Covid positive Aboriginal health worker slams online ‘crazies’, ADF defends role in response

An Aboriginal health worker and the ADF have responded to misinformation online about the Top End’s Covid response.

UPDATE: THE ADF have also responded to misinformation around their role in the Top End’s Covid response.

“Defence is aware of social media posts claiming the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is forcibly vaccinating or detaining members of the Australian community.

“These claims are false,” a Defence spokesperson said.

“Defence is supporting the Whole-of-Government response to COVID-19 under Operation COVID-19 ASSIST, providing support as requested by States and Territories through Emergency Management Australia.

“ADF personnel serve in a supporting role to State and Territory authorities and are not empowered or authorised to conduct any law enforcement activities.

“In support of the recent NT outbreak, the ADF will surge around 85 personnel to support NT government transport for isolated close contacts to COVID-19 testing centres, to provide delivery of food to vulnerable communities in the Katherine area, and provide support to NT police,” the spokesperson said.

EARLIER: A Top End Aboriginal health worker has slammed “crazies” spreading misinformation online and comparing the Territory’s Covid-19 response to the Stolen Generations as “disgusting”.

Luke Ellis contracted the virus working “on the front line helping my people” by rolling out the vaccine in Rockhole and Binjari and is now in the Howard Springs quarantine facility.

On Wednesday, Mr Ellis took to Twitter to push back against the “bullshit being shared around, especially by people that have no love for Indigenous people (and who) suddenly jump on the ‘genocide’ bandwagon when it suits them”.

If their were soldiers with guns holding people down and forcing jabs we would have seen pics or vids of it now. There's millions of vids of heaps of stuff that happen in indigenous communities, both the good and bad. I've seen a hundred communities brawls on cell phone footage

— Luke Ellis (@lukeae88) November 23, 2021

He said contrary to claims by some anti-vaxxers on social media, “the camp is not used to drag away black mob”.

“In fact this camp has been used for months and has had hundreds of non-Indigenous people come through it in the exact same process for months,” he said.

“Indigenous people had been lucky so far but our luck ran out.”

Mr Ellis said he had been at Howard Springs since Thursday night, travelling by ambulance and a small plane, but “it was obvious to me at the time that this process wouldn’t work as case numbers increased, that help would be needed”.

He said the reason people were now being moved from the outbreak area to Howard Springs was because “overcrowding is a huge issue” in Binjari and Rockhole and “isolating at home is not feasible”.

“Katherine (and Binjari & Rockhole) are 15km from RAAF Base Tindal,” he said.

“The RAAF always helps out in crisis times, including floods and cyclones. The ‘army’ isn’t going into communities with soldiers and guns, the air force is helping out with trucks, drivers and freeing up the police in checkpoints.”

Royal Australian Air Force members assist NT Police at the southern border control checkpoint in Katherine. Picture: Amanda Parkinson

Mr Ellis also hit back at claims Aboriginal people were being forced to take the Covid jab, saying residents had been hesitant in the past “because of misinformation”.

“I’ve walked to every house in Rockhole fighting camp dogs along the way to talk to people about the vaccine,” he said.

“But in all my time doing vaccines in the community, not a single person was ‘forced’ to have it.

“We respected people’s wishes to decline even though we knew that this could potentially bring disaster.

“What we have found though is that the people who declined in the past often want the vaccine once they discover Covid is in their community. Once Covid becomes ‘real’ and tangible it changes people perception of the vaccine.”

Ground evil is disgusting. People on the ground are working themselves to standstill, in 40 degree heat in ppe that multiplies that heat. I've worked in that ppe in that heat for an hour and you collect about a litre of sweat in it. These people are working multiple hour shifts

— Luke Ellis (@lukeae88) November 23, 2021

Mr Ellis said his grandmother was taken from her family as part of the Stolen Generations and to compare the current situation with hers was “disgusting”.

“I’m in a nice room with my own aircon. I’m sitting back watching Netflix on free Wi-Fi. I had barra with garlic butter and broccolini for dinner. I’m in constant contact with loved ones,” he said.

“Any comparison to Stolen Generation is spitting on what those poor souls went through in those days.”