The Northern Territory news Thu 11 Jun 2020
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2020-06-11
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.
News Corp Australia
Darwin
application/pdf
Copyright. Made available by the publisher under licence.
News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/803411
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/803586
04 NEWS THURSDAY JUNE 11 2020 NTNE01Z01MA - V1 BRING DOWN THE BORDERS THE NT had its last positive COVID-19 diagnosis more than two months ago and has had no active cases of the virus for three weeks. It comes as New Zealand celebrated having no active cases on Monday by announcing it was lifting all restrictions, except for international borders. NZ deputy prime minister Winston Peters is now pushing for a travel bubble between the NT and New Zealand. Mr Peters made the comments on Channel 9s Today program yesterday, saying there should be free travel between New Zealand and jurisdictions such as the NT, Queensland and Tasmania. He said jurisdictions that had low numbers of the virus shouldnt be held back by slow movers. Lets not restrain the movement between our two countries based on the slowest state in Australia, he said. Chief Minister Michael Gunner did not oppose the idea but said international travel was a matter for the Prime Minister. I can understand why New Zealanders would want to holiday in the safest place in Australia, Mr Gunner said. I respect the job PM (Jacin Calls to open up Kiwi-NT corridor SARAH MATTHEWS sarah.matthews1@news.com.au da) Arden has done, they have moved New Zealand to the new normal with secure borders, just as the NT has. Australias international borders are a matter for the Prime Minister. Hes doing a good job and he doesnt need me to do his job for him. We will control what we can control. Weve made the Territory the safest place in Australia. Mr Peters, who is also New Zealands foreign affairs minister, told Today he believed travel between certain jurisdictions and New Zealand could begin soon. Im certain when weve got all the protocols sorted out, which can be done very, very quickly, because so much work has been done, we can be off, he said. Mr Peters commended the NT for its handling of the virus. The performance of Queensland, Northern Territory and, dare I say it, Tasmania, has been superior to New Zealands in many ways even though weve done surprisingly good, he said. New Zealand had its last positive test result for the virus on May 22, with the woman in her 50s now recovered. The NT had its last positive test result on April 6 and had zero active cases on May 21 after a Defence Force member who tested positive while serving overseas was cleared. FEDERAL Labor politicians Malarndirri McCarthy and Warren Snowdon were yesterday tested for coronavirus after attending Black Lives Matter protests. Senator McCarthy was due to conduct a television interview with Sky News yesterday McCarthy, Snowdon tested for COVID-19 after attending protests MATT CUNNINGHAM Sky News Correspondent morning but withdrew after Opposition Leader Anthony Albaneses office confirmed she was being tested for COVID-19. They said the test was being taken out of an abundance of caution as politicians returned to Canberra for parliamentary sittings. About 300 people attended the rally on Friday evening fewer than the 500-person limit on outdoor gatherings. It was later confirmed Mr Snowdon the Member for Lingiari would also be tested after attending a rally in Alice Springs last Saturday. Two other Labor MPs Graham Perrett and Annika Wells were also tested after attending a rally in Queensland. It comes as debate rages over another rally planned for Darwin this Saturday. The Government has refused to condemn the event despite more than 1400 people indicating they plan to attend a number well above the 500person limit. I think people organising those events do need to be conscious of the guidelines around public events, Health Minis ter Natasha Fyles said. But what Im saying is their voice is important and their voice matters. Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said it was oxymoronic a Black Lives Matter protest was being held in the Northern Territory when Aboriginal people were the ones most likely to suffer if there was a coronavirus outbreak. Senator Malarndirri McCarthy AUSTRALIAS peak medical body has backed calls for Queensland to ease COVID-19 restrictions sooner if there are no new outbreaks in two weeks, but says borders should stay closed. Business leaders across the state say a Brisbane rally in support of Black Lives Matter on Saturday that attracted some 30,000 protesters may Qld AMA supports calls to ease restrictions DARREN CARTWRIGHT AAP work in their favour if no new clusters develop within a fortnight. The Australian Medical Associations Dr Chris Moy says there is a strong case for Queensland to loosen its grip on movement and gatherings if no COVID-19 cases arise from the rally. The rally was like an experiment and we get to watch what happens and it gives us greater confidence if we want to relax their restrictions, Dr Moy, who is the AMAs go-to person on coronavirus, said. Its the two-week rule ... in terms of relaxations it should give the confidence to reduce restrictions, but you need to separate the issue from the borders. He said the state should not be so quick to allow southerners in, especially with Victorias infection rate and huge Black Lives Matter rallies being held in Melbourne and Sydney. Clusters at a Victorian abat toir, a fast-food outlet and also a hotel where overseas arrivals were in quarantine showed the southern state was struggling to contain COVID-19. Queensland is scared theyll get a whole lot of Victorians who havent got it under control, he said. Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief Daniel Gschwind said there was a case for the government to bring forward Stage 3 restrictions which come into force on July 10. Business SAs Lisa Andrews and Great Southern Rails Stacey Chau at the Adelaide rail terminal yesterday. They are calling for the NT-SA border to reopen so The Ghan can resume service Picture: TOM HUNTLEY