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Speaker 1: Well, Darwin could soon be home to ozzie expats seeking

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Speaker 1: refuge from coronavirus. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged the

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Speaker 1: Howard Springs Quarantine Facility as a place for returning overseas

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Speaker 1: ozzies to quarantine. He's expected to discuss the plan with

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Speaker 1: Chief Minister Michael Gunner on Friday. One territory and that's

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Speaker 1: been trying to get back to Darwin is Singapore based

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Speaker 1: Stephan Wood. He joins me on the line. Now, Stephan,

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Speaker 1: good morning, very good morning, good Stephan. Now before we

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Speaker 1: get into the serious stuff, I hear you're a cooking

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Speaker 1: up a bit of a feace this morning.

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Speaker 2: I may have told Ronnie that I was cooking to

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Speaker 2: bacon and eggs, and yes, I've just had my breakfast

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Speaker 2: for now.

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Speaker 1: See, this is why we need you back in Darwin, mate,

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Speaker 1: is were we want some bacon and eggs as well?

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Speaker 2: At well hopefully we can actually get back to Darwen

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Speaker 2: instead of other states.

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Speaker 1: Well that's it. I mean, as we mentioned before, you've

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Speaker 1: you've long been trying to get back to Darwin. You're

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Speaker 1: in Singapore at the moment. And for those who don't know,

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Speaker 1: can you tell us a little about the journey and

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Speaker 1: trying to get back to Darwin.

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Speaker 2: So far, Oh make look at basically, as you know,

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Speaker 2: with the whole cap issue with the Australian government and

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Speaker 2: Ossie's trying to get back. You can fly to well Percibbey, Adelaide,

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Speaker 2: Brisbane obviously not Melbourne at the moment of Victoria lockdown.

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Speaker 2: But since Silkare and Jetstar stopped flying to Darwen back

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Speaker 2: in I think it was late in March early April,

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Speaker 2: there's been no international airlines into Darwen. So I came

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Speaker 2: up with an idea back in July and I thought,

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Speaker 2: you know what I reckon, we can get people back

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Speaker 2: to Ossi via Darwen. Applied for flights to Darwen and

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Speaker 2: unfortunately have been denied since I think of July twenty

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Speaker 2: the first time I applied. And yeah, constantly I'm frustrated

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Speaker 2: because one of the reasons I read from the Chief

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Speaker 2: Minister's Department is that there were no no international airline

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Speaker 2: flights to Darwin, and as I've said to the Chief

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Speaker 2: Minister's Department, that is very true. However, I've been applying

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Speaker 2: for charter flights using the airlines that is, applying to

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Speaker 2: Darwin and being constantly denied, so I don't really understand

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Speaker 2: the argument.

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Speaker 1: And as I understand that, one of the most frustrating

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Speaker 1: things for you is you've seen not one, but now

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Speaker 1: two charter flights from Vanuatu come in to bring mango

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Speaker 1: pickers in. So I know that's left you incredibly frustrated.

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Speaker 2: Look I don't I am very very frustrated, but I

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Speaker 2: also feel for the farmers and I feel for people

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Speaker 2: needing work done. But I mean, seriously, Australia, if we

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Speaker 2: can't get workers in Australia work, what's going on? But

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Speaker 2: that's the whole new political discussion, which is more about

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Speaker 2: bringing people kind of people want to come back from

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Speaker 2: overseas and great one hundred and sixty truth because does

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Speaker 2: not lock Howard Springs quarantine for people coming home a

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Speaker 2: very small number.

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Speaker 1: What has the reasoning been from? Because I know you've

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Speaker 1: been in contact with both the Commonwealth government and the

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Speaker 1: Anti government and they're kind of blaming each other. What's

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Speaker 1: the excuse the reason being from them?

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Speaker 2: Well, basically I see it. It comes from the Chief

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Speaker 2: Minister's Department, no one else. The Train Border Force has

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Speaker 2: been absolutely bringing you apply to them through the channels

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Speaker 2: and then they deal with the states and territories and

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Speaker 2: say you where you can or you can't go. And

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Speaker 2: after a lot of research, a lot of pushing, a

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Speaker 2: lot of thanks the Senator Sam McMahon, Senator Luke Gosling,

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Speaker 2: they have been pushing. And it is very very clear

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Speaker 2: from Michael Gunner listening to him on ABC Radio, keeping

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Speaker 2: Howard Springs international students from China, foreign workers which we

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Speaker 2: know are already there, people from Victoria to come up

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Speaker 2: to quarantine, tourism which I really don't think comes a

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Speaker 2: lot of money into the economy at the moment. And

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Speaker 2: then private charters last and lull Behold. What really does

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Speaker 2: amaze me is the statement that we are saving Howard

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Speaker 2: Springs for evacuations and I think Michael Gunner referred to

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Speaker 2: one of the cruise ships. I mean, the world is closed.

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Speaker 2: What mass evacuation is going to need to go to

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Speaker 2: Howard Springs. I can tell you one mass evacuation and

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Speaker 2: that is Australians needing to come home. Seven and evacuation.

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Speaker 2: How sprint should be fought.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, we know Prime Minister Scott Morrison's flagged that he

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Speaker 1: wants to make this happen. Now he's expected to discuss

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Speaker 1: the plan with Chief Minister Michael Gunner on Friday. What

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Speaker 1: do you think is going to happen made?

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Speaker 2: I think it's a bit of a I mean Scott

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Speaker 2: Morrison saying that he's going to discuss it on Friday,

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Speaker 2: and I mean, to get real, I've been trying to

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Speaker 2: discuss it since the twentieth of July. Australia is a

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Speaker 2: broken country. If the Prime Minister cannot make a state

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Speaker 2: or a territory take repatriations or do anything, what's going

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Speaker 2: on in this country? I mean discuss it now. I

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Speaker 2: mean Michael Gonna knows exactly that. How it brings us there?

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Speaker 2: Why does it take new discussions? Why can't it just

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Speaker 2: be activated? Yes, I know there's a lot to it

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Speaker 2: with health workers for hospital etc. But it's not like

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Speaker 2: it's me saying, hey, we want this tomorrow. This has

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Speaker 2: been that I'm going now for four months and it

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Speaker 2: constantly knows. Whilst people from hop coops in Australia think

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Speaker 2: why up to the territory quarantine to then go to

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Speaker 2: the Acold Grand Final, I don't begrudge them. I think

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Speaker 2: using the system to stay help well done bringing and

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Speaker 2: then you see a raven House springs and you have

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Speaker 2: one hundred thousand of strains around the world wanting to

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Speaker 2: come home. Oh that's what really gets too cle angry.

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Speaker 1: Do you sound a bit resigned to the fact that

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Speaker 1: you could be there, stuck there for a while.

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Speaker 2: Well, I'm not resigned to the fact. I have a

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Speaker 2: flight booked on Singapore Airlines Adelaide at the end of

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Speaker 2: the month. And you know what, if I have to

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Speaker 2: go on quarantine and ala, so be it. But why

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Speaker 2: can't I quarantine my home? And that is because they

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Speaker 2: only just saying no to any private repatriation charter because

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Speaker 2: the lines an't flying there. I've spoken to still Care,

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Speaker 2: I've spoken to Jetsta. Both of them know that if

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Speaker 2: they activated flights to day and I think they'd probably

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Speaker 2: get approval. They don't. They're not doing it because they

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Speaker 2: don't want to go out on that limb, because theirlines

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Speaker 2: can't afford to lose money at the moment worth me,

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Speaker 2: I own a charter company. I've seated the opportunity. I'm

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Speaker 2: prepared to go out on that limb. Pay for the

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Speaker 2: flight up front charge. See the plan can be full.

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Speaker 2: It's a no brainer. It's easy. People want to come

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Speaker 2: back to Australia.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, Stephan Wood, I really hope something could comes

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Speaker 1: out of this meeting on Friday. It doesn't sound like

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Speaker 1: your I both holding our breath, but look, well we'll

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Speaker 1: keep banging the drum for you and look hopefully some

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Speaker 1: progress can be made soon. Thanks for chatting to us

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Speaker 1: this morning.

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Speaker 2: Yes, and I just throw one more thing in there. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: at the moment it looks like Queensland is about open armed,

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Speaker 2: so private chart it to us. Well, Terricory, you're going

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Speaker 2: to miss out.

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Speaker 1: That would be a loss. Could be good news for you.

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Speaker 1: It's not not Darwin, but it's a little bit closer.

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Speaker 1: But anyway, we'll see.

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Speaker 2: How we can look out cands back to the tropics

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Speaker 2: or the other.

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Speaker 1: Come on, Stephen Wood, thanks for chatting to us this morning.

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Speaker 1: That's Stephen Wood live from Singapore there with an up

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Speaker 1: a little bit of crispy bacon just before. We had

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Speaker 1: a chat to us this morning, but on a much

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Speaker 1: more serious note. He wants to get back home and

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Speaker 1: unfortunately both governments playing a hardball. I guess on him

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Speaker 1: being able to get home