Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation CEO Thalia Bohl-van den Boogaard

Transcript

Katie Woolf spoke with Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation CEO Thalia Bohl-van den Boogaard · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We're going to head on down to Central Australia right
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: now and joining us on the line. What did Julu
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Community Aboriginal Corporation CEO Talia Bolvand and Bouga. Good morning
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: to you, Talia, good morning, Thanks so much for your
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: time this morning. Now I understand that Aularu the Park
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: has been temporarily closed to visitors due to COVID nineteen
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: concerns after travelers recently arrived from Sydney at the Lara Airport.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Talia, can you talk us through the current situation?
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: So at the moment, the park is closed until all
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: the people that have arrived in Yolara over the past
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: few days that come from Sydney have had a COVID
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: test and that test is either returned negative or they've
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: left Ulara and there are normal flights coming in from
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: Sydney carrying passengers to here.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Talia, what are you being told by health authorities? Have
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: those two hundred people now have they been sent to
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Alice Springs or are some of them still at all LaRue?
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: As far as I know, some have been sent to
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: Alice Springs, but there is still a large number of
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: them in Yolara, not all the testing has been concluded,
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: and I don't think that the results are back yet,
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: or at least not all of the results.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: And is that number correct that it's about two hundred
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: travelers or are those numbers a little bit different now?
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: Well, I believe that it was two hundred people that
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: needed to get tested. That's what I've been told. So
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: that's what we're going on, Talia.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: How are residents of Mudajulu feeling knowing that those people arrived,
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: you know, over the last couple of days.
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: People are getting used to, you know, the circumstances changing
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: very quickly. But they are worried because they're very well
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: aware of how vulnerable they are, and there's a lot
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: of people in a very small play and as we've
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: said before, it'll only take one person, and so they
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: are hoping that this will be resolved quickly and that
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: negative results are returned, or that those people choose to
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: go back to Sydney.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: Will you notified by authorities or have you been told?
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: We know obviously that these flights come from Sydney, but
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: do we know if many of those travelers have actually
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: been in those hot.
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: Spots which flood Are you referring to the one that
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: landed yesterday, the one that landed yesterday, I've been told
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: that the one that landed yesterday had four people on it.
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: So luckily a lot of people listened to the advice
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: and didn't get on board. But out of those four people,
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: I've been told, one had to go into mandatory quarantine
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: and alice springs. So I think that just shows that
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: people do slip through the cracks of the nut and
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: it's a risk we're not willing to take absolutely.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Talia, how long do you anticipate that you're going to
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: need to or that the traditional owners are going to
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: need to keep ull Laru catechuy To National Park closed.
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: Well, I've talked to some people this morning, and I'm
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: hoping that the testing will be concluded today, which means
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: the results you'd hopefully be back soon. So everybody is
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: hoping that it will be over as quickly as possible.
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: Who knows, hopefully in the next twenty four to thirty six.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: Hours, and so you will keep it closed.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: So until all of those test results come back and
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: people are negative.
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: Yes, because until we know there could be someone out
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: there that is positive, and if they come into the
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: park and then have contact with someone in the community.
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: That's just a risk that that is unacceptable to the
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: people out here.
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's fair enough, Tarlia.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: Then when you talk about those flights, are there more
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: flights due to arrive today?
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: Apparently there's a flight due to land today, but I've
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: been told that there's no passengers on that, so it'll
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: just be used to repatriate people that are already here
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: and want to go back to Sydney.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: Okay, So nobody's actually arriving today, not as.
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: Far as we know, So that's good news.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: That is good news, Talia. I know it's been it has.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: Like you said, it's been a real sort of ever
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: changing situation all around the country when it comes to COVID.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: But it's certainly been that way for you guys in
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: Central Australia as well, hasn't it.
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: It has been quite entertaining.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: That's a good way of putting it, Talia. How are
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: the traditional owners are feeling, you know, with this latest cluster.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: They're worried, but they're also very encouraged that there is
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: a large number of people that is supporting them and
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: who do stay away until it's safe to come again,
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: and so they hope that everybody can you know, take
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: on that attitude and you know, we'll stay at home
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: if they come from that area and understand why they're
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: taking the measures that they are taking.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: Are you hoping this all gets sorted quite quickly? I
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: would imagine that they're still you know, the traditional owners
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: are still quite happy to have territory tourists and people
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: that are from you know, from non COVID hotspots.
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: There is that right, Yeah, they're very happy for people
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: who come from non hotspot areas or from the Northern
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: Charrity to come to the park. And they're not closing
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: the park to make it hard on anyone or disappoint anyone.
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: They're only making that choice because they want to keep
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: themselves safe first and foremost. Yeah.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, well, Tarlia, I really appreciate your time this morning.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for having a chat with us and
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: letting us know what the situation is in Central Australia at.
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: At ou LaRue. Thank you, thanks so much.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: That was more to Juliu Community Aboriginal Corporation CEO there
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: Dalia Bowl van den Bougard. And as you've heard, they
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: are really waiting for those tests to come back to
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: confirm that there's no positive cases of COVID, but at
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: this stage they are going to be the traditional owners
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: are certainly keeping Ularuktajuta National Park closed at this stage
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: two visitors due to those COVID nineteen concerns. And it
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: does follow on from those travelers who recently arrive. Will
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: first see one flight from Sydney at the Ilara Airport
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: and then there was that flight yesterday but as you
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: heard then only four people on it. One of those
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: people though, did have to go into mandatory quarantine. So
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: it's not an ideal situation. I think that it's we
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: would all agree right around Australia at this point due
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: to this cluster in Sydney. It's not an ideal situation
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: for anybody. It's really quite a difficult one, particularly ahead
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: of Christmas.