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Speaker 1: Today's the day that those international borders open in Australia,

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Speaker 1: with flights to arrive in Darwin and indeed Central Australia,

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Speaker 1: allowing international tourists back into the Northern Territory if they're

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Speaker 1: double vaxed. It isn't the news making headlines this morning, though.

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Speaker 1: The one which has raised eyebrows over the weekend was

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Speaker 1: the government announcing late on Friday afternoon, without fanfare, that

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Speaker 1: there would no longer be border entry requirements when entering

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory. Now joining me on the line is

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Speaker 1: the Tourism and Health Minister Natasha Files.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to your minister.

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Speaker 3: Good morning Katie, good morning listening.

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Speaker 1: Now, Minister, the changes to border arrivals on the weekend

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Speaker 1: effectively mean that anyone can come from interstate vaccinated or unvaccinated.

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Speaker 1: These changes ultimately mean the Northern Territory authorities have no

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Speaker 1: real way now to know whether an arrival is double

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Speaker 1: vaccinated or not.

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Speaker 2: Why was this decision made?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, o, Katie. So we had that SENSI meeting on

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Speaker 3: Friday around lunchtime and that's when the health advice was

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Speaker 3: provided from the Chief Health Officer. Omicon is now widespread

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Speaker 3: in the Northern Territory and so we have it in

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Speaker 3: our community and we're shifting those public health measures that

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Speaker 3: really keep the community safe from within the territory. It

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Speaker 3: with felt that having that border control measure, we only

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Speaker 3: had a very small number KD. I think it was

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Speaker 3: about half a dozen people who were in Howard Springs

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Speaker 3: because they'd entered the territory unvaccinated. Now that may rise

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Speaker 3: over the coming days, but we don't expect it to

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Speaker 3: rise hugely. Australia has a highly vaccinated population, as does

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Speaker 3: the territory, so this was about the health and police

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Speaker 3: resources using them where they can best keep the community safe.

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Speaker 1: So just to confirm, you no longer need to be

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Speaker 1: double vaccinated to enter the Northern Territory from interstate correct.

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Speaker 3: But Katie, if you're in the territory, the same rules

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Speaker 3: apply to you. You can't go to a license venue, you

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Speaker 3: can't go to an event bigger than five hundred people,

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Speaker 3: you can't go to the casino. You need to prove

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Speaker 3: that you're vaccinated. So it's about making sure that we're

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Speaker 3: using those health and police resources to the greatest need.

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Speaker 3: But at the same time, you know acknowledging that there's

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Speaker 3: still public health measures within the territory to keep the

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Speaker 3: community say well, why.

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Speaker 1: Why do we need to ensure that people are double

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Speaker 1: vaccinated then to go into a pub or to go anywhere.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, we know that vaccine is one of the

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Speaker 3: best tools, particularly people that have had all doses of

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Speaker 3: the vaccine that they're eligible for in Victoria. And this

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Speaker 3: is good information research that's come out. You're thirty four

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Speaker 3: times more likely to end up in intensive care if

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Speaker 3: you're unvaccinated. So, Katie, these changes we're being proportionate. We've

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Speaker 3: been agile throughout the pandemic, and so the health advice

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Speaker 3: was that the best use of health and police resources

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Speaker 3: was allowing people into the territory. There is just as

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Speaker 3: much omicron COVID in the territory as interstates, but at

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Speaker 3: the same time ensuring restriction within the territory as I

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Speaker 3: just mentioned, So.

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Speaker 1: How is it going to be policed, How are we

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Speaker 1: going to be policing then checking where the people are

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Speaker 1: double vaccinated as they go into pubs, as they go

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Speaker 1: into those licensed premises.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Katie, and I picked up on a point that

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Speaker 3: you made in the intro. That's where the checking app

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Speaker 3: is particularly useful. So people can check in and it

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Speaker 3: brings up that green teak if their vaccination certificate is linked,

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Speaker 3: so that it's in terms of making sure people are vaccinated,

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Speaker 3: there is that personal responsibility you need to be vaccinated

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Speaker 3: if you enter those venues. We appreciate the work that

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Speaker 3: venues do in in helping make sure patrons comply, but

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Speaker 3: it is up to the patrons and if they are

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Speaker 3: not obliging, they could base themselves with five thousand dollar fine.

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Speaker 1: But essentially it sounds as though it's going to become

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Speaker 1: a business's responsibility to be checking whether everybody is vaccinated

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Speaker 1: or not. And that is going to add another layer

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Speaker 1: here if we're then allowing people to travel from inter

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Speaker 1: state unvaccinated.

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Speaker 3: To Katie again and point to the very minute numbers

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Speaker 3: really of people coming from interstate that are unvaccinated, and

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Speaker 3: they clearly have to uphold those Chow directions of being

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Speaker 3: vaccinated if they go into those locations. There's also measures

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Speaker 3: to ensure in terms of remote communities, those exclusion zones,

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Speaker 3: that we keep people safe, so making sure we use

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Speaker 3: the resources we have in a proportionate and appropriate manner.

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Speaker 1: So will those arrivals be banned from entering remote communities

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Speaker 1: for fourteen days, as had been the case prior to

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Speaker 1: the removal of those border entry forms.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, the rules within the territory apply to everyone.

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Speaker 3: So if you need to be vaccinated to perform a

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Speaker 3: work role, that applies to you whether you're a recent

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Speaker 3: arrival to the territory or a long term territory the

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Speaker 3: same in terms of places venues that people can go to,

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Speaker 3: and equally with the remote communities. So it's acknowledging that

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Speaker 3: COVID is in the territory just as it is in

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Speaker 3: every other jurisdiction. Previously, we had had much lower rates

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Speaker 3: of COVID in the territory than into state, and that's

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Speaker 3: why those border measures were important.

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Speaker 1: So just to double check that if you are unvaccinated,

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Speaker 1: can you still go to a remote community, My.

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Speaker 3: Understanding, Katie is no. So we've got measures in place

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Speaker 3: to protect our remote communities. We need to have those

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Speaker 3: essential workers that go to remote communities need to be

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Speaker 3: vaccinated to perform those roles. But I couldn't see a

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Speaker 3: situation where someone unvaccinated could access or you know, go

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Speaker 3: into a remote community.

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Speaker 1: All right, So essentially, even if you traveling from interstate unvaccinated,

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Speaker 1: you're not going to be heading into a remote community

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Speaker 1: or you're not going to be able to correct Katie.

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Speaker 3: So someone can come from Sydney into Darwin, but they

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Speaker 3: still have to have the same rules apply to them

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Speaker 3: as it is for a Territorian. So you know, it's

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Speaker 3: about as I said, we had a very small number,

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Speaker 3: and I point to the approximate half a dozen that

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Speaker 3: we're in Hard Springs late last week that were unvaccinated.

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Speaker 3: This is about those police and border and health resources

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Speaker 3: utilizing where that they should be and the border arrivals.

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Speaker 3: As I keep saying, Katie, there's as much COVID in

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Speaker 3: the territory as into state.

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Speaker 1: Well, and I guess this is the reason why a

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Speaker 1: lot of people listening this morning will be wondering why

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Speaker 1: are we continuing with the vaccination mandate. Look, I'm double vaccinated.

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Speaker 1: I don't have a huge issue with it. I've still

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Speaker 1: got to have my booster because I've had COVID. We

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Speaker 1: can all see that. You know that there is that

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Speaker 1: need obviously for herd immunity, But are we at a

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Speaker 1: point now where it doesn't really make a difference if

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Speaker 1: somebody is vaccinated or not.

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Speaker 3: No, Katie, vaccine saves lives, it protects your loved ones,

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Speaker 3: and it is so important. Then while we're talking about vaccine, Katie,

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Speaker 3: it's really exciting today the Novavaks is available in the

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Speaker 3: territory and this is something that a very small number

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Speaker 3: of people wanted to wait for, that protein based vaccine.

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Speaker 3: But vaccine I cannot stress and our health professionals cannot

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Speaker 3: stress en us how important it is to be vaccinated.

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Speaker 1: So why have we still got that mandate for workers

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Speaker 1: if you're allowed to travel into the Northern territory, Willy nearly.

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Speaker 3: So there are two separate issues, Katie. So someone can

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Speaker 3: come into the territory unvaccinated, but we're still restricting them

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Speaker 3: within the territory from those high risk settings. And it

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Speaker 3: is important that those people in those frontline and those

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Speaker 3: essential worker roles are vaccinated. So someone can't come unbacked

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Speaker 3: into the territory and then go into those settings. Once

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Speaker 3: they're into the territory, the show directions that we all

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Speaker 3: obliged by they have to as well.

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Speaker 2: But you can still go into Bunnings, but not a pub.

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Speaker 3: So Katie, that was in terms of within the territory

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Speaker 3: we have right now measures where we believe those higher

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Speaker 3: risk settings based on the health advice that you need

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Speaker 3: to be vaccinated, and that is following that health advice,

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Speaker 3: and we continue to look at that and be as

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Speaker 3: agile as we can, but at the same time ensuring

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Speaker 3: the safety of territory.

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Speaker 1: All right, in a lot of the other states, they

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Speaker 1: are now making changes to those check in systems.

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Speaker 2: When are we going to be heading down that path?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Katie, is something that certainly we appreciate the efforts

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Speaker 3: of territorials, everybody, business owners, community members, and we don't

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Speaker 3: want to have unnecessary measures, but that checking out is

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Speaker 3: really important. It provides us with that vaccine. But also

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Speaker 3: if we will go to see a new strain of

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Speaker 3: the virus, if we were to see outbreaks, you know,

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Speaker 3: particular numbers, we can still utilize that information. But our

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Speaker 3: health professionals are certainly looking at and discussing that check

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Speaker 3: in and how we can be as agile as possible.

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Speaker 3: But the advice is presently it should.

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Speaker 1: Remain Yeah, but I mean at the moment, like I know,

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Speaker 1: for me, every time I go to Cohl's, every time

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Speaker 1: I go to Woolley's, I end up a couple of

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Speaker 1: days later getting an alert that there's been somebody with

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Speaker 1: a case of COVID at one of those locations, and

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Speaker 1: you don't know whether that person's in a nile near

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Speaker 1: you or whether they're anywhere nearby. I think we've all

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Speaker 1: reached the point where if we've got symptoms, we know

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Speaker 1: what we need to do, and we need to go

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Speaker 1: and get tested and isolate if indeed we do have COVID.

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Speaker 1: But even in other situations where I've been much closer

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Speaker 1: to somebody who has tested positive, I let's say the gym,

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Speaker 1: and then it's not updated for several days.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Katie, And that's the information that our health officials

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Speaker 3: are looking at, how can we be practicable And you know,

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Speaker 3: you raise some valid points there that they're certainly looking

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Speaker 3: into around the measures we have in place to keep

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Speaker 3: the community safe.

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Speaker 1: So at this point in time, we are just keeping

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Speaker 1: it in place. But it sounds as though there's you know,

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Speaker 1: there's not really that many reasons why we need to

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Speaker 1: keep checking in.

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Speaker 3: So Katie, I've raised the points with view around why

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Speaker 3: we believe that the check in is important at the

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Speaker 3: moment on that health advice. If we were to see

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Speaker 3: a large outbreak, being able to get that information quickly

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Speaker 3: to people. But certainly the points do you raise are

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Speaker 3: valid and that's why throughout the pandemic we have to

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Speaker 3: be agile. That's why these public health measures will change.

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Speaker 3: And we understand the frustration of community. It's difficult at

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Speaker 3: times to keep up with it, but we certainly follow

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Speaker 3: the latest health advice and we try and message that

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Speaker 3: to the community.

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Speaker 1: All right, Minister, those international borders open today. Are we

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Speaker 1: expecting an influx of travelers? Any idea how many flights

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Speaker 1: and how many passengers we're expecting, Yeah, Katie.

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Speaker 3: This is really exciting. Tourism and hospitality have been absolutely

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Speaker 3: devastated by the pandemic and we've provided those supports when

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Speaker 3: they're in lockdown and trying to get territorians out, and

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Speaker 3: territory LANs have done that visiting venues. We are pivoting

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Speaker 3: our international marketing. But we have seen international travels slowly resuming.

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Speaker 3: But this is a really clear message to the world

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Speaker 3: that Australia, the Northern Territory is open for travelers. We've

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Speaker 3: got that London Darwin flights, We've got a couple of

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Speaker 3: flights arriving in today and I understand that there will

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Speaker 3: be a number of passengers getting off one of those planes.

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Speaker 3: We've also got I'm not sure if it's arriving today,

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Speaker 3: but we've seen resumption of a service between Singapore and Dawen,

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Speaker 3: so off the back of the announcements last week with

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Speaker 3: the E one ninety base. This is really exciting. So

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Speaker 3: I know many people have waited a long time to

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Speaker 3: be able to see family and friends from oversea.

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Speaker 1: Minister, A message has just come through on the tech sign, Hi, Katie.

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Speaker 1: I went to the East Drive Through Testing Clinic on

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Speaker 1: the weekend for a test and one of the nurses

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Speaker 1: said that they're going to be closing down that facility.

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Speaker 3: Is that the case, Katie, I'm not aware of that detail.

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Speaker 3: That resource is really important for us and that's why

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Speaker 3: we've gone there, and it's a long term plan. Whether

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Speaker 3: there's changes in the operational hours because of the number

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Speaker 3: of tests, but it's important for our RAP distribution and

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Speaker 3: our PCR tests if people do need them. I'm happy

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Speaker 3: to seek some advice for you and provide some further clarity,

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Speaker 3: but that's.

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Speaker 2: Not my understanding, Minister.

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Speaker 1: That code yellow at the hospital, as I understand it,

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Speaker 1: it lifted on the weekend how is the hospital capacity

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Speaker 1: this morning?

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Speaker 2: And was it a busy weekend?

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Speaker 3: Oh, Katie. Our hospitals and not just Rozalin and Parmesan,

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Speaker 3: but right across the territory has done an amazing job

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Speaker 3: and it's been very difficult working circumstances for them. There's

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Speaker 3: ppe to contend with. There's changes in roles. Someone might

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Speaker 3: be in a nominal role that position, you know, throughout

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Speaker 3: this pandemic and the high numbers of hospital cases that

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Speaker 3: we have seen meant they had to change roles. We

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Speaker 3: did see that Code Yellow enacted for the safety of

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Speaker 3: patients and staff last week. It did list on Friday.

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Speaker 3: The hospital numbers did decrease off last week. We've seen

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Speaker 3: the COVID taste numbers decrease over the weekends. We look

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Speaker 3: towards the next couple of days. We always see that

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Speaker 3: decrease in case numbers over the weekend and early in

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Speaker 3: the week. Our chief Health officer believes that our peak

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Speaker 3: of COVID was around the twelfth of February. So our

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Speaker 3: hospitals certainly has worked tirelessly ro Ozowen and Palmeerstan to

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Speaker 3: care for people both with COVID and without COVID and

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Speaker 3: we hope those numbers in case numbers territory wide, but

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Speaker 3: also needing hospitalization continue to decline.

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Speaker 1: So if we've reached the peak, if that peak was

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Speaker 1: the twelfth of February, as you've just said there that

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Speaker 1: the Chief Health Officer has said, what is the plan

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Speaker 1: to get things like elective surgeries back in operation? How

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Speaker 1: soon can we expect there to be a bit of

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Speaker 1: a plan for things like elective surgery so that you know,

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Speaker 1: some of those territories that really need to get in

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Speaker 1: there and get that specialist treatment are able to.

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Speaker 3: That's our absolute focus, Katie, many people particularly in those

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Speaker 3: categories tree and who have had surgery deferred. So we're

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Speaker 3: working within anti health, particularly with Palmerston Regional Hospital, getting

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Speaker 3: an additional theater back online, working out whether patients need

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Speaker 3: you know, can it be a day procedure overnight and

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Speaker 3: ensuring that we have that better availability so that their

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Speaker 3: procedures can continue. And so I certainly it's been a

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Speaker 3: focus for me with health of course managing COVID, but

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Speaker 3: you know we're moving through that, and so how can

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Speaker 3: we all those other health conditions that certainly don't stop

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Speaker 3: because there's a global pandemic how can those people get

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Speaker 3: their care? We know it's impacting territories every single day,

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Speaker 3: and for some of them it's quite a big impact.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's having a massive impact on so many people,

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Speaker 1: and I think that you know that the sooner we

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Speaker 1: are able to get to that normality, obviously it's going

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Speaker 1: to be the better for those people that do require

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Speaker 1: that surgery. Minister, I understand that we're not going to

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Speaker 1: have you on the show for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately,

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Speaker 1: your little fella has to go away for some fairly

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Speaker 1: urgent emergency surgery, as I understand.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, the family we are going to head off at

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Speaker 3: lunchtime today. As many of your listeners know, Henry's had

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Speaker 3: a long journey with his spinal cord humor. He's a

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Speaker 3: tough little one and so we are getting that treatment

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Speaker 3: and super specialized. Henry's condition is extremely rare. I just

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Speaker 3: like to acknowledge Rozo in hospital amongst the family having COVID,

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Speaker 3: Henry needed to have some urgent MRIs and that care

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Speaker 3: being outstanding. So I will be taking some personal leave

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Speaker 3: and thanks all your listeners for the support they offer us,

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Speaker 3: and I'll look forward to being back on not only

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Speaker 3: this regular segment, but week that was as soon as possible.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, we look forward to having you back and all

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Speaker 1: the very best to Henry here. As some people know,

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Speaker 1: play soccer with my little girl, Brontie. He is a

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Speaker 1: great kid and we hope that that all goes really well.

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Speaker 3: Thanks Katie. We're really grateful for all the support that

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Speaker 3: the family, friends and the sort of community show us,

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Speaker 3: and I certainly know how difficult it is for families

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Speaker 3: during these times and really appreciate that support.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, all the best, minister, Thanks very much for

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Speaker 1: your time this morning.

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Speaker 3: Take care,