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Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now is the Health Minister,

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Speaker 1: Attasha Fhiles.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Minister.

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Speaker 3: Good morning Katie, good morning listener.

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Speaker 2: Now Minister.

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Speaker 1: Last week we sadly learned the Northern Territory had seen

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Speaker 1: our first COVID death, a woman in her seventies from

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Speaker 1: the Binjari community. The Binjari elder, who authorities said had

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Speaker 1: underlying health conditions and was not vaccinated, passed away in

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Speaker 1: hospital after contracting the virus two weeks ago as cases

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Speaker 1: spread in the Catherine region. Minister, it was the news

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Speaker 1: that we'd all hoped we would never hear here in

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory. Now I understand that a father of

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Speaker 1: three who tested positive for COVID nineteen remains in a

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Speaker 1: very serious condition in Royal Darwin Hospital. Are you able

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Speaker 1: to give us an update on that, gentleman.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie Bursley, I'd just like to acknowledge the Binjari

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Speaker 3: community and pay my respects on that elder passing. Very

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Speaker 3: tragic news and it shows our community how severe COVID is.

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Speaker 3: We've done a great job keeping it out of the territory,

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Speaker 3: but it is here and it can take your life

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Speaker 3: in terms of a gentleman. He is in intensive care.

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Speaker 3: I do need to respect his patient privacy, but I

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Speaker 3: understand his stable in intensive care, and we wish him

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Speaker 3: and thinking of his family during this particularly difficult time,

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Speaker 3: and acknowledge those healthcare workers who are doing everything to

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Speaker 3: keep him comfortable and give him the best possible care.

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Speaker 2: Do we know whether he has been vaccinated?

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Speaker 3: Katie or John have those details? I'm happy to see those.

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Speaker 3: I'm heading into a full briefing with Health after this

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Speaker 3: interview and certainly provide that information. But the vaccination is

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Speaker 3: so important, and we for so long have not had

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Speaker 3: COVID in our community, so people may have been hesitant,

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Speaker 3: But I cannot stress about how important the vaccine is

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Speaker 3: and how safe and effective it is.

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Speaker 2: Can I ask? Are we expecting any further cases today?

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Speaker 3: So Katie will head into our briefing once I finished

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Speaker 3: speaking with yourself and to your listeners, and will be

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Speaker 3: fully updated from not only Health but also the territory Controller.

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Speaker 3: And then as usual, any information will be provided and

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Speaker 3: we can speak to the community by the media after

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Speaker 3: those four briefings.

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Speaker 2: All right, We'll just.

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Speaker 3: Overnight get it information and that's all being consolidated and

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Speaker 3: worked through.

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Speaker 1: Okay, well, we will wait for that update a little

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Speaker 1: bit later this morning. In some pretty significant news over

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Speaker 1: the weekend, we know the Therapeutic Goods Administration has provisionally

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Speaker 1: approved the fires A vaccine is safe and effective for

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Speaker 1: use amongst Australian children aged five to eleven years old,

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Speaker 1: so subject to final approval see Australian government expects to

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Speaker 1: start rolling that vaccine out to children from January tenth

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Speaker 1: next year. Minister, what does that mean for Northern Territory children.

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Speaker 3: So in the territory we've responded as the vaccine have

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Speaker 3: become available nationally, we have responded very quickly. We were

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Speaker 3: the first jurisdiction to collapse the tranches around the vaccine,

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Speaker 3: so we'll be ready to go to provide this vaccine

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Speaker 3: to our children. I know many parents, myself included a

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Speaker 3: very keen to see our younger children vaccinated. We've been

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Speaker 3: an excellent uptake in those children age twelve through to fifteen,

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Speaker 3: but certainly very keen to get that, particularly in the

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Speaker 3: territory with such a young population. Overall, this will help

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Speaker 3: us with our overall vaccination protection, so we'll be working

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Speaker 3: with the Commonwealth to make sure it's available to territory

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Speaker 3: kids as soon as possible.

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Speaker 1: So any idea exactly when that may be able to

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Speaker 1: happen from early next.

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Speaker 3: Year, so Teddy will work through this announcement the Commonwealth,

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Speaker 3: of course, we work closely with them and have been,

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Speaker 3: and we saw the Federal Health Minister announced this yesterday

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Speaker 3: and we would welcome that years off the back of

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Speaker 3: the TGA. It'll work with a target, they'll do that

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Speaker 3: all important batch testing. But I can't see why the

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Speaker 3: Territory won't be up there with every other jurisdiction in

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Speaker 3: the delivery. We have been with the vaccine to date

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Speaker 3: and we will be working hard, particularly ahead of the

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Speaker 3: school year. Katie. There's an opportunity if this vaccine, if

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Speaker 3: everything goes to plan as outlined by the Commonwealth, will

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Speaker 3: be available from January tenth, which means children returning to

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Speaker 3: school can potentially have one does if not be fully

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Speaker 3: protect did with the vaccine.

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Speaker 1: Now, I know that some parents listening are going to

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Speaker 1: be feeling quite concerned about this and maybe even uneasy.

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Speaker 1: Is that vaccine for our young children going to be mandatory?

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, in terms of the mandate of the vaccine,

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Speaker 3: we've outlined those principles of who are required to have

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Speaker 3: the vaccine, but we haven't put that on children under

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Speaker 3: sixteen in terms of the impact it may have an

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Speaker 3: impact on them quarantining as a family. We'll work through

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Speaker 3: that with our health officials. But the Northern Territory away

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Speaker 3: from the COVID vaccine, has a very high rate of vaccination.

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Speaker 3: It's not uncommon for parents to have to provide proof

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Speaker 3: of vaccine when they're enrolled in children in childcare, in

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Speaker 3: school for example, and if little ones have an accident,

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Speaker 3: you know their tetnus immunization is provided with the immunization

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Speaker 3: to chicken pox. So this is another step in protecting

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Speaker 3: our community.

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Speaker 1: When you said it may have an impact on being

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Speaker 1: able to home quarantine for example, do you anticipate that

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Speaker 1: sort from next year? If kids aren't aren't vaccinated as well,

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Speaker 1: then maybe they won't be able to home quarantine.

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Speaker 3: So presently, for you to be eligible as part of

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Speaker 3: that fully vaccinated home quarantine, everyone that's eligible to be

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Speaker 3: vaccinated needs to be vaccinated, and so what I'm saying

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Speaker 3: is that would perhaps be the only impact. We haven't

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Speaker 3: mandated the vaccine for under sixteen. We don't want under

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Speaker 3: sixteen to miss out because their parents might be making

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Speaker 3: a choice. But I certainly know that the young people

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Speaker 3: I speak to, in those younger teenagers, they're very teen

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Speaker 3: to be vaccinated. They've seen life severely interrupted from school

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Speaker 3: camps and excursions and sports. So we'll just work through

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Speaker 3: with our officials the best way to protect our community.

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Speaker 1: But certainly by the sounds of it, like you'd said there,

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Speaker 1: in terms of home quarantining, everybody that is eligible to

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Speaker 1: be vaccinated needs to be if you do want to

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Speaker 1: home quarantine. So presumably from early next year, if children

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Speaker 1: from age five to eleven are then eligible, it will

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Speaker 1: be the case.

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Speaker 3: So Katie, this announcement was made yesterday. We'll work through

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Speaker 3: that with our officials and make sure that people have

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Speaker 3: that information ahead of time. But the current posturies that

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Speaker 3: people need to be everyone eligible need to be fully

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Speaker 3: vaccinated to receive those benefits of the fully vaccinated. As

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Speaker 3: a poster, there is medatory quarantine aspects.

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Speaker 1: Now over the weekend, we know that we had another

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Speaker 1: escape from Howard Springs. As I understand it, he's been

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Speaker 1: located following on from getting out of the Center for

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Speaker 1: National Resilience.

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Speaker 2: But in Alice Springs.

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Speaker 1: There was another man who apparently scaled defense I think,

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Speaker 1: or got out from his hotel balcony in Alice.

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Speaker 2: Has he been located yet, so, Katie, he.

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Speaker 3: Hasn't been yet. And his behavior absconding from that facility

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Speaker 3: is completely unacceptable. It's selfish. He's potentially putting our community

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Speaker 3: at risk and so police are handling this matter and

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Speaker 3: I believe he'll faith that a police breach notice potentially

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Speaker 3: a fine and there could be other penalties he could faith.

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Speaker 3: So it is not acceptable. We know that quarantine can

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Speaker 3: be difficult. We've got a number of supports within those

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Speaker 3: facilities to help people across the whole. We've seen people

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Speaker 3: comply and intredibly disappointing the behavior of this individual.

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Speaker 1: Well, what is going to happen to try to stop

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Speaker 1: people from actually doing this, because over the course of

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Speaker 1: the week six I believe it is it takes us

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Speaker 1: to in one week, I mean, what can we do

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Speaker 1: here to try and stop this from happening because potentially

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Speaker 1: it does put the community out a much greater risk.

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Speaker 3: So the role that has been displaced in keeping Australians

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Speaker 3: and territory and safe over twenty months has constantly evolved

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Speaker 3: and it certainly has got a good track record. What

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Speaker 3: we have had is some challenges, particularly over the past

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Speaker 3: couple of weeks. We recognize that there's a culturally very

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Speaker 3: different group that we have in NR, and so for

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Speaker 3: some of them that is a big culture shock, and

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Speaker 3: we've provided them with as much support as we can,

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Speaker 3: and these challenges we constantly evolve. We adapt, We look

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Speaker 3: at what we're doing and how we can deliver care

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Speaker 3: not only for those individuals. It's not a prison, it

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Speaker 3: is a quarantine facility, but also keep the broader community

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Speaker 3: safe in terms of Howard Springs. So it's adapted and

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Speaker 3: evolved and it will continue to do so.

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Speaker 1: Do you think we can continue to call it the

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Speaker 1: center for gold Standard if we have got people absconding

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Speaker 1: to Katie?

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Speaker 3: There has not been a single case of COVID escaping

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Speaker 3: that facility and entering the community since the start of

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Speaker 3: the pandemic. It has, as I just outlined, for twenty

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Speaker 3: months text not only territory and safe, but been in

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Speaker 3: avenue for many people to come home. We as of

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Speaker 3: outlines it has been a challenge, and we look at

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Speaker 3: what we've done in terms of providing care for these

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Speaker 3: individuals who are close contacts and infected away from a

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Speaker 3: hospital setting. Remote communities are difficult because as we've seen,

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Speaker 3: people can deteriorate quickly and having them close to our

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Speaker 3: hospital is important. But we'll just work through these challenges

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Speaker 3: and make sure we continue to deliver safe care and

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Speaker 3: keep the broader community safe.

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Speaker 1: Now, Minister are mindful of time, but I do just

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Speaker 1: want to get through a couple of other things.

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Speaker 3: I know.

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Speaker 1: One of those changes that we learned about last week

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Speaker 1: was that South Australia has been declared a red zone.

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Speaker 1: Those who have vaccinated but arrived from SA will be

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Speaker 1: required to undertake seven days home quarantine on their arrival,

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Speaker 1: with additional testing requirements. We do know that the plan

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Speaker 1: is that from December twenty, anyone who's vaccinated is going

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Speaker 1: to be able to come to the end from interstate

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Speaker 1: or overseas. I know that a lot of our listeners

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Speaker 1: are obviously planning on traveling at Christmas, and it's something

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Speaker 1: that I get pulled up about all the time. Is

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Speaker 1: it still going to be like what is going to

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Speaker 1: happen if you travel into state from December twenty and

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Speaker 1: a red zone is declared like we've seen in South Australia.

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Speaker 3: The Katie, just before I answer that question, the character

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Speaker 3: is at ninety five percent first rate vaccination, at eighty

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Speaker 3: nine percent fully vaccinated, and that vaccination level allows us

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Speaker 3: to have more options than we previously have. So as

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Speaker 3: we've clearly outlined from December twenty, if you're fully vaccinated,

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Speaker 3: you can return to the Northern Territory from what are

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Speaker 3: currently known or red zones without having to quarantine. And

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Speaker 3: I can't see a stepping away from that. The Chief

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Speaker 3: Minister has made that quite clear. There will be a

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Speaker 3: testing regime. We want to know where the disease is

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Speaker 3: and we want to catch it before it's a risk

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Speaker 3: to our community. But we feel we can do that

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Speaker 3: through testing not having to quarantine people.

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Speaker 1: All right, So no matter what, basically from December twenty,

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Speaker 1: at this point, we are still forging ahead with those

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Speaker 1: plans that if you double vaccinated, even if you come

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Speaker 1: back from a red zone, you're not going to have

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Speaker 1: to home quarantine, but you will have to do that testing, correct, Katie.

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Speaker 3: We've listened to the health advice all the way along.

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Speaker 3: It is kept our community safe. We're not going to

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Speaker 3: fall over at this final hurdle. We'll continue to listen

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Speaker 3: to the health advice. But we're in planning for these

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Speaker 3: changes we've been you know, we know the risk that

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Speaker 3: they'll be COVID. We can't base geographical locations because you

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Speaker 3: know the rest of Australia is opening up and we

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Speaker 3: need to be a part of that. But we can

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Speaker 3: protect our community through vaccination and testing, all.

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Speaker 1: Right, So we just on that what happens if you

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Speaker 1: are vaccinated but happen to pick up COVID upon returning.

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Speaker 1: So let's say that you know that you are in

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Speaker 1: your home and you happen to pick up COVID you know, somewhere,

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Speaker 1: but you've got it while you're in home.

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Speaker 2: When one of those tests does.

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Speaker 1: Come back, will you be able to then stay home

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Speaker 1: and quarantine at home or will you have to go

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Speaker 1: into the Center for National Resilience co Tettie.

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Speaker 3: This is one of the issues that we've been working through.

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Speaker 3: As we expect to see COVID more prevalent in our

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Speaker 3: community and we go from a pandemic to an endemic,

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Speaker 3: we will have people that will test positive and they

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Speaker 3: may want to stay in their own home. We need

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Speaker 3: to assess is there a risk to the border community

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Speaker 3: and what's the best care that we can give them.

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Speaker 3: So our health teams are working through with our officials

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Speaker 3: how we can allow for that going forward. Sometimes people

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Speaker 3: do need a more intense level of care. They might

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Speaker 3: not be in an appropriate home, they might be putting

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Speaker 3: other people at risk. So we'll just work through that

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Speaker 3: and make sure that we protect our community and provide

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Speaker 3: that care is appropriate.

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Speaker 1: All right, Before I let you go this morning, we

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Speaker 1: are due to speak to the United Voice, the union

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Speaker 1: which represents our childcare workers, after details emerged that Irene

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Speaker 1: Billius was made redundant from the Nightcliff Family Center after

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Speaker 1: thirty three years because she doesn't have a university degree.

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Speaker 1: I know that both your children and also my children

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Speaker 1: went to that center. She's certainly a stallwart at that center.

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Speaker 1: What was your reaction when you found out about this news.

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Speaker 3: So we've seen childcare change over the decades, and we

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Speaker 3: do have the federal government system that aims to provide

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Speaker 3: high quality care across Australia and it's standardized. And of

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Speaker 3: course Irene has cared for my children and many within

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Speaker 3: our community. She's caring for the children of both children now,

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Speaker 3: so of course for her personally, this is incredibly devastating, Katie.

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Speaker 3: I'm not across the details, and I'm sure erin early

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Speaker 3: from the United Boys will be able to provide that

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Speaker 3: to you. It's obviously a change in the systems nationally

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Speaker 3: where we have different standards than the parent I want

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Speaker 3: to see that. But at the same time, I think

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Speaker 3: that the love and care that individuals provides somehow needs

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Speaker 3: to be accounted for.

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Speaker 1: Well, yeah, look, I'm being inundated with messages already this

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Speaker 1: morning about this. I think that there's a lot of

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Speaker 1: really upset people and a lot of people sort of

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Speaker 1: going all right. We understand that a university degree is

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Speaker 1: obviously very important, but how do you put a price

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Speaker 1: or how do you put a value on somebody with

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Speaker 1: thirty three years of experience?

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Speaker 3: Katy, this is a challenging time, and as this childcas

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Speaker 3: Center is in my community, I feel that I'll leave

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Speaker 3: my comments there, but I certainly acknowledge and thank Irene

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Speaker 3: for everything she's done for me personally and for our community,

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Speaker 3: and I hope that this can be worked through all.

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Speaker 1: Right, Minister for Health, Natasha Files, we always appreciate your time.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for the late call up this morning.

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Speaker 3: Thanks Katie,