1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,760
Speaker 1: We know that tomorrow is where Orange Wednesday, a day

2
00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:06,400
Speaker 1: to thank all sees volunteers who give their time to

3
00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:11,720
Speaker 1: help communities during floods, storm emergencies and in everyday rescues,

4
00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,600
Speaker 1: as we learned last week when a man was rescued

5
00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:18,520
Speaker 1: after a potentially deadly fall in Kackadoo. To talk about

6
00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,160
Speaker 1: that and where Orange Wednesday, I am joined on the

7
00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,439
Speaker 1: line right now by the Northern Territories Regional Manager of

8
00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:29,080
Speaker 1: Emergency Management Planning, Mark Cunnington. Good morning to.

9
00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:31,160
Speaker 2: You, Mark, Good morning Katie.

10
00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:33,720
Speaker 1: How are you very well? Mark? Tell us a little

11
00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:35,879
Speaker 1: bit more. Firstly about this rescuing Kackadoo.

12
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:41,919
Speaker 2: Last week, Oh Okay people received a call from our

13
00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:48,440
Speaker 2: communications saying that a person had activated an emergency positioning

14
00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:54,200
Speaker 2: beacon in Kackadoo earlier that evening. We got the call

15
00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:58,960
Speaker 2: around eight o'clock. We finished up getting around sixteen people

16
00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:03,160
Speaker 2: together into verticals and heading off down to near Monacar

17
00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,360
Speaker 2: Falls in Kakadou to rescue a twenty year old that

18
00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:12,520
Speaker 2: had apparently fallen some fifteen to twenty meters down a

19
00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:19,560
Speaker 2: steep face, breaking both his angles and sort of putting

20
00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:23,000
Speaker 2: himself in the very sorry state. Unfortunately, so by the

21
00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,800
Speaker 2: time he got down there and got equipment sorted and

22
00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:30,399
Speaker 2: up to him and out, it was four am in

23
00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:30,839
Speaker 2: the morning.

24
00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:35,720
Speaker 1: Wow, goodness mate. And it sounds like it was comprehensive

25
00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:37,480
Speaker 1: and complex.

26
00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:40,399
Speaker 2: Look very much so, not the least of which was

27
00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:45,479
Speaker 2: having to haul a good couple of hundred kilos worth

28
00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:49,560
Speaker 2: of equipment too unable to be able to extract him

29
00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,640
Speaker 2: from where he was, and then having to carry him

30
00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:56,280
Speaker 2: down And apparently during the walk down it started raining

31
00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,800
Speaker 2: very heavily and just made life a little more uncomfortable

32
00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:02,920
Speaker 2: for our volunteers work to get him out.

33
00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:07,280
Speaker 1: Goodness meete, Mark, I mean, how often do your volunteers

34
00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:09,839
Speaker 1: have to get out there? And you know, do these

35
00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:10,960
Speaker 1: kinds of rescues.

36
00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:16,160
Speaker 2: Look, we usually find maybe half a dozen times a year,

37
00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:18,880
Speaker 2: and that's between here and Alice Springs. I mean our

38
00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:23,119
Speaker 2: Alice Springs volunteers have had so far I think two

39
00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,600
Speaker 2: operations there on the larup in the trail to extricate

40
00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:31,280
Speaker 2: people who have got themselves into trouble there. And we

41
00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:33,960
Speaker 2: have the occasional call that up here in the North

42
00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,840
Speaker 2: people getting themselves into trouble at heights, usually in Lychfield.

43
00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:41,400
Speaker 2: Is most of our work, but occasionally we do get

44
00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:42,160
Speaker 2: one in Kakado.

45
00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,160
Speaker 1: Now it really does highlight, I think the importance of

46
00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,600
Speaker 1: the amazing volunteers that we've got here in the Northern

47
00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,760
Speaker 1: Territory and our emergency you know, the en ties, our

48
00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,920
Speaker 1: emergency service workers and the incredible stuff that you do.

49
00:02:56,360 --> 00:03:01,000
Speaker 1: Now we know that tomorrow is indeed where or in Wednesday?

50
00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:05,160
Speaker 1: Mark tell us what it is exactly, Well where Orange.

51
00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:11,320
Speaker 2: Wednesday is an opportunity for employers, friends, the public at

52
00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:17,920
Speaker 2: large to say thanks to your local, specifically state and

53
00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,320
Speaker 2: territory emergency service volunteers. So those people in Orange who

54
00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,600
Speaker 2: volunteer their time to come and help you out in

55
00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:30,960
Speaker 2: floods during storm cyclones up here, and you go out

56
00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,280
Speaker 2: and look for people lost in national parks and recover

57
00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:39,119
Speaker 2: wayward walkers when they fall off tracks.

58
00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:43,160
Speaker 1: Now I know that not you know, not only are

59
00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,680
Speaker 1: you sort of helping add all of those different types

60
00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:47,560
Speaker 1: of things, but your volunteers help out at a lot

61
00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:50,600
Speaker 1: of community events as well. You know, there is so

62
00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:53,360
Speaker 1: much that they're involved in, and quite simply, if they weren't,

63
00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:55,400
Speaker 1: some of those things couldn't even happen.

64
00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:59,360
Speaker 2: Well, that's right, and look just a few stats here

65
00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,240
Speaker 2: for you. In the last twelve months, we've had one

66
00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:08,040
Speaker 2: hundred and forty four incidents that include the public duty

67
00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,200
Speaker 2: type incidents that you've spoken about, and our volunteers have

68
00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:15,040
Speaker 2: put in some fifteen hundred hours of their own time

69
00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,760
Speaker 2: to do that. You know, we've attended everything from the

70
00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:23,480
Speaker 2: Vertigo rescues, road crash rescues at the remode areas. Our

71
00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:25,720
Speaker 2: people have done some really long runs to go out

72
00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:30,000
Speaker 2: and support police and other people out at the roadblocks

73
00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,159
Speaker 2: and so on. For the COVID operations, we've been running

74
00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:35,840
Speaker 2: equipment out for some of that sort of stuff. We've

75
00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:41,000
Speaker 2: assisted in some locations with those. You know, our volunteers

76
00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,000
Speaker 2: are out there in the community. It's the community helping

77
00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:49,920
Speaker 2: itself and you know, without them, we would have to

78
00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,599
Speaker 2: pay a great deal more to have a professional service

79
00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:55,960
Speaker 2: deliver similar type services.

80
00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,359
Speaker 1: Well, how are those volunteer numbers? Are you always on

81
00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:00,360
Speaker 1: the lookout for more?

82
00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:03,280
Speaker 2: Absolutely, we're away was on the lookout for more. At

83
00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:06,760
Speaker 2: the moment, we're around two hundred and fifty volunteers and

84
00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:11,520
Speaker 2: that's down on normal numbers usually around the three hundred mark.

85
00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:14,880
Speaker 2: So we're absolutely looking for more people. And look, if

86
00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:19,440
Speaker 2: people call eight to nine double two three six three zero.

87
00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:22,279
Speaker 2: We can put them in contact with their local area

88
00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,400
Speaker 2: and they can start volunteering within a couple of weeks.

89
00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:28,760
Speaker 1: Now, mark what you got lined up for tomorrow for

90
00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:29,960
Speaker 1: Where Orange Wednesday.

91
00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:33,760
Speaker 2: Look, I'll be adding in the office in my orange

92
00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:37,760
Speaker 2: and there's going to be morning teas and gatherings all

93
00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,719
Speaker 2: around dow And I understand. Just to say thanks to

94
00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:42,120
Speaker 2: our amazing volunteers.

95
00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,600
Speaker 1: Oh good stuff. Well, I think it's a really important

96
00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:47,760
Speaker 1: thing to do. Like I said, I know that those

97
00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,240
Speaker 1: volunteers do a phenomenal job out assisting at so many

98
00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:54,360
Speaker 1: different things. So we really appreciate you having a chat

99
00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:57,320
Speaker 1: with us tomorrow. Let's hope everybody wears their orange tomorrow.

100
00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:02,039
Speaker 2: Absolutely Where Orange Wednesday be in it and post it

101
00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:03,880
Speaker 2: up on Facebook and let us know what you're doing

102
00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:05,200
Speaker 2: for your local volunteers.

103
00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:07,240
Speaker 1: Good on your make lovely to talk to you.

104
00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:09,479
Speaker 2: Were done, Thank you, Thank you,