Leader of the Opposition, Lia Finocchiaro, says the Gunner Government needs to immediately
mobilise specialist health personnel on our road border checkpoints to ensure the Territory
is not left exposed to possible COVID community transmission.
“The Chief Minister is overlooking a major blind spot by refusing to man border checkpoints
during hot spot declarations. The Territory simply can’t afford this cold turkey approach. It’s
creating mass uncertainty and is a significant change to our COVID procedures.
“We already have strict processes in place for interstate travellers who arrive by air or rail,
and we simply can’t understand why the same process isn’t being replicated for people who
arrive by road.
“Thanks to the Gunner Government’s lack of recruiting and mismanagement of the Northern
Territory’s crime crisis, our hard-working police simply don’t have the numbers or the
resources to spare dozens of officers and support staff to man our road borders.
“We want to see public health officials on our border checkpoints during hot spot lockdowns.
This would ensure there’s no confusion for people entering the Territory from hot spots and
minimises any possible weak links which could potentially lead to community transmission.
“Where are these numberplate recognition cameras placed? Are they on every road into the
Territory, including unsealed entry points? How often are the cameras checked to ensure
they’re working accurately? How many police officers are tasked with tracking down
interstate travellers for compliance checks to ensure their paperwork matches up with
information gathered from these numberplate recognition cameras?
“Just last week I saw with my own eyes the volume of caravans coming across the border on
the Plenty Highway.
“Under this new system, we’re relying on technology and people doing the right thing. We’re
in the middle of a hot spot declaration and there should be no relaxing of processes which
have worked for the past year to keep the Northern Territory free of community
transmission,” said Ms Finocchiaro.
Shadow Minister for Health, Bill Yan, says the Chief Minister promised no changes when he
booted AUSMAT from Howard Springs.
“Yet since that announcement we’ve seen Michael Gunner continually interfere with
AUSMAT’s ‘gold standard’. He’s abandoned manned border check points and has made
significant changes to clinical procedures including the scrapping of rapid antigen testing for
health workers at the quarantine facility, and changes to PPE.
“Just this week we were told repatriation flights will soon be processed through the Darwin
International Airport instead of RAAF Base Darwin. The Gunner Government is chopping and
changing tried and tested COVID strategies which is worrying for Territorians.
“Health Minister, Natasha Fyles, also needs to stop dodging questions over why her
department has booked out an entire Darwin hotel. To cite ‘operational issues’ is a cop out
and Territorians deserve more information during a global pandemic,” said Mr Yan.