Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Matt Hepworth spoke with Territorian Expat Stefan Wood

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Matt Hepworth spoke with Territorian Expat Stefan Wood · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, Darwin could soon be home to ozzie expats seeking
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: refuge from coronavirus. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged the
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Howard Springs Quarantine Facility as a place for returning overseas
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: ozzies to quarantine. He's expected to discuss the plan with
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Chief Minister Michael Gunner on Friday. One territory and that's
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: been trying to get back to Darwin is Singapore based
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Stephan Wood. He joins me on the line. Now, Stephan,
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: good morning, very good morning, good Stephan. Now before we
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: get into the serious stuff, I hear you're a cooking
• 0:31
  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
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: for now.
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  Speaker 1: See, this is why we need you back in Darwin, mate,
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: is were we want some bacon and eggs as well?
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: At well hopefully we can actually get back to Darwen
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: instead of other states.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Well that's it. I mean, as we mentioned before, you've
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: you've long been trying to get back to Darwin. You're
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: in Singapore at the moment. And for those who don't know,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: can you tell us a little about the journey and
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: trying to get back to Darwin.
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  Speaker 2: So far, Oh make look at basically, as you know,
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: with the whole cap issue with the Australian government and
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: Ossie's trying to get back. You can fly to well Percibbey, Adelaide,
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: Brisbane obviously not Melbourne at the moment of Victoria lockdown.
• 1:24
  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
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: up with an idea back in July and I thought,
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: you know what I reckon, we can get people back
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: to Ossi via Darwen. Applied for flights to Darwen and
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: unfortunately have been denied since I think of July twenty
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: the first time I applied. And yeah, constantly I'm frustrated
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: because one of the reasons I read from the Chief
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: Minister's Department is that there were no no international airline
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: flights to Darwin, and as I've said to the Chief
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: Minister's Department, that is very true. However, I've been applying
• 2:10
  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
• 2:19
  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
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: two charter flights from Vanuatu come in to bring mango
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: pickers in. So I know that's left you incredibly frustrated.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Look I don't I am very very frustrated, but I
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: also feel for the farmers and I feel for people
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: needing work done. But I mean, seriously, Australia, if we
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: can't get workers in Australia work, what's going on? But
• 2:51
  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
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: not lock Howard Springs quarantine for people coming home a
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: very small number.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: What has the reasoning been from? Because I know you've
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: been in contact with both the Commonwealth government and the
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: Anti government and they're kind of blaming each other. What's
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: the excuse the reason being from them?
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: Well, basically I see it. It comes from the Chief
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: Minister's Department, no one else. The Train Border Force has
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: been absolutely bringing you apply to them through the channels
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: and then they deal with the states and territories and
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: say you where you can or you can't go. And
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: after a lot of research, a lot of pushing, a
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: lot of thanks the Senator Sam McMahon, Senator Luke Gosling,
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: they have been pushing. And it is very very clear
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: from Michael Gunner listening to him on ABC Radio, keeping
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: Howard Springs international students from China, foreign workers which we
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: know are already there, people from Victoria to come up
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: to quarantine, tourism which I really don't think comes a
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: lot of money into the economy at the moment. And
• 4:13
  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
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: one of the cruise ships. I mean, the world is closed.
• 4:32
  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
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: that is Australians needing to come home. Seven and evacuation.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: How sprint should be fought.
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we know Prime Minister Scott Morrison's flagged that he
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: wants to make this happen. Now he's expected to discuss
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: the plan with Chief Minister Michael Gunner on Friday. What
• 4:55
  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
• 5:01
  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
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: or a territory take repatriations or do anything, what's going
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: on in this country? I mean discuss it now. I
• 5:21
  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
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: be activated? Yes, I know there's a lot to it
• 5:33
  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
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: constantly knows. Whilst people from hop coops in Australia think
• 5:49
  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
• 6:00
  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
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: go on quarantine and ala, so be it. But why
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: can't I quarantine my home? And that is because they
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: only just saying no to any private repatriation charter because
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: the lines an't flying there. I've spoken to still Care,
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: I've spoken to Jetsta. Both of them know that if
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: they activated flights to day and I think they'd probably
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: get approval. They don't. They're not doing it because they
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: don't want to go out on that limb, because theirlines
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: can't afford to lose money at the moment worth me,
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: I own a charter company. I've seated the opportunity. I'm
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: prepared to go out on that limb. Pay for the
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: flight up front charge. See the plan can be full.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: It's a no brainer. It's easy. People want to come
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: back to Australia.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, Stephan Wood, I really hope something could comes
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: out of this meeting on Friday. It doesn't sound like
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: your I both holding our breath, but look, well we'll
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: keep banging the drum for you and look hopefully some
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: progress can be made soon. Thanks for chatting to us
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: this morning.
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: Yes, and I just throw one more thing in there. Yeah,
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: at the moment it looks like Queensland is about open armed,
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: so private chart it to us. Well, Terricory, you're going
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: to miss out.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: That would be a loss. Could be good news for you.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: It's not not Darwin, but it's a little bit closer.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: But anyway, we'll see.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: How we can look out cands back to the tropics
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: or the other.
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  Speaker 1: Come on, Stephen Wood, thanks for chatting to us this morning.
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: That's Stephen Wood live from Singapore there with an up
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: a little bit of crispy bacon just before. We had
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: a chat to us this morning, but on a much
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: more serious note. He wants to get back home and
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: unfortunately both governments playing a hardball. I guess on him
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: being able to get home