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Speaker 1: We're going to get straight into it.

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Speaker 2: As I said just a moment ago, we know that

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Speaker 2: the Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Steve Edgington, is calling

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Speaker 2: on the Gunner government to implement a fortnite of lock

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Speaker 2: ins for communities inside the current biosecurity boundaries to stop

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Speaker 2: movement between communities within these zones. The Shadow Minister joins

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Speaker 2: me on the line right now. Good morning, Steve, Good.

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Speaker 3: Morning Coatie, and good morning to all the listeners.

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Speaker 2: Steve, why do you think we need to implement these

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Speaker 2: lock ins right now?

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Speaker 3: Well, things are really getting out of control, particularly in

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Speaker 3: remote areas, and I think it's important to go back

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Speaker 3: to some of those statistics that you quoted. We're up

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Speaker 3: around three hundred and thirty two active cases as of yesterday,

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Speaker 3: and I think what we're not hearing is what's actually

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Speaker 3: going on in remote areas. We've got a government that

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Speaker 3: promised to be open, honest and transparent back in twenty sixteen,

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Speaker 3: but what we're seeing at the moment is less and

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Speaker 3: less information about what's really going on in remote areas.

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Speaker 3: I get calls every day of the week. I get

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Speaker 3: people telling me that the figures being reported by the

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Speaker 3: gunn of government simply don't reflect what's going on in

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Speaker 3: remote areas. When I hear stories of some communities with

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Speaker 3: fifty to one hundred cases of active COVID going on,

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Speaker 3: it really does question what's really going on in remote areas.

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Speaker 1: Now, what would.

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Speaker 2: Happen with people who are stuck in places like Darwin

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Speaker 2: and Alla Springs right now from those communities.

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Speaker 1: Would they be locked out or would they be returned home?

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Speaker 3: Well, I think the idea would be to return home.

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Speaker 3: And when we talk about a lock in, it's important

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Speaker 3: to reflect on what we're really getting at, because what

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Speaker 3: we want to see is a target and structured plan

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Speaker 3: to increase vaccination rates in these remote communities. We've seen many,

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Speaker 3: many communities that are currently less than fifteen sorry, fifty percent,

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Speaker 3: I should say for sixteen and over. The important thing

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Speaker 3: is to keep people on country and look at how

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Speaker 3: we can support those people were through and adequately resourced

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Speaker 3: a group of health people that can go out and educate,

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Speaker 3: but also where translation services are very important in remote areas,

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Speaker 3: and what we've seen is the lack of attention when

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Speaker 3: it comes to rolling out the vaccine in those particular areas.

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Speaker 2: Steve would it really help. I mean, I feel as

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Speaker 2: though the horse has bolted. Like a lot of people

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Speaker 2: listening this morning will be thinking, well, COVID's in the

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Speaker 2: community now, it's all around the Northern territory.

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Speaker 1: Is this realistically going to make much of a difference.

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Speaker 3: Well, it will and we have many, many vulnerable people

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Speaker 3: in remote areas. And at the moment, the government's had

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Speaker 3: twelve months to roll out the vaccine and it's completely

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Speaker 3: failed in many many areas. There's been no structured plan

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Speaker 3: to deliver the vaccine in remote areas. There has been

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Speaker 3: no coordination, no collaboration, no resources, insufficient resources put into

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Speaker 3: not only rolling out the vaccin but dealing with the

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Speaker 3: COVID situation in communities. And I think what we're seeing

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Speaker 3: is a very different situation in remote areas compared to

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Speaker 3: the urban area. We've seen many, many calls from amsand

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Speaker 3: to increase resources in remote areas. At the moment, what

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Speaker 3: we've had is biosecurity zones in place for nearly two weeks.

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Speaker 3: This was an opportunity for the Gunner government to get

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Speaker 3: back into those communities to ensure that vaccination rates have

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Speaker 3: been lifted. But over the last two weeks we've seen

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Speaker 3: very little change when it comes to rolling out the

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Speaker 3: vaccine in those communities.

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Speaker 2: Steve, have you spoken to the land councils and also

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Speaker 2: some of those indigenous groups and what are they saying

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Speaker 2: to you?

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Speaker 3: Well, we have spoken to the Northern Land Council, and

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Speaker 3: I've certainly spoken to people living in those remote areas.

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Speaker 3: What they're seeing at the moment is people consistently traveling,

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Speaker 3: not only in the bio security zones, but in and

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Speaker 3: out of the biosecurity zones. What people in communities want

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Speaker 3: to see lock ins, particularly to protect the people in

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Speaker 3: the communities, but to stop the movement also between many

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Speaker 3: of the homelands, many of the outstations. What people want

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Speaker 3: to see is vaccination rates increased, because what they're concerned

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Speaker 3: about is vulnerable people contracting the virus and given some

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Speaker 3: of the underlying health issues with many many Aboriginal people

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Speaker 3: living in those remote areas, people just want to be protected,

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Speaker 3: They want to be supported by the government, and at

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Speaker 3: the moment they feel as though they've been abandoned.

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Speaker 2: Steve, what would happen with essential workers in those areas well?

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Speaker 3: The rules would continue essential workers. It's continuing under the

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Speaker 3: biosecurity zones. Essential workers have been able to come in

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Speaker 3: and out of those communities to deliver essential work in

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Speaker 3: consultation with the land councils doing their rat tests before

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Speaker 3: they enter communities, accessing permits to attend. Nothing would change

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Speaker 3: in regard to that. What we want to see as

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Speaker 3: resources put into those communities while people are in the

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Speaker 3: community to increase vaccination rates.

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Speaker 2: Steve, Before I let you go, I know that there

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Speaker 2: will definitely be people listening this morning saying that's great

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Speaker 2: for the SEALP to say, but they wanted to open

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Speaker 2: the borders in the middle of the pandemic.

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Speaker 1: Is this just a political strategy here?

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Speaker 3: Now, what we're doing is supporting Aboriginal people living in

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Speaker 3: the bush. This has been going on for far too long.

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Speaker 3: There's people living in overcrowded houses, There's people being asked

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Speaker 3: to isolate on their verandahs under trees. The resources simply

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Speaker 3: haven't been put into the remote areas. What we're calling

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Speaker 3: for is a lock in and the government to start

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Speaker 3: providing the support and the resources to increase vaccination rates.

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Speaker 3: And that can only be done through proper education and

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Speaker 3: translation services. The government has had twelve months this is

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Speaker 3: really a last ditch attempt to increase vaccination rates, and

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Speaker 3: we call on the governor government to start doing something.

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Speaker 3: Twelve months of doing nothing is just far too long.

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Speaker 2: Well, Steve edge Rington, we are going to be catching

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Speaker 2: up with the Chief Minister Michael Gunner in a few

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Speaker 2: minutes time.

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Speaker 1: Really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much, thank you,

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Speaker 1: on good morning,