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Speaker 1: And joining us live in the studio this morning is

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Speaker 1: the Federal member for Solomon, Labour's Member for Solomon, Luke Goslin.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Luke.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Great to have you in the studio. We know that

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Speaker 1: Parliament is back next week. Well, federal parliamentary sittings might

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Speaker 1: look a bit different though, due to some of the

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Speaker 1: lockdowns around the place.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll be back to minimum numbers, but I'm definitely

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Speaker 2: heading down. Even last year I didn't miss a parliamentary sitting,

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Speaker 2: so I just think it's so important that we're actually

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Speaker 2: physically they're representing the territory and there's not going to

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Speaker 2: be many people from New South Wales. So my plan

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Speaker 2: is for Territorians and South Australians and people from the

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Speaker 2: smaller states and we battle to get a look in.

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Speaker 2: With so many people from New South Wales, this is

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Speaker 2: our chance to try and get some things done.

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Speaker 1: So you reckons slip a few things through for the

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Speaker 1: northern territory while there's not as many people there. I

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Speaker 1: like it. I think that's a good idea.

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Speaker 2: Oh, we'll give it a crack. At least we'll get

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Speaker 2: our points across easier and there's a lot to talk about.

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Speaker 1: It has been really tough, hasn't it though, for so

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Speaker 1: many different sectors. But when you look at those lockdowns

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Speaker 1: and the impact that it's having, it's something that you

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Speaker 1: and I have spoken about on numerous occasions in terms

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Speaker 1: of the quarantining for some of our farm workers and

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Speaker 1: different industries. I know that their ongoing issues. Has there

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Speaker 1: been much movement in that space, not really.

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Speaker 2: I keep hearing that the federal government's going to look

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Speaker 2: at different dedicated quarantine facilities around the country, but it's

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Speaker 2: almost daily we're hearing another hotel quarantine leak that's leading

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Speaker 2: to lockdowns. Are up to twenty eight hotel quarantine leaks now,

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Speaker 2: So I wish that they move on that, and I'll

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Speaker 2: be talking to some of my colleagues about that in

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Speaker 2: the government when I get down to Canberra to get

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Speaker 2: an update on what's happening in that space. But I

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Speaker 2: think there's finally an understanding. I think that a quick, short,

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Speaker 2: sharp lockdown like we did here in the territory and

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Speaker 2: that Victoria's successfully done over the last weeks, is how

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Speaker 2: you nip the virus in the bud and get everyone

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Speaker 2: back to normal. So hopefully that message is starting to

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Speaker 2: be understood by the Prime Minister and the federal government.

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Speaker 1: Well, it is something that's not sort of going away

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Speaker 1: in a hurry. I know that we're all hoping as well. Well,

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Speaker 1: here in the territory we've done a pretty good job

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Speaker 1: I think you'd have to say in terms of the

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Speaker 1: vaccine rollout, But in some of those other states it's

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Speaker 1: been a bit more difficult or there has been concerns.

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Speaker 1: But I guess are the more and more people that

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Speaker 1: are vaccinated, hopefully the more and more we open up

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Speaker 1: around Australia as well.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, I mean yeah, there's no two ways about it.

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Speaker 2: The federal government stuffed up the vaccine roll out because

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Speaker 2: they didn't order enough vaccines early enough. However, we are

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Speaker 2: where we are, we're all looking forward. One thing the

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Speaker 2: Federal Labour saying is Job Keeper should have always been

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Speaker 2: kept for times when there's significant lockdowns that affect certain industries.

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Speaker 2: And as early as you know, February this year, I

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Speaker 2: was saying, you know, the Tourism ministry needs targeted support

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Speaker 2: for when there's lockdowns because it doesn't just affect New

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Speaker 2: South Wales businesses. When there's a lockdown in Sydney. That's

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Speaker 2: a big chunk of our tourism.

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Speaker 1: Well, it's actually a good point that you've raised. It

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Speaker 1: something that was brought up with us a little bit

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Speaker 1: earlier this week by Tourism Central Australia's CEO, Daniel Rochford,

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Speaker 1: and he had said that they're having such a difficult

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Speaker 1: time in Central Australia over the last few weeks with

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Speaker 1: those lockdowns and had raised that point whether there does

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Speaker 1: need to be some more targeted support for some of

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Speaker 1: those businesses, particularly in the likes of Central Australia, but

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Speaker 1: even up here in the top end. I mean, is

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Speaker 1: it something that you and your labor colleagues are talking

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Speaker 1: about on that federal stage and trying to push for

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Speaker 1: even for us here in the territory even though we're

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Speaker 1: not in a lockdown, but those lockdowns still have an impact.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, businesses that are affected, job keeper should be used, like,

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Speaker 2: not all the time, but when there's a lockdown that

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Speaker 2: affects businesses, job keeper should be used to keep employees

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Speaker 2: connected to the businesses. And what people down south have

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Speaker 2: got to understand is when you've got such a seasonal

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Speaker 2: tourism set up as we have, particularly for the tourism industry,

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Speaker 2: the hospitality industry. A lot of our businesses had fifty

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Speaker 2: percent cancelations when those lockdowns occurred. Now I'm hearing that

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Speaker 2: the Melbournians of Victorians are coming back. They're rebooking to

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Speaker 2: come up to the territory. They're rebooking to go to

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Speaker 2: the Darwen Cup on Monday, which is great news. But

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Speaker 2: there's still that big chunk of New South Wales that

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Speaker 2: is locked out. So we should have job keeper when

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Speaker 2: it's needed until the vaccine rolls out further and we

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Speaker 2: can open up fully.

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Speaker 1: And we are going to be catching up with hospitality

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Speaker 1: ntis Alex Bruce a bit later this morning to find

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Speaker 1: out a bit more about some of those some of

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Speaker 1: the situations with our hospitality businesses. Hopefully we are seeing

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Speaker 1: more of those bookings return. Look, I do want to

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Speaker 1: ask you, I know that well the end of the

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Speaker 1: Australian operations in Afghanistan is quite a bit happening as

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Speaker 1: well with some of our with our veteran the Peak

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Speaker 1: body for our veterans as well here in the territory,

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Speaker 1: talk us through what is going on in this space

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Speaker 1: at the moment.

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Speaker 2: I think a lot of people are thinking back as

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Speaker 2: we've pulled out. In my opinion, we shouldn't have pulled

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Speaker 2: out all our diplomats and all our military advisors. But

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Speaker 2: in any case, after twenty years, we're seeing the end

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Speaker 2: of Australian military operations in Afghanistan and the Afghani nation

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Speaker 2: is going to have a difficult time as the Taliban

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Speaker 2: is resurgent. I've been calling for the federal government to

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Speaker 2: do the right thing by the interpreters and other staff

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Speaker 2: that saved Australian lives over there the Afghanis. Some of

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Speaker 2: them have been given visas to come back. There's more

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Speaker 2: still that are under daily threat from the Taliban, so

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Speaker 2: we need to be doing the right thing there. But

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Speaker 2: we also need to remember that the majority of veterans,

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Speaker 2: overwhelming majority of veterans did an incredibly great job over

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Speaker 2: there and have come back and have just transitioned back

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Speaker 2: into society, and I think coming up after twenty years,

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Speaker 2: it's an opportunity for us to recognize the great workout

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Speaker 2: people did there and also recognize that the best thing

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Speaker 2: a business or an organization can do is employ a veteran.

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Speaker 2: They're really passionate, dedicated, disciplined, people. So part of that

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Speaker 2: twenty year celebration is we're going to have a big

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Speaker 2: concert up here by the end of the year with

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Speaker 2: veteran bands. It's called Rock for Reflection and Remembrance Tour.

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Speaker 2: It's a national tour and it's going to come here

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Speaker 2: to Darwin, probably to the Darwen Entertainment Center and that'll

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Speaker 2: be and it's going to include a veteran art exhibition

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Speaker 2: and it's going to be a really good opportunity for

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Speaker 2: our veteran community to get together and by no means

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Speaker 2: celebrate Afghanistan, but just to commemorate the lives lost like

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Speaker 2: our own Scottie Palmer, and just think about moving forward

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Speaker 2: into the future. And the Royal Commission's going to help

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Speaker 2: with that.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I reckon there'll be plenty of territories will be

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Speaker 1: very keen to find out more about that. Is there

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Speaker 1: just very quickly? Is there much movement when it comes

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Speaker 1: to that Royal Commission into veteran suicide at this point

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Speaker 1: in time, you and I have spoken about this on

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Speaker 1: so many cases. He see much of an update.

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Speaker 2: When I get down to Camber next week, I'll be

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Speaker 2: meeting with the new Veterans Affairs Minister I think it's

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Speaker 2: the six to one that the current government have had.

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Speaker 2: But I'm really hoping that he will get a little

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Speaker 2: bit more engaged in the Royal Commission and make sure

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Speaker 2: that it starts as quickly as possible, and that we

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Speaker 2: get the recommendations then as quickly as possible, and obviously

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Speaker 2: the implementation. We all know that a Royal Commission's only

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Speaker 2: as good as the will and the determination of the

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Speaker 2: Government of the day to implement those recommendations. So I'll

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Speaker 2: be talking to him about that in Canberra next week.

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Speaker 2: Here locally, in some great news, there's a new organization

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Speaker 2: that's been formed as sort of a peak body for

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Speaker 2: veterans organizations in the Northern Territory called Council of Australian

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Speaker 2: Veterans NT. They'll be launching on the eleventh of September

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Speaker 2: this year, which is really significant because it is the

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Speaker 2: end of that twenty years in Afghanistan and it's a

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Speaker 2: good time for us to get together and as a

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Speaker 2: veterans and defense community, coordinate our efforts and work together

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Speaker 2: as a team to do the best thing by our

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Speaker 2: veterans and their families.

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Speaker 1: Well, remember, for Solomon Luke Gosling always good to catch

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Speaker 1: up with you. We are going to have to leave

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Speaker 1: it there. We'll catch up with you again soon. Let

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Speaker 1: us know if anything happens in Parliament next week that

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Speaker 1: territory and should be aware of.

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Speaker 2: If there's a bit of a takeover down there, Cardio,

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Speaker 2: I'll let you know.

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Speaker 1: Good on you, Thank you.