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Katie spoke with Isolated Childrens Parents Association President Sarah Cook about returning children not being able to isolate in remote areas after December 20 · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line is Sarah Cook, the president
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  Speaker 1: of the Isolated Children's Parents' Association.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Sarah.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie. Thanks for having me.
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  Speaker 2: Sarah, thank you so much for your time this morning.
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  Speaker 1: Are you able to tell us how many territory kids
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  Speaker 1: are sort of trying to get back into the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory at the moment, now that school's finished, who've been
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  Speaker 1: at boarding school?
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  Speaker 3: We still have I actually don't know the exact numbers,
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  Speaker 3: but I'm still receiving case studies. So early this morning
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  Speaker 3: I received a couple of text messages of people saying
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  Speaker 3: the children I've bought their faars forward because and particularly
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  Speaker 3: university students, I've bought their faars forward. We're trying to
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  Speaker 3: avoid the twentieth of December. But Katie, if this is
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  Speaker 3: a flow on effect for weeks and weeks, not only
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  Speaker 3: do we have boarding school children who are mostly home
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  Speaker 3: and university students who are still coming home but going
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  Speaker 3: into January, will then have a new problem, and that
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  Speaker 3: is governesses or home tutors coming into the territory, mostly
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  Speaker 3: from interstate because it's very difficult to find these types
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  Speaker 3: of people in the Northern Territory. And who will go
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  Speaker 3: out to remote cattle stations to deliver the education for
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  Speaker 3: primary school students. So yes, we still have boarding students coming.
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  Speaker 3: People are madly scrambling to change whatever plans that they can.
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  Speaker 3: University students that's another level of problems. And then home
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  Speaker 3: tutors coming into the territory in January, and.
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  Speaker 2: It's sort of caught everybody by surprise. Sarah.
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  Speaker 1: You know, we were all thinking that come December twenty
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  Speaker 1: that it was going to become easier. We certainly didn't
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  Speaker 1: anticipate that it was going to become near impossible for
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  Speaker 1: those in regional and remote areas.
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  Speaker 3: We are gobsmacked. So on Friday, the Alice Springs School
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  Speaker 3: of the Air students had their presentation day and are
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  Speaker 3: caught up with many families and we're utterly gobsmacked and
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  Speaker 3: we just couldn't find the words to describe it. We're
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  Speaker 3: very much complied our families in the Bush because it's
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  Speaker 3: so important to us that we can have our children
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  Speaker 3: move backwards and forwards safely and freely between school and home.
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  Speaker 3: That's for the boarding school and university students, but for
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  Speaker 3: the School of the Air students, it's so important that
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  Speaker 3: we take care of that the health and safety of
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  Speaker 3: our remote communities, so their compliance is extremely high. And
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  Speaker 3: we also have the ability to isolate on properties and
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  Speaker 3: to be very very choosy about who we see and
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  Speaker 3: where we go when we live remotely. So we're just
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  Speaker 3: absolutely gobsmacked, Sarah.
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  Speaker 1: I would imagine that the vaccination rates as well are
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  Speaker 1: probably quite high. When you talk about some of those
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  Speaker 1: remote stations and different areas where people are working.
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  Speaker 3: It's very very rare to hear of a family or
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  Speaker 3: an individual who have decided not to take a vaccination,
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  Speaker 3: very rare, indeed, and we've worked very closely with our
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  Speaker 3: remote health communities. Families have come out into their regional
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  Speaker 3: towns to get vaccinations where they've been able to go
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  Speaker 3: to a group where RSDs flying doctors have run clinics
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  Speaker 3: just for our stations, and the vaccination rates are extremely high,
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  Speaker 3: and I would suggest in most cases one hundred percent absolutely, Sarah.
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  Speaker 1: What is going to happen if there isn't some kind
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  Speaker 1: of change over the next few days, you know, the
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  Speaker 1: next week or so when it comes to the announcement
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  Speaker 1: that the Chief Minister have made last Thursday.
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  Speaker 3: In this space, Katie, I can't wrap my head around it.
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  Speaker 3: I really can't because we have we have complied to
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  Speaker 3: the last letter, and then everybody became a little bit
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  Speaker 3: comfortable and a bit more relaxed, and we started thinking
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  Speaker 3: about our mental health and also our ability to get
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  Speaker 3: together with our children and perhaps you know, I have family.
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  Speaker 3: I spoke fifteen minutes ago to a family who are
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  Speaker 3: preparing for a reunion. They had three sisters or older
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  Speaker 3: family members bringing their children and their husbands from interstate
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  Speaker 3: and they're all going to get together. I spoke yesterday
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  Speaker 3: to a family who had organized for grandparents to come
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  Speaker 3: up for the first time in two years to visit
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  Speaker 3: the little baby and toddler. So, look, I can't wrap
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  Speaker 3: my head around it. We've got to make some forward
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  Speaker 3: plans about our home tutors. We've also got to make
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  Speaker 3: forward plans about children who are attending boarding school for
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  Speaker 3: the very first time, and middle of January next year,
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  Speaker 3: we just really appeal to the territory government to recognize
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  Speaker 3: that our compliance has been to the letter, and we
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  Speaker 3: really just can't think beyond this decision being overturned.
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  Speaker 2: Sarah, is there any like, is there any worry here
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  Speaker 2: as well? Because I know for some kids.
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  Speaker 1: They don't actually finish school until later this week.
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  Speaker 2: Is there any.
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  Speaker 1: Concern that we're going to have a situation where some
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  Speaker 1: kids aren't actually getting to spend Christmas with their family.
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  Speaker 3: Please, Oh, one hundred percent. This is a race against
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  Speaker 3: time and not forgetting. You know, school might finish at
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  Speaker 3: the end of the week, but children also have other commitments.
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  Speaker 3: You know, there's been musicals and plays and recitals and
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  Speaker 3: sports events and etc. So some of these boarding school
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  Speaker 3: children stay on for another week or two once school
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  Speaker 3: has finished, and just to wind up the year. So
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  Speaker 3: one hundred percent. There is going to be somebody, and
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  Speaker 3: there always is court in this debacle. But I think
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  Speaker 3: and the time frames are so tight at the moment,
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  Speaker 3: I think that everybody's doing their utmost to try to
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  Speaker 3: get to get through it. But there will be inevitably
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  Speaker 3: somebody always is.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, Sarah, I really feel for you guys.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so very much for having a chat with
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  Speaker 1: us this morning and really giving everybody who listens to
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  Speaker 1: the show a bit of perspective as well.
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  Speaker 2: We'll keep you up to date.
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  Speaker 1: Please keep us up to date as well if you
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  Speaker 1: do hear of any change from the government. I hope
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  Speaker 1: that some common sense prevails here.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you, Katie. I just wanted to reiterate we're not
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  Speaker 3: asking for the health and safety and welfare of our
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  Speaker 3: remote communities who are vulnerable to be compromised. We are
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  Speaker 3: absolutely not asking that we want to follow the letter
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  Speaker 3: write down to making sure everybody's got what they need
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  Speaker 3: out of the arrangements around COVID. But we're asking the
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  Speaker 3: territory government to reciprocate the respect that we have shown
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  Speaker 3: to the requirements around COVID and that they'll recognize our
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  Speaker 3: commitment to adhering to home quarantine. Love your work, Thanks
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  Speaker 3: y
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, thanks, thanks so much for your time.