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Speaker 1: The head of the Northern Territories Liquor Commission has stepped down.

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Speaker 1: The Chief Minister, Natasha Philes officially announcing this morning that

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Speaker 1: after leading the Liquor Commission for years, Richard Coates has

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Speaker 1: retired or decided to retire as the chairman of the

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Speaker 1: independent alcohol oversight body. Richard Coates joins me on the

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Speaker 1: line right now. Good morning to you, Richard.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. How are you not too bad?

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time this morning. Richard,

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Speaker 1: how come you decided to step down from the position?

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Speaker 2: Well, first up, can I hose down the suggestion that

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Speaker 2: seems to be impleased in that in the newspaper report

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Speaker 2: this morning? And I resigned in some sort of a

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Speaker 2: huff over threats to the independence of the commission. That's

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Speaker 2: of the situation I tell the Minister almost twelve twelve

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Speaker 2: months ago, I wouldn't be going around again as the chair.

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Speaker 2: I came out of retirement five years ago to to

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Speaker 2: take on the position of chair of the Liquor Commission

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Speaker 2: because I thought it was an important position and I've

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Speaker 2: had a good time there. But I've got other things

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Speaker 2: to do, so it wasn't I don't think it was

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Speaker 2: a surprise to certainly wasn't a surprised to the Minister

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Speaker 2: that I was going, And I certainly haven't gone with

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Speaker 2: any ill feeling towards for her. I think she's done

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Speaker 2: a fantastic job as Minister in charge of Alcohol policy

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Speaker 2: and she certainly supported the Commission when we weren't necessarily

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Speaker 2: the favor of the month. So I wish my colleagues

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Speaker 2: who are following on that's Russell Goldfan's going to be

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Speaker 2: the chair and Jodie Truman is going to be the deputy.

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Speaker 2: She was my deputy. There. Both very competent and enable people.

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Speaker 2: They've got a good team around them and I'm sure

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Speaker 2: that I'm sure they'll do a great job in the future.

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Speaker 1: I've no doubt It's been a massive job for you, Richard.

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Speaker 1: I mean, we have gone through some of the biggest

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Speaker 1: legislative changes when it comes to alcohol reform in the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory in recent years, haven't we.

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Speaker 2: Well, it is and I was just thinking about that

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Speaker 2: the other day and where would we be if we

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Speaker 2: hadn't done anything? Where would we know? How would we

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Speaker 2: be looking if the government had just decided not to

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Speaker 2: act on the Raleigh review and just thought, oh, well,

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Speaker 2: let's not upset things. Let's just keep on going, steady

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Speaker 2: as she goes sort of thing. The Northern Territory has

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Speaker 2: got a big problem with alcohol. We've got the greatest

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Speaker 2: consumption rates by far across the country, and we all

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Speaker 2: know the sort of problems that come with alcohol misuse.

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Speaker 2: Really the government to be commended for what they've done.

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Speaker 2: There's probably more things that need to be done, but gee,

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Speaker 2: where would we be if we were still back where

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Speaker 2: it was before the Liquor Commissioner liquor acts started. And

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Speaker 2: to give them their due, I think territorians have broadly

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Speaker 2: embraced the reforms. Not everyone by any means, but I

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Speaker 2: think there's an understanding in the community that the problems

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Speaker 2: of anti social behavior, excessive alcohol fueled crime problems we've

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Speaker 2: all got to deal with. And I think, you know, yes,

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Speaker 2: it is convenient to have your license when you go

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Speaker 2: to the pub, but I think people have got used

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Speaker 2: to that and are prepared to do what they can

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Speaker 2: to to help deal with the issues. Complex issues we're.

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Speaker 1: Going to deal with, Richard. I know, obviously, you know

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Speaker 1: the most recent concerns have been out of Central Australia

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Speaker 1: with the ending of the Stronger Futures legislation. You know,

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Speaker 1: I guess that some had maybe wondered whether you'd made

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Speaker 1: the decision to step down following on from the lifting

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Speaker 1: of the Stronger Futures and those new measures which require

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Speaker 1: the alcohol management plans to be drawn up and reviewed

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Speaker 1: and signed off by the Liquor Commission.

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Speaker 2: Well, no, they're not signed up by the Liquor Commission.

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Speaker 2: They're signed up by the first instance, by the Director

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Speaker 2: of Liquor Licensing. So the Director of Wikor Licensing has

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Speaker 2: really got the main role to play in that he

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Speaker 2: can refer mails to us if he thinks they're particularly

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Speaker 2: contentious or people have got the right to appeal to

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Speaker 2: the Liquor Commission, but first up it'll be the Director

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Speaker 2: of Liquor Licensing that's dealing with them.

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Speaker 1: Richard, you said just a moment ago, and I hate

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Speaker 1: to try and paraphrase you, but you said just a

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Speaker 1: moment ago that you know, definitely there could be more

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Speaker 1: happening in this space. You know, what else could we

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Speaker 1: be doing, do you think in the space of alcohol

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Speaker 1: management or reform in the territory to try and curb

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Speaker 1: some of the very serious issues that we do have.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think we've we've we've got to work through

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Speaker 2: these alcohol management plans and listen to what communities have

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Speaker 2: got to say about whether they want to be dry

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Speaker 2: or whether they want to have liquor under some sort

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Speaker 2: of controlled situation, and work with them and support them

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Speaker 2: with the realistic solutions they come up with. The difficulty

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Speaker 2: that happened with the Stronger Futures and this hasn't got

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Speaker 2: a lot to do with the Liquor Commission, because we're

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Speaker 2: not the policy we're not the policy organization. We don't

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Speaker 2: develop government policy. But these are sort of complex issues

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Speaker 2: that the Stronger Futures was a temporary measure for five years,

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Speaker 2: and then it was a further temporary measure for another

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Speaker 2: ten years. And in that time, the first five years

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Speaker 2: and then the second ten years, it was envisaged that

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Speaker 2: communities had been encouraged to develop their alcohol management plans

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Speaker 2: and these that be could be approved and monitor etc.

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Speaker 2: But the reality was that all those communities that did

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Speaker 2: work on alcohol management plans and they were put up

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Speaker 2: to the Commonwealth and none of them were act at

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Speaker 2: the so that was sort of like a Commonwealth detail.

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Speaker 2: Any move by communities to introduce plans, and that's a

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Speaker 2: veto by both political parties, bathed by the Labor Party

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Speaker 2: originally and then by the Liberal National Party, although just

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Speaker 2: towards the end of the current the former coalition government

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Speaker 2: Minister Whyatt had had been prepared to starting to look

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Speaker 2: at some of these proposals and the Legal Commission had

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Speaker 2: some constructive engagement with him which saw the Barunga getting

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Speaker 2: their first licensed social company. I don't think that's opened yet,

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Speaker 2: but it's that's a decision for the communities when they opened.

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Speaker 2: But so that was a positive step and maybe some

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Speaker 2: communities in future will follow along those sort of lines

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Speaker 2: of a social club on country. But then again it

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Speaker 2: won't be the right solution for all. Never look at

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Speaker 2: what they want and what the people want.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, now I know, and look, I know that you

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Speaker 1: said right from the outset that you know that your

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Speaker 1: decision was obviously contrary to what he's been reported today

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Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory News. I do know though that

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Speaker 1: that certainly there had there had been some reporting as

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Speaker 1: well that you'd submitted a scathing reporting to threats to

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Speaker 1: the alcohol ombardsman's independence is what they are reporting. What

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Speaker 1: were you concerns with the Alcohol Ombardsman's independence.

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Speaker 2: Well, I'm I'm not sure who they're talking about, the

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Speaker 2: Alcohol Ombardsman if they're talking about the leted Commission. I'm

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Speaker 2: required under the Act to submit every year an annual

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Speaker 2: report and I have a bit of a speel in it,

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Speaker 2: and I say, well, I think and issues that are

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Speaker 2: a concern to the Commission. And I've been doing that

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Speaker 2: ever since I was there, and I would have thought

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Speaker 2: I've said much more controversial things in the past, and

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Speaker 2: I said in the last report. In the last report,

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Speaker 2: I raised the issue of as being within the Department

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Speaker 2: of Industry and Infrastructure. We were moved there. I think

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Speaker 2: because government, as governments do, was trying to find some

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Speaker 2: efficiencies in relation to the location of the Licensing Department,

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Speaker 2: and the Licensing Department was moved into Department of Industry.

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Speaker 2: Is because you know, we're a small we're a small

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Speaker 2: public sector, and you know you've got to move various

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Speaker 2: agencies to where they might be most efficiently deployed, sharing

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Speaker 2: staff and all that sort of thing. Licensing got moved

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Speaker 2: into there and as we five them, and I didn't

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Speaker 2: think it was necessarily the best fit given what the

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Speaker 2: priority is of the Department of Industry work. So we

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Speaker 2: raised that. There was some media coverage of that issue

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Speaker 2: last year before Christmas. I think the Chief Minister was

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Speaker 2: interviewed about it and said words to the effect that

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Speaker 2: she was she was considering whether to move the wicked

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Speaker 2: Commission that maybe should go into Chief Minister's department because

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Speaker 2: she wanted to retain her commitment to alcohol reform. So

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Speaker 2: I don't think it was particularly controversial, and as I've said,

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Speaker 2: more controversial things in the past, and that certainly wasn't

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Speaker 2: any issue behind me deciling to leave, because I've done

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Speaker 2: that before. I'd indicated I wouldn't be going around again

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Speaker 2: some time ago, and fortunately we've got more noble people

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Speaker 2: to step into my shoes and take over.

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Speaker 1: Well, Richard Coates, we are going to have to get

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Speaker 1: ready to wrap up before we do. Though, I did

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Speaker 1: get a message from Alex Bruces, the s of Hospitality

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Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory, and he said, Katie, can

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Speaker 1: you please thank Richard his commitment to our industry. He's

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Speaker 1: displayed as the chair of the Liquor Commission, even when

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Speaker 1: ultimately decisions were made that weren't where our industry would

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Speaker 1: have liked matters to fall. We always found his approach

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Speaker 1: to our industry professional and balanced as he sought to

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Speaker 1: juggle the many complex and competing interests and perspectives. So

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Speaker 1: that is a message that's come through there.

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Speaker 2: From and good on the industry that we've had some

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Speaker 2: fun with them.

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Speaker 1: Well, I bet it's been.

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Speaker 2: You know.

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Speaker 1: The thing is, it would be a tough job, like

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Speaker 1: Alex has said there in that text message, juggling the

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Speaker 1: interests of everybody but also juggling what's best for the

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Speaker 1: community as best that you can. So I have no

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Speaker 1: doubt that it's been a tough job. What's next for you, Richard.

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Speaker 2: Well, I'm going to have a holiday for a while

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Speaker 2: and then see what else. I think I'll be returning

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Speaker 2: to the full time work for any stretch of the imagination.

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Speaker 2: But anyway, what happens, see where you go. Plans are

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Speaker 2: first and foremost in the mind at the moment.

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Speaker 1: Fair, col very fair cool, Richard Coates. I appreciate your

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Speaker 1: time this morning. Thanks very much for having a chat

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Speaker 1: with me. Thank you.

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Speaker 2: Thanks mate,