Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with Colonel Tim Rutherford who is part of the team assisting in remote communities, and denies any claims of mistreatment by the ADF

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Katie spoke with Colonel Tim Rutherford who is part of the team assisting in remote communities, and denies any claims of mistreatment by the ADF · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Now, as you've heard throughout this morning, there are some
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  Speaker 1: really well atrocious claims which are being made on social
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  Speaker 1: media about people being held down and vaccinated against their
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  Speaker 1: will and children being taken away from their parents by
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  Speaker 1: members of the ADF, claims which have been entirely hosed
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  Speaker 1: down by both the Jarwin Association this morning on the
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  Speaker 1: show and of course Whirly Whirly, who have taken to
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  Speaker 1: social media to say that traditional owners of Binjari and
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  Speaker 1: Rock Hole are very hurt by the untrue comments being
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  Speaker 1: made in the media and on social media about their situation.
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  Speaker 1: But joining me on the line right now is Colonel
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  Speaker 1: Tim Rutherford, the commander of Operation COVID Assist here in
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory. Good morning to you, Tim.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time this morning. Tim. There
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  Speaker 1: are some pretty outrageous accusations being made on social media
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  Speaker 1: that people in Rock Hole and also been Jari being
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  Speaker 1: forcibly vaccinated, had also taken against their will to Howard
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  Speaker 1: Springs quarantine. Firstly, Tim, are people being forcibly removed from
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  Speaker 1: the community?
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  Speaker 2: No?
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  Speaker 1: Now, then, who is being taken to Howard Springs at
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  Speaker 1: the moment.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, So Katie, what the ADS role inside of Binjari,
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  Speaker 2: Rock Hole and the Catherine region of the moment is
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  Speaker 2: to help the residents to get to the testing facilities,
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  Speaker 2: to help the local services with the delivery of food
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  Speaker 2: and some of the essential items because they can't leave
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  Speaker 2: their home, and to support the empty police with some
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  Speaker 2: of the checkpoints that they've got around. Again, it's all
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  Speaker 2: intended to keep the community of Binjari and Rock Hole safe.
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  Speaker 2: So we're not transporting anybody up to how it springs.
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  Speaker 2: That's on the other services. We're just moving people to
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  Speaker 2: the testing facility and.
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  Speaker 1: So taking them to the testing facilities, are people being
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  Speaker 1: held down and forced to have a vaccine?
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  Speaker 2: No, not at all. That's not something that the ADF
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  Speaker 2: for or the government whatever do And I think those
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  Speaker 2: sorts of lies and misinformation that's circulating are coming from
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  Speaker 2: no doubt issue motivated people, but they're not representing the
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  Speaker 2: community or the region at all. Well, so I think
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  Speaker 2: we should see it for what it is.
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  Speaker 1: And Tim, look, I almost feel a bit silly asking
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  Speaker 1: because we've obviously had really seen their statement from traditional
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  Speaker 1: owners also spoken to Jarwin who have said that this
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  Speaker 1: is totally untrue, but I'll ask the questions because I
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  Speaker 1: know that people want the masked. Are any children being
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  Speaker 1: taken away from their parents?
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  Speaker 2: No? No, that's silly too. I who appreciate you've got
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  Speaker 2: to ask the hard questions and that we can put
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  Speaker 2: that one to bit tim.
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  Speaker 1: Are you guys are the hard working idea of personnel
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  Speaker 1: that are there making sure that people are being are
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  Speaker 1: given food, making sure that they're able to get to
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  Speaker 1: those testing facilities. Are you frustrated by some of these
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  Speaker 1: mistruths that are being peddled online?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, look I am. I'm personally disappointed because the people
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  Speaker 2: who are sort of spreading these lives and the misinformation
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  Speaker 2: out there, they're not from the area, and they're not
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  Speaker 2: not representing the views of the community or the olders
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  Speaker 2: in their community. And you know, they folk. No one
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  Speaker 2: likes to hear lies told about them, but they've left
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  Speaker 2: their homes their families to go and help out the
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  Speaker 2: community and need. So it's always disappointing to hear people
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  Speaker 2: come under attacked by people who aren't there and accusing
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  Speaker 2: them the things that they aren't doing. The Air Force
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  Speaker 2: base at Tendaal and our aviators, they've been about eighty
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  Speaker 2: years that's got good and deep connections. We've Binjari in
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  Speaker 2: rock Hol, our team from Norfes who've got a base
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  Speaker 2: in Casher and they've been there for about eighty years
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  Speaker 2: as well, again deeply connected to the community and atmospherics there,
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  Speaker 2: so everything they'd do is in concert with the elders
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  Speaker 2: and the community leaders' expectations. And when we've heard from
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  Speaker 2: those elders and community leaders like we had in the
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  Speaker 2: last twenty four hours, we've hosed down all of these
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  Speaker 2: mistruths that are starting to circulate social media. So I
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  Speaker 2: really appreciate that people are coming to our defense because
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  Speaker 2: our role there is to support the services to help
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  Speaker 2: the community meet. Because we're about protecting country, We're about
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  Speaker 2: protecting communities across Australia. It's what we do.
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  Speaker 1: Tim tell us how many personnel have you got out
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  Speaker 1: on the ground in the likes of Catherine and indeed
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  Speaker 1: Binjari and rock Hole at the moment, and talk us
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  Speaker 1: through a bit more of what they are doing.
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  Speaker 2: So we've got about sixty five people there. It's a
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  Speaker 2: round number because we're putting a few more down there
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  Speaker 2: today just to help the police with some of their
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  Speaker 2: checkpoint efforts, but there are three tasks that the police
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  Speaker 2: have asked that to help out with. We're helping get
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  Speaker 2: the residents from the communities back into Catherine so they
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  Speaker 2: can be tested. We can just understand you know, how
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  Speaker 2: widespread and the COVID, the ears, and when it's safe
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  Speaker 2: to lift Catherine out of lockdown. Obviously, with the people
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  Speaker 2: who are in lockdown, they can't access the food that
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  Speaker 2: they need and some of those essential items to survive.
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  Speaker 2: So we said absolutely, we're a big military, We've got trucks,
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  Speaker 2: we've got people, we can help with that, and we are.
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  Speaker 2: So we've got another team down there who are just
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  Speaker 2: doing delivery services of food and the essential items. And
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  Speaker 2: then that final piece I mentioned, which is just supporting
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  Speaker 2: the police on the checkpoints. Everything we do, it's the
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  Speaker 2: police's lead and we're just there to back them up
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  Speaker 2: with a few extra people because they've been stretched in.
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  Speaker 2: The Antipolice have been doing a fantastic job up in
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  Speaker 2: the territory keeping us safe throughout this whole pandemic, and
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  Speaker 2: you know they're stretched in. We appreciate that and if
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  Speaker 2: we can help, you know, we'd really like to.
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  Speaker 1: And Tim with the ADF personnel that are on the
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  Speaker 1: ground at the moment. Are they people that are usually
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  Speaker 1: based here in the territory or have some of them
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  Speaker 1: had to come from other parts of Australia.
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  Speaker 2: No, they're all Territorians. In fact, we try to use
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  Speaker 2: the local teams wherever we can, so the bulk of
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  Speaker 2: the team that is supporting this tasket at the moment
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  Speaker 2: have come from Kyindall with our aviators there and some
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  Speaker 2: of the North Force folk from Catherine. We've had to
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  Speaker 2: bring a few more down from Darwin and Robertson Barracks
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  Speaker 2: just to serge numbers, and we've got a few extra
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  Speaker 2: trucks and things up here which needs to serve some
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  Speaker 2: of that support. But all Territorians well.
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  Speaker 1: Tim Rutherford, the Colonel and the commander in charge of
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  Speaker 1: Operation COVID assist here in the Northern Territory, I really
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  Speaker 1: appreciate your time and I think that you know, the
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  Speaker 1: large majority of Territorians also appreciate the work that the
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  Speaker 1: IDEA is doing at the moment to try and support
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  Speaker 1: the community, as you've seen, making sure that people have food,
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  Speaker 1: making sure that they're able to get to those testing
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  Speaker 1: facilities and do what they need to do. And like
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  Speaker 1: I said, I think the large, large majority of the
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  Speaker 1: community are grateful for that assistance.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie. I really appreciate your support and the support
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  Speaker 2: of your listeners as well. You know, everyone wants to
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  Speaker 2: see the lockdown end so they can get back to
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  Speaker 2: our lives, and so you know, the teams out there
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  Speaker 2: that are helping us along the way, I really appreciate it,
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  Speaker 2: so from me, thanks very much.