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Speaker 1: Joining me live on the line right now is John Patterson,

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Speaker 1: who is the CEO of am SAND, the Aboriginal Medical

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Speaker 1: Services Alliance here in the Northern Territory. Good morning to you, John.

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Speaker 2: And a very good morning to you Katie. John.

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Speaker 1: Obviously you heard the Chief Minister's announcement yesterday about the

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Speaker 1: mandatory vaccines. What was your reaction, Katy?

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Speaker 2: I must be honestly, I was at the foot Doctor

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Speaker 2: in the Lives and then I got back to your

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Speaker 2: office and somebody mentioned that, you know, Patter, you got

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Speaker 2: to mention. I said, what do you buy it? Anyway,

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Speaker 2: I've I've sort of seen a bit of the replay

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Speaker 2: that's on all the social media. Stuffy look, Katie. In

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Speaker 2: generally just give you an update from am sans Ord

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Speaker 2: had the opportunity to meet yesterday afternoon post the announcements.

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Speaker 2: Their positions. They support the road map that was announced

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Speaker 2: by the Chief Minister yesterday, but with a strong emphasis

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Speaker 2: that we've got to throw everything. And I've mentioned this

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Speaker 2: to you previously. We are all concerned with the heasancy

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Speaker 2: rate that's still out there and in you know, communities

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Speaker 2: throughout the Northern Territory. We've been working very very hard

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Speaker 2: and expressing those concerns and messages to the com UP

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Speaker 2: and nordn Territory government, and you know, we need to

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Speaker 2: ensure that we get you know, preferably the amsent positions

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Speaker 2: ninety ninety five percent of the vaccination rate amongst the

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Speaker 2: indigenous population here in the Northern Territory. And that's purely

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Speaker 2: because that will include the twelve year old to the

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Speaker 2: fifteen year old, and also because of the vulnerable you know,

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Speaker 2: the the high chronic illnesses amongst the indigenous popular and

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Speaker 2: we just got to go that extra extra level of vaccination, right.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And I know you've been really firm on that

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Speaker 1: and said that you want to get you know, right

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Speaker 1: up there to ninety percent or even ninety five percent.

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Speaker 1: I guess the situation is though at the moment, you know,

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Speaker 1: in some of the communities, and I'm not singling any out,

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Speaker 1: but in some of those communities, we're seeing those rates

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Speaker 1: incredibly low at the moment.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, And in fairness, Katie, there are some extremely

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Speaker 2: numbers numbers that are getting up to around about that

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Speaker 2: ninety percent in some of our over make communities as well. Look,

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Speaker 2: we we want to work diligently with territory Health and

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Speaker 2: all levels of government to identify those communities where their

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Speaker 2: needs and requires enormous effort and resourcing to get out

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Speaker 2: there if it takes two or three visits and so beet.

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Speaker 2: I understand you know that a good approach, community approach,

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Speaker 2: working with community was done in Managrada, and Manigrada mentioned

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Speaker 2: that because there's been really positive media around that and

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Speaker 2: demonstrate the high vaccine take up in that community. But

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Speaker 2: that was led by community, by the Aboriginal leadership, working

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Speaker 2: with territory government health permissions and the local Malala Abriginal

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Speaker 2: workforce and their clinicians, and you know they got the

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Speaker 2: outcome that they were They were all surprised with that. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: it was right up there, which is really good airt com.

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Speaker 2: So there are sorts of strategies and learnings we have

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Speaker 2: to take to these other communities daddy, And look, this

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Speaker 2: ain't going to be easy. We want that spread right

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Speaker 2: across the Northern territory, you know, minimum of eighty percent.

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Speaker 2: But you know we've just got to keep working hard

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Speaker 2: to get that.

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Speaker 1: It's got to happen.

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Speaker 2: Get vaccinated. I put the call out there, you know

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Speaker 2: it's we will no doubt experience more delta positi of

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Speaker 2: casncy in the lordn Territory if it gets in their

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Speaker 2: communities with the most vulnerable population, will ever devastating effect

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Speaker 2: an impact. Hence why we you know Am Sence strongly

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Speaker 2: encourages and puts the call out there to all about

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Speaker 2: indigenous population in the Lord territory. Please please go and

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Speaker 2: get vaccinated to protect yourself, your family and your community

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Speaker 2: under territory.

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Speaker 1: John spot On, Hey, I want to play a little

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Speaker 1: bit of audio from Hugh Hegy from that press conference

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Speaker 1: yesterday and his concerns. Take a listen to what he

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Speaker 1: had to say.

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Speaker 3: This is getting to the point of being serious. We

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Speaker 3: were trending up. Now we're not who's going to take

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Speaker 3: responsibility for the first death in the territory. Who's going

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Speaker 3: to take the responsibility of the first Aboriginal death.

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Speaker 2: In the territory.

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Speaker 3: I know some of the inf uancers and they are

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Speaker 3: from the US anti vax lobby and faith organizations. They're

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Speaker 3: using social media, particularly in average communities, and they've done

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Speaker 3: this before when we had the measles out right.

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Speaker 1: John, is that what you're hearing in some communities as well, particularly.

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Speaker 2: The any vaxing, boxing vexes and you know, any vaccination messages. Yes,

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Speaker 2: there are groups and we've met, particularly those religious groups

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Speaker 2: that you know, we're uh expressing some of those and

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Speaker 2: we understand. Look from my intelligence, it's not the leaders,

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Speaker 2: but it's some the followers that live in attend communities

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Speaker 2: that are peddling the smithsinformation and it's not helping with

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Speaker 2: the overseas you know, social media anti vaxxing messaging as well. Look,

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Speaker 2: i'd love those big corporate through omos social media platforms

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Speaker 2: to just put blocks on all of them. Ay, I mean,

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Speaker 2: that's that's the that's the solution of that. I mean,

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Speaker 2: this is very unhealthy, you know, to be pelling those

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Speaker 2: that sort of misinformation. They're not health clinicians, they're not

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Speaker 2: of experts in this area. They're doing it for their

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Speaker 2: own interest, in their own personal reasons. And I again

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Speaker 2: I've mentioned it previously, I called put the call out

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Speaker 2: there to stop pelling misinformation and allow communities to make

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Speaker 2: their own decisions.

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Speaker 1: John, I know for some people out there listening this morning,

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Speaker 1: they're going to be thinking to themselves. You know, we're

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Speaker 1: all trying really hard to get to that eighty percent rate.

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Speaker 1: I know, that you've said ninety to ninety five percent

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Speaker 1: from your perspective, you know what, like what else can

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Speaker 1: be done at this point in some of those communities

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Speaker 1: where you maybe have had anti vaxxers get in there

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Speaker 1: early and tell some of the local people misinformation. What

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Speaker 1: can be done now to try and turn it around

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Speaker 1: in some of those communities.

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Speaker 2: Well, Katie, I'm not sure if you're aware, but the

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Speaker 2: COMALK have identified four priority areas now East Darnham, the

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Speaker 2: Berkley Region, Darwin and Palmerston and the Outer Region and

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Speaker 2: the Yellow Springs and Outer regions. So those regions we'd

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Speaker 2: like to also and I've got to talk to the

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Speaker 2: CONMAALCT to now include Catherine because the Catton region there's

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Speaker 2: still pockets of lower rates there, so we want to

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Speaker 2: include the Catton region in the priority area. But look, Katie,

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Speaker 2: we ain't going to give up. We will continue to

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Speaker 2: use innovative, creative messaging presserly local and community designed and developed,

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Speaker 2: getting our elders, getting you know, local community mob to

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Speaker 2: get in there and encourage their families and broader communities

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Speaker 2: to get vaccinated because this, you know, the Delta virus.

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Speaker 2: I've said this on many occasions to get into our communities.

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Speaker 2: It will have a devastating impact and you know we

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Speaker 2: should all be aiming for for it not to get

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Speaker 2: into our communities. We've done really well, you know, terto

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Speaker 2: and should be very proud of themselves for what we've

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Speaker 2: achieved to say, and we've just got to keep that

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Speaker 2: same measure of commitment and working with each other and

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Speaker 2: doing everything in our powers to get all tertoy and

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Speaker 2: vaccinated so that we can continue to you know, enjoy

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Speaker 2: the freedom that we have. I mean, you know, I'd

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Speaker 2: hate us to be in a position like this in

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Speaker 2: the in the Melbourne where there's you know, long periods

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Speaker 2: of lockdown and if we do get you know, one

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Speaker 2: thing that the Aboriginal Community Control Sector police supports if

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Speaker 2: there's positive cases in the territory, we need to move

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Speaker 2: very quickly and you know, put the appropriate measures in

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Speaker 2: place to get on top of or tracing and testing.

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Speaker 2: You know, if you do get as positive TASC here

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Speaker 2: in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 1: Well, John Patterson, the CEO of am SAND, I always

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Speaker 1: appreciate your time, appreciate your honesty there as well. About

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Speaker 1: the foot doctor, you crack me up. I'm good to

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Speaker 1: speak to you this morning. I hope your feed.

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Speaker 2: Are all right mate, I'm the way to recovery. Good

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Speaker 2: on your pad.

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Speaker 1: I will talk to you again, sir, and thank you