- The Northern Territory is the safest place in Australia. It is three weeks since our last confirmed case of coronavirus and we now have just five active cases. Our borders are secure. Our people are safe. This has not happened by accident. It is not luck. It is because of the hard work and sacrifice of all Territorians. Because of your hard work, because of your sacrifice, because we are the safest place in Australia, we can now start planning for what comes next. We can get back on the road to recovery. Back to business. Back to work. Back to the great Territory lifestyle. And our comeback does start today. From noon this Friday, the Territory's parks and reserves will begin to reopen just in time for the long weekend. You can start camping and swimming at some of your favourite spots again. These parks, and there will be parks, open inside areas that are currently designated under the Biosecurity Act and they'll be the available for people inside those areas. Our decision to open parks does not apply to Commonwealth-operated parks. That will be a decision for them and traditional owners. A list of all the parks and areas that will be open is now online. This decision applies from Friday, but I’m announcing it today because of the distance involved, because of the work involved, for park operators to start preparing and for Territorians to start planning. Not all areas of parks will be open. We are on the edge of the dry. There are still places that are closed off because of water or crocs. But what is safe to open? What will be open for you to enjoy and enjoy safely is now online. That is probably the most important point. Reopening our parks is not a free-for-all. We are not going straight back to the way things were. Restrictions are being adjusted, but strict rules will apply. If you are heading outdoors this weekend, please maintain social distancing. Don't gather in large groups, practice proper hygiene. All the things that you're already doing. Basically, don't do a Bondi. Our rangers will be monitoring our parks to ensure people are staying safe, respecting others, playing by the rules, and they'll have the police on hand to help them. This is the first significant step we are taking to adjust our coronavirus-related restrictions in a steady and staged process. Work on other outdoor activities is continuing and further announcements will be made later this week. Things are going well. I promise Territorians that if things kept going well, we could plan a pathway out of this and that is what we are doing. We are finalising our work this week. I'll be meeting the Chamber of Commerce straight after this to get more of their input. And by the end of this week, we can explain to all Territorians the roadmap for further adjustments. Based on our progress so far, I expect there'll be some businesses that can reopen or return to more regular operations within the next month, with the goal that all businesses can make a decision about opening in some capacity during June. This will not be back to normal. There will be a new normal. There are three important parts to this. First and most important, our borders stay secure. Securing our borders, keeping others out was the best decision that we made. And it has kept Territorians safe. And they will stay secured as long as it takes for us to keep Territorians safe. Territorians come first. Our borders will be the last thing to open. Second, we have a rapid response plan to tackle any possible future outbreak of coronavirus in the Territory. Our test, trace and trap plan. We've expanded our testing criteria to include anyone with symptoms. We have boosted our tracing capacity. The federal government's Covid Safe app will help enormously with that and I encourage everyone to download it. I have downloaded it. This will help us trap any outbreak, stopping it before it spreads and saving lives. Third, the new normal. Our new way of living while we wait for a vaccine. It’ll still be the Territory lifestyle we know and love with a few changes. There'll be camping and fishing on weekends, mornings at the markets. The sunsets will be just as stunning. The beer will be just as cold. The laksa’s just as spicy. But, all while keeping our distance, hanging out in smaller groups, washing our hands. The simple common sense things that are keeping us all safe. Today is good news. This is great news. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope. But as I've said before, I'll keep saying it. Slowly easing restrictions actually increases the responsibility on all Territorians. We are safe here, but until there is a vaccine, the threat is still out there. We are not immune. So, we all have a duty now, to each other and to the Territory, to stay safe, to stay smart and to keep looking out for each other. We all have to do the right thing to keep ourselves safe and keep others safe so we don't go back to tougher restrictions. It's up to all of us to get this right. I do not want us going back to square one. We have done whatever it takes to make the territory the safest place in Australia and we have succeeded. The task for all Territorians now is to keep it that way. We have to stay the safest place in the country. Thank you. - You talk about Territory-wide opening of parks, from what I can tell, it looks like it's limited to the outskirts of Darwin. Are there actually any changes outside of the Top End? - Yeah, there's a lot of parks in central Australia that are open. A lot of them are inside the biosecurity area. So, I think we can understand, those biosecurity areas, we've done in close consultation with locals to make sure we keep our vulnerable people safe. I am prepared to have a conversation in the next few days about whether any of those parks in those biosecurity areas that are open can be done in a way that people outside that biosecurity area can also access it. But for now, those parks in central Australia that are opening can be used by people who are also inside that biosecurity area. So, it's not a question of opening or not opening parts of central Australia, it's a question about where you live either inside or outside of the biosecurity zone. - You talk about public and social distancing. If a thousand people rock up to Litchfield this weekend, how is the government going the monitor that? - There will be rangers and police at Litchfield monitoring that, keeping a close eye on it. We've got be respectful of each other. There is one thing to keep in mind here, though, and this may be something that only ever happens once — once in the Territory. When you go to Litchfield this weekend, there'll be no tourists there. There'll be a lot less people than normal taking advantage of the fact that we have one of the world's greatest parks at Litchfield. But if you get to the Buley Rockhole and the car park is full, I’m sorry, bad luck. The car park is full. So, as I would encourage anyone to do any time they go camping or fishing or using a park, check the website before you go for all the details. We’ll have police there. We'll have rangers there. We'll also have Territorians there. And to date, right now, Territorians are the best Australians because they have obeyed the rules better than any other Australian. I'm asking you to keep looking out for each other. - Do we have enough resources to be able to cover those? The police are already really stretched as it is. - I’ve done this in consultation with the police commissioner, he's said they've got the resources. This is one reason why the police commissioner suggested we go earlier with the announcement around the parks to give both the rangers and police time to prepare for the weekend coming up. I also think, to be frank, Territorians will be much better at this, full-stop, than other people. And I think we'll still keep getting that from Territorians. Territorians have been the best. I'm asking Territorians to stay the best. - You’re saying we’re due for a new normal. What exactly will that new normal be and why not May, weren’t you saying May - there’d be easing of restrictions as well? - No. What I said was, at the end of April, I’ll tell you about what May looks like. The Prime Minister has certainly flagged that for the national cabinet, there will be mid-May conversations for the country. Obviously, we're in a different position to the rest of the country. We've had three weeks without any case and so, for me, this is happening on Territory time and a time that suits the Territory with the Territory's results fully in mind. So, at the end of April, which is Thursday, I’ll be able to tell you what the road map is for all people and businesses in the Territory about how that rolls out during May and into June. So, people have got dates to work with and they have got advice about what they need to do, go operate a safe business in the Territory and how they need to adjust their practices to run that business that's safe. From my conversations of business, they want to be out to re-open in a way that looks after their staff and looks after their customers. I'm going to be giving them that advice. - You’ve acknowledged that it's on Territory time and we haven't had a case for three weeks and it’s going to be well over that double, at least, until things start to ease a bit more. So, why not allow some businesses to open up sooner then, given we are in the best position for quite some time? Because there are businesses out there screaming for it now. - That’s what we'll be doing from Thursday, providing that clear roadmap about when and how businesses can open. I've been doing this in conversation with a lot of businesses about what we need to do and do it in a safe way. So, I've got to have confidence that we can implement a strategy that keeps all Territorians safe. You cannot take for granted that we're the safest place in the country. It’s a three-pronged strategy. First, keep the borders secure. Second, have that quick test, trace and trap capacity in case coronavirus rocks up, then have the new normal, which goes to how businesses operate to make sure that there is no rapid spread of coronavirus if it gets here. We are safe, but we are not immune. We’re going to do this in a careful and staged way that makes sure that Territorians, all the way through this, can be confident they are being kept safe. - Does it make you anxious to think about lifting restrictions? - I’ve got to say, I thought this would be much easier than closing, but I think it’s a lot more stressful than what we did a couple of weeks back. I’m just very worried about making sure we get this right. Get it right for Territorians. Get it right for businesses. We only want to do this once. We want to get it right the first time around. And it's incredibly stressful because there is no world roadmap here. There's no country I can look to for guidance or even a jurisdiction in Australia to look to for guidance right now. No one else has been able to successfully manage an exit out of corona. We're seeing a second wave. I'm very conscious of the fact that corona is still there. We are safe, but not immune. We just have to get this right. - … close, though, does that provide some comfort in the sense that there's not visitors coming all the time… - It's the security of our borders that has seen us land what I think is quite an incredible result, along with the cooperation of all Territorians. It's the security of our borders and the ongoing cooperation of Territorians that will be able to see us do this roadmap out successfully. So, for me, this is putting a lot responsibility onto Territorians. We've got the border secure, but I desperately need Territorians to keep being the best and they've been the best so far and we need them to keeping the best. - To clarify, social distancing rules are still in place, just for the people at home when they go camping or fishing this weekend, who are they allowed to go with? How many people? Those kinds of things… - So, there'll be a lot more of that clarity on the Thursday when I outline the roadmap about exactly how we're going to do all those things - it will apply across a lot of different activities. So, there's a lot of work I'm doing right now. The work doesn't seem to stop, but on Thursday, we’ve got a clear roadmap about all those activities, all those social distancing rules and how we’re adjusting safely for Territorians to be able to spend time with loved ones who don't live with them at home. - So, will that include community sporting, golf, kids’ sports, that kind of thing? - We’re putting all that advice on our roadmap when we lay out that roadmap on Thursday. - … is considered covid-free, 28 days after the last active case recovers, we have five left. The easing of the restrictions seems like it’s in line with that. What is your estimate on when we could be considered covid-free? - So, yes, our eradication is 28 days after the last cured case. And so, the clock hasn't technically start ticking on that yet. It’ll start ticking. We had three weeks with no new cases and no community transmission, I think it’s a hugely important thing. That's why I've got the confidence we’ll be able to start planning the exit, we’ve also been able to manage this in such a way that I think everyone now is aware of the danger of coronavirus, more willing and able to adjust to the new normal. Health are prepared. I think we've got all the things in place to be to deal with this. And crucially, I've got the border secure. Also, crucially, we've got the test, trace and track capacity now, and then the new normal in place. That's what gives us the confidence about doing this. - Will there be a warming back of the various stimulus packages that you’ve announced following the shutdowns? Because those businesses are going to be able to re-open. - No, I think it's critical to provide that support for business and the shock they got hit with was in that original decision. We are, I think, tracking ahead of the schedule we thought we would have, which is important. And that's good. The sooner we get money flowing around the economy again and people spending money, I think that's an incredible positive for Territorians, but crucially, we're doing it all safely. - So, it will still stay in place? - Yes. - If we're tracking ahead, why can't you provide financial information sooner than you’d originally planned? - So, the Australian Government can't deliver a budget — the Australian Government can't deliver a budget, we can't deliver our budget, unfortunately. They're obviously on track for October, that's when they think they'll start getting certainty around the fiscal situation, which then puts us in a good place to do a budget in November. We'll release our quarterly stats around expenditure around mid-May. So, we'll be upfront with Territorians. But I’ve been upfront with Territorians all the way through this, throwing the kitchen sink at it with upfront expenditure that we're doing, getting police out, knocking every door, making sure the people who said they were in isolation were in isolation, to get the Inpex workers village up and ready, if we need to take Territorians as a stimulus package. So, we've been upfront about what we're prepared to do, but the reality of it still remains around the coronavirus situation and what the Australian Government's budgetary decisions are. - … doing budget repair work prior to the pandemic. Will you be releasing any information about that and how that was going? - So, that was all on track. We’ve released information about how we're implementing the Langoulant’s report, that all those decisions that have been made have been implemented and are on track. Obviously, we are two-thirds of the way through that and coronavirus has hit us. - Given that the situation is obviously worse than what the situation was prior to that report, when will you provide a roadmap for how to repair the budget following this massive, huge hit? - They'll be a crucial thing for the budget. So, obviously, you need clarity around the Australian Government's budget. No one can deliver a budget without the Australian Government delivering a budget, but I think everyone will recognise, the Territory certainly is in that position where the majority of our revenue comes through the Australian Government budget. Once we’ve got that certainty, then you can do the other work. And that will be, obviously, a challenge for whoever Territorians choose to make the new government. Until August, I'll be working essentially flat-strapped on dealing with the coronavirus situation, and in August, you can make a decision, back me or sack me. But either way, until then, I'll keep working for you. - The Budget Repair Office releases quarterly reports. Will you be releasing those to the public? - I’m not aware of any changes to that schedule. - You've mentioned that we're ahead of schedule in terms of the restrictions. Is there any chance that something like the Darwin Cup or Supercars could be done in front of crowds? - I will provide clarity around some of that stuff when we get to the roadmap and releasing it. Obviously, there's still significant social distancing rules that will apply and events often make their own decision about whether they can run or not, and sometimes they've gone beyond what the National Cabinet or the Territory Cabinet decisions are. - What about organised sport amongst the community? - Part of the road map on Thursday. There's a lot of work still happening around that. - Are you concerned that Territorians will run out of patience? - I think I'm asking a lot of them when it comes to dealing with the coronavirus, I think that's very fair to say. You live in a great place. It is the safest place. I would say to anyone out there who might be getting slightly impatient with our response to coronavirus, or take it for granted, the fact that we are safe here, have a look at America, have a look at Italy, have a look at look around. We are in an extremely fortunate position because of the sacrifices that you have made. I will be asking more of you, especially as we start easing into the new normal, it's going to require Territorians being extremely, extremely good. But if in doubt about why we’re asking you to do this, if in doubt about why I'm asking you be patient about how we do all this, look overseas. Unfortunately, the situation is not good. We've done extremely well as a country. The Prime Minister's been a fantastic Chair of the National Cabinet. The Territory is the safest place within Australia. Let's keep it that way. - What about outdoor gyms? - All part of that Thursday announcement. There'll be a lot of excitement for you on Thursday, but there's a lot of work I'm doing between now and Thursday to be able to make that announcement on Thursday. So, I'm not holding you up for any other reason beyond this. There’s still a lot of work to do. - Have we dodged a bullet? - Oh, yeah. I don't want to say that. I feel like you asked me to jinx myself there, Amy. We've done extremely well, extremely well. But we're not immune. We are safe. But there is no vaccine. And so, yes, right now, to date, absolutely. I think in many ways, we have dodged a bullet. But there are a lot of Territorians out there doing it pretty damn tough because of the decisions we’ve made around coronavirus. I don't think they'd feel they dodged a bullet. So, for me, those casuals out there, the businesses that are shut, I still think of you and work for you every day. But how we get these things right… I recognise that you have been whacked just like we've been whacked. And we want to make sure we're there for you and get you through this as much as we can. It's been a difficult six, seven weeks and we'll get there. Thank you, everyone.