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Speaker 1: Now, late yesterday, as we've discussed and mentioned earlier this morning,

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Speaker 1: we learned that those close contacts who are triple vaccinated

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Speaker 1: will no longer have to isolate. The new rules will

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Speaker 1: require close contacts to undertake a rapid antigen test within

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Speaker 1: the first three days of becoming a close contact. They'll

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Speaker 1: then need to take another test on day six. Now

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Speaker 1: joining me on the line to tell us a little

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Speaker 1: bit more about the situation is the Health Minister Attasha Files.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Minister.

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Speaker 3: Good morning Katie, Good morning listeners.

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Speaker 1: Why was the decision made to change the close contact rules.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, we saw late last week HPPC matts and we

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Speaker 3: saw a number of jurisdictions announce changes. We here in

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Speaker 3: the territory had a sempse. We also had another SEMPC

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Speaker 3: tomorrow and our health team, the Chief Health Officer's Office,

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Speaker 3: worked very hard on this looking at the territory's contact

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Speaker 3: We have seen an increase of cases lately, but we

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Speaker 3: haven't seen a correlation in the increase of ICU and

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Speaker 3: oxygen cases. We do have a number of people Katie

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Speaker 3: in hospital and I acknowledge our frontline health staff the

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Speaker 3: caring for them in that acute hospital setting. That we

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Speaker 3: had that information nationally and we just took the time

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Speaker 3: to make sure this was the right decision for the territory.

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Speaker 3: But it's another step of transitioning from a pandemic to

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Speaker 3: an endemic. The removal of isolation for close contacts who

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Speaker 3: are fully vaccinated.

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Speaker 1: So essentially, if you are triple vaccinated or if you're

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Speaker 1: a triple vax close contact, you no longer need to

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Speaker 1: isolate for seven days, but you are still going to

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Speaker 1: need to test yourself, correct.

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Speaker 3: Katie, So it's the same testing regime or a test

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Speaker 3: within three days and a test on day six. You

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Speaker 3: also need to avoid those high risk settings such as

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Speaker 3: a hospital, a prison, and age care facility. You must

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Speaker 3: wear a face mask if you are outside, both indoors

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Speaker 3: and outdoors, if you can't physically distance, and you also

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Speaker 3: need to notify your employer or your educational facility your

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Speaker 3: school that you are a close contact. The reasoning for

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Speaker 3: this is just around work health and safety. In the workplace,

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Speaker 3: an employer can make a decision there may be someone

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Speaker 3: who's particularly vulnerable. They can just work through those individual arrangements.

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Speaker 3: But you can leave the home if you follow those criteria.

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Speaker 1: Now we also know that the definition of fully vaccinated

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Speaker 1: for the Northern territories changed as well. Fully vaccinated now

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Speaker 1: means that you have to have had those three vaccinations.

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Speaker 1: Why are we not in line with other states on this?

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, we know with Omicron that the third vaccine

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Speaker 3: is just vital and we have seen significant increases. We

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Speaker 3: spoke last week it was about sixty two percent of

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Speaker 3: people that had that third dose. We've seen that increase

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Speaker 3: to about seventy percent. So territorians are listening to the messages.

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Speaker 3: But that third dose is particularly important with OMICRON, and

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Speaker 3: so to be eligible as to have the status of

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Speaker 3: fully vaccinated and not have to do isolation as a

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Speaker 3: close contact, you do need to have had that third dose.

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Speaker 1: Okay, Now that vaccine mandate is indeed in place now

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Speaker 1: as well, how many public servants didn't meet those vaccination rules?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Katie, it'll take a few days, anticipating about ten

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Speaker 3: days to calibrate the exact figures, but we're expecting the

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Speaker 3: compliance to be very similar to the first two mandates,

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Speaker 3: which was about ninety eight percent. We're just working through

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Speaker 3: with managers. Information goes through to the Office of the

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Speaker 3: Commission for public employment, and we people who may have

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Speaker 3: recently had COVID, they do have sixteen weeks grace to

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Speaker 3: get that third dose. You may have people that are

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Speaker 3: on leave. So it's just working through all that. But

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Speaker 3: we'll certainly have those figures in the coming days.

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Speaker 2: Minister. Somebody's text through and said, can you please ask.

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Speaker 1: Minister files are we going to have COVID number updates

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Speaker 1: for the next ten years or when will we stop

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Speaker 1: reporting these case numbers?

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, we're in a pandemic. I think that the

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Speaker 3: point is that you know, at some point we hopefully

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Speaker 3: transition to the endemic. This is a global situation. It's

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Speaker 3: not just our jurisdiction that's placing this. I know people

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Speaker 3: are fatigued about talking about COVID, but it is really

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Speaker 3: important public health information. But we've certainly shifted our messaging

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Speaker 3: to making sure that the information is available. There's a

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Speaker 3: large number of pieces want that information, but at the

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Speaker 3: same time not hyping that up, so to speak.

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Speaker 1: All right, let's talk about this situation with liquor licenses

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Speaker 1: on remote communities. It continues to be discussed on this show.

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Speaker 1: Three indigenous groups are calling on the Northern Territory government

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Speaker 1: to immediately shelve the legislation that could allow takeaway alcohol

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Speaker 1: into more than four hundred and thirty community living areas,

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Speaker 1: town camps and other small communities from mid July. You

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Speaker 1: and I have spoken about this on numerous occasions. Yesterday,

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Speaker 1: the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the Northern Territory am

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Speaker 1: SAND John Patterson joined me on the show. Take a

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Speaker 1: listen to what John had to say yesterday. Are you

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Speaker 1: saying that there's been no consultation really with the likes

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Speaker 1: of amsand that is managing the health of a lot

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Speaker 1: of Indigenous territories and helping with the health facilitation in

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Speaker 1: so many of these locations.

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Speaker 4: Nothing, nothing or the series nature, Katie, We're not talking

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Speaker 4: about serious. I mean official meetings with our hierarchy, with

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Speaker 4: our leadership group, with the leadership of government, with politicians.

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Speaker 4: We want to sit around the table with politicians, not

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Speaker 4: seeing your bureaucrats. Yep, this is how serious it is, Katie.

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Speaker 4: We want politicians to sit around the table and justify

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Speaker 4: and inform us as to why they believe that they

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Speaker 4: should open up alcohol back in the community where flabagased

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Speaker 4: just got no idea what the urgency is around this.

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Speaker 1: Minister, why hasn't the government consulted the likes of Amstandt

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Speaker 1: And yesterday we also heard from the Police Association on

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Speaker 1: this legislation.

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Speaker 3: So Katie, I think it's important for people to understand

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Speaker 3: what is actually happening here. So the intervention, which then

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Speaker 3: transitions to the Stronger Futures legislation is a Commonwealth piece

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Speaker 3: of legislation that will end in July. So we could

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Speaker 3: sit and do nothing, and what will happen in July

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Speaker 3: is that every one of those remote communities, an outstation,

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Speaker 3: a town camp, people will be able to drink alcohol

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Speaker 3: in those communities. We have bought into the Northern Territory

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Speaker 3: Parliament a piece of legislation that will allow communities, if

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Speaker 3: they opt in, to remain dry for up to two

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Speaker 3: years whilst they decide whether they would like to continue

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Speaker 3: to be a dry community or whether people can drink

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Speaker 3: in that community. So this is commonwealth legislation ending. We

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Speaker 3: wouldn't have the ability to continue that legislation. It's commonwealth

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Speaker 3: that we would have, you know, if it has been

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Speaker 3: subject to racial discrimination claims. But what we're doing is

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Speaker 3: bringing in an interim piece of legislation that would allow

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Speaker 3: communities to make a decision separately to that is lecal

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Speaker 3: licenses and clubs in communities. So yes, the ending of

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Speaker 3: stronger futures. Presently, to have a liquor license in a

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Speaker 3: remote community you have to go through both the Northern

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Speaker 3: Territory government process and the Commonwealth government has to tick

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Speaker 3: off on that. And that's we've talked about this before, Katie,

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Speaker 3: whenever locations with the Federal Minister. So it's incredibly complex

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Speaker 3: for people to understand.

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Speaker 2: So you're saying that that doesn't understand.

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Speaker 1: Is that what's happened to you that you know that

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Speaker 1: you've got different, different organizations that don't understand the legislation.

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Speaker 3: So John partisan Pado someone that I respect enormously and

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Speaker 3: I was in contact with him yesterday. But what it

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Speaker 3: is is you've got a Commonwealth piece of legislation ending.

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Speaker 3: What we are attempting to do is what we've introduced

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Speaker 3: to the Northern Territory Parliament is a bill to allow

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Speaker 3: the status quo to continue. So it is what people

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Speaker 3: are calling for, just more time. But what has to happen, Katie,

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Speaker 3: is the community has to opt in. So you've got

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Speaker 3: a community, for example, looka it's presently a dry community.

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Speaker 3: All looker community wants this legislation in the territory passes,

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Speaker 3: they just have to say we're locked into that, and

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Speaker 3: that community would remain dry whilst they can decide if

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Speaker 3: there is any provision of alcoholic But.

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Speaker 1: So once that legislation passes, essentially those communities have to

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Speaker 1: decide whether yes, they want to remain status quo and

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Speaker 1: they do not want to lique a license or the

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Speaker 1: other option is that they go through the process of

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Speaker 1: getting a liquor license. There's not a situation here where

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Speaker 1: once the legislation passes, there will be alcohol allowed in

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Speaker 1: the community.

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Speaker 3: Katie, You've nearly got it and with most respects. So

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Speaker 3: there's two parts to it. So in terms of a

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Speaker 3: liquor license and a license venue, they still have to

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Speaker 3: go through the Northern Territory licensing approval process. So you're

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Speaker 3: not going to suddenly see four hundred odd clubs, you know,

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Speaker 3: pubs licenses in remote communities. But what you will see

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Speaker 3: in July, when stronger pictures of federal legislation ends, is

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Speaker 3: you'll see alcohol can be consumed.

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Speaker 1: In promote so they can take alcohol into those communities,

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Speaker 1: says take they can get takeaway alcohol and take it

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Speaker 1: into those communities once that stronger Futures legislation ends.

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Speaker 3: Correct, unless the community opts in to this legislation that

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Speaker 3: we've got in the Northern Territory Parliament that provides that

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Speaker 3: opportunity for them. We've got a buil it's called the

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Speaker 3: Association's and Liquor Amendment Bill twenty twenty two, and that

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Speaker 3: would provide a legal mechanism for a community to opt

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Speaker 3: in and remain a dry community and people can't drink

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Speaker 3: in that community.

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Speaker 1: So understandably then I guess some of these communities are

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Speaker 1: concerned if they've been dry for an awfully long period

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Speaker 1: of time and now from July, once that legislation passes

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Speaker 1: from July, they will be able to have alcohol in

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Speaker 1: that community unless they're community leaders opt to not allow

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Speaker 1: that takeaway alcohol.

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Speaker 3: Correct, So, as stronger futures end, we've provided a sunset

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Speaker 3: clause I suppose you could call it, which would allow

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Speaker 3: community continue to be dry. But we need the community leadership,

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Speaker 3: we need local decision making to make that. We can't

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Speaker 3: force that upon a community. If we were to do that, Katie,

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Speaker 3: that would intertwine with the Antidiscrimination Act, potentially the Commonwealth

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Speaker 3: Racial Discrimination Acts.

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Speaker 1: So essentially you're doing this framework, doing this because you

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Speaker 1: don't want to be racist.

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Speaker 3: We want to allow communities to decide if they would

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Speaker 3: like to remain dry. This is a legal mechanism for

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Speaker 3: them to do so.

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Speaker 1: Should there have been that consultation though with some pretty

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Speaker 1: key groups, I would think, you know the likes of

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Speaker 1: AM Sant and indeed the Police Association, the Katie.

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Speaker 3: I'll always accept the criticism around consultation, but I have

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Speaker 3: been talking about this, I have met some of the

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Speaker 3: Aboriginal medical organizations around it. It's certainly been a conversation

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Speaker 3: that has been had for some time. There is formal

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Speaker 3: communications with the Chief Minister and Cabinet Office. But I'll

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Speaker 3: take on board that feedback from PADO and others. But

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Speaker 3: Katie's strongest features is ending in July, and that's the

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Speaker 3: end of the intervention. As I've just outlined and I

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Speaker 3: won't repeat it. If your listeners provides a mechanism for

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Speaker 3: remote communities, outstations, town camps to remain if they wish to.

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Speaker 1: Be, would it be a better option to go the

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Speaker 1: opposite way? And those that have been dry remain dry

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Speaker 1: unless they actually apply to have that license and it's

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Speaker 1: led by the community, So.

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Speaker 3: We can't legally do that. That would intertwine with the

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Speaker 3: Anti Discrimination Act in the territory and the Racial District

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Speaker 3: Nation Act Commonwealth. So if we're providing that exact legislative framework,

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Speaker 3: all the community has to do is say we opt in,

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Speaker 3: and they can opt in for a period of time.

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Speaker 3: They can opt intill Christmas when they've made a decision.

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Speaker 3: You've got some communities and we saw Barunga recently obtain

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Speaker 3: a liquor license and they're managing that in their community.

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Speaker 3: But yes, there is the ability for them to opt

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Speaker 3: in and make these decisions in their own time. They

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Speaker 3: just need to sinkly opt in.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Look, I don't necessarily disagree. I think that there

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Speaker 1: is communities that, you know, if it's community led and

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Speaker 1: they do want this to happen and the community is

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Speaker 1: fine with it, I think that you know, that is

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Speaker 1: well and truly a decision that that community can make,

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Speaker 1: whichever community we're talking about. But I guess what we

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Speaker 1: also have here is a situation where you know, the

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Speaker 1: Police Association are quite concerned that we could indeed see

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Speaker 1: see issues and potential issues in those communities if there

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Speaker 1: is takeaway alcohol automatically allowed into them from July.

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Speaker 3: Katie, There's been conversations and I've been at the table

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Speaker 3: with a deputy Police commissioner the Department of Licensing. So yes,

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Speaker 3: police are certainly aware of these changes and are working

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Speaker 3: through operationally what it means for them.

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Speaker 1: Are you worried about about the fact that there could

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Speaker 1: be those increased issues in communities and not enough well,

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Speaker 1: firstly not enough police to deal with them, but also

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Speaker 1: there could potentially be ramifications to those healthcare clinics as well,

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Speaker 1: having to you know, to assist people who you know

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Speaker 1: who may wind up unwell or assaulted if there is

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Speaker 1: a lot of alcohol in the community.

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Speaker 3: Okay, the alcohol is the biggest single social issue we face.

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Speaker 3: It's the basis of many crimes and antisocial behavior. As

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Speaker 3: a government, we've done more than any other government. But

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Speaker 3: we can never stop. We have to be agile, particularly

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Speaker 3: when you've got a change setting, and so we are

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Speaker 3: looking at our alcohol policies, what works, what can we

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Speaker 3: change and so this is a different way that alcohol

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Speaker 3: will be in the territory post July, but it's something

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Speaker 3: that we are providing that option for communities. Every single

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Speaker 3: community Outstation town Cap can sign up and remain dry

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Speaker 3: post July. It's up to that community to make that decision.

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Speaker 1: Well, look, as you've touched on there, we know that

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Speaker 1: alcohol is such a massive issue in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: right now. You and I have spoken about this again

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Speaker 1: on numerous occasions, and this issue of antisocial behavior on

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Speaker 1: the streets, it is one which has seen a school

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Speaker 1: in your electorate right to parents and care is about

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Speaker 1: the potential of putting up a fence around the school

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Speaker 1: following an increase in what they say, is itinerant behavior

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Speaker 1: including bodily fluids still on premises when staff and students arrive,

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Speaker 1: as well as harassment? Minister, is this issue alone enough

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Speaker 1: for you to acknowledge that the problems we've got with

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Speaker 1: alcohol at the moment have gone too far.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, I think that the issue of the fence

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Speaker 3: around Nightclid School, I'm on the public record. You know,

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Speaker 3: it's an amazing part of our community, is the heart

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Speaker 3: of our community. There's been a lot of work by

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Speaker 3: many volunteers and school staff providing a natural environment, and

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Speaker 3: so I'm strongly concerned about the proposal of offense and

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Speaker 3: how that will change. You know, the schools utilized during

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Speaker 3: school hours, there is some already internal fencing, you know,

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Speaker 3: for younger children to keep them safe and equally it's

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Speaker 3: really accessible for the community after ours. I think that

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Speaker 3: in terms of antisocial behavior during my time as nearly

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Speaker 3: a decade as a local member, we do see it

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Speaker 3: in our community.

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Speaker 1: But will is this the worst you've seen it? Is

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Speaker 1: this the worst you've seen it? Because we've got a

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Speaker 1: lot of people saying that at the moment, Katie.

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Speaker 3: We deal with it in different parts in our community,

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Speaker 3: and Nightcliff has always been you know, it's a service hub.

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Speaker 3: We've got hospital closed by the airport, we've you know,

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Speaker 3: and so I've been working with police actively over the

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Speaker 3: last few weeks as well as other non government organizations.

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Speaker 3: We've got you know a number of people in the

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Speaker 3: community presently. Do they want to return home? Can we

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Speaker 3: facilitate that? So these a complex issue, But for me,

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Speaker 3: I don't think fencing the primary school is a solution.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it is just disgraceful that the school's even

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Speaker 1: in a situation where you know, these bodily fluid on

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Speaker 1: site when teachers and when children are arriving at school

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Speaker 1: like to me it is I know, I'm sure you

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Speaker 1: feel the same. It's just a horrendous situation that that

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Speaker 1: would happen at any school.

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Speaker 4: Now.

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Speaker 1: The Police Minister was on the show last week and

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Speaker 1: she flagged that there were going to be announcements in

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Speaker 1: this space. She said that last Thursday, when is the

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Speaker 1: government going to take some different action when it comes

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Speaker 1: to what we are seeing right now right around the territory,

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Speaker 1: but particularly on the streets of Darwin and Palmerston and surrounds.

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Speaker 3: So, as we spoke about last week to Katie, we're

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Speaker 3: working across our non government partners with the City of Darwin,

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Speaker 3: but also in the space that we provide those services

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Speaker 3: and what we can do, and we're working continuously with

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Speaker 3: both police, licensing and health, particularly in the space of

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Speaker 3: alcohol policy. So we are working right now, but we

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Speaker 3: are also looking to what else we can change to

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Speaker 3: alleviate this issue.

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Speaker 1: Are you waiting for the Chief Minister to come back

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Speaker 1: from leave? Is that what is the hold up here?

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Speaker 3: No, as a cabinet, we don't wait for individual and

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Speaker 3: we all have to take lead from time to time.

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Speaker 3: It's not about that it's working through processes. You know,

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Speaker 3: there's not a single solution to these issues that would

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Speaker 3: have been put in place decades ago if there was.

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Speaker 3: These are incredibly complex, but the community can be reassured

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Speaker 3: that we are working incredibly hard across the different government

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Speaker 3: agencies to put in place mechanisms to help tackle this issue.

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Speaker 1: Well, look, I'll say to you what I said to

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Speaker 1: the police minister, and I'll say it to the Minister

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Speaker 1: of a small business Paul Kirby when he's on the

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Speaker 1: show a little bit later. I think it's reached the

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Speaker 1: point right now where Territorians are so frustrated. People are

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Speaker 1: so frustrated that they just want to know what action

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Speaker 1: the government is going to take.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, we have provided a range of resources across

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Speaker 3: our community and we have made sure that police have

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Speaker 3: the resources they need. We make sure that they have

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Speaker 3: the CCTV. But it's also gone further the work that

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Speaker 3: we're doing with Larachean Nations.

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Speaker 2: Do you think all of that is enough at the moment.

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Speaker 2: Do you think it's making the impact that it should be.

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Speaker 3: I think I'll come back to the point, there's not

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Speaker 3: a thing. It's not simple to solve these to work

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Speaker 3: with non government organizations. Every little thing adds up to

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Speaker 3: make a difference and that's what we're focused on right now.

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Speaker 1: I'll ask you the same thing that I asked the

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Speaker 1: Police Minister. Do Territorians just need to be patient and

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Speaker 1: wait for some of these changes or for some of

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Speaker 1: this to have an impact.

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Speaker 3: I can understand the frustration of the community and they

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Speaker 3: need to know that we are working on this with

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Speaker 3: a sense of urgency. There is mechanisms already in place,

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Speaker 3: but we're identifying what can be done further in this

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Speaker 3: space to tackle these issues.

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Speaker 1: Health Minister Natasha Files, we are going to have to

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Speaker 1: leave it there.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for your time this morning.

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Speaker 4: Thank you