Anika Wells MP on ABC Radio Brisbane
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO BRISBANE BREAKFAST
TUESDAY, 18 JANUARY 2022
SUBJECTS: Finding a rapid antigen test,;Morrison failure to plan.
LORETTA RYAN, HOST: Okay, how do you find RATs? They are pretty rare. And when you see that list that people put out. I've seen this on community pages and they tell you they're somewhere or other. And then by the time you, sort of, go to that place, they're gone. But Federal Member for Lilley Anika Wells is trying to help you out with a bit of a RAT run of her own. Hello, Anika.
ANIKA WELLS, MEMBER FOR LILLEY: Good morning, Loretta and Craig.
RYAN: How are you helping people find RATs?
WELLS: Well, I'm trying to do the RAT run for them. We have fired up a list for pharmacies and shops in Lilley, which is my electorate on the northside of Brisbane. Where we call the shops each day and ask what they're expecting by way of stock overnight. And then we list that at 5pm. So people can plan if they want to get there for opening hours the next morning, where their best chance of getting a RAT is.
RYAN: Yes.
WELLS: Because I cannot remember something more talked about or sought after since Tamagotchis first came out, when I was back in primary school. It was all anyone could talk about.
RYAN: And the deliveries are usually overnight, aren't they?
WELLS: Yes. And the system isn't perfect, obviously. And anyone who's been tracking those Facebook groups knows, like you said, you can turn up and they're gone. And I've been queuing up outside a major supermarket at 6.30 for opening at 7 am. And someone's come out and said at 6.40, ‘Look, they haven't come in overnight, as we expected’. So it's imperfect, but it's your best shot. And I know, I've got little kids. It's easier for me to plan to be somewhere for opening hours, than drop everything and bolt somewhere during the day, when you get a rumour. So my hope is that it helps and if you can't locate a RAT, my RAT Run, at least is giving you a list of all the places that aren't expecting stock today. So you can rule those ones out and save some time.
RYAN: Yeah, I've seen that you've got a whole list of ones actually. No, no expected arrival, so many of them. And then you've got some that sort of say stock expected next week. So it is, you know, it's something to look at. It is a good, you know, it stops you going somewhere if it says that. But what have the businesses said to you when you've rung up? I mean, did they even know when they were arriving?
WELLS: No, I think what I said was, look, my hope is that this will alleviate you having people ringing you non-stop and walking in. Because they'll look at my ready reckoner now for the area. And they were grateful for that. Because nobody deserves a serve and they’re doing their very best. But their frustration is that their supplier can't even tell them when they're getting their supplies in. So it's not something that they have control over either. Or even their normal supplier has control over. So there's just not enough information about the supply chain, for anybody. Let alone when it comes to the time where you've been told you’re a close contact and you need to hunt down a RAT.
CRAIG ZONCA, HOST: Anika, were MPs given supply of RAT kits?
WELLS: No, no, no RAT kits to speak of here. Sorry, Craig!
ZONCA: Okay. So, because I know different businesses, I didn't know whether, you know, the federal government had acquired a certain number of RAT kits that were being distributed to each and every MP or anything like that, as the parliamentary year kicks off in, well, still a little while away. But yeah, that hasn't happened either.
WELLS: You’re right that the federal government has been sequestering RAT kits at the airport, basically. Like I had a number of different pharmacies tell me yesterday their expected stock of 400 or whatever, that they received notice that that had been diverted to the federal government. Which is another supply chain issue, but I promise you, they're not coming to federal MPs *in my experience.
ZONCA: Okay, there you go. And this is the challenge right now. Are you surprised at how random some places are? Like I saw reported on one of the Facebook groups yesterday, there was a four wheel drive place that was selling RAT kits. You know, not just pharmacies or any other place associated with healthcare.
WELLS: Yeah, I got a tip one of my local petrol stations had them. So I sprinted down there and they were gone by the time I got there. Yeah, I guess it comes to that supply chain and who's got access to different suppliers who might have them in. And I saw there was a scandal yesterday where a cafe said that if you spent over a particular amount in store, this is down in Victoria. But if you spent over a particular amount in store that they would give you a RAT. So I guess it's come…to be honest, these are pretty rare instances. And I don't buy into the PM’s lectures about hoarding, and why they can't be free and available, “because people might do the wrong thing and hoard them.” If RATs were free and available, people wouldn’t need to hoard them, because they'd be free and available. So that’s what it should have been.
ZONCA: Yeah, but it's all about supply, isn't it right now.
WELLS: We've had three years on notice. And the PM was saying back when he went to Scotland that he was using RATs to enable him to do his work. And that was back, what, seven months ago. So they've had a lot of time to prepare. But unfortunately they haven't.
RYAN: Yeah, we've heard some businesses have prepared well in advance. One we were talking to yesterday, a meatworks at Cannon Hill - 30,000 they got. They're testing their, you know, staff every day. So yeah, that they've had some forward planning. Alright, where can where can people find your RAT Run list?
WELLS: They're on my social media channels. On Anika Wells, one N in Anika, thanks Mum again! A-N-I-K-A W-E-L-L-S. All of my platforms that we update, will update at 5pm each day for tomorrow.
RYAN: Yeah, alright. I had a look last night. I'm looking today, this morning so stock expected…
WELLS: I am getting some hot tips in Loretta, so hopefully I'll have a bit more luck for people at 5pm.
RYAN: At 5pm today All right, great. Thank you so much for that. Everything we need, you know all the help we need to get a RAT. Anika Wells, Federal Member for Lilley there, trying to help you out there on the northside.
ENDS
