Doorstop - Howard Springs

LUKE GOSLING, MEMBER FOR SOLOMON: Good morning, everyone. Welcome out to Howard Springs, on a beautiful Darwin build up day. I acknowledge Larrakia, the people who are the traditional custodians of this land here. My name's Luke Gosling. I'm the federal Member for Solomon, which is Darwin and Palmerston, but here with my great friend and the Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy, and the Deputy Chief Minister, Gerard Maley. I've got Andy Warton, the Commissioner. We've got Wayne Snell, also working up here in the NT, making sure the Territorians have the support that they need in their most difficult times. And we've got Pat Hetherington, who's come up from Canberra, and Pat's at NEMA, which is our federal agency for responding to national disasters. So I'm very thankful to the whole team, and particularly the people who put these tents up yesterday afternoon. It gets a bit warm up here and we haven't put the whole 13 tents up today, but out the back here we've got a selection of the facilities that can be deployed from here, from Darwin, across northern Australia. They can be deployed by road, but if roads are cut, they can be flown in by air. And it makes an incredible difference to have that capacity. We've seen in recent times, floods, cyclones, across northern Australia, and we will continue to see them. And what this facility, this deployable emergency accommodation facility will be able to provide us, is quick accommodation, and it can be out on Country, which I think is really important that we can support communities, keep them close to Country, which will make their bounce back into the community a lot quicker. But because we can deploy it across northern Australia from here, it just underlines the vital role that Darwin plays in national preparedness, in national response, because we can get it across to the Kimberleys. We can get it across to north Queensland from here, and that's what makes this place the perfect place for this initial 13 tent, 100 person deployable emergency accommodation camp. So thanks for coming out. I'll hand over to Malarndirri, and of course, we're happy to take questions.

MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Thank you, Luke. Today is a really, really significant day for the people of the Northern Territory, but in particular, for Australia, because the announcement today in regards to having these tents, with Pat Hetherington and his team here, is absolutely significant given what the Northern Territory, in particular, experienced in the recent wet season. Now we're in the next wet season. This is about preparation, and I do want to say a huge thank you to the Northern Territory Government. The last time Gerard Maley and I met, it was a very interesting conversation, and I do want to say, Gerard, this is a really good day for the Territory to see the Northern Territory and Commonwealth Government really pull together, not just in terms of now in preparation for the emergency, but I also want to announce that the work that has been done to see funding return to Daly River. I want to announce that $29.5 million, in disaster recovery, is going out across the Tiwis, Vic Daly and Daly, and that's as a result of the Northern Territory and federal governments working together. This will mean a significant amount of hope for the residents in Daly River, for the school, $5 million, to St. Francis Xavier College so that they can look at what their future is, to Green River, $5 million. These are significant funds that come through the joint relationship between the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory, and I do want to emphasise the importance of that relationship. And I'm very pleased to see that come to fruition on behalf of the people of the Northern Territory. So, thank you to the Northern Territory Government. Thank you to Kristy McBain as our Minister at the federal level, who pushes this in terms of states and territories across the country. It is important, disasters affect everyone, and I think it's so critical that we're all prepared and that we're all prepared to work together. So I'm really excited about today. I think it's a great, great day. Over to you Gerard.

GERARD MALEY, NORTHERN TERRITORY DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER: Look, I want to echo those comments. This is a great opportunity for the Territory to get ready for the cyclone season. We know now we are in the cyclone season, and we are probably going to get a cyclone this year. Last year, the Northern Territory experience unprecedented, at least 5 events right across the Northern Territory, from Alice Springs into the Barkly, and of course, the Daly River. These tents are available to go out immediately to help any situation, not only to the residents that may need accommodation, but also to the emergency workers, who are going out there to set up. So these tents are going to be so versatile and so handy to have in the Northern Territory. Now, I do want to say, again, this is a classic example of the Northern Territory Government working with a Federal Government, working together for the benefits of Territorians and Australians, no matter where you live in Australia. We can put all our political differences aside, because today is about focussing on Territorians, focussing on Australians, to make their lives better in an emergency. When you lose it all, and I can imagine how bad it is, I was here in Cyclone Tracy, we lost our house. So, I know, very off a low level, how I did it, what it feels like, but to have these people, the Federal Government, and Northern Territory, and all the emergency services you see here today, working together to go out and benefit those people in the community is absolutely paramount, in my view, and also from our government, because we know how important it is to protect Territorians when you're in that really, really time of need, which is when you lose your house, or there's a cyclone. Or these days in an emergency situation, we don't know what's going to happen, but this is a great sign. We're ready for it. We can protect Territorians and do what we can to make the Territory the best place to live and work. Thank you.

PAT HETHERINGTON, NATIONAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY INTERIM COORDINATOR GENERAL: Good morning, everybody. It's a real pleasure to be here in the Northern Territory today to talk about preparedness for the season ahead. Earlier in September, we brought together around 300 people to our annual national preparedness summit that brought together the emergency service sector, the community sector, industry, state and local governments, to talk about what was ahead of us in terms of the season. That was informed by critical analysis by the Bureau of Meteorology. And we had a chance to test our plans against the hazards that we think we're most likely to face into this season. At NEMA, we've subsequently met with all of our colleagues across the states and territories to talk about what are the capabilities that they need from the federal government. And this is one of them, the federal government has invested $41 million into the National Emergency Management Stockpile. That includes both physical holdings, so generators, water purification, and also panel arrangements. So that in the event that we need services, the sorts of services you might need during an emergency, they can be acquired quickly at fixed prices. That's available to state government, local government, federal government. This is a part of that National Emergency Management Stockpile. The four tents set up behind us are four of 13 tents that can accommodate up to around 100 people. They are powered, they can be air conditioned, or if you're in the southern states, they can be heated, in the event you need that. They have water purification here, and obviously, you can see the ablution blocks behind me as well. They provide dignity for people who might be being evacuated in an emergency situation, which is just so critical. Based on the lessons we've learned from previous disasters, it makes a lot of sense to have these prepositioned here in the Northern Territory. We know the Northern Territory gets cyclones, but the Top End, more generally, across Far North Queensland and WA, also get that same sort of weather, having it here means it is readily deployable across the Top End of the country. And so we're really appreciative of our colleagues here in the Northern Territory, for engaging with us on this. I think it's mutually beneficial, and I do feel sorry for the teams that had to set it up yesterday afternoon. In addition to that, the federal government has invested about $150 million into the National Aerial Fire Fighting Fleet. We're going to have tough bushfire seasons ahead of us. You've already had a lot of bushfires here in the Northern Territory. The southern states are about to enter that really high-risk time. And so, with an extra 170 aircraft available to us, five national aircraft, we're well prepared for the fire season that we expect to have. I should also mention in October, the 1st of October, Aus Alert, our new national messaging system for emergencies, went live after successful tests at a national level, but also here in community-based trials. That is ready to go. It is one of the tools that we think will help save lives in the season ahead of us. So our message is, we are ready, we've worked really closely with our colleagues across jurisdictions, and they are ready as well. We call on the community to also be ready. Now is the time to get prepared in your own home. Think about your plan, think about the risk that you face, and make yourself as ready as you can. Thank you.

ANDREW WARTON, NORTHERN TERRITORY FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES COMMISSIONER: Well, good morning, Andy Warton, Commissioner Northern Territory Fire and Emergency Services. So as you've heard from our colleagues this morning, these are no ordinary tents. They're powered, they're air conditioned, they're deployable, they're packable, and they're easily, easily assembled, particularly with some practice. I'm told that the first team yesterday took about three hours for our volunteers and the team from NEMA to put up. And the last one was down to 40 minutes, so it's about continual improvement. They can be deployed very, very quickly. In the emergency management world, we talk about prevention and we talk about preparedness, but there's another P word and that's partnerships, and that's what you've seen here today. The partnerships that we have, with the federal government, with NEMA, and indeed the partnerships we have with our communities right across the Northern Territory, are absolutely critical in ensuring that we prevent and that we're prepared for the season that we're now in. So my message to Territorians today is to say the asset that you see behind us today is a national asset, and we feel privileged to have it positioned in the Northern Territory for deployment wherever it's required, including in the Northern Territory. That provides an opportunity for the volunteers and staff of the Northern Territory Fire and Emergency Services to help maintain, to help deploy. But it also provides that national asset, and we're very, very privileged to be part of that. So the message today from me as the Commissioner of the Northern Territory Fire and Emergency Services, more broadly, to our community, echos what Pat just said. We're not preparing for the high risk season now. We're in it. It is cyclone season, we saw what happened last season. What we don't know is what's going to happen this season. What we do know is the partnerships like you've seen today, put us in a very, very strong position to deal with whatever's ahead. Thank you.

JOURNALIST: It was mentioned that these can be deployed on Country. Does this potentially mean that, say, residents of Nauiyu and Palumpa won't need to be evacuated into Darwin should another flooding event occur?

MINISTER McCARTHY: Thanks for the question. What this means now is, it gives the Northern Territory emergency services the option of determining what happens. Should they need to transport the tents to a particular location, wherever that location may be, will be entirely up to the Northern Territory Controller, the Police Commissioner, who is the head of the Northern Territory Emergency Services. Naturally, if the tents are needed interstate, that will also be done in conjunction, always with NEMA, with Pat and his crew. All states and territories will always be working with NEMA.

JOURNALIST: These soft shelters are funded by the federal government. What did the NT Government's input into this announcement look like?

DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER MALEY: This is really about trying to make sure we're prepared for an event in the Northern Territory. We know it is cyclone season now, and more than likely, we are going to get a cyclone. So, we are working with them, and the funding is a joint funding arrangement. As we move forward, we want to make sure we're prepared for any events that may happen in the Northern Territory.

JOURNALIST: What's the, is this funding arrangement different to the $100 million that you had announced earlier this year? Why is this only coming through now?

DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER MALEY: The $100 million we announced is for the Northern Territory projects. We know we've spent that on roads, we've spent that on infrastructure at the moment. This is about helping the emergency service be prepared for this season coming. So, our money is out there as a bucket of money that's been spent, and we are spending it, continuing to spend it, because we need to make sure we're prepared. But this is about making sure we've got the capability to be able to put this 100 men camp, anywhere in the Northern Territory, to benefit those locals, and also to benefit the emergency services, should they need it. Like I said earlier, this is a universal camp. It can be for evacuees, or it can be for emergency workers. It's really up to the Controller to be able to make a decision where it's needed. Just going to be another tool in the toolbox, but we need to make sure we're ready for the Northern Territory severe weather season that we're in right now.

JOURNALIST: With the funding split of the $29.5 million, how much of that is NT funding?

MINISTER McCARTHY: Thank you. So, this is part of the disaster relief arrangements that goes between the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory and states. So that is a 50/50 split. This is what we have been working with the Northern Territory Government on in terms of their application towards that.

JOURNALIST: Just a part of NEMA's wider strategy, is this part of that strategy to have more, I guess, physical things from NEMA, rather than the state or territory governments having to do it all themselves?

PAT HETHERINGTON: I think what I would say to that is that we want to be as helpful as we possibly can. The way emergency services works in Australia is states and territories have primary responsibility for that. But the federal government has a really key role to play. It is often, we'll have concurrent emergencies to deal with, and that can see resources stretched for states and territories. And we want to be able to play an important role in that. So, the National Emergency Management Stockpile is designed to do that. It's designed to complement, supplement some of those things that we know our emergency services workers need. This is one of those, and there are a range of other things, and we're very happy to provide that support.

JOURNALIST: And I overheard before, how do they get transported, especially if a remote location needs them?

PAT HETHERINGTON: It depends on the capability, but as the Ministers have said, this camp behind us can be transported by road, it can be transported by air. Most of what you see here can be fitted into the back of a C-130 aircraft. And so it is versatile in that way, which means we can deploy it rapidly if we need to.

JOURNALIST: So, a coalition of health groups has called on your government to redirect $1.5 billion in funding from the Middle Arm Precinct to building a new hospital. Will you do it?

MINISTER McCARTHY: I haven't seen that request. Very happy to have a look at all sorts of proposals that come our way. I am conscious, that there is a debate at the moment in regards to health and hospitals here in the Northern Territory. The Prime Minister was here a few months ago to assist with the new wing in RDH. This is a conversation that we should be having with the Health Minister.

JOURNALIST: And will your government support Territory Labor's commitment in 2028 to build a new Royal Darwin Hospital?

MINISTER McCARTHY: I think it's important that proposals are put forward, but like any proposal, whether it comes from a government or an opposition, the federal government will look at those and see what's possible.