mortified, Katie.

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Speaker 3: And that's why I want to make sure we may

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Speaker 3: have the provisions there. Even though these the acts that

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Speaker 3: I've just talked about, the notifiable diseases and the public

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Speaker 3: and environmental health, it could be that police could use

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Speaker 3: another measure. So I just want to get that correct

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Speaker 3: legal advice. Absolutely make sure that, as I said, it's

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Speaker 3: just uncomprehensible what someone has done in South Australia, but

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Speaker 3: we don't want to be in that situation into the future,

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Speaker 3: so we'll certainly make sure there's strong penalty.

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Speaker 2: All right, Minister.

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Speaker 1: A couple of quick ones before we finish up. I

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Speaker 1: asked you on the week that was on Friday, the

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Speaker 1: cost of that charter flight from Alice Springs to Darwin

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Speaker 1: to bring those people that were in Alice Springs to

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Speaker 1: Darwin to go into the Howard Springs quarantine facility.

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Speaker 2: Any idea how much that flight cost?

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Speaker 3: Yes, Katie, I did chase that up and the Territory

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Speaker 3: Control of the Police Commissioner advised me that the flight

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Speaker 3: to bring people from Alice Springs to Darin was approximately

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Speaker 3: forty thousand dollars and then I've since been advised at

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Speaker 3: around thirty thousand dollars were spent in repatriating people back

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Speaker 3: down to that Alice Springs facility. But we need to

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Speaker 3: remember these measures are to keep our community safe. Of

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Speaker 3: course that's an inconvenience, but it would be far greater

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Speaker 3: inconvenience to see the virus in our community.

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Speaker 1: Well, quite an expensive inconvenience, by the sounds of things,

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Speaker 1: seventy thousand dollars, Katie.

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Speaker 3: We've been across the board with coronavirus. Our Police on

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Speaker 3: Board is operating these quarantine centers. We saw those figures

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Speaker 3: in our budget around keeping people safe and then also

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Speaker 3: support to business. So COVID certainly had a huge impact

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Speaker 3: financially on the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 1: All right, Minister, I'm going to power through because I've

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Speaker 1: got one last thing i want to ask you about.

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Speaker 2: We know that on a current affair.

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Speaker 1: Last night, the QUANTUS CEO Alan Joyce spoke about those

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Speaker 1: repatriation flights into Darwin and also the quarantine links potentially

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Speaker 1: being reduced into the future.

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Speaker 2: I can listen to what he had to say.

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Speaker 4: So what's great about the repatriation flights that we're now

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Speaker 4: doing from Europe in particular that are flying into dar

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Speaker 4: One is that we are doing a test before people

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Speaker 4: get on the aircraft for the PCR test, and we

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Speaker 4: are doing testing then in dar One, which hopefully will

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Speaker 4: allow us to determine what the fourteen days quarantine is

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Speaker 4: too long? Can it be done shorter than that. We're

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Speaker 4: actually testing the waste water on the aircraft as well well, hopefully,

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Speaker 4: and I think the view of the hypothesis that the

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Speaker 4: scientists have that we could get that to show if

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Speaker 4: you have the right testing regime, you could get the

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Speaker 4: fourteen days down to a lot shorter periods potentially seven,

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Speaker 4: potentially five and if that happens it makes them more viable.

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Speaker 2: Minister, is that on the carts.

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Speaker 3: Katie, we're looking at every measure and this is not

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Speaker 3: just the Northern Territory but Australia and globally. If we

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Speaker 3: can understand more about this virus and we can have

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Speaker 3: measures in place that protect our community from catching it,

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Speaker 3: but at the same time allow people to resume somewhat

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Speaker 3: normal travel schedule. Particularly we're supportive of that and so

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Speaker 3: as Allan outlines there there are measures that they're looking

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Speaker 3: at around these repatriation flights, but there's also a range

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Speaker 3: of scientific research that's taking place across Australia in the world,

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Speaker 3: and of course that evidence would be considered by HPBC

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Speaker 3: and then potentially acted upon.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, you got to get it right in this space,

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Speaker 1: particularly when you're talking about those international arrivals. Minister for Health,

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Speaker 1: Natasha Files, we always appreciate your time.

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Speaker 2: Thanks so much for coming on this morning.

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Speaker 3: Thank you.

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Speaker 2: You are listening to Mix one oh four point nine

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Speaker 2: three sixty