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Speaker 1: If you want to know what's happening on the local

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Speaker 1: political landscape, Katie Wolf has it covered on three sixty.

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Speaker 2: Every one is listening Mixed one oh four point nine.

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Speaker 1: We weren't due to catch up with the Health Minister

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Speaker 1: Natasha Files this morning, so we very much appreciate her time.

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Speaker 1: It is going to be limited as Parliament is due

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Speaker 1: to go in in about eight minutes. But the Health

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Speaker 1: Minister Natasha Files joins us on the line right now.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to your minister.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and those bells will start ringing soon,

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Speaker 2: so I apologize when.

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Speaker 1: They do, Minister. A little bit earlier this morning, we

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Speaker 1: received a call from a listener saying that a flight

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Speaker 1: was due to land in Darwen from New Delhi. Now,

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Speaker 1: after some investigating, we have found out that a Quantus

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Speaker 1: flight arrived at the Darwin Airport this morning at seven

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Speaker 1: forty five from New Delhi. It contained crew only. What's

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Speaker 1: the situation from your perspective, so Katie, yes.

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Speaker 2: You're correct, there was a flight that arrived in Darwin.

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Speaker 2: The flight was authorized by dfat the Federal government. There

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Speaker 2: was nine crew members on board and that flight left

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Speaker 2: Australia and delivered support aid to India. The crew, as

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Speaker 2: I understand, remained isolated. They didn't get off that plane,

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Speaker 2: but they are in quarantine at Howard Springs. So that

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Speaker 2: flight provided some vital aid into India acknowledging what they're

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Speaker 2: going through over there.

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Speaker 1: Right now, Okay, now, just taking a look at those

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Speaker 1: active cases of COVID at the moment, twenty nine active

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Speaker 1: cases of COVID. It's gone down out of Howard Springs. Minister,

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Speaker 1: we understand that those flights from India are going to

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Speaker 1: resume on the fifteenth of May. Is their discussion with

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Speaker 1: your government at the moment, with the Territory government at

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Speaker 1: the moment to increase the number of those Aussies coming

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Speaker 1: back from India and going through Howard Springs.

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, I don't believe there's been a confirmed flight schedule.

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Speaker 2: We're working closely with the Commonwealth Government. When we agreed

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Speaker 2: to repatriate these Australians into Australia via Howard Springs, it

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Speaker 2: was always with the proviso that if we got to

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Speaker 2: high numbers that we could defers lights and that's exactly

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Speaker 2: what happened. When we reach fifty we've come down to

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Speaker 2: around thirty cases presently and so we're working closely with

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Speaker 2: the Commonwealth. They have indicated there'll be some pre screening

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Speaker 2: measures on board for flights coming from high risk countries

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Speaker 2: such as India. So we saw high rates of interfectivity

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Speaker 2: originally out of Europe. Those numbers have dropped off as

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Speaker 2: the virus has come under control there. So we'll continue

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Speaker 2: to work with the Commonwealth to make sure we put

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Speaker 2: in place as many measures as possible.

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Speaker 1: By the look of it though, the government, the Federal

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Speaker 1: Government is considering use it using how it springs to

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Speaker 1: only quarantine Indian return travelers as a way of expediting things.

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Speaker 1: How do you feel about that as the Health minister

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Speaker 1: and you know with your department managing that facility now.

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Speaker 2: So Katie, there has been since the media commentary around

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Speaker 2: that the Commonwealth Government has not confirmed that in terms

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Speaker 2: of the flights coming in. We don't mind where those

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Speaker 2: flights are coming from. It's the infectivity rates and the

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Speaker 2: numbers of people infected that we need to focus on.

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Speaker 2: So for us, we are building to one thousand people

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Speaker 2: per week, but when we reach a certain threshold of

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Speaker 2: people that are infected, it impacts that overall ability because

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Speaker 2: we don't want to put a burden on the facility

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Speaker 2: and most importantly the territory health system. But there's a

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Speaker 2: number of measures in place that would help us if

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Speaker 2: we didn't reach that. But that's what we're working through

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Speaker 2: with the Commonwealth presently.

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Speaker 1: Now I can hear those bells ringing, so I'm going

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Speaker 1: to keep my next couple of questions brief. NT Farmers,

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Speaker 1: in partnership with Hospitality NT are urging the Territory and

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Speaker 1: Commonwealth governments to utilize the Blading Point worker Village as

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Speaker 1: a quarantine facility. I just spoke to Paul Burke. He

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Speaker 1: said that they really need to work something out here

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Speaker 1: for their industry. Is this something that you're looking at?

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Speaker 2: It's the Katie. We don't own the Blading Point facility.

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Speaker 2: It's privately owned, So who would pay for the quarantining

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Speaker 2: to be set up at that facility? It's an enormous

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Speaker 2: cost to have the health and security and all the

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Speaker 2: response around it. Additionally, where NT health would become involved

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Speaker 2: in if there was rates to be infect activity, what

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Speaker 2: impact would that have on our health system? So I

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Speaker 2: think the first question is who would pay for the

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Speaker 2: facility before anything happened?

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Speaker 1: Now, I do want to just ask you very quickly.

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Speaker 1: I know that yesterday in parliament it well, without warning,

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Speaker 1: it was announced that the Member for Blaine, Mark Turner.

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Speaker 1: We know that he was referred to the Privileges Committee

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Speaker 1: the Government. Well, the government announced after question time, as

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Speaker 1: I understand it, that that report now would not be

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Speaker 1: handed down until early next year.

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Speaker 2: Why so, Katie, The Privileges Committee confined in what I

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Speaker 2: can say, but it is looking into a matter and

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Speaker 2: that's public knowledge. The ka has already indicated they are

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Speaker 2: doing an investigation. They have far reaching powers and investigative

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Speaker 2: research tools, and so that report from Privileges was deferred

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Speaker 2: till the first parliamentary sittings next year, and that committee

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Speaker 2: will now work towards that deadline.

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Speaker 1: A lot of people listening though, we're going to be

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Speaker 1: thinking to themselves, why has it been delayed to that extent?

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, as we are aware, there is also an

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Speaker 2: IKAQ investigation taking place. I do have to be careful

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Speaker 2: with my comments as the chair of the Privileges Committee.

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Speaker 2: It's an important parliamentary committee. But the matter is still

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Speaker 2: and has been referred to that committee. But equally we

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Speaker 2: have this other investigation presently.

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Speaker 1: So is it delayed because of the IKAC investigation.

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, we have a concurrent investigation and the Privileges

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Speaker 2: Committee has sought an extension for their investigation report to

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Speaker 2: be handed down.

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Speaker 1: All right, Natasha File's Leader of Government Business, I know

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Speaker 1: that you need to go. We need to get to

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Speaker 1: the news. Thank you very much for joining us this morning.

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Speaker 1: No doubt it will be something that we'll discuss again

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Speaker 1: tomorrow morning on the week that was.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Thank you.