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Speaker 1: And the Minister for Health, Natasha Files, joins me on

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Speaker 1: the line right now. Good morning to your minister, and

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Speaker 1: happy International Women's Day.

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Speaker 2: Thanks to you, Katie, and I hope you're feeling that up.

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Speaker 1: Oh, thank you and welcome back. It is good to

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Speaker 1: have you back on the show.

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Speaker 3: Minister.

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Speaker 1: It does seem as though those COVID numbers are well

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Speaker 1: and truly on the decrease. I know that we still

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Speaker 1: tragically had a desk yesterday, but do you feel as

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Speaker 1: though we've officially passed the peak and we're onto the

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Speaker 1: road of some kind of normality.

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Speaker 2: Katie, I think that we are on that track, that trajectory.

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Speaker 2: I'm not sure of what we're quite there that yet.

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Speaker 2: We have had many twists and terms with COVID, but

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Speaker 2: I think the figure for your listeners that might interest

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Speaker 2: them is the seven day average. So, Katie, I've just

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Speaker 2: received a brief from Health. Today's case numbers is four

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Speaker 2: hundred and thirty seven cases, so a little more than yesterday,

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Speaker 2: but that's not to be unexpected. We see the case

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Speaker 2: numbers ten to dip off on the weekend and Monday,

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Speaker 2: and then that Tuesday Wednesday they sort of pick up

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Speaker 2: a little bit but that seven day average is that

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Speaker 2: key figure, and that's sitting at four hundred and forty

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Speaker 2: eight today. Because we're such a small community, the peaks

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Speaker 2: and troughs, that seven day average sort of flattens those

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Speaker 2: out a little bit. So we still have a number

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Speaker 2: of people, you know, receiving acute care in hospital, but

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Speaker 2: it's certainly decreasing, Katie.

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Speaker 1: It certainly is, and I think when you compare it

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Speaker 1: to those numbers that were sitting at over one thousand

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Speaker 1: for quite some time there, it has got a lot

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Speaker 1: of people questioning when is the emergency Declaration for the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory around COVID going to end?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, So we first signed that public Health Emergency

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Speaker 2: Declaration back in March twenty twenty. When I signed that

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Speaker 2: as a Minister for Health, I certainly didn't expect to

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Speaker 2: be still signing them some two years later. But Katie,

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Speaker 2: I think that we're still using some aspects of that,

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Speaker 2: but it's certainly not, you know, to the degree that

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Speaker 2: it was being utilized even just a month or so ago.

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Speaker 2: So we're working with our health officials around what aspects

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Speaker 2: do we still need over the coming sort of weeks

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Speaker 2: and months. But how we can certainly ease off so

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Speaker 2: that we can set through to normality as we used

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Speaker 2: to know it.

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Speaker 1: So is it due to end on March eighteen? Have

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Speaker 1: I got that date right?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? Katie, I think that I haven't got it in

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Speaker 2: front of me, but from memory it's around that middle

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Speaker 2: part of March. So what happens is I get briefed

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Speaker 2: by the Department of Health, we take it into that

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Speaker 2: sensi emergency Cabinet and make the decisions. But Katie, even

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Speaker 2: if we do resign that for a period of time,

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Speaker 2: as I just mentioned, there may be some aspects we need.

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Speaker 2: And then also if there's some aspects that we need,

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Speaker 2: is there a way to have those in place without

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Speaker 2: having the full emergency? But I think territories can expect

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Speaker 2: over the next few months that we certainly would step

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Speaker 2: away from it that exact timing. I would have to

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Speaker 2: get further advice on.

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Speaker 1: So what is the process though, Because if it's due

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Speaker 1: to end on March eighteen, is it something that then

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Speaker 1: needs to go back through Parliament.

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Speaker 2: No, Katie, So it's something that's signed by the Minister

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Speaker 2: for help. So as I just mentioned, I have to

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Speaker 2: be fully briefed and informed and then I take it

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Speaker 2: into that sense with the Chief Health Officer and the

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Speaker 2: Territory Controller. So there is a structure around it, but

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Speaker 2: it is something that and will certainly let the community

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Speaker 2: know it's actually been on something. I've had discussions around

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Speaker 2: it about how we start to step out of this

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Speaker 2: and how we let the community know well.

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Speaker 1: And I think it's something that people are sort of wondering.

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Speaker 1: I know in South Australia they're looking to lift that

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Speaker 1: declaration by April one and a lot of people wondering

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Speaker 1: what it will mean in terms of the vaccine mandate.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Okatie, So there is certainly some aspects and vaccine

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Speaker 2: mandate is one of them. I think that the mandate's

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Speaker 2: on vaccine. They're in place for a few key reasons.

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Speaker 2: They're too protect the vulnerable, protect those that work with

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Speaker 2: the vulnerable, and so the vaccine mandate would probably be

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Speaker 2: one of the last public health measures to go at

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Speaker 2: some point. So we've seen an excellent response from territory

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Speaker 2: and vaccine is that real key between COVID being a

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Speaker 2: pandemic and then making it an endemic and within our.

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Speaker 1: Community, well, I guess a lot of people are wondering

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Speaker 1: why they still actually and you and I have discussed

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Speaker 1: this before, so I don't want to sort of cover all,

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Speaker 1: but why they do still have to get you know,

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Speaker 1: the vaccine if they've had COVID or you know, why

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Speaker 1: they can't just get back to work.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so the vaccine is really important, Katie. And we've

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Speaker 2: seen vaccine you know, a lot of diseases that cause

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Speaker 2: severe illness and in fact death, you know, decades ago.

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Speaker 2: A vaccine is the key to ensuring that they're not

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Speaker 2: a pandemic, and they're an endemic. So polio is one.

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Speaker 2: The chicken pox is a vaccine that wasn't available when

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Speaker 2: I was a child, but my children have adieved it.

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Speaker 2: So vaccine will be important. And we've seen territorians you know,

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Speaker 2: really step up and get vaccinated. And it's a reminder

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Speaker 2: that the pediatric second doses are now eligible and that

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Speaker 2: booster dose is also really important.

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Speaker 3: Can I ask what is the rate of.

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Speaker 1: Vaccination now for those that have actually had the three doses,

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Speaker 1: so the booster as well around the territory, Katie, I think.

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Speaker 2: It's about fifty five percent. We don't have the figures

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Speaker 2: quite in front of me, but the booster dose is

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Speaker 2: fifty five percent. We've got eighty eight percent of children

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Speaker 2: age twelve to fifteen have had at least one dose,

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Speaker 2: and close to eighty percent of them are fully vaccinated.

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Speaker 2: We just need to actually cady that figure of fifty

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Speaker 2: five percent. That's first dose for our five to eleven

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Speaker 2: year olds. I apologize. I'll see if I can bring

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Speaker 2: up the figure of boosters while we're just.

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Speaker 3: Chatting, okay, So we will see if we can get that.

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Speaker 1: Because it does sound as though there's quite a large

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Speaker 1: amount of work to go there. If you're hoping to

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Speaker 1: have everybody well, you certainly still have that mandating place

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Speaker 1: for workers.

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Speaker 3: It sounds like there's quite a long way to go.

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Speaker 2: A couple points on that that I think would be

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Speaker 2: of interest to your listeners. I know many people, yourself

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Speaker 2: and myself included, we've had COVID. There is a sixteen

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Speaker 2: week grace period if you've had COVID to receiving your booster.

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Speaker 2: So that's important for people to know you can safely

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Speaker 2: receive your booster shot, your dose of booster vaccine as

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Speaker 2: soon as your symptoms do disappear. Now, some people have

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Speaker 2: very minor symptoms and within a week they're gone. Other

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Speaker 2: people that it does tend to lag a bit, so

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Speaker 2: really encourage people to talk to their primary health care

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Speaker 2: provider and make sure they get that boost. I was

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Speaker 2: boosted when I had COVID and I certainly felt that

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Speaker 2: have helped me with that third.

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Speaker 3: Dough all right, Minister, I want to move along.

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Speaker 1: We know over the weekend there were a number of

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Speaker 1: locations targeted by crime. The COLP says that we've got

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Speaker 1: a crime crisis. Your electorate was targeted by kids, as

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Speaker 1: I understand it, on the weekend. There is an issue

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Speaker 1: with youth crime. There's also an issue with a lot

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Speaker 1: of people drinking in public places and engaging in what

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Speaker 1: police described throughout last week as a borring behavior. Minister,

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Speaker 1: have we got a crime crisis on our hands?

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Speaker 3: Katie?

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Speaker 2: Crime is unacceptable at any point and any incident of crime,

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Speaker 2: whether you're a small territory business or a long term

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Speaker 2: corporate business that's been here. We've put in place a

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Speaker 2: number of measures to support the community. But the events

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Speaker 2: over the weekend are extremely disappointing and we're looking at

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Speaker 2: what further we can do, particularly around that vis secure

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Speaker 2: to help businesses.

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Speaker 1: I mean, do you feel as though the band Drinkers

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Speaker 1: Register is working at the moment when we have got

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Speaker 1: such large volumes of people you are drinking in public places.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, o, Katie. Alcohol abuse is one of the leading

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Speaker 2: causes of crime, and that's why we have put in

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Speaker 2: place some of the strongest alcohol reforms with the BDR.

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Speaker 2: We are looking at the BDR around how we can

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Speaker 2: make sure it is agile and response, but it does

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Speaker 2: stop hundreds of people each week from accessing alcohol. So

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Speaker 2: there is not one solution in this space. There is

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Speaker 2: a number of measures and that's why we continue to work.

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Speaker 1: When you look at those issues that we've got though

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Speaker 1: right now on the streets with people drinking publicly. We've

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Speaker 1: heard from Mission Australia last week that the Sobering Up

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Speaker 1: shelter is full. We know that domestic violence rates are

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Speaker 1: through the roof. Are there other measures that you're looking

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Speaker 1: at right now when it comes to that alcohol misuse

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Speaker 1: to try and deal with this very immediate issue, Yeah, Katie.

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Speaker 2: So we've clearly given police more powers and working with

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Speaker 2: those Larachean Nation patrols, we open the sobering Up shelters

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Speaker 2: for twenty four hours so it's available at any time

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Speaker 2: of the day, But of course we work with that

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Speaker 2: NGO sector that provides those resources around being agile, and

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Speaker 2: it's certainly, you know, it's a big resource. It's got

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Speaker 2: the sobering up shelter, the detox in it, and you

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Speaker 2: know it's all co located so that people can have

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Speaker 2: that continual pathway of care. But alcohol abuse is a

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Speaker 2: difficult issue to solve, but we're certainly throwing everything at it.

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Speaker 1: So at the moment, I mean, do we have enough

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Speaker 1: enough places for people to go that need to sober up?

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Speaker 2: I haven't got advice to the country, and I'd be

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Speaker 2: of course interested to hear from around the point that

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Speaker 2: made that the sobering up shelter it is full. It's

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Speaker 2: certainly got plenty of capacity, whether it's at certain times

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Speaker 2: of the day and whether we need to look at that.

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Speaker 2: But the advice I've received from the Department of Health

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Speaker 2: is that the sobering up shelters have capacity. But of

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Speaker 2: course that's always changes. But we certainly put in place

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Speaker 2: a number of measures. We've got the short term accommodation

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Speaker 2: center at Baton Road also to help people when they're

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Speaker 2: in town. But we acknowledge the impacts of these issues

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Speaker 2: across the community.

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Speaker 1: Well, and when you look at some of the issues

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Speaker 1: that we're seeing with alcohol issues on the streets at

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Speaker 1: the moment, we know you may not have been in

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Speaker 1: town when we were told by the Territory Police that

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Speaker 1: usually we'd have about seven hundred people in from various

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Speaker 1: communities in the likes of Darwin. At the moment there's

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Speaker 1: more than two thousand. What kind of impact is that

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Speaker 1: having on our hospital as well.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, it's really important. And this is something where

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Speaker 2: we have ensured that there's resources available. So we've got

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Speaker 2: the hospital and we've got the Lorraine brand and Center.

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Speaker 2: The CLP used that for their failed alcohol mandatory treatment program.

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Speaker 2: We've got that fuss to make sure that it was

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Speaker 2: a step down facility. It's about making sure that the

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Speaker 2: hostels that care for people that don't need to be

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Speaker 2: in a hospital bed but have accommodation. But there is

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Speaker 2: a number of facilities across Darwin, and i'm talking Darwin here.

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Speaker 2: We also have facilities in other regional centers for people

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Speaker 2: that perhaps are sleeping rough and it's a difficult issue

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Speaker 2: in terms of homelessness in the territory. It's very different people.

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Speaker 2: It's a transient population, so we're making sure that there

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Speaker 2: is a range of supported accommodation services.

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Speaker 3: Do you think enough is being done right now?

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Speaker 1: Though? When it ca it comes to the misuse of

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Speaker 1: alcohol issues that we're seeing on the streets and in turn,

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Speaker 1: you know that vision outside IgA of that violent brawl.

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Speaker 1: We'll talk separately about the youth crime stuff, but with

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Speaker 1: that alcohol misuse and some really terrible situations that we

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Speaker 1: have seen unfold.

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Speaker 2: Katie, we've done more than any other government to curb it.

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Speaker 1: Are you're happy with what you're seeing on the streets

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Speaker 1: at the moment? Do you feel as though you know?

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Speaker 1: Do you feel as though it's working.

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Speaker 2: No, it's absolutely not acceptable to see the images we've seen.

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Speaker 2: But what I'm saying is you can never stop working

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Speaker 2: in this space and I will continue. And it's working

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Speaker 2: across health with police and also with the mgos, particularly

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Speaker 2: when you're talking about the issue of alcohol. It's multifaceted.

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Speaker 2: We saw Katie Barunga community and have recently been given

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Speaker 2: a liquor license job of a club in their community,

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Speaker 2: and so I think that there is different solutions across

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Speaker 2: the territory. Of course, women and children in their space.

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Speaker 2: You have to come first, but you need to look

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Speaker 2: at people. They go to work, they want to be

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Speaker 2: able to have a drink and if they can't do

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Speaker 2: that in their community, it forces them into urban areas,

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Speaker 2: which brings other social issues. So how can we across

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Speaker 2: the board have measures to keep the community safe and

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Speaker 2: allow territorians to access up.

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Speaker 1: So just very quickly, is that something that you're looking

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Speaker 1: at in other communities?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, So we've spoken about this many times where

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Speaker 2: the liquor licenses need to be signed off by the

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Speaker 2: Commonwealth and the former Senator Nigel Scully and the Coop

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Speaker 2: just refused to engage the conversation. But I'm really pleased

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Speaker 2: that a mature conversation with women and children's safety coming

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Speaker 2: first is happening in a number of communities.

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Speaker 1: Okay, well we will follow that one up just very quickly.

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Speaker 1: We know that the Northern Territory News is reporting that

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Speaker 1: there were fifty four incidents of self harm at don

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Speaker 1: Dale from July to December twenty one, compared to eight

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Speaker 1: from the same period of twenty twenty. Now, following this report,

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Speaker 1: the Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency Chief Executive Priscilla Atkins

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Speaker 1: said that the situation was urgent, that there is a

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Speaker 1: high risk and it's happening right now. The number of

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Speaker 1: young kids with suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts has just tripled.

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Speaker 1: What is happening here because I thought that out at

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Speaker 1: don Dale they did have a specific health service in

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Speaker 1: Danilla Dilber looking after those children.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, that's one of the measures that we put

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Speaker 2: in place is Dania Dilbert do provide the primary health care.

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Speaker 2: The reasoning behind that is people's young people being held

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Speaker 2: on remand or sentence. It would allow continuation of the

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Speaker 2: health care for them as they hopefully transition back into

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Speaker 2: our community. They do reach into MPG for specialists mental

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Speaker 2: health care, but they work with Danella Dilber as a

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Speaker 2: primary health care provider in the first instance, just like

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Speaker 2: a GP would And I understand territory families also provide

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Speaker 2: specialist clinicians and programs for kids in care too, So

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Speaker 2: it is complicated, but we certainly have got resources there.

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Speaker 3: Just very quickly.

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Speaker 1: We've been contacted by a mother about the inability to

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Speaker 1: be able to get her child in to see somebody

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Speaker 1: for mental health care, whether it's a counselor or a psychologist.

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Speaker 1: This is stepping away obviously from the issue at don Dale,

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Speaker 1: but have we got a situation in the territory right

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Speaker 1: now where we don't have enough specialists in this space

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Speaker 1: for our youths, whether you're talking about children that are

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Speaker 1: in don Dale, whether you're talking about kids that are

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Speaker 1: at a school around Darwin.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Okatie. So psychiatric assessment and workforce is an issue

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Speaker 2: right across Australia and it's something that I've been particularly

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Speaker 2: passionate about mental health, not only for adults but for

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Speaker 2: young people, knowing that it's a very difficult time in

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Speaker 2: their lives. And so it is around having as many

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Speaker 2: resources available. But I do acknowledge that it's not an

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Speaker 2: easy pathway. It's not easy to access those services. But

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Speaker 2: we're continuing to work in this space.

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Speaker 1: All right, We'll talk more about that another day. Health

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Speaker 1: Medicine attash to file is good to have you back.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for your time today.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Auviy