1
00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:05,000
Speaker 1: Good morning, and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Tuesday,

2
00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:07,880
Speaker 1: the eighth of June. My name is Sam Kazlowski, and

3
00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:10,880
Speaker 1: helping me make sense of today's news is Zara Seidler.

4
00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,560
Speaker 1: Making news today, case numbers in Victoria.

5
00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,840
Speaker 2: Vaccines in the Northern Territory.

6
00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:19,560
Speaker 1: Some good news about HIV transmission, and a.

7
00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,120
Speaker 2: Chat about the Tamil family from Villa Wheeler. Here's today's

8
00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:24,079
Speaker 2: daily digest.

9
00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:29,640
Speaker 1: It is not the news Victoria wanted, with eleven new

10
00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,800
Speaker 1: locally acquired COVID nineteen cases yesterday. Now this includes the

11
00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,120
Speaker 1: two announced the day before on Sunday, and the state's

12
00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,800
Speaker 1: outbreak has now grown to eighty one active cases. Here's

13
00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,599
Speaker 1: what Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley had to say at

14
00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:44,920
Speaker 1: the press conference yesterday.

15
00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,640
Speaker 3: Our contact traces are continuing to focus on all of

16
00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,120
Speaker 3: the emerging lines of inquiry with a view to closing

17
00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:56,320
Speaker 3: them down and following up increasingly on our day thirteen

18
00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:01,240
Speaker 3: testing for our initially identified primary close contexts.

19
00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:04,640
Speaker 1: At that press conference, the Victorian government also announced a

20
00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:07,840
Speaker 1: thirty million dollar package to support those hardest hit by

21
00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:11,000
Speaker 1: the pandemic. This includes four point five million dollars for

22
00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:15,039
Speaker 1: emergency food relief twelve million dollars for culturally and linguistically

23
00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:19,200
Speaker 1: diverse community organizations and an extension to the Extreme Hardship

24
00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:20,600
Speaker 1: Support Program payments.

25
00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:23,600
Speaker 2: If you're in the NT and you're over the age

26
00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:26,720
Speaker 2: of sixteen, time to roll up your slaves. The NT

27
00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:29,840
Speaker 2: has become the first jurisdiction to offer the COVID nineteen

28
00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:33,640
Speaker 2: vaccine to anyone over the age of sixteen. Prior to this,

29
00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,880
Speaker 2: only young people living in regional areas were eligible, but

30
00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:39,560
Speaker 2: the Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, said that when you consider

31
00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,640
Speaker 2: not just the makeup of the Darwin population, but how

32
00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:44,920
Speaker 2: people move in and out of Darwin, it makes sense

33
00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:47,600
Speaker 2: to treat us as you would a remote vaccination center.

34
00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:51,480
Speaker 1: The defamation case launched by former Special Forces soldier Ben

35
00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,040
Speaker 1: Roberts Smith against three newspapers over a series of articles

36
00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,440
Speaker 1: published in twenty eighteen began in New South Wales yesterday.

37
00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,160
Speaker 1: The Barrister Act for Robert Smith has accused fellow soldiers

38
00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,240
Speaker 1: of quote enormous jealousy and journalists of engaging in a

39
00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:07,000
Speaker 1: poisonous campaign against.

40
00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,560
Speaker 2: Him and to Today's Good News. According to the WHO,

41
00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:14,240
Speaker 2: Cuba is the first country in the world to eliminate

42
00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:18,919
Speaker 2: mother to child HIV transmission. The country's elimination efforts included

43
00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:23,320
Speaker 2: prenatal care, HIV and syphilis testing for pregnant women, treatment

44
00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,040
Speaker 2: for women who tested positive and their babies, caesarean deliveries,

45
00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:34,480
Speaker 2: and breastfeeding substitution, a pretty mighty effort. Late yesterday we

46
00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,600
Speaker 2: got some news that Taranika, who is a young Tamil

47
00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:41,120
Speaker 2: girl who is currently detained on Christmas Island, had been

48
00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:45,280
Speaker 2: medically evacuated to a Perth hospital with a suspected blood infection.

49
00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:48,519
Speaker 2: This is just the latest development in a year's long

50
00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,520
Speaker 2: story about how these asylum seekers have been dealt with

51
00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:53,680
Speaker 2: by the Australian government, and we wanted to give you

52
00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:55,480
Speaker 2: a bit of background into this story.

53
00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:58,519
Speaker 1: So we know this family fled Sri Lanka in twenty

54
00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,040
Speaker 1: twelve and settled in sen Queensland. How did they end

55
00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:03,160
Speaker 1: up on Christmas Island?

56
00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,519
Speaker 2: So an important note here the family didn't actually come

57
00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:09,120
Speaker 2: from Sri Lanka, It was just the parents. The children

58
00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:12,639
Speaker 2: were both born in Australia, so the parents arrived separately

59
00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,440
Speaker 2: in twenty twelve and twenty thirteen, and family and friends

60
00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:18,680
Speaker 2: of them say that they fled Sri Lanka because of

61
00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:22,600
Speaker 2: persecution and that goes back to persecution that the Tamil

62
00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:25,520
Speaker 2: people in Sri Lanka have been facing. So when they

63
00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,600
Speaker 2: arrived in Australia, Priya and Nadis the parents of this

64
00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,640
Speaker 2: young family. They settled in Billa Wheela, which is a

65
00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:35,000
Speaker 2: small town in Queensland. There they worked and they started

66
00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,800
Speaker 2: a family, and they gave birth to two daughters born

67
00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,280
Speaker 2: in twenty fifteen and twenty seventeen, and the youngest daughter

68
00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:43,480
Speaker 2: is the reason we're talking about this story today.

69
00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:47,840
Speaker 1: So this young Sri Lankan family was settled in central Queensland.

70
00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:49,840
Speaker 1: How did they end up on Christmas Island.

71
00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:53,600
Speaker 2: So in March twenty eighteen, after asylum seeker claims for

72
00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,200
Speaker 2: the parents and one of the daughters that was unsuccessful,

73
00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,200
Speaker 2: the family was removed from Billa Wheela pending deportation to

74
00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:03,760
Speaker 2: Sri Lanka. At the last minute, their deportation was halted

75
00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:06,360
Speaker 2: by a court injunction and so as a result, the

76
00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,000
Speaker 2: family was moved to Christmas Island, and as we know,

77
00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,000
Speaker 2: they've been there ever since. I'll just add here they're

78
00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,280
Speaker 2: actually the only detainees on Christmas Islands. So the government

79
00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:18,839
Speaker 2: actually reopened Christmas Island after the passing of the Medivac

80
00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:20,400
Speaker 2: Bill because they thought there were going to be all

81
00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:23,719
Speaker 2: these new asylum seekers that came by boat that didn't eventuate,

82
00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:26,479
Speaker 2: and that has led to one family being detained on

83
00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:27,960
Speaker 2: Christmas Island today.

84
00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,680
Speaker 1: And according to experts, that's costing the government about one

85
00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,479
Speaker 1: point four million dollars a year. In the case of

86
00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,599
Speaker 1: the medical emergency that's occurred yesterday, we have a small

87
00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:39,400
Speaker 1: child who is obviously so unwell she had to be

88
00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:41,719
Speaker 1: flown to the mainland. What are the conditions like on

89
00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:43,760
Speaker 1: Christmas Island that led to this situation?

90
00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,160
Speaker 2: So, according to reports, the family can only leave their

91
00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:49,920
Speaker 2: accommodation to take their daughter to school or to go

92
00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,440
Speaker 2: to a recreation center. All of these trips must be

93
00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,640
Speaker 2: authorized by Border Force in advance. And the family can't

94
00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,840
Speaker 2: visit friends on Christmas Island because that island is ho

95
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,640
Speaker 2: home to lots of people, but they're the only detainees,

96
00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,200
Speaker 2: so they must always be escorted by security guards. And

97
00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:09,680
Speaker 2: to answer your question, it's known now through reports that

98
00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:13,000
Speaker 2: this little girl had had quite severe symptoms for at

99
00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,760
Speaker 2: least ten days before she was evacuated from Christmas Island.

100
00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,080
Speaker 1: That's right, so family friend Brunwin Danendel told the ABC

101
00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:23,479
Speaker 1: that Tanika had been extremely sick with temperatures well over

102
00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:26,120
Speaker 1: forty degrees and it's believed the three year old may

103
00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:27,120
Speaker 1: have septicemia.

104
00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:29,120
Speaker 2: There's a lot to this story and there's quite a

105
00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:31,640
Speaker 2: bit of activism that's fueling it at the moment as well.

106
00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,080
Speaker 2: So the home to Bilo movement is extremely strong and

107
00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:38,160
Speaker 2: there's now a new Immigration minister. Karen Andrews became the

108
00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:40,800
Speaker 2: Immigration Minister a me months ago, but this has been

109
00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:43,039
Speaker 2: at the top of her list because it had such

110
00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:46,440
Speaker 2: widespread publicity. So this is ultimately going to be her

111
00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,480
Speaker 2: first test as Immigration Minister with how she deals with

112
00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:53,400
Speaker 2: this situation. Because being the Immigration Minister is the most

113
00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,599
Speaker 2: thankless job. You are always always going to come up

114
00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:59,760
Speaker 2: against strong opponents, so Minister Andrews is going to have

115
00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,839
Speaker 2: a really tough job trying to navigate this very tricky case.

116
00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:05,800
Speaker 1: If you jump over to Twitter, you'll see hashtag home

117
00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:08,680
Speaker 1: to Bilow as the trending tweet in the country right now,

118
00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,200
Speaker 1: and you can expect to see details of this case

119
00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:14,040
Speaker 1: on your social media feeds throughout the day. From a

120
00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:16,520
Speaker 1: news perspective, there's really two things we're going to be

121
00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,839
Speaker 1: looking out for today. One is any reports on the

122
00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:22,720
Speaker 1: health of Tanika, who's now in the care of the

123
00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:26,120
Speaker 1: Perth Hospital, and two is any word from the Immigration

124
00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:29,600
Speaker 1: Minister on the family's status on the island. For news

125
00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:31,520
Speaker 1: on this case and any other stories that pop up

126
00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,440
Speaker 1: during the day, follow us on Instagram at the Daily OS.

127
00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,080
Speaker 1: It's where over one hundred and fifteen thousand Australians get

128
00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:39,359
Speaker 1: their news throughout the day and we'd love you to

129
00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:40,719
Speaker 1: become part of our community.