Nursing union fear health system will suffer from new government travel rules

Nurses fear they will have to return to the Territory two weeks earlier than planned, or use up extra annual leave, just to comply with new Gunner Government travel rules.

UPDATED DECEMBER 15: THE Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has blasted the government’s border rules which come into effect next week, on December 20.

Under the new rules, quarantine-free travel will be allowed from any interstate destination to Darwin, Alice Springs or Katherine.

The changes have led to fears the health system will be left short-staffed or force nurses to cancel travel plans interstate.

But even fully-vaccinated Territorians will not be allowed to leave those areas for 14 days.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles fronted the media on Tuesday to say the government were reviewing the rules after a backlash.

Speaking to the NT News on Wednesday morning, ANMF NT branch secretary Cath Hatcher said the possibility health workers would be unable to return to work in hospitals for 14 days after returning to the Territory had created anxiety.

“We had plenty of nurses come to us concerned about travelling interstate and then having to stay at home for two weeks,” Ms Hatcher said.

“That’s pretty unrealistic really.”

Ms Hatcher said the government’s changes meant nurses were faced with either returning from interstate a fortnight earlier than planned, or extending their leave.

She said she hoped the government would ease the restriction from 14 days to just seven or eight days, in line with the latest research based around the Delta variant.

“I’m hoping they will … think this through better.

“The health system is already struggling and it’s going to struggle more if they stick with this solution.”

DECEMBER 13: TOURISM groups and operators continue to blast the NT government over its new reopening rules from December 20, but Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Manison has reaffirmed that their concerns are being looked at “right now”.

The NT government last week announced anyone entering the Territory from December 20 would be required to stay within the ‘high vaccination zones’ of Greater Darwin, Katherine or Alice Springs for the first 14 days after arriving.

For Standley Chasm general manager Nova Pomare, the rules mean visitors won’t be allowed to visit the iconic attraction unless they first stay in Alice Springs for a fortnight.

That’s despite the fact that the Central Australian tourist attraction is located just 50km from Alice Springs and the region is not classed as an Aboriginal community.

Nova Pomare is the general manager at Standley Chasm. Picture: Supplied.

Ms Pomare, whose business is 100 per cent Aboriginal-owned and employs mostly Indigenous workers, said the late changes to the reopening rules had left her feeling “disheartened” and “disappointed”.

“Come December 20, I have to close my business. There’s no one that’s going to be coming in and out,” she said.

“We’ve already had to drop down staff, but I’ve still got six or seven on the books, and they’re now going to have to look for other work.”

The rules have also created a headache for regional Territorians and essential workers, while the peak Aboriginal health group has urged the NT government to push back the reopening date to January.

Tourism Central Australia chief executive Danial Rochford called for a “common sense approach” that would both keep people safe and allow for visitors to move around the Territory.

“For instance, through the East and West Macs and down into Watarrka, we should be looking at some form of tourism bubble, and things like the use of face masks,” he said.

“But the moment you restrict travel, which is what the directive is on the table, you essentially scuttled tourism.”

Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Manison says the tourism industry’s concerns are being looked at ‘right now’. Picture: Julianne Osborne

Addressing the media on Monday, Ms Manison said the NT government had had conversations with operators in the Yulara tourism precinct, which includes the Ayers Rock Resort.

“Those conversations are ongoing,” she said. “It is an important tourism hub in the Northern Territory, but it is also close by to a really important community of Mutitjulu.”