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Speaker 1: On the line. Richard Bells, the acting Prime Minister and

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Speaker 1: also Defense Minister. He's in Adelaide. Today's made a major

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Speaker 1: announcement about training opportunities moving forward with the ORCUS Acting PM.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Good morning, Matthew, how are you good?

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Speaker 1: Thank you. So we know lots of jobs on the

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Speaker 1: way and as ORCUS ramps up, Taitheesa is going to

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Speaker 1: play a leading role in this. Tell us about the announcement.

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Speaker 2: Today, Well, today is just another in the building blocks

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Speaker 2: of announcements that we're making which will really grow this

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Speaker 2: workforce of the future. But today we've announced almost three

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Speaker 2: hundred entry level training opportunities for young people in Adelaide

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Speaker 2: to enter the naval construction industry. That will see one

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Speaker 2: program which will deliver a twelve month traineeship which will

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Speaker 2: get people on the job experience at the end of

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Speaker 2: which there'll be a three qualification, and then a second

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Speaker 2: program which will deliver a four year apprenticeship in areas

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Speaker 2: such as fabrication, mechanical, electrical qualifications. Tessa, as you say,

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Speaker 2: is the lead partner here. We've been at the Regency

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Speaker 2: Park campus today which is where most of the training

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Speaker 2: will occur. Peer is one of the partwer is the

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Speaker 2: partner with the TAESSA in terms of delivering this. But

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Speaker 2: all of this really I said, it's just another step

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Speaker 2: in the broader program that we've got in terms of

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Speaker 2: building skills that we need. That the human equation here

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Speaker 2: is really the great challenge I think in terms of

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Speaker 2: putting in place what we need to build submarines in

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Speaker 2: the future in South Australia. That meeting that challenge is

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Speaker 2: about investing in the training, which is what we're doing.

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Speaker 2: But of course that challenge also represents us the great

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Speaker 2: opportunity for young people in Laid to get into a

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Speaker 2: high tech, high skilled, high pay job.

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Speaker 1: All right now, As Defense Minister, also, you'd be well

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Speaker 1: aware of the concerns in the election of Donald Trump.

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Speaker 1: Could the Defense pack be in danger? How confident are

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Speaker 1: you Trump's committed to UCERS.

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Speaker 2: Well, I am confident. I mean when you look at

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Speaker 2: what the Trump Republicans have not just said but done,

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Speaker 2: it has been in support of both the alliance with

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Speaker 2: Australia but also our key equities within that which UCAS

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Speaker 2: is front and center. I mean this time last year

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Speaker 2: we had Congress legislation which went through the United States

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Speaker 2: Congress which enabled UCUS, the legislation which saw the enabling,

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Speaker 2: for example, of the sale of the Virginia class submarines

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Speaker 2: to Australia, the creation of a seamless defense industrial base

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Speaker 2: between our two countries. That legislation was supported by Trump Republicans,

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Speaker 2: and all the engagement that we've had with those who

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Speaker 2: have been involved in President Trump's campaign, what we've seen

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Speaker 2: is support for August. And indeed, you know, if you

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Speaker 2: look at the announcements that he's made of personnel over

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Speaker 2: the course of the last twenty four to forty eight hours,

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Speaker 2: their statements have been supportive of Aucus as well. So

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Speaker 2: Aucust makes sense. It makes strategic sense in the context

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Speaker 2: of Australia's strategic interest but also Americas and that's ultimately

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Speaker 2: why we have a sense of confidence that we will

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Speaker 2: be able to progress this with the Trump administration and

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Speaker 2: we're really looking forward to that opportunity.

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Speaker 1: Would you look to use people like Scott Morrison and

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Speaker 1: maybe particularly Joe Hockey, who's got a golfing relationship with

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Speaker 1: Donald Trump. They get on really well. Do we need

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Speaker 1: to smooth the waters and keep the peace if you like,

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Speaker 1: between lines of communication, call it what you will, between

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Speaker 1: Australia and the US open by using people with obviously

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Speaker 1: were people that Donald Trump knows and likes.

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Speaker 2: Oh well, look, we are spoken with both of those people,

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Speaker 2: and they have done a really good job in supporting

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Speaker 2: Australia's national interest and you know, we use whatever avenues

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Speaker 2: we can. But what I would say is that, you know,

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Speaker 2: as a government, we look really forward to working closely

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Speaker 2: with the Trump administration. I've had numbers of Republicans and

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Speaker 2: Trump Republicans over the past couple of years, particularly as

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Speaker 2: we've pursued our interests through the United States Congress, and

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Speaker 2: we will build those government to government relationships. And we

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Speaker 2: saw that with the conversation that happened between Prime Minister

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Speaker 2: Alban Easy and President Trump last week. I really have

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Speaker 2: no doubt that we will be able to build that

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Speaker 2: relationship and take it forward.

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Speaker 1: Does Joe Hockey is also former US ambassador. Do you

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Speaker 1: need him to smooth over the Kevin Rudd cracks? Is

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Speaker 1: his position as ambassador? Tenable?

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Speaker 2: Look, Kevin has done a really great job in representing

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Speaker 2: Australias interests as he's been the ambassador to the US. Again,

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Speaker 2: we saw that with the passage of the legislation through

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Speaker 2: the Congress last year. That was That was Kevin working

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Speaker 2: across the political spectrum with Trump. Republican Kevin was there

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Speaker 2: at the Republican National Convention earlier this year. He's played

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Speaker 2: a really important role in introducing a number of US

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Speaker 2: to people on the Republican side of the House. And so,

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Speaker 2: I mean Kevin is a professional. Kevin has vast experience.

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Speaker 2: He's not just in terms of his own political experience

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Speaker 2: and government experience, but also having led a globally significant

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Speaker 2: think tank. His is an opinion that is sought out

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Speaker 2: across the spectrum in the United States. And he really

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Speaker 2: is a person who is well placed to advance our

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Speaker 2: interests with the future Trump administration. I'm sure that's what's

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Speaker 2: going to happen.

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Speaker 1: We've got a by election coming up here in South Australia,

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Speaker 1: as I'm sure you're aware on Saturday, and if you've

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Speaker 1: had the chance to see the front page of the paper,

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Speaker 1: The Advertiser today, the suggestion is a backlash against the

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Speaker 1: federal government over cost of living. Given the results in

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Speaker 1: the US as well, is that likely to impact the

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Speaker 1: federal election next year? Are you expecting that? Are you

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Speaker 1: fearful of that well.

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Speaker 2: I mean, we've been making it really clear from actually

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Speaker 2: the outset of our government. The cost of living is

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Speaker 2: the fundamental issue that's facing the Australian people today and

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Speaker 2: very much facing people here in Adelaide. It's why we've

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Speaker 2: been really waiting a war on inflation. That's why we've

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Speaker 2: delivered to surpluses in the two years that we've been governing,

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Speaker 2: something that the Liberals never did and the entirety of

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Speaker 2: their time in government. And that's the most important thing

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Speaker 2: that we can do managing the budget prudently in terms

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Speaker 2: of putting a downward pressure on inflation, and where we

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Speaker 2: have spent money it has been in respect of cost

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Speaker 2: of living relief. You've seen that with the tax cups

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Speaker 2: that we put in place with the energy bill relief.

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Speaker 2: That is very much our focus. And you know, we

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Speaker 2: are very happy to be talking about cost of living.

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Speaker 2: We get the challenge that is faced by Australian people,

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Speaker 2: we get the pain that it's and people are in

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Speaker 2: and there's the job is far from done, but this

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Speaker 2: is what we have been focused on and that is

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Speaker 2: very much where we seek to put forward. What we've done,

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Speaker 2: but what we intend to do more of if given

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Speaker 2: the opportunity of being re elected next year. And we

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Speaker 2: really know that Australians are doing it tough and they

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Speaker 2: need a government that is completely focused across the living

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Speaker 2: and that's what we've been and what we will be.

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Speaker 1: All Right, Just finally on Ukraine, and again with your

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Speaker 1: Defense Minister had On and you're acting PM Hat. We've

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Speaker 1: given over a billion dollars here in Australia in defense

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Speaker 1: and humanitarian a Donald Trump saying he could end this

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Speaker 1: in twenty four hours. Whether he does it in twenty

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Speaker 1: four to forty eight or a bit longer, it seems

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Speaker 1: likely if the war does end, Russia has to get

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Speaker 1: something out of it. Do you think Trump can broker

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Speaker 1: a piece still between the two countries. So the money

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Speaker 1: we've given and the money the US has given is

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Speaker 1: enough to create a stalemate, it's not enough for Ukraine

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Speaker 1: to win. What could Trump do? There's any different So

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Speaker 1: if it doesn't include seeding land.

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Speaker 2: Well, I mean, let's see what plays out when President

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Speaker 2: Trump is sworn in. But I think the important point

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Speaker 2: to make right now is that what's at stake in

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Speaker 2: Ukraine from the Ukrainian people's point of view, is obviously

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Speaker 2: our nation, but from a global point of view is

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Speaker 2: the global rules based order and those rules, the international

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Speaker 2: rules by which we live are so important, particularly for

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Speaker 2: a country of our size, because in the absence of that,

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Speaker 2: the world really runs on the basis of the rule

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Speaker 2: of power, and that removes agency for medium sized countries

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Speaker 2: like our own, like Ukraine, and that's why we see

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Speaker 2: Australia's national interests very much tied up in Ukraine's success

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Speaker 2: and being able to resolve this conflict on its own terms.

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Speaker 2: That's why we have stood with Ukraine and will continue

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Speaker 2: to stand with Ukraine, as of course has America, as

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Speaker 2: of course has NATO countries right around the world. There's

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Speaker 2: a lot at stake here and we need to be

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Speaker 2: making sure that we are living in a country in

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Speaker 2: a world, I should say, which is governed by rules

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Speaker 2: and by order, not simply by power, and that is

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Speaker 2: fundamentally what's at stake in Ukraine right now, and that's

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Speaker 2: why we'll stand with the people of Ukraine.

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Speaker 1: All right, Acting PM, have to leave it there. Thanks

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Speaker 1: for your time, Thanks Bethie Richard Miles here in Adelaide today,

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Speaker 1: big announcement TAFE training courses to be operated he's been

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Speaker 1: at Regency Park at Taife, and that's in regards to Orcus.

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Speaker 1: Of course,