WEBVTT - Your Weekly Debrief: The Sam Wood Case Explained

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to a Mamma Mia podcast. Hi, I'm Tamsin Rose,

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<v Speaker 1>and we've made it to Friday, which means it's time

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<v Speaker 1>for the weekly debrief, where we catch up on the

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<v Speaker 1>stories everyone's been talking about this week and look at

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<v Speaker 1>where they're heading next. Today, we're looking back at Sam

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<v Speaker 1>Wood's week, from his arrest on Saturday to being denied

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<v Speaker 1>bail on Thursday. and we're heading to Spain to hear

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<v Speaker 1>about a woman who started a movement. But first, here

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<v Speaker 1>are your headlines for Friday, October 9. Firmus Technologies, an

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<v Speaker 1>Australian company that builds and runs data centres, has cancelled

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<v Speaker 1>its plans to list on the Australian Stock Exchange following

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<v Speaker 1>a very volatile week. The company had been hoping to

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<v Speaker 1>raise $ 7 billion by selling shares to the public for

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<v Speaker 1>the first time in a process known as a float,

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<v Speaker 1>or initial public offering, or an IPO. It would have

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<v Speaker 1>been the second biggest float in Australia's history. At the

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<v Speaker 1>price Firmus was asking, the whole company would have been

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<v Speaker 1>valued at $ 44 billion, which would have meant it was

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<v Speaker 1>worth more than household names like Coles or QBE. But

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<v Speaker 1>big investors like Superfunds and fund managers weren't convinced, and

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<v Speaker 1>on Friday, Firmus officially pulled out, blaming the recent ups

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<v Speaker 1>and downs of the share market. One in four children

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<v Speaker 1>under 18 have experienced online sexual victimization or friends with

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<v Speaker 1>someone who has, and one third of sexually abused children

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<v Speaker 1>have never told a human what happened to them. That's

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<v Speaker 1>according to new research from Adelaide University. It found about 15%

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<v Speaker 1>of the online crimes involved AI, with the technology being

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<v Speaker 1>used as a tool in a quarter of incidents of

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<v Speaker 1>non-consensual sharing of sexual images. so-called nudify apps which undress

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<v Speaker 1>people in images, have been the target of major crackdowns

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<v Speaker 1>by the eSafety Commissioner and will face further restrictions under

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<v Speaker 1>the government's looming digital duty of care. The firing squad

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<v Speaker 1>execution of Nadal Malik Hassan, a member of the US

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<v Speaker 1>Army who murdered more than a dozen people, will be live-streamed,

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<v Speaker 1>according to the Pentagon. It comes after the US Defence

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<v Speaker 1>Secretary said the execution would be public. Hassan was convicted

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<v Speaker 1>of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a

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<v Speaker 1>shooting at a military base in 2009. He's now due

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<v Speaker 1>to be killed by firing squad in early December. Some

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<v Speaker 1>good news for Australian rock fans. Powderfinger is getting back together.

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<v Speaker 1>The Australian rock band announced a national tour on Friday morning.

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<v Speaker 1>Frontman Bernard Fanning said, We always said that if we

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<v Speaker 1>were going to get back together and to do some shows,

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<v Speaker 1>you'd be the first to know. And you're the first

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<v Speaker 1>to know. The band will perform around Australia from September

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<v Speaker 1>next year and hundreds of thousands of fans are excited

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<v Speaker 1>for their return after a 16-year hiatus. And an Australian

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<v Speaker 1>fan favourite cocktail venue has beaten out top establishments in

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<v Speaker 1>New York, Tokyo and Madrid to be named among the

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<v Speaker 1>top 50 bars in the world. Caretaker's Cottage in the

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<v Speaker 1>heart of central Melbourne continued its reign as the best

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<v Speaker 1>bar in Australasia, ranked 45 in the annual list unveiled

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<v Speaker 1>in Milan. The list is decided by votes from more

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<v Speaker 1>than 800 bartenders, drinks writers and cocktail specialists from around

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<v Speaker 1>the world. Those are the headlines and now it's time

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<v Speaker 1>for the weekly debrief where we go behind a few

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<v Speaker 1>of the week's biggest stories. Today we're recapping what's happened

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<v Speaker 1>since reality TV star Sam Wood's arrest and then we're

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<v Speaker 1>headed to Spain to understand why they're rioting over housing.

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<v Speaker 1>On Sunday, news broke that Sam Wood, the former bachelor

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<v Speaker 1>turned fitness entrepreneur behind 28 by Sam Wood, had been

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<v Speaker 1>arrested in Noosa on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Police were called

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<v Speaker 1>to a Hastings Street address around 9pm on Saturday before

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<v Speaker 1>he was charged on Sunday with two domestic violence offences,

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<v Speaker 1>assault occasioning bodily harm and strangulation in a domestic setting.

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<v Speaker 1>These are very serious charges, but at that point we

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<v Speaker 1>knew little more. We knew he'd been holidaying in the

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<v Speaker 1>tourist hotspot and that he usually resides in Melbourne. His

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<v Speaker 1>matter was briefly mentioned in court on Monday, but he

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<v Speaker 1>didn't appear and his lawyer indicated that he would be

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<v Speaker 1>defending the charges. That same day, the company that now

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<v Speaker 1>owns 28 by Sam Wood put him on indefinite leave

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<v Speaker 1>and the next day cut ties with him completely. He

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<v Speaker 1>reportedly sold that business in 2022 for more than $ 70

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<v Speaker 1>million and but stayed on as its face. Since the

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<v Speaker 1>allegations came out against him, prominent fitness influencers, including celebrity

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<v Speaker 1>trainer Tiffany Hall, also cut ties with him. Then on

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<v Speaker 1>Thursday afternoon, Wood appeared by video link in the Maroochydore's

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<v Speaker 1>magistrate's court from the watch house, where he'd spent several nights.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's when details of what police were alleging emerged.

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<v Speaker 1>The court heard the alleged victim is his wife, Snejana Wood,

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<v Speaker 1>who he met on The Bachelor in 2015. The court

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<v Speaker 1>heard her 21-year-old daughter Eve was the one who called

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<v Speaker 1>triple zero. Outlining the prosecution case, police prosecutor Jeanette Gregoris

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<v Speaker 1>alleged Wood grabbed Snajana by the throat, threw her against

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<v Speaker 1>a wall and choked her on the ground until she

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't breathe and that her head had been banged on

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<v Speaker 1>the floor. Gregoris said Snajana told police she thought she

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<v Speaker 1>was going to die. Photos of her alleged injuries were

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<v Speaker 1>tended and the court heard she supports the charges. The

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<v Speaker 1>court also heard local police attended the couple's Victorian home

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<v Speaker 1>about three years ago over what's being described as a

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<v Speaker 1>similar alleged incident. But no charges were laid then. The

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<v Speaker 1>prosecutor said Snejana feared retribution at the time and Sam

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<v Speaker 1>denies the incident happened. His lawyer Matthew Caskelly told court

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<v Speaker 1>that Sam denies the allegations and he applied for bail.

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<v Speaker 1>Caskelly said there were hostilities. She moved towards him yelling

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<v Speaker 1>and he pushed her away. which the lawyer said could

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<v Speaker 1>support a self-defense argument. He noted Sam has no criminal record,

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<v Speaker 1>questioned why no medical evidence had been filed, and said

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<v Speaker 1>Sam had been diagnosed with severe depression. He told the

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<v Speaker 1>court that his client, quote, ought to be given the

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity to engage with mental health professionals and should, quote,

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<v Speaker 1>also try to salvage something of his professional reputation and career,

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<v Speaker 1>which is taking a hell of a beating at the moment.

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<v Speaker 1>Due to the nature of the charges, the onus was

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<v Speaker 1>on Sam's legal team to show why he should be released.

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<v Speaker 1>Late Thursday afternoon, the magistrate said he hadn't done that.

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<v Speaker 1>She called the prosecution case relatively strong and refused bail,

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<v Speaker 1>but said if the strength of the case changed that

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<v Speaker 1>that would be reviewed. So what happens next? Well, Sam

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<v Speaker 1>Wood stays in custody until his case is back in

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<v Speaker 1>court on November 23. A quick note on how we've

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<v Speaker 1>covered this so far. You'll hear us say allegedly a lot.

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<v Speaker 1>That's because Sam Wood has not been convicted of anything.

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<v Speaker 1>He denies these allegations and he's presumed innocent until a

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<v Speaker 1>court decides otherwise. You might have also noted that we

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<v Speaker 1>didn't name Snejana or her daughter Eve earlier in the

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<v Speaker 1>week or on Thursday. In Queensland, victims are unable to

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<v Speaker 1>be identified under law unless permission is granted. We take

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<v Speaker 1>those laws very seriously as we do the privacy of

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<v Speaker 1>alleged victim survivors and their families. We'll stay across this

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<v Speaker 1>case and keep you updated as it progresses. If you

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<v Speaker 1>or anyone you know needs help, please contact 1-800-RESPECT. That's

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<v Speaker 1>the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you're in immediate danger, call 000. And now

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<v Speaker 1>to Europe, where an elderly woman has sparked a movement.

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<v Speaker 1>On Wednesday, 87-year-old Maria del Carmen Abascal, known in Spain

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<v Speaker 1>simply as Mari Carmen, died in a hospital in Madrid.

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<v Speaker 1>Her name might not be familiar here, but in Spain,

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<v Speaker 1>she's become the face of the country's housing affordability crisis.

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<v Speaker 1>In September, Mari Carmen, who used a wheelchair, was carried

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<v Speaker 1>out of the rental home she'd lived in for decades

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<v Speaker 1>on a stretcher. The real estate company evicting her wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to rent the apartment out at a much higher price.

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<v Speaker 1>She was taken to hospital at the time, where she

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<v Speaker 1>then died this week. Protests then erupted and the real

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<v Speaker 1>estate company agreed to let her return, but that has

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<v Speaker 1>come too late. So where does this go from here? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>Parliament rejected the government's emergency housing measures, which included automatic

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<v Speaker 1>renewal of rental contracts and limits on evicting vulnerable tenants.

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<v Speaker 1>After that defeat, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap

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<v Speaker 1>election for November 29, and that's more than a year

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<v Speaker 1>earlier than scheduled. Before that vote, Spain's two biggest unions

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<v Speaker 1>have called for a nationwide general strike on November 11

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<v Speaker 1>over housing and wages. Sanchez is betting housing can win

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<v Speaker 1>him the election. His opponents accuse him of using the

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<v Speaker 1>crisis and Mari Carmen's death for political gain. For now,

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<v Speaker 1>protesters remain camped in the capital, chanting, Mari Carmen lives

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<v Speaker 1>and the fight goes on. And that's all for now.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have a topic you'd like us to discuss,

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<v Speaker 1>our inbox is always open. We're at thequickie at mamamia.com.au.

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<v Speaker 1>And make sure to rate and review us in your

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<v Speaker 1>favourite podcast app. It helps other people find us. Mamamia

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<v Speaker 1>acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we

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<v Speaker 1>have recorded this podcast.