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Speaker 1: It is twenty five minutes away from eleven o'clock, and

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Speaker 1: we know that this mandate obviously kicks in from midnight tonight,

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Speaker 1: and many people wondering if it is going to have

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Speaker 1: any impact on the services delivered by our public service.

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Speaker 1: And joining me on the line right now is Kay Densley,

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory Regional Secretary of the CPSU. Good morning

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Speaker 1: to Uka.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. Kay.

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Speaker 1: Have we any idea how many public servants are choosing

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Speaker 1: not to be vaccinated at this point?

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Speaker 2: It's pretty hard to tell at this point. Obviously Monday

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Speaker 2: will come around. We do know that, you know, there

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Speaker 2: are people in every agency who are deciding not to

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Speaker 2: do that and to leave their jobs, so hopefully not

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Speaker 2: too many. I'm more concerned with the people with underlying

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Speaker 2: health issues. There's some pregnant people that have concerns about

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Speaker 2: the vaccination at this time. I know that that's able

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Speaker 2: to be taken by you know, other juggs said the

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Speaker 2: same thing. So what we're hoping is that there's some

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Speaker 2: lenience for people to be able to work from home

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Speaker 2: if they can, or take some leaf for short periods

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Speaker 2: of time to get through this, and hoping I think

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Speaker 2: the large majority of people are vaccinated or else are

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Speaker 2: having a job this week.

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Speaker 1: And obviously, Kay, come Monday, we'll have a much clearer idea.

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Speaker 1: And I know we just spoke to Javis Shrine as

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Speaker 1: well from the Education Union, and everybody's sort of feeling

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Speaker 1: I guess a similar way. I'm wondering what kind of

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Speaker 1: impact it is going to have. Are you concerned that that,

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Speaker 1: you know, come Monday we may have a large number

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Speaker 1: or do you think that it is realistically going to

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Speaker 1: be quite small here.

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Speaker 2: I don't think it will be a really large number,

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Speaker 2: but I am concerned about, you know, what jobs these

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Speaker 2: people do that aren't allowed back in the workplace or

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Speaker 2: aren't able to come back in, because that can create

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Speaker 2: not only workload issues for members that are already there,

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Speaker 2: but also you know, I guess, unable to the inability

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Speaker 2: to provide on some of the vital servants services. So

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Speaker 2: we'll see how that goes from Monday. And I did

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Speaker 2: hear Jarvis and we also have concerns about the rapid

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Speaker 2: andag and testing and how that's going to work, and

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Speaker 2: it just seems that they're piling on I understand there's

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Speaker 2: a health reason for it, and we encourage people to

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Speaker 2: get vaccinated, but now they're piling on other things such

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Speaker 2: as mask wearing and rapid anag and testing in communities

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Speaker 2: where it's below seventy percent, which no one knows why

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Speaker 2: they've chosen seventy percent. Some communities, as you would know,

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Speaker 2: we don't even know the percentage. So it just puts

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Speaker 2: a lot of uncertainty and a lot of pressure on

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Speaker 2: people who are already feeling that way.

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Speaker 1: And Kay in terms of the communication and some of

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Speaker 1: those questions being answered then as well by government to

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Speaker 1: the likes of the CPSU, your union. I know Javis

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Speaker 1: had said that you know they're being that lack of communication.

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Speaker 3: Is it the same for you guys?

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Speaker 2: It certainly is, And there's been no consultation and we've

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Speaker 2: heard it from RAN councils and business as well, even

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Speaker 2: when the decisions made. It'd be nice to get their

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Speaker 2: heads up about it and be able to have the

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Speaker 2: ability to ask them questions, to be able to relay

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Speaker 2: the correct information to our members. But yeah, the Chief

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Speaker 2: Minister seems to think that he doesn't have to do

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Speaker 2: any of that and just seems to here be rattling

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Speaker 2: off all these different things without explanation or talking to

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Speaker 2: people about how it's going to work in practice.

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Speaker 1: And we all get it right, Like, we all understand

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Speaker 1: that a lot of these is having to sort of

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Speaker 1: happen on the run because the situation is ever evolving.

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Speaker 1: But I think that a lot of that uncertainty, if

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Speaker 1: you're able to communicate with people really well, you do

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Speaker 1: actually get through some of that uncertainty.

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Speaker 3: But that's not what we're getting at the moment.

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Speaker 2: It certainly isn't. And you know, it just seems to

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Speaker 2: be directions left, right and center. And we've seen today

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Speaker 2: even about the vouchers, so you know that 'springe on

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Speaker 2: people as well, and we still don't know about you know,

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Speaker 2: who checks what when people are entering a workforce. There's

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Speaker 2: whilst we have to react, there is the ability to

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Speaker 2: plan and to consult with people, and and there's people

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Speaker 2: that actually know the practicality the things that should have

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Speaker 2: been involved in all these decisions. But instead we all

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Speaker 2: just you know, what's going on and trying the best

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Speaker 2: we can to follow the legal direction that we've been given.

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Speaker 1: Kay, are you worried about how this is all going

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Speaker 1: to unfold on Monday? Look?

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Speaker 2: I think, as I said, I think the majority of

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Speaker 2: people are having vaccinations. I know of some who are

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Speaker 2: having some today. Concerned about the people that aren't given

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Speaker 2: that flexibility even for a while to For example, people

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Speaker 2: have specialist appointments which are hard to get and you

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Speaker 2: can't always get them at the time frame that the

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Speaker 2: achievement the sets, so you know, the ability for those

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Speaker 2: people to either work from home or actives leave, you know,

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Speaker 2: there's there's issues there with that as well. So yeah,

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Speaker 2: we'll just have to wait and see for Monday, and

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Speaker 2: then of course we have the rapid and engine testing

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Speaker 2: issues next for next week, and and of course we

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Speaker 2: have our bargaining ballot for the NTPs General Agreement that

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Speaker 2: closes afternoon at three pm. So it's a busy day

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Speaker 2: for the unions today.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, what's so, what's gonna happen with that that bargaining

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Speaker 1: ballot today?

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Speaker 3: Do you reckon Kai?

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Speaker 2: Well, it closes at three pm, so we'll see. I'm

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Speaker 2: unsure about how many people have voted in their Our

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Speaker 2: members are telling us that they're voting no and have

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Speaker 2: asked us to promote that, as have all the unions.

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Speaker 2: In the general agreement. We've had power and Water eighty

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Speaker 2: six percent, No, Jacana seventy percent. No. So we'll see

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Speaker 2: what happens at three o'clost this afternoon. But we're hoping

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Speaker 2: that the Chief Minister is going to rethink his wages policy,

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Speaker 2: which again he didn't consult on or even talk to

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Speaker 2: us before he made the announcement. So he's going to

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Speaker 2: have to learn that it's better to bring people with

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Speaker 2: you than just issue orders.

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Speaker 1: Okay, I mean most people when they think of the

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Speaker 1: Labor Party, they do think of unions as well, and

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Speaker 1: you know, see them as working together.

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Speaker 3: Have you ever had sort of such a lack of

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Speaker 3: communication from a chief minister before?

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Speaker 2: No, No, I haven't, and it certainly doesn't happen at

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Speaker 2: a schedule level or at a state level in other places.

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Speaker 2: So I'm unsure what the problem is, but there is

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Speaker 2: a problem there.

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Speaker 1: Well, Kay Densley, it sounds as I'm going to be

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Speaker 1: talking to you early next week as well.

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Speaker 3: We really appreciate your time.

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Speaker 1: All the best on your busy day today.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Katie, Thank you