Remote NT vaccination data has been released after the ongoing feud between AMSANT and the NT government

Major Territory land councils have slammed the Chief Minister for not consulting further with the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory on restrictions for remote communities.

NT Health has released vaccination data for more remote communities under their control but continue to deny receiving figures for areas governed by Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHO).

Communities controlled by NT Health were updated on Thursday but the government website lists ACCHOs under the title “under 70 per cent”.

A spokesman for the Chief Minister’s office said until the ACCHO data was released by Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT) there was an assumption all those communities were below 70 per cent vaccinated.

“If we don’t know the vaccination rate of an individual community, we must assume it is low in terms of the public health measures we implement,” he said.

The NT Health table shows the Central Australia and Barkly regions are well below vaccination targets with just 34 per cent and 17 per cent double dose respectively.

AMSANT chief executive John Paterson has agreed to provide the ACCHO remote statistics but is concerned how the overall regional figures will be calculated due to varying data gathering methodologies.

AMSANT calculate population percentages using Medicare patient information, particularly home addresses, to allocate where a person resides. However, the NT government have maintained a ‘jabs in arms’ approach.

Mr Paterson said the organisation was in the process of drawing up a service level agreement with the Chief Minister’s office that would make data sharing more accessible and widely available.

“What is important now is that we just get the data right, and get our mob vaccinated,” he said.

“We need to be focused on using the right data though, and AMSANT will continue to use the Australian Immunisation Record (AIR) for our community percentages.”

AMSANT has agreed to revise its vaccination target down to 80 per cent coverage but wants the NT government to agree to also use AIR data.

The Central Land Council (CLC) released a statement in support of AMSANT.

“CLC supports AMSANT’s demand to be consulted by the NT government and for accurate Covid vaccination statistics,” the statement read.

“The NT (government’s) vaccination statistics are inflated and lack credibility.

“The real vaccination numbers are at least 10 per cent lower than the NT government claims. It must stop the spin and get with the program.”

CLC chief executive Lesley Turner said the government must stop making announcements about the pandemic without first consulting with Aboriginal medical services.

The Northern Land Council also released a statement titled ‘Don’t make decisions without us’. The statement reiterated the government should have consulted AMSANT before making decisions that affect remote community vaccinations. NLC chairman Samuel Bush-Blanasi said AMSANT was best placed to provide advice about remote area health sector preparedness.

“Governments have to think beyond the big cities when making decisions about our mob out bush – don’t make decisions about us without us.”

EARLIER: THE Central Land Council and federal Health Minister Greg Hunt have urged Chief Minister Michael Gunner to “stop the spin” over remote vaccination data.

It comes after Mr Gunner again claimed the Commonwealth had not shared remote community statistics from Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations with NT Health.

Mr Hunt said at a press conference on Thursday that the NT government was being provided with the figures.

“In terms of Indigenous, everything we have we’ve shared with the Northern Territory, and there are some things that we would be grateful to receive from them,” he said.

Health Minister Greg Hunt. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Mr Hunt then went on to praise Health Minister Natasha Fyles for her efforts leading Indigenous vaccination programs.

His comments come a day after Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory called on the NT government to change the way it calculated vaccination rates and said his organisation had provided the NT with data around remote communities.

On Thursday, the CLC chief executive Les Turner said he supported AMSANT’s stance.

“The NT’s vaccination statistics are inflated and lack credibility,” Mr Turner said.

“We call on the NT government to use the Commonwealth’s reliable vaccination numbers so we can have a bit more confidence that the NT’s opening up plans don’t put the lives of remote community residents at risk.”

UPDATED: THE peak NT Aboriginal health body has slammed the NT Government for its remote vaccination strategy and dodgy data.

In a statement released by Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory it said the organisation was not consulted before Chief Minister Michael Gunner announced further restrictions for remote communities.

AMSANT chief executive John Paterson said the organisation was not included in discussions about the use of rapid antigen testing and mask wearing in communities with vaccinations below 70 per cent.

“We are also concerned that an overly punitive approach to the strategy could undermine efforts to accelerate vaccination in these communities.”

Mr Paterson said it is critical that the government engages meaningfully on why and how this measure should be implemented.

“ … Alternatives, such as vaccine passports, that would avoid punitive and potentially criminalising consequences,” he said.

“We strongly advocate for the immediate introduction of vaccine passports to increase community protection and to act as a powerful incentive for those who are hesitant or lax in getting vaccinated.”

Mr Paterson said the most crucial change by the NT Government must be the way they are calculating data. He said they need to be referring to the National Immunisation Register which is kept federally and shows the Territory to only have 67.7 per cent second dose, far less than the Gunner government’s claim of 76 per cent.

“You will hear him saying this and that about the number of jabs in arms given in the Territory but that’s not an accurate measure because it doesn’t account for all those that got vaccinated here as tourists,” Mr Paterson said.

“We want him to start using and referencing the Australian Immunisation Register data that is the most accurate for the Territory.”

Mr Paterson also refuted claims that AMSANT has withheld data from the government about remote communities.

“We have been providing that information to the department of health.”

NT News has contacted the Department of Health, Chief Minister and Minister of Health’s office and is awaiting comment.

EARLIER: ABORIGINAL peak organisations have raised concerns over the new benchmark for Covid vaccination rates in remote communities.

The Doherty Institute modelling sets an 80 per cent double dose vaccination target for all people aged five years and over in remote communities, even though Australia’s medicine regulator is yet to approve the jab for younger ages.

The NT government also announced people entering most remote communities from major NT cities will soon be required to wear a mask for a week when in public and receive a negative rapid antigen test within 72 hours of entering the community.

Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT chief executive John ­Paterson said the government’s revised remote community vaccination strategy still needed work.

Mr Paterson said AMSANT would revise its original target of 90-95 per cent for remote communities to 80 per cent only after ATAGI approved Covid vaccinations for ­children.

However, Mr Paterson said the NT government needed to do more to support ­community-controlled health service providers ahead of the wet season, which would bring a new set of complications in the vaccine rollout.

“We’ve got all the climactic conditions that we’ve now got to deal with and that has thrown another big spanner in the works,” he said.

Central Land Council chief executive Lesley Turner called for greater transparency in vaccination data in the wake of feuding between the Territory and federal governments over remote community figures.

“The enforcement of the new requirements necessitates transparent and accessible advice and we’ve asked the NT government and we’ll talk with congress,” he said. “How do we determine which community is the low rate community?

“That data and the rapid antigen tests have got to be made available for community members wishing to return.”

Mr Turner also warned locking down remote communities could exacerbate issues with food supply and access to services.

The changes could also make it more difficult for ceremonial and cultural meetings.