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Katie Woolf spoke with Member for Solomon Luke Gosling · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Now we know that the situation in Afghanistan. I think
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  Speaker 1: that if you have been watching the news or listening
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  Speaker 1: to the news in any way, shape or form, you'd
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  Speaker 1: be pretty mortified by some of what we're hearing. But
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  Speaker 1: certainly some of the vision and images that we have
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  Speaker 1: seen come out of Kabul, and we know that the
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  Speaker 1: Member for Solomon, Luke Gosling, is calling on the federal
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  Speaker 1: government at this point to open Darwin's Bladon Village to
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  Speaker 1: approved Afghans fleeing for their lives in the wake of
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  Speaker 1: what is happening in Kabul, and Luke Gosling joins us
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  Speaker 1: on the line right now. Good morning to you, Luke.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Luke. Obviously you and I spoke earlier in the week
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  Speaker 1: about this situation. It has been absolutely devastating really to
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  Speaker 1: see what's going on in Afghanistan. I know that you're
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  Speaker 1: now saying that you think some of those approved Afghans
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  Speaker 1: should be able to come here to day and to
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  Speaker 1: Bladon Village.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, I think that we've got the campassion there
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  Speaker 2: to quarantine those rivals when we finally evacuate them out.
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  Speaker 2: And I just want to remind your listeners that we're
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  Speaker 2: not talking about a large amount of people. We're talking
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  Speaker 2: about people who have been security vetted and vou's for
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  Speaker 2: by Australian's gone through all those checks and if for
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  Speaker 2: those they should be able to be evacuated back to
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  Speaker 2: Australia Quarantine in Bladen and then be resettled by the
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  Speaker 2: federal government. Obviously we're going to need the federal government's assistance.
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  Speaker 2: The anti government's been doing a great job without Springs,
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  Speaker 2: but that's got them fully tied up. So the proponents
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  Speaker 2: out of Blayden had lined up the health staff that
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  Speaker 2: they need to operate that facility. In fact, defense Forces Singaporeans,
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  Speaker 2: the US Marines and the Austraine Defense Force personnel are
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  Speaker 2: already using that facility. I think we can continue to
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  Speaker 2: play that great role that we have been playing and
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  Speaker 2: get and help with the process of getting some of
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  Speaker 2: those people that are really in a lot of danger
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  Speaker 2: to safety.
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  Speaker 1: Look, how would we decide who wou'd actually bring across
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  Speaker 1: to the territory. Like I know, there's still a lot
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  Speaker 1: of ifs in this discussion, but watching some of that
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  Speaker 1: vision it has been absolutely heartbreaking and it seems as
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  Speaker 1: though it's a heartbreaking situation for so many, So how
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  Speaker 1: will we determined who actually would be able to come
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  Speaker 1: here to the territory.
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  Speaker 2: Well, obviously the first ones are the Australians and said
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  Speaker 2: are stealing cable yea, they need to be evacuated out.
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  Speaker 2: But then also those that have worked with the Australian
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  Speaker 2: embassy or for the Australian ause AI program, all the
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  Speaker 2: interpreters that have worked with our soldiers. A lot of
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  Speaker 2: that vetting has already been done, so they would be
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  Speaker 2: the priority for lifting out. After that, it'll be a
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  Speaker 2: matter for our humanitarian program to again do those checks
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  Speaker 2: that are required. I'm personally and I obviously won't go
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  Speaker 2: into too much details, but working with the Home Affairs Minister,
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  Speaker 2: the Foreign Affairs Minister and the Defense Minister for some
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  Speaker 2: people who are really in the gun, no matter what
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  Speaker 2: the Taliban pr is saying, there are people who are
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  Speaker 2: in a lot of danger and are basically hiding until
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  Speaker 2: they can get out. And if it is possible to
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  Speaker 2: get some of those people out, there will be great
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  Speaker 2: contributors to our country if they're able to come here
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  Speaker 2: on humanitarian visas. But we're just encouraging the federal government.
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  Speaker 2: That's already very late to the game when it's safe
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  Speaker 2: to do so, to get in there and get those
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  Speaker 2: approved people out, and we can play a role here
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  Speaker 2: in the territory in that resettlement process. Obviously the non
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  Speaker 2: territory will be part of a national settlement program. At
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  Speaker 2: this stage, we're not talking about large amounts of people,
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  Speaker 2: but I guess that depends on how unsafe cabul and
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  Speaker 2: that understand becomes.
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  Speaker 1: So, look, did you say that those discussions are already
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  Speaker 1: underway or that is something that you're hoping to get underway.
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  Speaker 2: Now. I've been in I've been sending through information. I've
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  Speaker 2: been receiving a lot of phone calls and for people
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  Speaker 2: that are in need of assistance, there are channels through
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  Speaker 2: which information can be passed on and there's assessments made.
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  Speaker 2: So's there's a lot of people that are very concerned
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  Speaker 2: for their loved ones. Obviously, we have some people who
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  Speaker 2: from Afghanistan in our DA and community and they're obviously worried.
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  Speaker 2: The reality is that we won't be able to take
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  Speaker 2: everyone out that wants to get out, But we have
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  Speaker 2: a moral responsibility and we've been saying this for months
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  Speaker 2: to in particular get those out that we're fighting side
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  Speaker 2: by side or protecting our embassy. Those people have known,
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  Speaker 2: those people have been security checked, and those people are
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  Speaker 2: currently extremely frightened in Cabul. So our soldiers, when they're
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  Speaker 2: given the go ahead by the federal government, can do
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  Speaker 2: the job that they've trained for and get our people out.
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  Speaker 1: Look. You and I spoke earlier in the week, as
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  Speaker 1: I've mentioned, and I know that you know you have
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  Speaker 1: real concerns and you wanted to make sure that our
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  Speaker 1: veterans who have served over in Afghanistan are aware that
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  Speaker 1: you know that we still stand by them and we
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  Speaker 1: are proud of the work that they have done. Have
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  Speaker 1: you spoken to more of them throughout the week and
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  Speaker 1: what of those discussion has been about.
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  Speaker 2: The phone calls Just we're just supporting each other and
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  Speaker 2: talking through feelings about what's happened and what they could
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  Speaker 2: what they can do, and wondering what the future holds
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  Speaker 2: for people in the areas that they worked. And I
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  Speaker 2: spoke with Scottie Palmer's dad Ray the other day and
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  Speaker 2: what he said is absolutely true is that Australians have
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  Speaker 2: the ability to connect with people on the ground in
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  Speaker 2: ways that I think most of the nations don't do
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  Speaker 2: the same way. So they actually when Scottie and his
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  Speaker 2: mates come back from their tours of Afghanistan, they would
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  Speaker 2: talk about the way they were in the villages and
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  Speaker 2: how proud they were that, you know, young women in
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  Speaker 2: particular were able to go to school and they were
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  Speaker 2: doing something good, provide some security so that they could
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  Speaker 2: have some sort of freedoms, and they're really proud of
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  Speaker 2: the job they did. So part of it is just
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  Speaker 2: reminding them of the great job that was done there
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  Speaker 2: and knowing that they've got support here when they needed.
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  Speaker 2: Of course, today also is Vietnam Veterans Day, Katie, and
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  Speaker 2: for a lot of Vietnam veterans this has been a
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  Speaker 2: bit of a retraumatization because they had similar feelings when
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  Speaker 2: they got back from and their tours of duty over
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  Speaker 2: in Vietnam. Yeah, was it all worth it? Did we
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  Speaker 2: make a difference? How are the people going to cope
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  Speaker 2: now that we were ostensibly there to protect and to assist.
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  Speaker 2: So I'm thinking about all veterans today because seeing those scenes,
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  Speaker 2: they know that it's a dangerous environment and they know
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  Speaker 2: that it's a difficult road ahead for Afghanistan, but they
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  Speaker 2: can be proud and they should just keep continue to
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  Speaker 2: keep reaching out to their mates.
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  Speaker 1: Luke Gosling, I appreciate you having a chat with us
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  Speaker 1: this morning. Please keep us up to date with those
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  Speaker 1: discussions and exactly you know what ends up happenings as
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  Speaker 1: we move forward and where the blading point is indeed utilized.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, good only, Caddy. We're a good country and we
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  Speaker 2: should be doing the right thing and continue to keep
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  Speaker 2: having those conversations. Thanks very much, thanks, Luke.
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  Speaker 1: Luke Gosling, there are the member for Solomon