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Speaker 1: You're listening to Mix one oh four point nine three

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Speaker 1: point sixty. Now, as we know, yesterday the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: effectively opened up to all of Australia with the Melbourne

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Speaker 1: hotspot lifted. But as you heard on the show with

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Speaker 1: the Chief Minister Michael Gunner, we had some issues with

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Speaker 1: that COVID check in app which the government obviously released

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Speaker 1: for businesses to be able to utilize. Now joining me

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Speaker 1: on the line is the Health Minister Natasha Files. Good

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Speaker 1: morning Minister, Good morning Katie, Good morning listeners. Minister. Has

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Speaker 1: that check in app now been sorted for Apple phones

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Speaker 1: or where are things at?

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, I haven't had the advice that it has

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Speaker 2: gone live for Apple phones yet, but we're very hopeful

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Speaker 2: that that will be in place in the coming days.

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Speaker 2: This app and this checking device is part of the

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Speaker 2: long term plan around living with coronavirus and we've seen

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Speaker 2: this virus evolved. We went into that lockdown earlier in

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Speaker 2: the year and we're really adapting our lives to live

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Speaker 2: with it. So it's a tool to support the community

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Speaker 2: and to have that contact tracing information available for our

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Speaker 2: public health officials. If we are to see community transmission

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Speaker 2: so it's frustrating that it hasn't got life just yet.

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Speaker 2: The Google platform has, but many businesses already collect the

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Speaker 2: information and others are making do with pen and paper

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Speaker 2: while we're just waiting for that to go live.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think that that is obviously, you know,

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Speaker 1: the reassurance here that we know that businesses can still

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Speaker 1: just use the good old fashioned pen and paper. But

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Speaker 1: what was the stuff up?

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, we provided it to Apple and they obviously

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Speaker 2: have to check off and an ask check that it's

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Speaker 2: it's legal, that it's meeting their policies that they have

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Speaker 2: and we had loud time, but with Thanksgiving in America,

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Speaker 2: the time frames just didn't work out, unfortunately. But as

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Speaker 2: I said, we can use other mechanisms. We're continuing to

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Speaker 2: work with businesses, Katie, our community organizations, businesses have done

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Speaker 2: an amazing job putting in this extra mechanism the Department

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Speaker 2: of Health that the Chief Health Officer directions is an

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Speaker 2: educative approach. We will work with businesses. We don't want

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Speaker 2: to get people offside and come down head be handed.

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Speaker 2: We want to work with the community because this is

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Speaker 2: about collecting information for our public health officials and if

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Speaker 2: ninety five percent of people you know, have that information

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Speaker 2: easily at hand on an app. Makes our public health

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Speaker 2: officials lives and jobs a lot easier than working through

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Speaker 2: everything manually by paper.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, look, I actually think it's a good idea. It

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Speaker 1: is that additional safeguard in place for territorians now that

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Speaker 1: our borders are effectively open to all of Australia. I

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Speaker 1: guess we've seen the around the nation and indeed around

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Speaker 1: the world. The way in which this thing tends to

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Speaker 1: spread is from those international arrivals. Now, we obviously have

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Speaker 1: quite a few international arrivals each well each week coming

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Speaker 1: into the territory as part of the set up with

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Speaker 1: the federal government to repatriate or bring those Aussies back home.

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Speaker 1: There's been a couple of flights now as I understand

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Speaker 1: from India, how many cases of COVID do we currently

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Speaker 1: have out at Howard Springs, Katy.

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Speaker 2: I don't have to figures in front of me of

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Speaker 2: exactly how many cases. I'm happy to get them to

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Speaker 2: your producer, Runnie. But we've seen over thirteen hundred vulnerable

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Speaker 2: Australians repatriated into Dawin with these flights with the Federal government,

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Speaker 2: Quantus and the OZMAT team, and I can understand the

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Speaker 2: community is concerned because they do see those numbers of

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Speaker 2: cases published and they are accounted to the territory figures.

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Speaker 2: But I want to reassure territories these people don't come

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Speaker 2: in contact with the community. It's being led by OZMATT

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Speaker 2: who have deployed around Australia and into other countries and

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Speaker 2: have very safely managed the care of people. So in

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Speaker 2: terms of those people, they arrive through the raft side

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Speaker 2: at the airport, they're on specifically charted flights and then

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Speaker 2: they go out to that how It Springs facility. And

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Speaker 2: the reason they're coming into quarantine is because we are

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Speaker 2: seeing these cases. Even though these individuals are tested before

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Speaker 2: they leave India and the UK, which is where the

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Speaker 2: flights to date have arived from, we are seeing cases

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Speaker 2: come through. We're seeing residual cases where there's low readings

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Speaker 2: of the virus. But this quarantine is really important.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess you know. That is a big question though,

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Speaker 1: is people will be wondering exactly how many cases there are.

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Speaker 1: I know that last week there was obviously that situation

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Speaker 1: where there was three additional cases. I think that came

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Speaker 1: through young child and two adults and that was on

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Speaker 1: that flight from New Delhi. But at this stage you

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Speaker 1: don't know exactly how many cases of COVID we've got

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Speaker 1: out at Howard Springs.

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, we had a flight arrive on Saturday, and

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Speaker 2: we had another flight arrived yesterday and the figures from

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Speaker 2: Friday was that we had nineteen positive cases had been reported.

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Speaker 2: The total number of cases in the territories fifty three. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: I do believe that some of those cases have gone inactive,

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Speaker 2: so we'll continue to put out those statements through Secure Antique,

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Speaker 2: but to reassure territories, these people are coming in to

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Speaker 2: quarantine and that is why they have to because we

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Speaker 2: are seeing this virus rampant in countries. Europe is on

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Speaker 2: the rise, America and India, and some of these cases

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Speaker 2: appear to be from previous many months ago and they've

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Speaker 2: been undiagnosed. So really shows you that Australia's public health

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Speaker 2: response is leading and the quarantine is vital. All right.

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Speaker 1: So a total of nineteen cases have been reported, but

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Speaker 1: at this stage, could there be more from those from

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Speaker 1: that additional flight from India.

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Speaker 2: Katie, we had the flight yesterday morning arrived from London.

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Speaker 2: We're seeing slightly less cases off the UK flight than

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Speaker 2: the India flight, but those people have been welcomed into

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Speaker 2: Howard Springs, settling them in and they undergo that test.

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Speaker 2: So I expect we will see more cases in the

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Speaker 2: next couple of days as those people's test results come through.

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Speaker 2: So we'll certainly make sure that that information is public.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I reckon it is incredibly important because no doubt

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Speaker 1: there'll be people that you know that are quite concerned

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Speaker 1: that there are obviously active cases of COVID and well

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Speaker 1: done that they are out there at the Howard Springs

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Speaker 1: quarantine facility. But I guess the concern is as they

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Speaker 1: are arriving, making sure that they're not in contact with

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Speaker 1: anybody at all out at the airport or anywhere, you know,

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Speaker 1: to ensure that this thing doesn't spread within the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory community.

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Speaker 2: Aslutely and we've seen where it went horribly wrong in

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Speaker 2: Victoria and Adelaide. These people just to reassure territorians. This

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Speaker 2: is why Darwin is so good at it. They arrive

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Speaker 2: at the airport, they go in through the wrath side.

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Speaker 2: There's some large open rooms where they can be comfortably screened.

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Speaker 2: People can keep their distance. Our officials that work with

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Speaker 2: them have the appropriate ppe. They're then busted out to

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Speaker 2: that Howard Springs facility so they do not come into

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Speaker 2: contact with general members of the public. So it's a

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Speaker 2: very thorough process to reassure people.

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Speaker 1: All right, Well, we'll make sure that throughout the morning.

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Speaker 1: Hopefully we can get those numbers from you guys, just

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Speaker 1: to make sure we can give clarity to territorians. Now, Minister,

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Speaker 1: I know yesterday we received a message from one of

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Speaker 1: our listeners, Derby from the DO. He asks, now the

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Speaker 1: borders are open to everyone in Australia, our truck driver

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Speaker 1: is still required to undertake COVID testing before being allowed

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Speaker 1: across the border.

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Speaker 2: So Katie, the short answer is yes, truck driver testing

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Speaker 2: is still taking place, and the long is that it's

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Speaker 2: part of the national code and it's continuing as our

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Speaker 2: truck drivers close multiple jurisdictions over a period of time.

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Speaker 2: But it is being reviewed nationally with other jurisdictions. So

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Speaker 2: this is a measure. We don't want to suddenly see

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Speaker 2: an outbreak and then truck drivers haven't been tested and

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Speaker 2: we see blockages and we see issues with breaks, So

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Speaker 2: it is being looked at now that we in Australia

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Speaker 2: appear to be on top of the virus. We obviously

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Speaker 2: want to have as less inconvenience to those hard working

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Speaker 2: truck drivers as possible, But we don't want to stop

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Speaker 2: something and then see outbreaks and have to go back

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Speaker 2: to it. But people haven't had those tests, so it

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Speaker 2: might seem practical to stop it now that all the

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Speaker 2: borders are open. But this is part of a national

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Speaker 2: code to keep those truck drivers safe and keep our

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Speaker 2: communities safe.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I suppose that as things sort of move

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Speaker 1: along and change, we will see some changes in this space.

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Speaker 1: Even yesterday the Chief Minister confirming that we are reviewing

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Speaker 1: those police being on our borders in some checkpoints as well.

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Speaker 1: So it is an ever revolved beast by the sounds

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Speaker 1: of things.

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Speaker 2: Yes, and you know the police, we know that they've

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Speaker 2: done an amazing job in really hot, trying conditions. Can

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Speaker 2: we put them in a slightly more practical location, but

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Speaker 2: ready to step up if we do see outbreak? So

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Speaker 2: the border measures will be in place, people will be

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Speaker 2: filling in that paperwork whilst we have no hot spots

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Speaker 2: declared in Australia, but one could quickly be declared and

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Speaker 2: we need to step those resources up at any.

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Speaker 1: Point now, Minister. Just finally, yesterday we caught up with

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Speaker 1: the Australian Nursing and Midway Free Union and spoke to

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Speaker 1: Kath Hatcher, the acting Branch secretary. Now really frighteningly over

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Speaker 1: the weekend it was being reported in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: News that a nurse had allegedly been held at knife

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Speaker 1: point in one of several shocking alleged incidents. That is

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Speaker 1: what the union had said. The incident that she spoke

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Speaker 1: of yesterday was in number one last week. But kat

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Speaker 1: said that it's really unfortunately not uncommon for our nurses

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Speaker 1: to face really quite dangerous situations in some of our

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Speaker 1: remote communities. I mean, this must be pretty shocking to

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Speaker 1: you as the Health minister, Okatie.

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Speaker 2: I just want to be careful with my comments because

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Speaker 2: there it was an incident, as CAF and yourself have

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Speaker 2: spoken about, and that's being investigated by police and I

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Speaker 2: don't want to say anything that may impact on that investigation.

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Speaker 2: But it's completely unacceptable. These nurses, they're out there in

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Speaker 2: trying conditions, working hard to keep people safe and to

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Speaker 2: not keep them safe is simply unacceptable. This is an issue.

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Speaker 2: We saw the tragic deaths of Gail Woodford in remote

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Speaker 2: South Australia some years ago. We conducted a review. There's

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Speaker 2: a number of recommendations that have been put in place

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Speaker 2: and some are ongoing. We're working with durress systems and

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Speaker 2: the tracking in vehicles, which is important to keep people

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Speaker 2: safe in those remote communities. So we'll continue to work

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Speaker 2: with the Nurses Federation that represents our remote area nurses

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Speaker 2: and put in place measures to keep them safe. But

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Speaker 2: it's unacceptable when they're going to help someone who's in

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Speaker 2: trouble that then they are at risk.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it is completely unacceptable. I know that kat said

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Speaker 1: she is going to be catching up with the department

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Speaker 1: at some point this week. I mean, do we need

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Speaker 1: to look at some kind of legislative change here?

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, we've put in place practical measures such as

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Speaker 2: putting GPS tracking in vehicles as I just mentioned, some

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Speaker 2: juressal arms that nurses can use. We have found that

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Speaker 2: some of the technology has been problematic in the remote situation,

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Speaker 2: so will continue to work through that. We're also working

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Speaker 2: through with housing to make sure that accommodation is safe.

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Speaker 2: So I'm again meeting with the Nurses Union before Christmas

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Speaker 2: and listen to what practical ideas they may have from

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Speaker 2: their members on the frontline. And this is something that

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Speaker 2: we just continue need to work together. But communities, we

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Speaker 2: all have a responsibility for those frontline workers that are

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Speaker 2: there to help us to make sure they can do

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Speaker 2: their job safely.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I one hundred percent agree with that. We've got

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Speaker 1: to make sure that our nurses and all of those

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Speaker 1: frontline workers are safe, particularly if you're working out in

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Speaker 1: a remote community and in some cases you know you're

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Speaker 1: out there alone without your loved ones. Minister for Health

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Speaker 1: Natasha Files, I know that you are pressed for time

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Speaker 1: this morning. Thank you very much for having your chat

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Speaker 1: with us.