KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: Welcome back. As the rest of the world finds its feet slow in post pandemic life, Australia finally has a four-step plan to re-opening. The prime minister unveiling his road map, which relies on large vaccination numbers and favours restrictions to lockdowns in suppressing outbreaks. But like all decisions made by the PM, it all banks on the Premiers playing along and that supply of vaccines. For more, we're joined by Senator Malarndirri McCarthy in Darwin, and Triple M's Gus Worland in Sydney. Good morning, guys. Nice to see you. Senator, to you first of all, I mean, this whole road map out, is it really a road map out if the whole thing is reliant upon Pfizer vaccines?
SENATOR MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: Well, clearly, it's 17, 18 months too late, really. Karl, I mean, this is something that we've discussed - you and I have discussed - on this program over the last 12 months in terms of having a direction out. And I think Australians are now just feeling, can we just roll out these vaccines and make sure people are able to access the vaccines, make sure there's enough supplies. Let's do that, because anything that is being said now from the Commonwealth, it's kind of like eye rolling, really.
STEFANOVIC: It is. Look, we had GPs on today. There's been much made this morning about 500 GPS getting access to this Pfizer vaccine to their people across the nation. The GPs we've spoken to this morning haven't been told anything, Malarndirri.
MCCARTHY: Yeah, well, look, none of those should surprise us. Should it, Karl? how many times have we sort of had to have this conversation? It is really, really quite wearisome. You know, I have to commend the people who are on the ground out there just for getting and going on and doing their job, like here in Maningrida, in West Arnhem Land. We had over four hundred people vaccinated. You know, we've just got workers just going out doing it now. They just kind of fed up with all the talk that's coming from Canberra. They just want to see this vaccine out.
STEFANOVIC: And it's vital, those areas are vaccinated.
MCCARTHY: Totally.
STEFANOVIC: Gus, business leaders are warning the plan is way too vague and will keep us locked away from the rest of the world until 2022. Your thoughts?
GUS WORLAND, TRIPLE M: Yeah, we need an ambitious way of looking at this. I think at the moment, like you say, it relies on the states too much. There seems to be no sort of bold leadership at the moment. We're sort of the PM can take complete control and say, right, this is what we need to do. I mean, it's an embarrassment now how the vaccine has been rolled out in Australia. We were saying on this show for the last 18 months or so how good we've been coping. I suppose the fact that island and not many people, absolutely 100 per cent, but it's now getting to the point where my kids, they're teenagers: 21, 20, and 18. They don't even know where they could actually get the vaccination. They want on the app the other day, and it shut down on them. It just, we're not making it easy and we've got to get that right. Otherwise, we're going to be in this situation for so much longer. You're right. Eye rolling is happening in my place, 100%.
STEFANOVIC: And there are lots of flickers of frustration, too. I reckon people are people are getting really angsty about it. St George Illawarra players, meantime, have been fined over a major biosecurity breach after 12 players attended a party at the home of Dragons Forward Paul Vaugan. He's got form Vaughny. Malarndirri, a message needs to be sent here, a strong one, I think one that reflects the sacrifices everyone is making across the country and the jeopardy they have now placed on the road to freedom.
MCCARTHY: Oh, look, Karl, this is so frustrating, so incredibly frustrating. We've got leadership, whether it's political, sporting, you know, these are people who should know better. And when you've got it, certainly in Sydney, New South Wales area, you guys have been under lockdown. You're still in lockdown till the end of the week. This is just incredibly frustrating. So I think, you know, throw the book at them, I reckon.
STEFANOVIC: I reckon too. Gus, we haven't had footy players behaving badly, and one of those stories, in quite some time. It seems to me that lockdowns pretty good for footy.
WORLAND: I mean, this baffles me, unbelievable amount of stupidity. You hear stories from police that some of the players were hiding around bushes so there was only five in the in the actual house when they went to Vaughny's front door and someone left a wallet there. I won't say the player in case that gets me in trouble. But it just shows how childish they are and how stupid they are and how much they don't realise how important sport is to us. But also, 7it's a billion dollar game and that could shut it down by having a barbecue. Just do your jobs, be professional, pull your heads out of your you know what and realise how important it is to do the right thing.
STEFANOVIC: Corey Norman. I think he left his wallet. Corey Norman. He did the bolt to the bushes. He left his wallet. Corey Norman.
MCCARTHY: Gus, he had to say it. He couldn't help himself.
STEFANOVIC: Do the crime, do the time. What are you going to do though, Gus? We've got to send a clear message here, don't we?
WORLAND: Yeah, we sure do. So a thousand bucks, I think is what the police can fine them. So that's done and dusted. But the NRL and Peter V'Landys, you can imagine, are absolutely going to give it to them and rightly so. They're paid more money than god a lot of these players. So hit them where it hurts, the back pocket.
STEFANOVIC: Poor old Corey Norman, he just he just got unlucky. I mean he's at a party with 12 people, and the cops call, does a runner, hides in the bushes. 'Oh, I left my wallet there'. How stupid! Anyway, a rising number of employers are demanding job seekers hand over pictures of themselves with their resumes. Can you believe this? Malarndirri apart from yourself, it's clear Canberra didn't have the same requirements.
MCCARTHY: Well, you know, I mean, you know, we actually carry our corflutes around with our photos everywhere. So we're very happy as politicians to put our photos up. So that's a different story. But look, in terms of the everyday Australian wanting to go for a job, of course it's got to be based on the skills, Karl. I mean, you know, it's it's really important that workers know that they're employed because of what they can actually do for the job on the job and their past experiences and anything else, it kind of distracts from that, which I think is a distraction if you're asking for photographs unless it's a modelling job, of course that's a different thing. But yeah, look, I'd be really concerned.
STEFANOVIC: Hey, what is distracting this morning are those massive earrings you've got this morning. that's just fantastic.
MCCARTHY: Great. OK, you know, I couldn't find my other earrings, Karl, so I just grabbed these ones. I might find bigger ones next time.
STEFANOVIC: Yes, I'd loved that. I love it. And Gus, there was a song written about radio stars. Remember that one?
[Video killed the Radio Star].
STEFANOVIC: That was all about appearances as well, wasn't it.
WORLAND: Yes, it certainly was. I mean, for many, the only reason why you need a photograph is for the employee to remember who the candidates are. Other than that, that's complete BS.
STEFANOVIC: Yes, yeah. But just keep dancing because the world needs to see this on a Monday morning. Oh, yes, you can you can never embarrass your kids. You can't you can never do it. Thank you, guys. Have a great week.
ENDS
