1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:00,280
Speaker 1: Now.

2
00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,000
Speaker 2: Last week on the show, we caught up with Christina Jones,

3
00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,880
Speaker 2: who told us that they'd lost cattle and horses in

4
00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:09,520
Speaker 2: the record breaking flooding at Victoria River with not a

5
00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:12,559
Speaker 2: phone call from the Northern Territory government to provide support,

6
00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:16,279
Speaker 2: all the while other community members were evacuated and given

7
00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:18,560
Speaker 2: a raft of assistance. Now she joins me on the

8
00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:20,840
Speaker 2: line right now for a bit of an update. Good

9
00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:22,440
Speaker 2: morning to you, Christina.

10
00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:25,119
Speaker 1: Morning Katie. How are you not bad?

11
00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:27,360
Speaker 2: How are things going out there in terms of the

12
00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,040
Speaker 2: weather and that kind of thing.

13
00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:33,960
Speaker 1: Oh, I've seen pretty sunny, which is good. There's more

14
00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:37,519
Speaker 1: rain coming now, I think, But yeah, things are starting

15
00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:40,880
Speaker 1: to dry up and the devastation is going to sort

16
00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:42,760
Speaker 1: of expose itself pretty quickly.

17
00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:48,440
Speaker 2: Christina. We obviously spoke to you last Thursday. On Friday

18
00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:50,400
Speaker 2: on the show, we then spoke to the local member,

19
00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,960
Speaker 2: Duran Young, and we spoke quite extensively about the situation

20
00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,280
Speaker 2: that you are in and others in the region. Have

21
00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,520
Speaker 2: you had have you know, did you get any phone calls?

22
00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,480
Speaker 2: Have you had any assistance from the Northern Territory government

23
00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:05,559
Speaker 2: since we last spoke.

24
00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,240
Speaker 1: Oh, we've been working on it, but there's sort of

25
00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:12,520
Speaker 1: there's no sort of offers of help, which is an assistance,

26
00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,959
Speaker 1: which is what we sort of need. I guess Duran

27
00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,440
Speaker 1: did call. I didn't hear his interview with you, but

28
00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,520
Speaker 1: he did call, and a couple of other government sort

29
00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,600
Speaker 1: of people have called NTCA are working hard to sort

30
00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:32,160
Speaker 1: of help us out with some hay still, you know,

31
00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:34,720
Speaker 1: but there's been some hay there. I'm on the wrong

32
00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:37,080
Speaker 1: side of the river to get the hay in or

33
00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:39,280
Speaker 1: even on the other side, I don't have the equipment

34
00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,880
Speaker 1: over there to distribute it. So yeah, there's not There

35
00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:47,400
Speaker 1: hasn't been a great bit of help as yet. There

36
00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:51,480
Speaker 1: are things happening in the background obviously that we'll push

37
00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:57,520
Speaker 1: things along, but yeah, there hasn't nothing's really come Yeah,

38
00:01:57,720 --> 00:01:59,560
Speaker 1: and I thought, oh shit, that's great.

39
00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, which you know, which makes it really it's such

40
00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,360
Speaker 2: a tough time there, you know, there's no other way

41
00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:06,960
Speaker 2: to look at it for you guys. And I know

42
00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,200
Speaker 2: that the Northern Territory governments come out this morning they've

43
00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:12,840
Speaker 2: said that they're going to open up this disaster assistance

44
00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:17,119
Speaker 2: this week for the Victoria Daily regional communities. But it's

45
00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:21,240
Speaker 2: like the personal hardship and distress payments for eligible affected residents.

46
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,079
Speaker 2: Then you've got category B, which is repairs to services

47
00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:28,519
Speaker 2: and infrastructure, including freight, subsidies to primary producers, and assistants

48
00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,640
Speaker 2: to nonprofit organizations. But by the sounds of it, you know,

49
00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:34,120
Speaker 2: you guys have suffered.

50
00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,959
Speaker 1: That by subsidies and those sorts of things, which is

51
00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:39,760
Speaker 1: sort of only I've only just started touching on that. Now.

52
00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,840
Speaker 1: That's that's one load, and we have to replace all

53
00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,720
Speaker 1: the doors at Big River Roadhouse. They obviously want the

54
00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,799
Speaker 1: best quality doors because the water sat there for so long.

55
00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,440
Speaker 1: You know, there's one track. Fifty percent payment of fifty

56
00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,079
Speaker 1: percent of the cost is going to be a help,

57
00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:59,080
Speaker 1: but yeah, it's not going to help that much, I guess,

58
00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,919
Speaker 1: so need to Yeah, probably the people that are making

59
00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:06,000
Speaker 1: those decisions that probably need to. I've just completed a survey,

60
00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,960
Speaker 1: but they need to actually come and have a look,

61
00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:14,760
Speaker 1: probably assess it themselves, and actually see the extent of

62
00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:18,919
Speaker 1: the catastrophe and the damage. We've lost probably ninety percent

63
00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:21,240
Speaker 1: of our black or country, which is the choice country

64
00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:25,600
Speaker 1: for our cattle, which aren't there either. But you know

65
00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:30,720
Speaker 1: that grass will take years to recoup. So it's just

66
00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:34,239
Speaker 1: the one hay drop is going to fix everything. One

67
00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,400
Speaker 1: trailer load of goods or whatever is not going to

68
00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,640
Speaker 1: fix anything. It is a disaster. And because we cover

69
00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:43,880
Speaker 1: such a vast amount of country, I suppose it's almost

70
00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,520
Speaker 1: like it's own small country, but the population is four

71
00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,240
Speaker 1: at our in our specific instance.

72
00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:52,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, but then you know, when you look at at

73
00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:55,320
Speaker 2: the way our pastoral less service the rest of Australia

74
00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:57,600
Speaker 2: in terms of your cattle and everything else, that pastoral

75
00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:02,600
Speaker 2: less right around Australia do absolutely fundamental and instrumental for

76
00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:03,280
Speaker 2: all of us.

77
00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,520
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah we will. We'll get there. It's just going

78
00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:11,840
Speaker 1: to take some time, but yeah, we at this stage,

79
00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,680
Speaker 1: I'm not jumping for joy thinking holy do it. I

80
00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:21,160
Speaker 1: mean the community have been good and Brad Fuel contracting

81
00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:25,680
Speaker 1: the Jones from Timber Creeker offering assistance left, right and center.

82
00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:31,320
Speaker 1: So that's something you know, we're talking to them again

83
00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:33,280
Speaker 1: this morning. It's just still a bit too wet and

84
00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:35,960
Speaker 1: just setting some people together to help with fencing and

85
00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:37,880
Speaker 1: we've got to get material over here and that sort

86
00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,160
Speaker 1: of thing because we don't really have that much material

87
00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:46,400
Speaker 1: on hand all the time. But yeah, well we're slowly

88
00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:47,600
Speaker 1: making progress.

89
00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,599
Speaker 2: Of those Christina in terms of you know, the way

90
00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,000
Speaker 2: in which the government's handled things this time around. Have

91
00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,440
Speaker 2: they made any assurances that they're going to do things

92
00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:57,479
Speaker 2: differently and that they are going to work with you

93
00:04:57,520 --> 00:04:57,880
Speaker 2: from this.

94
00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:03,600
Speaker 1: Point, I haven't really, I'm sure in the background, yes,

95
00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:07,479
Speaker 1: but no, they haven't sort of said, I mean, haydrops,

96
00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:10,120
Speaker 1: which is what I've been sort of trying to work

97
00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,360
Speaker 1: on for the last week or so, was essential. I've

98
00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:16,159
Speaker 1: got videos of what my horses are living on, and

99
00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:18,880
Speaker 1: luckily I've stopped up on a heap of seed. I

100
00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:20,880
Speaker 1: had four palettes a loose and which doesn't go far

101
00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:24,279
Speaker 1: over one hundred horses, but I'm down to my last

102
00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:29,159
Speaker 1: palette now. But that sort of thing, they're not. The

103
00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:31,760
Speaker 1: animals can't wait, you know what I mean. They either

104
00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:35,560
Speaker 1: starve to death or you get something to feed them.

105
00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,039
Speaker 1: And it's just dry mud around here at the moment,

106
00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:43,719
Speaker 1: although improved pasture has gone you know about an acre

107
00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:45,880
Speaker 1: which isn't going to feed a hundred horses.

108
00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:49,800
Speaker 2: No, that's exactly right. Oh, look I feel for you.

109
00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,960
Speaker 1: Guys, wait for them, you know, like I have to

110
00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:58,200
Speaker 1: make keep making decisions without them, I suppose for the

111
00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:02,440
Speaker 1: welfare of the animals. So that's yeah where I'm coming from.

112
00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:05,360
Speaker 2: Now, and by the sounds of it, even in terms

113
00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:08,200
Speaker 2: of getting that clearer picture in terms of the extent

114
00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:11,039
Speaker 2: of damage and loss, is still a while from being

115
00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:12,240
Speaker 2: able to actually do that.

116
00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:17,719
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's going to take a long time

117
00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:21,480
Speaker 1: sort of get sorted. And you know, cattle can travel

118
00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:23,960
Speaker 1: hundreds of kilometer even if they've floated some of them

119
00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:25,920
Speaker 1: down the river, they get up and they'll walk if

120
00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,279
Speaker 1: they make it to the other side, and they'll walk

121
00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:32,520
Speaker 1: and walk and walk. So it's actually brahm and cattle.

122
00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,279
Speaker 1: So god knows where they'll end up. But you know,

123
00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,120
Speaker 1: they're all tagged and whatever, so we'll get them back.

124
00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,640
Speaker 1: But that's an extra expense or not just for me,

125
00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:44,520
Speaker 1: for the person that the my cattle end up at

126
00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:47,279
Speaker 1: their place. Yeah, I'm hoping that's what happens, you know what.

127
00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:49,360
Speaker 1: I hope to have an all round.

128
00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:54,479
Speaker 2: No, oh bloody hell. It's like it's just such a

129
00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:56,960
Speaker 2: tough time for you guys. And then like, how are

130
00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,880
Speaker 2: things going then with getting the roadhouse reopened.

131
00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:03,960
Speaker 1: Yeah, we've been working at Milton's been down there and

132
00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:07,599
Speaker 1: Little Milton. They've been down there. I've had some backpackers

133
00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:10,040
Speaker 1: down there sort of trying to clean up. We've got

134
00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:12,800
Speaker 1: to get the health inspectors out this week. You know,

135
00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,840
Speaker 1: we need to get that open as soon as even

136
00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,520
Speaker 1: if it's limited services, it needs to be open to

137
00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:25,080
Speaker 1: provide a service, fuel and a drink or something. Yeah,

138
00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:27,960
Speaker 1: but it's a big job. It is a really big job,

139
00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,600
Speaker 1: and we just need to keep worring. I guess it

140
00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:33,920
Speaker 1: would be good if the government would give me some

141
00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,400
Speaker 1: direction instead of me trying to give them some direction.

142
00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:40,280
Speaker 1: Common sense needs to prevail and we just, yeah, we

143
00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,200
Speaker 1: need to keep moving forward. As I said, well, pens

144
00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:46,000
Speaker 1: and paper are being pushed around for hay drops as

145
00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:49,520
Speaker 1: animals starving, it's not that kind of situation. It needs

146
00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:53,440
Speaker 1: to be acted on immediately. And as I said, lucky

147
00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,720
Speaker 1: I've had some reserves here for these courses. But yeah,

148
00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:01,520
Speaker 1: it is very frustrating. And yeah, several times a day

149
00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,880
Speaker 1: you sort of stand there and just honestly don't know

150
00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:05,560
Speaker 1: which way to go.

151
00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:07,680
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, and I mean the thing that I found

152
00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,080
Speaker 2: frustrating is even this morning we've spoken a bit more

153
00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:12,400
Speaker 2: about it. We know that the Northern Territory government's come

154
00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:14,440
Speaker 2: out with their announcement, but then we'd spoken to the

155
00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:18,200
Speaker 2: Senator for the Northern Territory, Melandarie McCarthy, and she'd essentially

156
00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:21,240
Speaker 2: said that the Northern Territory government hadn't sought that emergency

157
00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:25,120
Speaker 2: assistance from the feeds until the weekend, you know, and

158
00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:27,800
Speaker 2: we'd spoken to you on Thursday last week. I just

159
00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,400
Speaker 2: can't believe that they didn't try to get things moving faster.

160
00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:36,520
Speaker 1: Yeah. No, it's pretty but I feelow to say that

161
00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:41,000
Speaker 1: on radio, but fis for really performance. It is pretty bad.

162
00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:44,600
Speaker 1: We're at the tale end of it now. As I said,

163
00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:48,360
Speaker 1: everything is being exposed now and we've started. We started

164
00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:52,319
Speaker 1: on this when the floodwater was right there, but we

165
00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:54,960
Speaker 1: knew that it would be disastrous. But yeah, but anyway,

166
00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:57,600
Speaker 1: each their own and in their own good time, I suppose.

167
00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:00,480
Speaker 1: But I can't wait. But when I do come back,

168
00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:04,960
Speaker 1: you know, for assistance for my outlayers as well. You know,

169
00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:08,720
Speaker 1: I expect some assistants there. Yeah, especially with the you

170
00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:13,000
Speaker 1: know the road down at Big River Roadhouse. It's it's

171
00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:16,760
Speaker 1: an absolute mess. So you know, they I can open

172
00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:20,920
Speaker 1: a bridge, inspect that within five minutes and open the bridge. Well,

173
00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:22,960
Speaker 1: I wouldn't be wanting to do the first one across

174
00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:25,760
Speaker 1: the bridge to be honest, this year, seeing the devastation

175
00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:27,840
Speaker 1: around the roadhouse.

176
00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:30,920
Speaker 2: Well, Christina, it sounds like it's going to be a

177
00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:33,719
Speaker 2: long road to recovery. And it does sound as though

178
00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:35,800
Speaker 2: there is still quite a bit of work to happen,

179
00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:39,360
Speaker 2: you know, with the with the Northern Territory government. Please,

180
00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:41,240
Speaker 2: like I know we said it before, but keep us

181
00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:43,280
Speaker 2: in the loop and keep us up to date, because

182
00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:45,400
Speaker 2: the thing I'm very mindful of is that as those

183
00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:48,640
Speaker 2: floodwaters subside, as you know, the rest of us feel

184
00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:50,800
Speaker 2: as though things are getting back to normal. I don't

185
00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:54,480
Speaker 2: want you guys to get forgotten again. So please keep

186
00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:58,160
Speaker 2: us in the loop. Yeah you won't and yeah, yeah

187
00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:00,640
Speaker 2: you certainly won't, but please keep us in the loops

188
00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:02,840
Speaker 2: so we can try and help you if you know,

189
00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:05,840
Speaker 2: when you're Yeah, if you wind up in a situation

190
00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:10,240
Speaker 2: where where you're stuck again, yeah, yeah.

191
00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:12,360
Speaker 1: Very much. All the wet season is sort of only

192
00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:15,040
Speaker 1: just really starting, isn't it. That's a big drop and

193
00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,760
Speaker 1: we're only early February. Yet we're a long way to go.

194
00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:23,079
Speaker 2: We certainly do, We really do. Christina, thank you so

195
00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:24,880
Speaker 2: much for your time this morning. I know you're a

196
00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:26,520
Speaker 2: busy woman. I appreciate it.

197
00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:28,760
Speaker 1: Thanks Katie, thank you,