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Speaker 1: This is the Fitsy in Whipper with Kate Richie podcast.

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Speaker 2: Our next guest is very important to a topic that

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Speaker 2: we launched yesterday, the initiative called thirty six months. We

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Speaker 2: need you go to thirty six months dot com dot au.

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Speaker 2: We want you to sign the petition, the petition that

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Speaker 2: says we need to change the age that kids can

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Speaker 2: join social media from thirteen to sixteen. We went through

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Speaker 2: the statistics yesterday with the Premier Mins in the studio here.

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Speaker 2: From two thousand and eight to two and twenty two,

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Speaker 2: the rates of self harm doubled between the ages of

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Speaker 2: fifteen and nineteen. And how's this tripled for girls under

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Speaker 2: the age of fourteen twenty eight, twenty percent of children

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Speaker 2: age fifteen to twenty four had psychological distress from social media.

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Speaker 2: That number last year was fifty percent. Fifty percent of

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Speaker 2: young girls teenage girls on social media were affected and

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Speaker 2: their mental health was challenged. The Prime Minister now joins

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Speaker 2: us on this topic. Prime Minister Anthony Elberonezi, thanks for

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Speaker 2: coming on mate, It's good to be with you.

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Speaker 3: And congratulations on what is a really important campaign to

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Speaker 3: hear those topic of conversation. I think on the sidelines

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Speaker 3: of every netball or footy game.

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Speaker 1: Or after school. Parents are really concerned about the impact

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Speaker 1: of social media and it is having a devastating impact

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Speaker 1: on the mental health for too many of our young

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Speaker 1: Australians and it can be such a negative place unfortunately

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Speaker 1: for everyone, I've got to say, but it will have

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Speaker 1: a particular impact on young people.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: You're right though, aren't you, Because even as adults, I

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Speaker 4: know that it can affect me. I'm a forty five

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Speaker 4: year old woman with a whole life full of experience

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Speaker 4: and challenges that I've overcome. But when you're very young,

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Speaker 4: you kind of you can't.

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Speaker 2: Really see that.

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Speaker 4: And you're also right that these discussions are happening in

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Speaker 4: schools and on netball courts and on sidelines all over

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Speaker 4: the place. But it's as if up and till now

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Speaker 4: we've thrown our hands up and thought, well, what are

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Speaker 4: we really going to do about? These are the laws?

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Speaker 4: You know what I'm going to do is just continue

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Speaker 4: to fight with my child at home about the fact

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Speaker 4: that they shouldn't be on it and that they will

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Speaker 4: because no one's helping us.

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Speaker 1: That's right. Well, we put in the budget money for

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Speaker 1: a trial essentially of how we can restrict age restrictions,

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Speaker 1: how it can be effective that will take place. We

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Speaker 1: want to make sure that any changes that are made

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Speaker 1: actually work, and you don't want them being circumvented around

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Speaker 1: the side door if you like. And the internet is difficult,

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Speaker 1: we know that that's the case to provide any restrictions.

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Speaker 1: But one of the we did that in this year's budget.

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Speaker 1: Last year's budget, we quadrup funding for the Safety Commissioner.

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Speaker 1: Just think about that. I can't think of anything else

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Speaker 1: where we increase funding by four times. The course of

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Speaker 1: the impact that this is having, it it can be devastating.

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Speaker 1: I mean I know when I don't look at the

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Speaker 1: comments on my social media because if I did, I'd

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Speaker 1: find it difficult to leave the leave the house in

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Speaker 1: the morning. People will say things anonymously that are terrible.

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Speaker 1: But the impact on young people where people will be

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Speaker 1: in group chats, exchanging with each other as well, putting

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Speaker 1: pressure on about body image, about so many issues that

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Speaker 1: will have an impact on young girls and young boys

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Speaker 1: as well. I know that it is something that is

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Speaker 1: raised with me over and over again, and that's why

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Speaker 1: we put in place this trial. We also have Michelle

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Speaker 1: Rowland has initiated a joint parliamentary inquiry so that people

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Speaker 1: can make their submissions. Companies involved can make submissions as

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Speaker 1: well to put their case. But we need, I think,

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Speaker 1: the whole of society to act on this because this

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Speaker 1: is a problem for the whole of society.

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Speaker 2: It is.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, PM, I didn't know this. It's an unbelievable figure,

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Speaker 5: but ninety two percent of Australian teens aged between fifteen

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Speaker 5: to sixteen years of age do have social media accounts.

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Speaker 5: That's almost nearly We're talking nearly every kid in Australia

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Speaker 5: has one. And you know, I mean if you take

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Speaker 5: yourself and Anthony Albinisi back to that age of fifteen

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Speaker 5: sixteen learning, you know, finding becoming a young adult when

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Speaker 5: you're leaving school and you know you're copying it at

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Speaker 5: school and then you're copying it online when you get home.

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Speaker 5: This is a no brainer PM that But you know,

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Speaker 5: going into your next election, if you can help parents

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Speaker 5: out here, if we could raise this age, it'll be

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Speaker 5: a huge thing for every parent in Australia.

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Speaker 1: It certainly would be fifty And one of the things

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Speaker 1: that we know as well is that people say things

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Speaker 1: online that they would never say, face to face, the

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Speaker 1: anonymity of it, the rudeness frankly of what occurs. But

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Speaker 1: in some cases it can be much more sinister as well,

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Speaker 1: deliberately trolling people. I struggle to find the motivation for

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Speaker 1: some of the hatred that comes out as well online.

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Speaker 1: I do think that part of what this debate will do,

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Speaker 1: I hope is that it makes people to think twice

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Speaker 1: about some of the things that they're posting as well.

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Speaker 1: Would you say these things to someone face to face

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Speaker 1: to face? Yeah, and if you wouldn't, don't press sent

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Speaker 1: you know, don't engage in that way as well. So

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Speaker 1: that's about That's one side of it. The perpetrators and

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Speaker 1: some of them of course who engage in the extreme

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Speaker 1: activity need to be held to account as well. I

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Speaker 1: think that's an issue that will come through as well.

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Speaker 1: We wouldn't cop someone threatening a fellow citizen face to

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Speaker 1: face and the way that it happens online, and we

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Speaker 1: need to look at those issues. But we need to

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Speaker 1: protect our youngest Australians, there's no.

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Speaker 2: Question Prime Minister I think about that. What's also exciting here,

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Speaker 2: and there's some further reading at thirty six months dot

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Speaker 2: com dot Au where you can sign the petition, but

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Speaker 2: the idea of giving thirty six months back, you're reconnecting

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Speaker 2: the families, and not only that, you're creating an opportunity

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Speaker 2: for the righted ucasion to be in place. So teenagers,

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Speaker 2: by the time they hit sixteen and they want to

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Speaker 2: join the world of social media, they've got to know

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Speaker 2: themselves first, and they also have the skills to handle

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Speaker 2: what might happen when they join that social media community.

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Speaker 2: So you know, without that, there's the horrible stories on

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Speaker 2: one side, which is devastating and really hard to hear,

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Speaker 2: but there's a great opportunity on the other side, which

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Speaker 2: I think is really exciting to think about what we

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Speaker 2: can do from an education point of view. So that's

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Speaker 2: why that thirty six months is crucial. When you see

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Speaker 2: this happening on the other side of the world. In America,

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Speaker 2: there's a movement, but it's state by state. Knowing that

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Speaker 2: you're in a position here where we could be a

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Speaker 2: world leader. We could be a world leader and have

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Speaker 2: the other nations follow your lead by making it illegal.

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Speaker 2: That's a really powerful position you've.

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Speaker 1: Got, it is, and that's why we want to make

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Speaker 1: sure that we get it right. Because this is such

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Speaker 1: an important issue. Look there, I have had feedback as

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Speaker 1: well from teachers in schools where of course, one by

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Speaker 1: one and then state by state we're sending a banning

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Speaker 1: of the use of mobile phones in classrooms. That is

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Speaker 1: having a really positive impact as well, you know, and

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Speaker 1: that shows that people can get some of their lives back,

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Speaker 1: some of their time as well. You know, what we

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Speaker 1: want is our youngest Australian spending more time outside, playing sport,

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Speaker 1: engaging with each other in a normal way, and less

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Speaker 1: time online. And one way to do that is through

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Speaker 1: restrictions on social media. Young people, when they're engaging with

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Speaker 1: each other, they learn that social interaction and this of

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Speaker 1: course has had tragic consequences. And we know that the

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Speaker 1: issues of mental health of our young people is something

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Speaker 1: that is a real challenge and we need to deal

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Speaker 1: with it. And adults need to be engaged and we

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Speaker 1: need to talk with the young people as well.

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Speaker 2: Prime Minister, could you go to thirty six months dot

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Speaker 2: com dot you and sign the petition for us.

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Speaker 1: I can't sign petitions because they're to me, but we.

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Speaker 2: Want your name on it. We want your name on

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Speaker 2: it to say that you clearly understand what we got

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Speaker 2: to do because you can pull the trigger.

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Speaker 1: I assure you I am very supportive of the work

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Speaker 1: that is taking place and I would encourage people to

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Speaker 1: go to.

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Speaker 2: Say thank you mate. We want to continue this conversation.

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Speaker 2: So thank you for joining us on the show.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, congratulations to you mate. It's been really sort of

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Speaker 1: leadership and it shows I think it is I said

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Speaker 1: this on the weekend. It's a really positive example of

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Speaker 1: what the media can do that creates that positive space

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Speaker 1: and you know, well done.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Prome Minister. Really appreciate your time this morning.

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Speaker 1: Have a great day, See you mate.

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Speaker 2: Sins In Whipper with Kate Ritchie is a Nova podcast

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Speaker 2: to walk great shows like this. Download the Nova Player,

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Speaker 2: find the app store or Google Player in the