KARVELAS: There will be a decision soon - in fact it's imminent, tonight or tomorrow morning
- on indoor gatherings. This number of 100 people has been raised and suggested. Do you
think that's a good number and how might that affect schools?
TEHAN: Well, look, I will wait to see what the health experts have to say on this. Obviously
the Government is taking their advice on these measures, so that will ultimately go to the National
Cabinet, the Cabinet of the Prime Minister, all the state, Premiers and territory leaders
and they will look at that advice and ultimately make a decision. I'm sure the health experts
will look at the pros and cons of what stage we are at in terms of the virus spread and make
the best scientifically informed decision in the best interests of our nation. I'm happy
to put my faith in that.
KARVELAS: Minister, the details here are changing day-to-day, as you know. Should Australians
expect, when they wake up tomorrow morning, new guidelines on their gatherings, particularly
indoors?
TEHAN: Once again, that will depend on what the medical health experts have to say. Then
ultimately what the national cabinet decides. We will have to wait and see. What I can say
to the Australian people is that this pandemic continues to evolve and therefore the Government's
decision making has to evolve with it. Of course, the medical experts have to reset
their advice accordingly and that's the way it's worked, basically, since late January,
and it's the way it will continue to work. Now, I understand that creates some uncertainty
but that is how you deal with this type of pandemic. It's the best way to do it. Listen
to the medical experts, allow them to advise you, as the virus continues to progress, and
that's the best way we can keep people safe.
KARVELAS: Let's talk about your portfolio, schools and education, of course. Donald Trump
has called on parents to school their kids from home if they can. Parents seem to be
doing that in Australia to some extent, that's the parents that can - is that helpful? Is
it helpful that some parents have voluntarily withdrawn their kids from school?
TEHAN: Well, ultimately that's a decision for parents to make.
KARVELAS: Is it helpful, given one of your chief recommendations has been this social
distancing, that's effectively what parents who are doing this are producing - is it helpful
in terms of health outcomes?
TEHAN: Well, the medical experts have said at this stage the best thing is for children
to be at school. They've said that for two reasons. One is that they think it's better
outcome for our workforce at the moment, because we need all our nurses, doctors, allied health
professionals, scientists and everyone else, able to go about their work. The second reason
is that often in terms of child minding, the elderly have to step in to help with parents
who have to go to work, and that can prove a risk to the elderly. So that's the two reasons
they have given at the moment. The Government has supported that, state and territory governments
support that, but ultimately in the end parents will make decisions according to their wants
and needs and I think we've got to respect that as well.
KARVELAS: Do you understand their motives for withdrawing their own children from school?
TEHAN: Look, I understand this is incredibly concerning time for parents. I understand
it's a concerning time for teachers, for whether they be in our schools, whether it be our
early childhood workforce in our childcare centres. This is a concerning time for everyone,
for principals, principals are having to make very tough decisions as well. So we understand
that this is a concerning time. We understand that people will make decisions based on a
number of factors. We also trust the common sense of Australians, but what Australians
can be reassured of is that the Government is listening to the best medical advice that
we can get and it's renowned internationally, in the decisions that we are taking.
KARVELAS: Is there a way where you could keep schools operating as a skeleton level for
children whose parents are front-line workers? You identified it as a workforce issue, rather
than a health issue, that these parents need to continue to work, so is there a way where
you could essentially reduce drastically the number of children at school by allowing the
school to continue to function for the parents who clearly need the school to function?
TEHAN: Well, it's a workforce issue and a health issue. There's that element of often
the elderly having to come in and do the childcare minding which then makes them vulnerable.
We have to understand that medical advice is on two fronts. But when it comes to the workforce,
one of the things that schools can do, and some independent schools as I understand it
in New South Wales have done this, is said that they're going to move to online working,
online studying, but what they will do is keep the school open so that if any student
needs to come to school to do that online studying or online learning, they will do
so under supervision. So that will enable those workers who can't find other arrangements
to be able to still go to work, knowing that their children are being looked after. So
that, to me, seems a very sensible thing to do, if you're not going to leave your school open.
KARVELAS: Is there a point in time at which school closures, whether they be mass or targeted,
will be inevitable?
TEHAN: Well ultimately in the end that will be a decision for the medical experts. They
will make that and then advise government accordingly. So that decision hasn't been
made, but as we've seen across the globe, some countries have moved in that direction
and taken that decision, some countries haven't. We will be guided by the medical experts.
They're looking at what has occurred in other countries and what the consequences have been
around those decisions. They will then use that expertise as well as the expertise they're
putting in place regarding pandemic planning, that they've been doing and watching the spread
of the virus. They will make decisions accordingly. Contingency plans are being put in place.
I've said on a number of times that I know that state and territory Education Ministers
have been planning for a number of arrangements and that is just good, sensible planning,
the sort of thing that the Australian people should expect and we will listen to the advice
of the medical experts and then decisions will be made accordingly.
KARVELAS: Minister, with respect, I think that Australians watching will want to know
what some of those contingencies might look like. I mean, I'm a parent, I know you are,
too - parents are really confused at the moment and there hasn't been enough clarity around
what this might look like. Let's get specific here. Is one thing on the table extending
the Easter school holidays, making them start earlier - is that actively being considered now?
TEHAN: Look, all those provisions have been looked at. I've said before that some of the
things you might look at is around how you stage school holidays. The other thing s
that - obviously there's work going on with online learning. Those two things are being
looked at. So all these things are being, have been discussed, all these things are
part of contingency plans, as you would expect them to be.
KARVELAS: So is it actively been considered because the Easter school holidays in Victoria
begin in a week-and-a-half - is one thing being considered starting them a week early?
TEHAN: When it comes to states and territories, you have to remember that they also stagger
their school holidays, so while Victoria, it's the week after next, later in New South
Wales and then later in the NT - so this is why all these things need to be considered.
It's one of the real benefits of having the National Cabinet, because all states and territories
can come together with the Prime Minister and all these things can be looked at and
there might be individual decisions that states and territories need to take because of
the various circumstances in their jurisdictions. But the best thing we can do is try,
as best we can, is get a unified national approach and that is what the National Cabinet is seeking
to do.
KARVELAS: When I asked you about a skeleton model, is that being actively considered,
the idea of being able to provide school where you can attend for the children who need it
and a different model where you have - essentially you reduce the contact points.
TEHAN: Well, all these things have been part of planning and looking at contingencies.
There are a number of scenarios that you always need to look at when you are putting in place
plans. All those scenarios have been looked at. Obviously for different states and different
territories, there will be different arrangements they need to consider, having to take into
account - for instance, Patricia, one of the things we also need
to consider is, you have after school care that often takes place
at school. So what happens around decisions taken by schools, what is the flow-on impact
to after school care. So all these things need to be looked at. They're all being looked
at and then decisions will be taken at the national level to try to get uniformity, so
that we can give that certainty to parents, as best we can. I do have to say - you know,
I've got schoolchildren, you've got schoolchildren - because these pandemics evolve, because
we're in unchartered waters, the decision making will have to continue to evolve as
a response. That's just good, sensible governing.
KARVELAS: In terms of the other part of your portfolio, universities, you're constructing
a second stimulus package. It will be rolled essentially into the first given things have deteriorated
further in the last few days - universities have been hit hard. Are they going to be included
in this stimulus package?
TEHAN: Well, the Government will look at a lot of sectors and I will be meeting with
the UA board tomorrow and I will be talking to them about the types of things that might
help and support them through the coronavirus. Likewise, I've been talking to state and territory
Education Ministers with schools, talking to the childcare sector to make sure also
we're putting the plans in place to help and support them as well. So those discussions
will continue and we will be doing what we can to help and support everyone in the
education sector, like we will be trying to do the same with the aviation sector. Whether
that's in this next iteration of the stimulus package, or in the budget, or in future measures,
who knows, but we will continue to do everything we can to support the education sector through this.
KARVELAS: So, in terms of the education sector, can they expect to be part of the next stimulus?
Is this imminent? Are you saying they may have to wait?
TEHAN: Well, we will wait and see. Obviously there's decisions and discussions going on
at the moment about what we've made, the first stimulus package and then how we will look
to add to that as necessary. I will continue to have discussions with the childcare sector,
with state and territory Education Ministers, with the universities sector, and where we
can make decisions - it might not necessarily need to be part of a stimulus, additional
stimulus measure - I will be looking to help and support them to make sure that we can
get them through, like we will the nation, through the impact of the coronavirus.
KARVELAS: You mentioned childcare a couple of times. At some point they may need to stop. That's
also something that's been looked at. Will parents - will the centres still be able to
get the subsidies flowing to them to keep them afloat because no doubt there will be
implications for the sector.
TEHAN: So these are ongoing discussions that I'm having with the childcare sector.
I was speaking to key members of the sector today. Officials at my office have been talking with the sector
last week. So we're looking at ways we can help and support them like we are with the
higher education sector and like we're looking to support state and territory governments
with their school sectors.
KARVELAS: And the other part is there's a work test, a pretty stringent work test you've applied.
Many parents look like they might be becoming unemployed now.
Will you allow people to still keep their children in childcare
if they fail those work tests because they've lost work because of this downturn?
TEHAN: Well it's a work and a volunteer test as well. You can do volunteer hours, but these are all
the things that we're looking at the moment.
KARVELAS: Is that something you're actively looking at given things are about to change
dramatically in Australia?
TEHAN: Well we're in discussions with the sector at the moment. They've put some ideas
to us as to how they think the government could help and support them through the coronavirus.
Obviously we're considering those, and we've said that we'll be coming back to the sector
shortly to have further discussions with them, and then put some proposals.
So, these are all things that are being considered at the moment,
as you would expect from good, sensible governing.
KARVELAS: Just very briefly, a man has been airlifted to hospital from the Victorian town of Rosebud
after he was reportedly stabbed at a Woolworths. How alarming is this story? I mean,
we've been reporting about these supermarket wars, but this is now becoming a very, very unsafe situation.
TEHAN: Well that's the first I've heard of that, and but can I just say in general, what we really need
from all Australians at this time is for everyone to really look at what they can do to help
and to support all members of the community. This is a time we need to come together. This is a time
where we need to help and support each other. And if we do that, we will get through this,
and we will be bigger and stronger and better as a community and as a nation at the end of it.
And I would just call on everyone to just step back, give a little bit, and support each other, because
that's going to be the best way we will all get through this.
KARVELAS: Minister, I know you won't know much about this. It's literally just broken, but
Andrew Bragg, who is a Liberal Senator has tested positive for COVID-19 as well. This is
the third federal politician to test positive. What does that say about, really, the increase of COVID-19 now.
We've seen a steep increase in the NSW numbers as well.
TEHAN: Yeah, look, I think what it shows is that the proportionate response that we're seeing from
the Federal Government and state and territory governments is the right one.
We are starting to see the virus continuing to spread here in Australia, so therefore we've got
to step up our measures as a response to that, and that's what governments are doing.
That's what the National Cabinet will look at further measures tonight,
so this is not unexpected. We knew that the virus would increase in its rate of spread, and we've just got to make
sure we put the proper measures in place to deal with that to make sure that we're
flattening the curve, and ensuring we get through this. That's what the federal government and all state and
territory governments are seeking to do.