1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:04,080
Speaker 1: And as I mentioned, the opposition's legislation yesterday around reporting

2
00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:07,520
Speaker 1: for the Chief Health Officer, it was voted down. Today

3
00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,160
Speaker 1: the Government, as I understand, it's going to be introducing

4
00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:14,160
Speaker 1: their legislation extending the cho's powers for another two years. Now.

5
00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:16,560
Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now is the Opposition

6
00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:20,120
Speaker 1: spokesperson for Health, Bill Yan. Good morning to you, Bill.

7
00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:22,920
Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and good morning to your listeners.

8
00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:27,000
Speaker 1: Now. Bill. Obviously that legislation that the COLP had drafted

9
00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:30,800
Speaker 1: around greater reporting for the Chief Health Officer that was

10
00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,840
Speaker 1: voted down yesterday in Parliament was Nash. Yeah.

11
00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:39,040
Speaker 2: Look, we put this together quite some time ago, and

12
00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:44,320
Speaker 2: the legislation is primarily about the advice that is coming

13
00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:46,120
Speaker 2: to the CHARLD and that the CHOW is putting out

14
00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:50,760
Speaker 2: through government channels, that being then reported back through Parliament

15
00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:55,320
Speaker 2: so that the actual reporting process is clear and transparenting.

16
00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,880
Speaker 2: All territories get to see what that advice is, and

17
00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,440
Speaker 2: of course that advice is affecting their day to day

18
00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,760
Speaker 2: lives rather than just what we see in the labor

19
00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:08,319
Speaker 2: press conferences and been a license. We've had a press

20
00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:12,200
Speaker 2: con Katie, so who knows what the advice has been made?

21
00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,440
Speaker 1: So bill exactly what we're like, what are the concerns? Here?

22
00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,520
Speaker 1: Was the worry and is the worry still the fact

23
00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,160
Speaker 1: that you know, we could have changes made when it

24
00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:23,960
Speaker 1: comes to the way in which COVID is being managed,

25
00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,240
Speaker 1: but the Chief Health Officer isn't going to actually have

26
00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:29,960
Speaker 1: to report on those changes or why they're made.

27
00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,800
Speaker 2: Well the changes for the government's legislation that they're putting

28
00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,600
Speaker 2: in today's we have the Health Emergency Act, so that

29
00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:39,920
Speaker 2: the government has to declare the Health Emergency to enact

30
00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:44,240
Speaker 2: those powers that users to get the public to do

31
00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,840
Speaker 2: things on the vaccination mandate, wearing masks, isolation and all

32
00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:50,880
Speaker 2: those sorts of things, so that there's a criteria around

33
00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,520
Speaker 2: what that public health emergency use. Now the government want

34
00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:56,360
Speaker 2: to cease that public health emergency because COVID in some

35
00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,240
Speaker 2: ways whining back. We're moving to the endemic stage rather

36
00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,520
Speaker 2: than pandemic stage. But rather than the government actually seating

37
00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,640
Speaker 2: those powers under that Emergency Act and then maybe bringing

38
00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:08,799
Speaker 2: it back if we see a re emergency of another

39
00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,480
Speaker 2: Australia COVID, they're now going to give visually all the

40
00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:16,400
Speaker 2: powers or actually all the powers in that Emergency Health

41
00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:21,560
Speaker 2: Act to the show for two years without the checks

42
00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:25,960
Speaker 2: and balances of currently the government has, so that the

43
00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,079
Speaker 2: show will have all these unfitted powers for two years.

44
00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:33,480
Speaker 2: There's no reporting requirements as that currently sits under the

45
00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:37,080
Speaker 2: current Public Health Emergency Act, where the show has to

46
00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,480
Speaker 2: report back three months after the end of it. It's

47
00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:42,399
Speaker 2: a detailed report outlining all the things that he's done

48
00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:46,000
Speaker 2: and what the outcomes were. That disappears out out the window.

49
00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,639
Speaker 2: We don't see that anymore. And the show has these

50
00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,000
Speaker 2: powers now for two years without those checks and balances

51
00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:54,639
Speaker 2: of governments.

52
00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:57,400
Speaker 1: And so is the expectation. Is the expectation today that

53
00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:00,639
Speaker 1: that is indeed going to the that is going to

54
00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,680
Speaker 1: pass through Parliament today, and that that's the situation that

55
00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:05,000
Speaker 1: we're going to find ourselves in.

56
00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,440
Speaker 2: Well, unless some of the Labor members can see this

57
00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:14,120
Speaker 2: for what it really is, and that's giving unprecedented power

58
00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:18,480
Speaker 2: to an unelected official and not an elected member. So

59
00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:22,359
Speaker 2: unless their members can see past that, Labor are going

60
00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:24,200
Speaker 2: to ram this through. They have the numbers to push

61
00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,480
Speaker 2: it through. I know that the CLP will be voting

62
00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:28,760
Speaker 2: against it. I can't speak to the Independence, but I

63
00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:31,160
Speaker 2: know a number of the Independences aren't particularly happy about

64
00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,480
Speaker 2: this either. But unless some of the Labor members can

65
00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,240
Speaker 2: get past their party and use their actual consciences and logic,

66
00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,280
Speaker 2: we're going to see this push through Parliament today and

67
00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:44,760
Speaker 2: this will be forced upon territories now for the next

68
00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:46,160
Speaker 2: two years. Bill.

69
00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:48,640
Speaker 1: I know that there was a petition that was doing

70
00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,880
Speaker 1: the rounds. Did that end up being tabled in Parliament

71
00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:55,440
Speaker 1: and any idea how many people actually signed it in

72
00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:55,960
Speaker 1: the end.

73
00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:59,400
Speaker 2: That was titled in Parliament last week Cayden where there

74
00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:03,600
Speaker 2: was over four thousand signatures on that petition. Of course,

75
00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:07,120
Speaker 2: that petition then goes through to the Public Accounts Committee

76
00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,560
Speaker 2: for review and then it's fought back to parliament' ded

77
00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,880
Speaker 2: But because of the issues last week with the Chief

78
00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:17,679
Speaker 2: Minister resigning and of course the Labor government been trained

79
00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:19,920
Speaker 2: a little bit of a chaos while I figured out

80
00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:22,680
Speaker 2: who was going to be in charge, the Labor government

81
00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:27,560
Speaker 2: is effectively shut down the PAC last week and this week,

82
00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,280
Speaker 2: so the Public Accounts Committee won't be able to hold

83
00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:35,159
Speaker 2: those meetings probably until the next few weeks, maybe hopefully

84
00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:40,920
Speaker 2: before Estmate. So we'll get to discuss that that petition

85
00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,400
Speaker 2: then and then bring it back before Parliament.

86
00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:47,440
Speaker 1: Bell what else is on the Oppositions agenda today in Parliament.

87
00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:54,920
Speaker 2: Well, we've got the legislation today about injuries to people

88
00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,920
Speaker 2: whilst in custody, so we'll be looking at that quite closely.

89
00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,320
Speaker 2: Look looking to support this piece of legislation because it

90
00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,760
Speaker 2: actually puts a cap on what the government is paying out.

91
00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:09,120
Speaker 2: But more importantly, if there is compensation paid on first

92
00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:12,479
Speaker 2: and Cussy, it goes into a trust and from that

93
00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:16,440
Speaker 2: trust there can be orders for fines and victims payments

94
00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,760
Speaker 2: taken out of any money's given to the somebody under

95
00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,000
Speaker 2: this legislation. But we'll be pushing an amendment to this

96
00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:27,559
Speaker 2: legislation because the government failed to include restitution payments ordered

97
00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:31,280
Speaker 2: by a court. So if someone gets some money under

98
00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:35,520
Speaker 2: this piece of legislation, we would like to see restitutions

99
00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:39,280
Speaker 2: paid out of that too. But sadly it's not retrospective, Katie.

100
00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:41,800
Speaker 2: It doesn't go back to the thirty five million dollars

101
00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,240
Speaker 2: that the government gave away to the use from Don Dale.

102
00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:47,840
Speaker 2: That money has already been paid, that's gone, so we

103
00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,960
Speaker 2: won't see that back again. But this piece of legislation

104
00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:53,520
Speaker 2: limits those payments in the future, which is probably in

105
00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:54,680
Speaker 2: some respects a good thing.

106
00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,159
Speaker 1: Well, Bill yeah, and the opposition spokesperson for Health. Always

107
00:05:58,160 --> 00:05:59,640
Speaker 1: good to talk to you. Thanks so much for your

108
00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:00,400
Speaker 1: time this morning.

109
00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:02,360
Speaker 2: Thanks you having the right time.

110
00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:02,760
Speaker 1: You two