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Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf. Join the conversation with Katie Wolf.

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Speaker 1: You are our eyes and ears in the Territory Mixed

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Speaker 1: one oh four point nine.

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Speaker 2: We have been talking all throughout the week about some

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Speaker 2: of the changes that have come into play out at

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Speaker 2: the Howard Springs Quarantine facility and we've been talking about

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Speaker 2: the testing regime changes and that has really been the

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Speaker 2: focus of a lot of the discussion throughout the week. However,

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Speaker 2: it seems it's not the only change that has come

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Speaker 2: in to play out at the facility. And joining us

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Speaker 2: on the line to talk further is the Transport Workers

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Speaker 2: Union South Australia and Northern Territory Branch Secretary Ian Smith.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Ian.

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Speaker 3: Good morning here.

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Speaker 1: Are you going not too bad now?

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Speaker 3: Ian?

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Speaker 2: I understand that there's some changes that have come in

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Speaker 2: to play well as the OSMAT team have phased out

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Speaker 2: of Howard Springs and nt Health have taken over, changes

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Speaker 2: which have impact our impacted our bus drivers.

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Speaker 1: Talk us through them.

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Speaker 3: Well, A one of those changes, I think it was

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Speaker 3: going to be changes credit to credit to the bus

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Speaker 3: drivers and the companies involved in that process is as

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Speaker 3: soon as they were made of where that things aren't

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Speaker 3: quite say. The drivers said, well, we're not going in

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Speaker 3: until we have the same PPE, and it took her

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Speaker 3: an hour or so to get that, but they got

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Speaker 3: the PPE and they completed the job in a safe

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Speaker 3: and secure manner. And I've got to take my hat

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Speaker 3: off to what's happened in the territory as far as

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Speaker 3: how its wings go. The territory is involved with that

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Speaker 3: have done an excellent job because they haven't had any

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Speaker 3: of the dramas a lot of the other capital cities

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Speaker 3: have had with the quarantine. So look, we have been

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Speaker 3: on the front foot and our members have been on

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Speaker 3: the front foot from the very beginning of the pandemic

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Speaker 3: and the Haward Springs example of what's been going on

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Speaker 3: and involved we had that number one. We wanted to

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Speaker 3: make sure the drivers from day one had the correct PPE.

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Speaker 2: So what happened, what happened on the weekend with that,

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Speaker 2: that resumption of the flights from India.

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Speaker 3: And my understanding is that when I think that the

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Speaker 3: buses compans that were doing were booked as to normal

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Speaker 3: and they've turned the drivers have turned up and what's

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Speaker 3: been going on. They get to the site and they'd

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Speaker 3: they'd be supplied the PPE, look to where and then

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Speaker 3: they complete the job and they do whatever they had

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Speaker 3: to the buses. The buses had to be stared at,

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Speaker 3: serialized and everything before they got put back into service,

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Speaker 3: which is always been done when they've turned up. I

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Speaker 3: think it was a Saturday. The PPE they was supplied

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Speaker 3: wasn't for the standard that they considered to be an

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Speaker 3: acceptable level, and so they all from all I'm getting told,

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Speaker 3: they refused to continue on until they had that and

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Speaker 3: it took about an hour or so. But the parties

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Speaker 3: that are now looking after, which is something BID and

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Speaker 3: T government came back with the correct PPE and the

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Speaker 3: job was completed. So what the the biggest concern is

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Speaker 3: probably for me is the fact that I see that

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Speaker 3: OSNA obviously haven't communicated the right information to the NT

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Speaker 3: government people so that they could make sure the right

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Speaker 3: people that he is there and it was fixed up.

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Speaker 3: But it's probably a matter that probably shouldn't happen, and

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Speaker 3: you've probably got to put that solely in the responsibility

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Speaker 3: of os MATT that they didn't pass on the right information.

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Speaker 2: So you're saying that it wasn't a situation where we're

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Speaker 2: into health had had done the wrong thing. You actually

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Speaker 2: think that the OSMAT team hadn't passed on the information

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Speaker 2: that they should have.

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Speaker 3: Well, if they were passed the information and what was

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Speaker 3: so quiet peopre, you would have thought that NT health

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Speaker 3: would have had it. And you know, we got You've

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Speaker 3: got great people working in that system, especially as so

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Speaker 3: as our drivers a good because when they've got to

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Speaker 3: the site, they realized that what they've been supplied wasn't

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Speaker 3: going to be satisfactory and they weren't going to be safe,

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Speaker 3: and they were going to put themselves at riskers And

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Speaker 3: well it was int NT general Public and made to

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Speaker 3: the right decision, No, we're not going ahead until we

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Speaker 3: get this, and they got that. It took a while.

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Speaker 3: So why The only one way I can see it

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Speaker 3: is obviously OZMAT didn't tell the NT Health exactly what

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Speaker 3: they needed to have for the masts.

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Speaker 2: Well, I guess the other option though, is that that

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Speaker 2: NT health were utilizing the PPE that they thought was appropriate,

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Speaker 2: which may not be to the same standard as what

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Speaker 2: the OZMAT team thought was.

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Speaker 3: Well, absolutely it could be. I suppose you can look

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Speaker 3: at that way. It could be health a breakdown. Think

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Speaker 3: you would think those departments should talk together.

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Speaker 2: Well, yeah, and I mean fundamentally, what we've got to

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Speaker 2: make sure of is that all of our staff out

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Speaker 2: there are as safe as possible. But also, you know,

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Speaker 2: particularly like what you said when you're talking about our

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Speaker 2: bus drivers who are then transporting you know, in some

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Speaker 2: cases those passengers from flights that have arrived from India,

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Speaker 2: which is in such an incredibly difficult situation at the moment,

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Speaker 2: We've want to make sure they're safe no matter what.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, And you know, look, the NT should be proud

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Speaker 3: of the bus drivers that have been doing that job,

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Speaker 3: because what I'm led to believe and through my official

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Speaker 3: up there and misinformation, is that they were the ones

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Speaker 3: that quickly spoke up and said this is insufficient, we

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Speaker 3: need this, this and this, and they weren't going to

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Speaker 3: capture Seed any further until I got it. And that

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Speaker 3: was that that happened, and the job is completed, all

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Speaker 3: all of it later une faithfully, and that's all we've

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Speaker 3: got to maintain. You go, what the territory has done,

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Speaker 3: and it's very clear from my eyes coming from Adelaide

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Speaker 3: and we've had our dramas in the hotel quarantine, is

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Speaker 3: he's done a wonderful job. Of making sure that the

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Speaker 3: refatuated people that are bringing us into Australia into Australia

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Speaker 3: are safe and that we don't get this hight virus. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: out of control. So we've got to be proud about that.

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Speaker 3: And there's the obviously there's a breakdown and communication between

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Speaker 3: two government departments, which is concerned because it's one mistake

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Speaker 3: and we're in trouble and we certainly don't want that

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Speaker 3: to happen. So it's, as I said to me, to

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Speaker 3: put it to the people involved that they spoke up

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Speaker 3: and make sure things are happened correctly. And you would

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Speaker 3: think that you would hope that would be happening for

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Speaker 3: everybody involved at howards.

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Speaker 1: With yeah, well we can only hope.

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Speaker 2: Ian are the concerns from our bus drivers with the

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Speaker 2: changing in the testing regime or anything like that At

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Speaker 2: this point.

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Speaker 3: That hasn't been raised, but it's probably a concern anyway,

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Speaker 3: but there's probably expert advice. You would hope it says,

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Speaker 3: but that they need to be tested when they need

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Speaker 3: to be tested. And what I heard today from my

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Speaker 3: official was that they were more most people were satisfied.

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Speaker 3: What was I think to my understanding, they were all

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Speaker 3: getting tested a minimum after each trip to make sure

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Speaker 3: that the vill they hadn't been transported any vice. But

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Speaker 3: if they were the correct pape and it's done the

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Speaker 3: proper way.

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Speaker 2: We're just having some issues there with your audio at

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Speaker 2: the moment. Ian hopefully you can hear me again.

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Speaker 3: Now okay, now, yeah.

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Speaker 1: So sorry.

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Speaker 2: Did you say that they're being tested a minimum of

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Speaker 2: two days after they're transporting those people that are arriving.

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Speaker 3: That's what was That's what I was sad to believe

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Speaker 3: today that that's one of the best companies said that

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Speaker 3: that's the process that they're going down, so that way

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Speaker 3: we know what's happening. But as I said, if they're

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Speaker 3: wearing the correct ppe, which they are, the chances of

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Speaker 3: the virus being transmitted to become very swim.

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Speaker 1: Is that a worry for you guys?

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Speaker 2: Would you prefer that they're being tested sort of immediately

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Speaker 2: and getting a result fairly quickly, and then again a

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Speaker 2: couple of days later.

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Speaker 3: I don't know, unless they got the virus at that time.

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Speaker 3: I think two days after is probably reasonably expected. If

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Speaker 3: they're going to pick it up. This when you're going

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Speaker 3: to know, you're not going to know at the day,

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Speaker 3: So you would hope those those guys and gals that

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Speaker 3: are actually involved in that traces are making sure they

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Speaker 3: can't be tested, and you will hope that they all

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Speaker 3: have been vaccinated as well.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, absolutely, I guess the only concern. You know,

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Speaker 2: some people listening might right now might be thinking, but

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Speaker 2: then they would also be out in the community for

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Speaker 2: those two days.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, well they would be that. I mean, I'm not sure,

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Speaker 3: and that's why it's so important that we have the

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Speaker 3: correct PPE. And that's why what I'm saying that that

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Speaker 3: those people involved and the India pick up on Saturday,

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Speaker 3: I think it was made sure that they had the

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Speaker 3: correct PPE and they stood up for their right for

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Speaker 3: their rights. Good on it. They had it, and they

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Speaker 3: didn't do the job. And I to give them credit

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Speaker 3: and they also give credits into your health the fact

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Speaker 3: that they listened to them and got the right there.

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Speaker 3: They took some time to get it, but they got

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Speaker 3: the right stuff. Yeah, I think that is why I

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Speaker 3: wonder why they didn't have it in the first place.

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Speaker 2: Well, I wondered the same thing, and I know that

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Speaker 2: you know what you're thinking is that the ozmat team

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Speaker 2: should have communicated it I guess from the other side

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Speaker 2: of things, you know, my concern is, given the fact

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Speaker 2: that there's been a number of changes out there since

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Speaker 2: the NT Health Department have taken over, and that those

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Speaker 2: changes have been based around what they deem as the

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Speaker 2: gold standard, I'd actually say that my concern is that

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Speaker 2: it's the other way around.

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Speaker 3: Well, you could probably quite be right there, and we're

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Speaker 3: probably lucky that we've got good people. Yeah, well, from

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Speaker 3: my perspective working out there that are making sure that

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Speaker 3: those standards are healed high and we continue to continue

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Speaker 3: to make sure the virus if it is getting into Australia,

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Speaker 3: remains in that facility.

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Speaker 1: Well, Ian, I really appreciate your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Are well done to those drivers, you know, for standing

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Speaker 2: up and saying that they do need to make sure

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Speaker 2: that they've got the appropriate ppe.

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Speaker 1: I think that it's very true.

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Speaker 2: You know, they're at the front line there, they're transporting

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Speaker 2: those passengers and they need to ensure that not only

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Speaker 2: they're protected, but that's you know, that then in turn

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Speaker 2: that they're going to be safe and then when they

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Speaker 2: head out into the community that everybody remains safe.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, And as I said, it's such credit to the

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Speaker 3: individual drivers that they had the courage to make sure

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Speaker 3: that's happened, and I that that happens, So that gives

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Speaker 3: me confidence that particularly that from our perspective, the bus

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Speaker 3: drivers are doing it and that's how to make sure

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Speaker 3: that we keep the NT safe.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, and really good to catch up with you

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Speaker 1: this morning.

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Speaker 2: T WU, Branch Secretary for the Territory Ian Smith, thanks

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Speaker 2: so much for your time.

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Speaker 1: Thank you