EVAN WALLACE, HOST: To talk about a range of issues, including gun control, the response to fires on our East Coast, and also what's ahead for our Urgent Care Clinics over the summer period is Labor's Federal Member for Lyons, Rebecca White. Good morning to you, Rebecca White.
REBECCA WHITE, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING: Good morning, Evan.
WALLACE: Let's start with those comments from the former treasurer. Is he right? Is it no longer safe to be a Jew in Australia?
WHITE: I think what I'd start with is just to comment on the fact that we're all devastated by the events that happened on Sunday, and what I hear in his voice and I've heard in the voice of others is frustration and fear and anger and grief, and that is completely understandable. We want all Australians to feel safe in our country. Everybody has the right to worship and to study and to live and go to school and do that in peace and do that safely, and nobody should feel like that's a threat. I understand and empathise with the comments he has made. And like every other Australian, we want him and every member of the Jewish community, every member of our broader community, to feel safe and to be able to do those ordinary things, whether it's go to a sporting match or whether it's going to school and to feel safe and welcome while doing that. And obviously, we've got some work to do.
WALLACE: And lots of messages of support that's coming through on the text line and conversations that we have been having over the last number of days since that terrible tragedy on Sunday. Rebecca White, you said that there's still work to be done. Do you think your government's response to tackling anti-Semitism has been appropriate?
WHITE: We've done a lot, and I think what you've heard from the Prime Minister is there's more to do. We have established a Special Envoy. Jillian Segal has provided a report to government, and I know the Prime Minister and the Cabinet are considering what further steps can be taken to implement some of those recommendations. But we've also done things like ban hate speech. We've taken action to increase security for our Jewish community members. There's a special operation within the AFP to combat acts of anti-Semitism. There are many things that I could talk to you and your listeners about, but running through a list of those isn't going to address the hurt and the horrors that we saw on Sunday necessarily. I think what you've seen from the Prime Minister and other leaders around the country is that we all recognise that we have to do more. We simply have to do more.
WALLACE: You're listening to ABC Mornings with me, Evan, filling in for Leon right across the state. You're welcome to get in contact via our text line, 0438-922-936 or give me a call on 1300-222-936. The terrible tragedies and the death that have occurred on Sunday have prompted a conversation on gun control here in Tasmania, right across the country, Rebecca White. It's one where there are a whole range of options that are being considered. What do you think needs to happen now when it comes to Australia's approach to gun control?
WHITE: Well, I can certainly understand why this is part of the discussion, but I don't think it's the only area that we need to be focusing on and we've heard that from many across the community, including our Prime Minister. Here in Tasmania we've got incredibly strong gun laws. They were only recently updated to make them even stronger to provide greater protections in our community. And it's important that we look at these changes in a rational and sensible way. Everyone's feeling very emotional and hurt at the moment. And I know that people want us to do things and take stronger action and we will of course do that, but we have to be consultative about it and make sure that the actions that we do take are proportionate. And what we saw on Sunday was an horrific attack perpetrated by two murderous terrorists, and it shouldn't be then a reflection on anyone who owns a gun in this country that they might be lumped into the same bucket.
As somebody who represents a rural and regional electorate, I understand the importance of having firearms to be able to go about your business if you're a farmer or a recreational shooter, and that's why we've got very strong firearms laws in this state. The Federal Government has responsibilities when it comes to border control and what to ban- weapon, and we are looking at all of those things, the National Firearms Registry, making sure we can enhance that as a an operable piece of work that helps share information across jurisdictions. But ultimately, it's up to states and territories to implement different and stronger gun laws, and the Tasmanian Government and other governments are looking at how they do that.
WALLACE: Rebecca White, it has been a really challenging week in Tasmania responding to Sunday's event, but also if you're on the East Coast, the scare that came to Stieglitz and St Helens and also Dolphin Sands with bushfires, really changing and upending what people's plans might have been for December. I understand that you've been on the East Coast recently speaking with affected community members. What's your sense as to how people are responding right now?
WHITE: Yeah, I have. I've been out a couple of times and visited with residents and business owners and some of the service organisations, along with the emergency service personnel who were first responders at the scene. People are coping in different ways. I'd say some people are showing great resilience, other people are a bit wobbly, and I think all of those reactions are completely normal. The recovery centre that's been stood up in the community has been very helpful because it's meant people can access government services without needing to travel out of Swansea. It's also provided access to insurance brokers and providers who have been able to deal with claims. I think it will take some time before we see that community recover. They've gone through fire after fire, season after season, and it is incredibly traumatising. Every time you see smoke in the air or you smell smoke, which you just can't get away from out there at the moment, you smell it no matter where you are in Dolphin Sands, it's re-triggering for the residents. We need to make sure we continue to provide good support to them, good counselling support to them, and just make it easy for them to access the help that they need right now.
WALLACE: If people are looking for that assistance and support, what would you encourage them to do? Where can they go?
WHITE: Well the Service Tasmania website has access to all the different grants that have been made available. So these are joint funded grants by the Federal Government and the State Government who have been working in partnership to deliver supports in the community. So that lists very clearly the help that is available. The recovery centre, I understand, is still operational in Swansea, so you can also pop in and have a face-to-face conversation. There's some incredible people doing work to support the community there. Or you can reach out to the local council or your local member of parliament, I'm sure anyone would be happy to help if you're a little bit lost for where to start.
WALLACE: And finally, wearing your Assistant Minister for Health hat, the Sorell Medical Urgent Care Clinic, it's up and running. What do things look like over the next week or so? If people want to get that support from their Urgent Care Clinic, is it open now? Is it going to be the same across the state?
WHITE: Well, this is some happier news, Evan. I am really thrilled that the Sorell Medicare Urgent Care Clinic has opened. It opened yesterday for its first ever day. It's located in the Coles Complex in Sorell. It is open from 10am to 8pm and from talking to the staff there yesterday, they're hoping they can extend those hours in the new year once they bring in some more doctors. It's open seven days and it'll make a big difference. Just yesterday, they had 19 people walk in by the time I visited them at about 3:30, which they say is the busiest new emergency urgent care centre that they've been involved with anywhere in the country. There's a desperate need for access to free medical care for urgent matters here in the southeast region. It's a growing community. So if that is something that's going to help people, please look out for those details. There's some friendly staff there ready to help.
WALLACE: Good to know. And just to clarify, over Christmas in the holiday period, open hours, are they remaining essentially the same?
WHITE: They are. They're open seven days a week. They're open on public holidays and they start offering services from 10am and open until 8pm. And that'll make a big difference for people in this region because- particularly in the southeast, we see population numbers swell with a lot of people choosing to holiday in this part of Tassie which- because it's just so beautiful. But of course that's also time when accidents can happen, and it will mean people can access that healthcare closer to where they live or where they're holidaying without needing to go into the emergency department and put pressure on that busy hospital system.
WALLACE: Rebecca White, thanks for your time this morning.
WHITE: Thanks, Evan.
WALLACE: She is Labor's member for Lyons, federal member for Lyons, also Assistant Health Minister, talking about response to anti-Semitism in the country, gun control and the East Coast fire response.