PM, state leaders to come north for national cabinet in Darwin next month
State and territory leaders will join Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Darwin next month for the first face-to-face national cabinet meeting of 2021.
Northern Territory
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EXCLUSIVE: FREEZING southern leaders are expected to flock to the Top End next month for the first face-to-face national cabinet of the year.
The NT News can exclusively reveal Darwin will host national cabinet on Friday July 9, the first major summit of the nation’s leaders in Darwin in a decade.
Leaders have been offered exclusive look into the Howard Springs quarantine camp, which has been upheld nationally as the gold standard for screening international arrivals.
Among those expected to come are Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who last visited the Top End in late April.
The attendance of Victorian premier Dan Andrews is the least certain – he would need to spend 14 days quarantining at Howard Springs if Melbourne’s Covid-19 outbreak continues.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the important meeting would be a chance to get “the gang back together”.
“The Comeback Capital will be hosting the national cabinet in July,” Mr Gunner said.
“This is the first time the nation’s leaders have been together in the Territory for more than 10 years.”
Mr Gunner said the cabinet meeting would allow leaders to better understand how the Territory has come through the pandemic without a single case of community transmission.
“As Australia continues lead the world in how we respond to the coronavirus crisis, there is no better place for national cabinet to gather than the Territory where we are leading the nations comeback,” he said.
Mr Gunner said a tour of Howard Springs had been offered to all state and territory leaders.
“And I’ve promised the PM a cold beer and a warm Territory welcome,” he said.
The Chief Minister and Prime Minister both visited the Howard Springs facility in May, where Mr Morrison praised the work of quarantine workers.
Prior to his recent visit in late April, Mr Morrison hadn’t visited the Territory in over a year.
The announcement coincides with a joint federal and Victorian pledge to build a Howard Springs-style quarantine facility in Melbourne, which was confirmed on Friday.
It will be the first in-person meeting of state, territory and federal leaders in 2021, with all national cabinets so far being held over video conferencing.
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