GREG JENNETT, HOST: Okay, well, on Wednesday of next week, the Prime Minister will name the date for Australians to vote in the referendum for an Indigenous voice to Parliament. Due to footy finals weather and his own international travel commitments, he's likely to confirm the date is Saturday, the 14th of October. We say likely. Obviously we have to wait for confirmation on that. It's a process of elimination so far. But Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians Northern Territory Senator Malarndirri McCarthy will be there, whatever the date and will be heavily involved in campaigning. We spoke to her from Alice Springs after launching some health initiatives there just a few hours ago. Malarndirri McCarthy you just know I'm going to ask you questions about the Voice because it's all starting to feel pretty real, but I'm going to put those on hold. I know you're in Alice Springs for other reasons, primarily health care in and around the town. You're addressing doctor and other health worker shortages with a pre vocational doctor rotation scheme. How does this work? How many doctors will it deliver?
NT SENATOR MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: That's right, Greg. I'm here in Mparntwe on Arrernte country, and it's just a stunning country. What I was able to announce today with fellow colleague, Assistant Minister Ged Kearney, was the fact that we want to see the increase and double the number of doctors training in remote and regional areas across Australia, in particular here in the Northern Territory. That is going to be around a cost of $75.75 million. And it is about ensuring that we don't run short and we have to make sure that we are seeing these doctors come through. And its impact in particular very important for the Aboriginal community health sector up here.
JENNETT: The numbers are large. I know they are spread out nationally. How long typically one of these rotations be? If a young and training doctor is sent to a place like the Alice.
MCCARTHY: Look at the moment we know that they can rotate quite through through quite quickly. Around the Northern Territory we have the Alice Springs, the Tennant Creek, the Nhulunbuy hospitals. We had Dr. Emma Kennedy with the Flinders University being able to talk about some of the importance of having these rotational doctor roles come through, that we want to see it double. We know that we have shortages in the sense of doctors, but it's also an area that we're discussing with other health professionals today, Greg, not just about the shortages of doctors, but obviously of our nurses and midwives and also the Aboriginal health workers.
JENNETT: I imagine that entails or will entail an element of incentive payment, will it, to try and tackle young nurses and other health professionals?
MCCARTHY: Well, we're certainly looking at that with the summit that's taking place right now here in Alice Springs. We have over 70 individuals and organizations represented from across the territory and those who are interstate who interact with the territory just as a starting point. As Assistant Minister in Indigenous Health, we know that we're dealing with areas of renal disease. We're trying to roll out the renal cahirs across so many communities across Australia. We have 30 of those ready to go. Six have been announced so far. But what we're talking about in the summit today, Greg, is about how do we not only attract the workforce, how do we keep them, how do we grow our local ones? You know, there are suggestions around incentivization in taxation, for example. These are things that we're listening to from all of those health professionals today.
JENNETT: You know, as you know, any country town will tell you, it's a challenge all the more so when you get into remote communities like Alice Springs. All right, Malarndirri, why don't we move on to The Voice? Because it's a matter of record now, isn't it, that next Wednesday the starter's gun will be fired on what we're calling the formal campaign proper period. What do those six weeks hold for you? And more importantly, where will you be targeting with your campaign activity?
MCCARTHY: Well, I'm looking forward to when the Prime Minister does announce the date. Greg, as I've said all along, I certainly have hoped that it's well before our wet season here in northern Australia. And that's not just the NT, but also northern Queensland and northern WA. There are some really practical logistical exercises that we have to go through in getting not only the campaigners out there and the voters to the polling booths, but obviously the Australian Electoral Commission and their staff. So I'm looking forward to the announcement. I'm certainly keen to get to Adelaide and listen myself and then obviously start to work out where we're going to be over the following whatever weeks it takes to get there.
JENNETT: Yeah, I'm sure your responsibilities will take you near and far across the land. I notice that the Treasurer today acknowledged, quote, 'it'll be really hard in Queensland'. Do you agree that there and WA present as difficult jurisdictions, difficult states to win?
MCCARTHY: Oh, look, the referendum's tough to win full stop, Greg. And I've said that from the outset, but it's important to keep encouraging people, keep talking to people, and I'll continue to keep doing that right up to 6 p.m. on referendum day. This is not an easy journey, but I hope that it is one that does provide some success and some direction for the future of our country in an incredibly positive way.
JENNETT: How targeted do you think the Yes campaign will need to be about certain demographics? I ask Malarndirri because yesterday Pat Farmer, as he ran into Sydney and the Opera House forecourt, said that in his assessment he hasn't met anyone under the age of 30 who would be voting no. But everyone above that age he saw, as, you know, perhaps needing to be persuaded. Do you agree? And how do you target older Australians, maybe 40 and above?
MCCARTHY: Well, I'm not stopping anywhere on this, Greg. It is an incredible challenge, an exciting one at the same time. I do think this is a moment in history for our country to to make a really important decision. And I thank people like Pat Farmer, Michael Long, who is also going to do is walk to Canberra. There are so many people and individuals across the country doing their bit to assist us in the Yes campaign. And I would still continue to say to each and every one of them, reach out to those family members, reach out to those friends of yours and keep encouraging them and letting them know that this will be good for our country.
JENNETT: And how united do you think the yes side of the argument, generally speaking, is? I notice that, Yes 23s Dean Parkin distanced himself from comments that Marcus Stewart had made, well, actually, on this program about Jacinta Price. Do you think that with the naming of the date, there will be some moderation of language, some reunification of disparate elements of the Yes campaign, or do you expect some of these frictions to intensify?
MCCARTHY: Look, I am certainly an optimist and always have been, Greg. And in this instance, I keep encouraging people. I certainly on the Yes campaign journey that we're almost there, stay strong. We are going to do this and we have to do it together. And I'd encourage everyone to continue to do that and work towards that.
JENNETT: All right. Well, look, your commitment has never waned and who knows? Malarndirri McCarthy, perhaps it even goes up another notch or two from here. Let's see what next week brings with the naming of the date. And we'll stay in touch very, very regularly all the way through to well, we don't know the date, do we? But we're saying mid-October.
MCCARTHY: The earlier, the better, I reckon, Greg- that's what I say for for the wet season and all the mob up north. So let's see what happens.