Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis about the protest at the Greek Church

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Katie spoke with Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis about the protest at the Greek Church · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, as you've just thirty in the local news, we
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: know that an incident at the Greek church yesterday allegedly
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: saw the mayor and the opposition leader Leo Finocchio heckled
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  Speaker 1: and verbally abused to the service marking a sacred Greek
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: holiday at Saint Nicholas Church in Darwen, CBD. Now joining
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  Speaker 1: us on the line to tell us a little bit
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  Speaker 1: more about what happened. It is the Lord Mayor of
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  Speaker 1: Darwin convat Scarlus. Good morning to you, con, Good morning
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Katie Con.
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  Speaker 2: What happened yesterday?
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  Speaker 3: Well, yesterday is the Greek national day of twenty eighth
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  Speaker 3: of Oktoba that commemorates the victory of the Greek people
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  Speaker 3: against the Italian fascist that invaded Greece nineteen forty. Now
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  Speaker 3: that's a sacred day. The two big national days in
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  Speaker 3: Greece the twenty fifth of March and twenty eight of Oktoba. Unfortunately,
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  Speaker 3: some people decided to use that particular day and that
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  Speaker 3: particular venue to express the andi vaks and anti mandatory
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  Speaker 3: vaccination sentiments, which was not the right place, not the
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  Speaker 3: right time.
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  Speaker 2: Con How many people were involved.
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  Speaker 3: About twenty or thirty, but you know the smaller minority,
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  Speaker 3: the smaller the group, the louder the sound. They were
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  Speaker 3: about three hundred people there, they attended the national Day.
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  Speaker 3: But these people choose that, particularly at the end of
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  Speaker 3: the day, of the end of the ceremony, to start yelling,
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  Speaker 3: heckling everybody who I didn't agree with their opinion, myself,
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  Speaker 3: including and of course Livnociaro and one of my Electric members,
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  Speaker 3: because they only want to listen to their own views,
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  Speaker 3: nobody else's views.
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  Speaker 1: So con was it outside the church or inside the church?
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  Speaker 1: Where exactly did it happen?
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  Speaker 3: It was outside in front of the memorial We've got
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  Speaker 3: the building. The grounds of the Greek community in Kavanaugh
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  Speaker 3: Street were usually laid the riffs.
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  Speaker 2: Did you feel threatened?
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  Speaker 3: I've been through a lot in my life, Kate. These
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  Speaker 3: people make a lot of noise. But as I said before,
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  Speaker 3: it's a very small minority in the Greek community, but
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  Speaker 3: unfortunately give a bad name to the whole community, and
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  Speaker 3: it's nationally and probably the nationally. But before the same
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  Speaker 3: people that wrongly predicted the lockdown, I remember if there
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  Speaker 3: was revealed by the Anti News a few weeks ago.
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  Speaker 3: The same people, the same people that actually you never
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  Speaker 3: see them in the national celebration. But all of a
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  Speaker 3: sudden they turned up yesterday.
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  Speaker 2: What exactly were I sign?
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  Speaker 3: Oh? Same same, We all you're all sold out and
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  Speaker 3: things like that. It's just and yelling about their rights.
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  Speaker 3: They are right not to be vaccinated, to us be
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  Speaker 3: vaccinated and we will be losing our jobs and everything else.
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  Speaker 3: Well then all, very well, that's a health order that's legal,
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  Speaker 3: and the order says you have to be vaccinated. So
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  Speaker 3: if you're coming with vulnerable people, you have to be vaccinated.
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  Speaker 3: And unfortunately a small community like ours, we come in
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  Speaker 3: contact with a lot of people. And the other thing,
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  Speaker 3: of course is I don't know hen realize that when
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  Speaker 3: the virus comes here, our system will not be unable
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  Speaker 3: to cope with a number of people going to get sick, simply.
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  Speaker 1: Collapsed, I mean conn We do know that there are
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  Speaker 1: some serious concerns about businesses potentially having staff leave due
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  Speaker 1: to the vaccine mandate. Has the timing and the mandate
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  Speaker 1: been managed properly and sufficiently by the Northern Territory government.
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  Speaker 3: Well, the businesses they're losing stuff, where are they going
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  Speaker 3: to go? As many a record as mandar vaccination South
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  Speaker 3: Australia the same Westerner South, the same Queensland too, w
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  Speaker 3: the same. I mean, it's not like I'm where to
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  Speaker 3: live from your state and go to another does require
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  Speaker 3: man vaccination. Most of the states, if not all the
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  Speaker 3: states now require managed to vaccination. The other thing is.
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  Speaker 1: L vaccination laws are much more strict though, aren't they.
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  Speaker 1: Like My understanding is that in the other states a
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  Speaker 1: lot of it does relate to particular particular industries, but
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  Speaker 1: out here in the territory are quite strict in terms
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  Speaker 1: of it sort of impacting more industries.
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  Speaker 3: Well there isn't. I believe that government did that one.
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  Speaker 3: It's because of the number of vulnerable people we've got
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  Speaker 3: here and a significant digital population. But if you look
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: at Western Australia, by January seventy five percent of the
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  Speaker 3: workforce has to be vaccinated. If you look at Victoria,
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  Speaker 3: all the construction industry has to be vaccinated, plus the hospitality,
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  Speaker 3: plus the health industry. So we're moving the situation that's vaccination.
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  Speaker 3: If you want to get a job in an area
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  Speaker 3: where you interact with the public, you have to be vaccinated,
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  Speaker 3: and that does not happen only by the stage. My
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  Speaker 3: understanding now is calls world wars quandas virgin all their
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  Speaker 3: stuff have to be vaccinated. Con and to tell you
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  Speaker 3: the truth, other councils were obliged to have asked that vaccinated.
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  Speaker 3: We advised the council and re elected members that they
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  Speaker 3: have to be vaccinated.
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  Speaker 1: So is it a council requirement and not? I believe
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  Speaker 1: that you and I spoke about this actually last time
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  Speaker 1: you're on. But is it a man like that the
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  Speaker 1: Olderman and in deed all the stuff with the council
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  Speaker 1: are required to be vaccinated.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, he does. And we advise the Olderman that if
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  Speaker 3: they don't get vaccinated, they can't come to the meetings,
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: they can't come into council buildings, and they can't perform
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: there due to the community meeting and greeting people. They're
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  Speaker 3: not that very well. And also our stuff have been
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  Speaker 3: advised the same.
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  Speaker 2: And has there been any pushback from aldermen?
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  Speaker 3: Not to my knowledge, there a lot of oldermen now
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  Speaker 3: have submitted the copy of their certificates to the CEO
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  Speaker 3: as the legislation requires, and the same thing applies to
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  Speaker 3: their stuff. There would be some people for various reasons.
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  Speaker 3: Medical reasons were quite valid. They say I can't get vaccinated.
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  Speaker 3: The only thing to do is provide the doctor's certificated states.
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  Speaker 1: And with those aldermen, though I know that you said
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  Speaker 1: they can't attend the meetings and these various duties that
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  Speaker 1: they can't actually do as a result if they're not vaccinated.
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  Speaker 2: But ultimately they can't be sacked, can I No?
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  Speaker 3: No, they're elected members. But again, if you don't do
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  Speaker 3: your work as an alderman, the community would know you're
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  Speaker 3: not around. You don't talk to people, people can't talk
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  Speaker 3: to you. Then they have to actually respond to the public.
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  Speaker 3: Regarding to that con.
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  Speaker 1: Just to go back to the church in incident, is
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  Speaker 1: it disappointing that something like this has happened at the
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  Speaker 1: Great Church?
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  Speaker 3: I accept people, they've got their own point of use.
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  Speaker 3: I accept people they want demonstrated and they're welcome to
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  Speaker 3: do so. But to do it in the right place
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  Speaker 3: in the right time. Yes, there was not neither the
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  Speaker 3: right place nor the right time. It was a Greek
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  Speaker 3: national day. It was not the day for you to
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  Speaker 3: actually have one of your freedom matches. You can do
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  Speaker 3: it any other time. It was very disappointed.
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  Speaker 2: Con are you concerned?
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  Speaker 1: I mean, at the moment, there does seem to be
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  Speaker 1: a percentage of the community that are really concerned.
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  Speaker 2: They do not want to get this vaccine.
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  Speaker 1: You know, whether they're vaccine hesitant to whether they're business
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  Speaker 1: owners that are concerned about having to implement that mandate,
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  Speaker 1: or whether they're people who outright do not want to
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  Speaker 1: get the vaccine. Are you concerned that this does seem
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  Speaker 1: to be causing division within the community.
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  Speaker 3: As said to you before, they are a very small minority,
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  Speaker 3: and if you look at the same time, I don't
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  Speaker 3: see the swelling growth of the freedom rallies. They're the
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  Speaker 3: same five hundred, eight hundred people every time. Division. I
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  Speaker 3: don't think so, mark my awards. In a six months time,
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  Speaker 3: nobody will be talking about the vaccination because we're going
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  Speaker 3: to be vaccinated and we'd be feared much much better
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  Speaker 3: when the virus comes to the territory because nowaday of
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  Speaker 3: the border's open, it's more likely to wild come to
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  Speaker 3: the territory.
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  Speaker 1: Convet scarlars just before I let you go. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: are you worried for your safety in anyway as a
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  Speaker 1: result of some of these protests and what happened yesterday?
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  Speaker 3: No, Katie, I don't, but I just feel embarrassed that
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  Speaker 3: actually something like that happened.
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  Speaker 1: When it happened, Convet Scarlus, the Lord Mayor of Darwin,
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  Speaker 1: thanks very much for your time this morning.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you, Katie, thank you, thank you,