NT Chief Minister urges residents not to abandon the Territory

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner is urging residents not to pack up and abandon the Territory in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner is urging residents not to pack up and abandon the Territory in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Picture: Che Chorley

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CHIEF Minister Michael Gunner has urged residents not to pack up and abandon the Territory in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

As Centrelink lines grow, Mr Gunner said the Territory was the safest place in Australia to be.

The Chief Minister’s appeal comes amid reports there has been a spike in the number of people leaving in the wake of job losses caused by business closures and residents not wanting to be cut off from their interstate family networks.

“There aren’t any jobs down south, but there’s a lot more coronavirus down there,” Mr Gunner told the NT News.

“I will do whatever it takes to protect Territorians, to save lives and save jobs.

“We are throwing the kitchen sink at this. We are all on Team Territory.

“So, stay here, let’s stick together, and together we will see this through.”

Darwin Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis’s message to those thinking of quitting the Territory was straight to the point.

“Stay, stay, stay in the Northern Territory,” Mr Vatskalis said.

“It is the place to be.

“It is the place where you are safer than anywhere else in the nation.

“We live in extreme circumstances but it doesn’t mean you should pack up and leave.

“If you go somewhere else, it doesn’t mean you are going to find a job.

“Anyone leaving will have to go into isolation for 14 days wherever they go.

“If you have a family your leaving will come at a big cost.”

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Mr Vatskalis said the Territory’s low number of coronavirus cases bode well for Territorians remaining safe.

“The cases we have seen so far are coming from somewhere else and not from within,” Mr Vatskalis said.

“It is more likely you will get the virus if you move to places like New South Wales or Melbourne, where cases are climbing rapidly.

“The Territory has seen its ups and downs often … from the Second World War, Cyclone Tracy and beyond and we have always recovered very, very, quickly because of our resilience.

“Even the mining companies are telling their fly-in-fly-out workers that they have to stay here in the Territory.

“I’ve had people telling me that some FIFOs are starting to rent houses rather than fly back to their home states.”