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Speaker 1: While all eyes have been on the charges laid against

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Speaker 1: Matt Wright. Parliament has been sitting in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: for the final time for twenty twenty two, and the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory Government's been pushing through some incredibly important and

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Speaker 1: many would consider controversial legislation. One of those things around

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Speaker 1: raising the age of criminal responsibility. Now the Labor government

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Speaker 1: pushed to raise the age from ten to twelve in Parliament,

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Speaker 1: the Attorney General Chancey Paik issuing a statement overnight saying

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Speaker 1: that this means children aged eleven years or younger will

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Speaker 1: not be criminally responsible for their behavior and will instead

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Speaker 1: be referred to intervention and family support programs. Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: police will continue to investigate offenses, and victims of crime

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Speaker 1: will continue to receive assistance through financial compensation and free counseling,

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Speaker 1: as well as home security assessments and emergency resecure services.

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Speaker 1: They're the words of the government, not mine now. The

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Speaker 1: governments say that a number of programs such as Back

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Speaker 1: on Track, youth diversion camps and restorative conferencing are already

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Speaker 1: in place to assist families and children who require additional

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Speaker 1: support and diversion options government agencies and service providers will continue,

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Speaker 1: they say, to work collaboratively to expand prevention, early intervention,

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Speaker 1: and support strategies such as parenting programs and targeted youth outreach.

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Speaker 1: The COLP opposition have staunchly opposed this legislation and joining

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Speaker 1: me on the show to explain why is the opposition

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Speaker 1: leader Leah fanocchiiro Good morning to you, Leah.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie into your listeners.

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Speaker 1: Now, Leah, why did the COLP oppose the raising of

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Speaker 1: the criminal age.

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Speaker 2: Look, we oppose this legislation, We voted against it and

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Speaker 2: if elected in twenty twenty four, Katie, we will reverse

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Speaker 2: it because it puts the right of offenders above the

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Speaker 2: rights of victim. This is now a free for all

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Speaker 2: for youth criminals under the age of twelve. No matter

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Speaker 2: what the crime, no matter how is there, how how destructive,

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Speaker 2: they will not be held crimely responsible. That means police

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Speaker 2: can't arrest them, It means they won't be charged. And

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Speaker 2: all we can hope and pray for is that this

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Speaker 2: government is going to have some sort of program in

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Speaker 2: place that this child's going to be able to attend.

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Speaker 2: But again, you know, if you've got an eleven year

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Speaker 2: old murdering someone, raping someone, stealing their car, bashing someone.

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Speaker 2: I think the community expects there'd be a consequence for that.

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Speaker 1: So, Leiah, from your understanding, what's going to happen Because

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory government have said that police will still

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Speaker 1: be able to investigate. So what will happen the police

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Speaker 1: investigate if there is an eleven year old involved, they

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Speaker 1: picked them up and take them home exactly.

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Speaker 2: And there's even a question mark around whether or not

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Speaker 2: police can take them home, which would probably come as

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Speaker 2: some relief to police who are being used at the

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Speaker 2: moment as a taxi service. But that's exactly right, Katie.

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Speaker 2: I mean, how insulting for this government to say that

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Speaker 2: police can still investimate, investigate the crime of an eleven

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Speaker 2: year old, but then can't do anything about it. I mean,

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Speaker 2: as if our police do not have enough on their plate,

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Speaker 2: they're being further disempowered and have to deal with this

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Speaker 2: absolute rubbish. I mean, there were so many bombshells around

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Speaker 2: this last time.

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Speaker 1: Well, Leah, the government did they say that there's going

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Speaker 1: to be programs in place for these young people? They

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Speaker 1: say that's the answer.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm sure they say a lot of things, Katie,

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Speaker 2: but in six long years always seen as crime get worse.

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Speaker 2: I mean there's literally more use in prison since the

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Speaker 2: Royal Commission. There's more crime, there's more destruction in our community.

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Speaker 2: And ultimately the government doesn't have the programs in place.

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Speaker 2: I mean, we know through questioning Katie that in the

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Speaker 2: last year only eleven youth participated in victim offender conferencing.

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Speaker 2: Only about twenty five years did one of the hikes

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Speaker 2: in the Flinders Rangers. I mean, these are the types

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Speaker 2: of programs government are running that are so called therapeutic

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Speaker 2: and rehabilitative. I mean, ultimately, what this law has also

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Speaker 2: done is meant there will be no police diversion. Police

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Speaker 2: can no longer divert young people. Courts can no longer

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Speaker 2: mandate that young people complete these so called programs, which

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Speaker 2: means so much who decides exactly territory families decide. It

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Speaker 2: means that a bureaucratic system is going to say, okay, mate,

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Speaker 2: you've just stolen someone's care and beat the lights out

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Speaker 2: of them. You're going to now go on a lovely

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Speaker 2: eight day trek in the Slenders Ranges. And if the

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Speaker 2: child says no, one the parent says no, well too,

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Speaker 2: that the end because there is no enforcement capability because

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Speaker 2: it is not a court decision and it is not

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Speaker 2: a police decision. So this is just this is the

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Speaker 2: government laughing in the face of Territorians who are concerned

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Speaker 2: about consequences, the lack of consequences and crime.

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Speaker 1: Now, Leah, you say that there are some further concerns

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Speaker 1: aside from those issues raised about those programs not being

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Speaker 1: in place right now, what exactly are those concerns?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, So. We found out that if a young

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Speaker 2: person under twelve is before the court when this legislation

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Speaker 2: comes in, their court process would just be canceled. We

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Speaker 2: found out that every single youth offender under the age

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Speaker 2: of eighteen will have their criminal record white for the

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Speaker 2: crimes they committed while they were under twelve. We found

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Speaker 2: out that if a young person under twelve was in

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Speaker 2: jail at the time, they'll just be let out of jail.

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Speaker 2: And we also found out that they won't have to

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Speaker 2: pay any restitution to their victims. So this is just

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Speaker 2: a beggest belief that we're in this position, Katie, at

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Speaker 2: this time where crime is so bad, youth crime is

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Speaker 2: so bad, and all the government are doing is literally

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Speaker 2: giving a green light to use criminals to go as

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Speaker 2: hard So hang on.

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Speaker 1: So if somebody is let's say eleven years old right

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Speaker 1: now and they're in detention right now, they will walk free.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely.

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Speaker 1: Do we have any idea how many people may be

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Speaker 1: under the age of criminal responsibility now that are in detention.

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Speaker 2: We don't at the moment. We tried to ask. But

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Speaker 2: the government were very, very interesting last night, Katie. They

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Speaker 2: made many attempts to shut us down every question. The

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Speaker 2: Chief Minister was jumping up like she was the Attorney

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Speaker 2: General's mother, trying to protect him. It was really pathetic

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Speaker 2: behavior in Parliament. They were trying to shut it down,

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Speaker 2: shut down questions, stop us from getting the answers on

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Speaker 2: behalf of Territorians and it was just the.

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Speaker 1: Fact is I mean, the fact is this has happened now.

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Speaker 1: But from your understanding, when is it going to be gazetted?

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Speaker 1: Because am I correct to understand that it's got to

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Speaker 1: be gazetted and then this comes into place.

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Speaker 2: Yes, So the government was saying they're hopeful that this

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Speaker 2: will be all ready to go for the middle of

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Speaker 2: next year, because obviously they're not ready. I mean, why

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Speaker 2: did they rush to pass this legislation now if they're

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Speaker 2: not ready to implement the programs and all of the

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Speaker 2: stop gaps. I mean, ultimately, if police can no longer

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Speaker 2: respond for these crimes, of which there are many, then

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Speaker 2: who is going to and there is no reciprocal resources

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Speaker 2: being put into territory families. You know, when a police

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Speaker 2: officer finds an eleven year old committing a crime in

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Speaker 2: the middle of the night, who do they call? What

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Speaker 2: do they do with that child? It's just if this

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Speaker 2: is an absolute nightmare of territorians, Katie, I can't believe

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Speaker 2: it's actually how and to think that we're continuing to

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Speaker 2: put the rights of offenders above the rights of people

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Speaker 2: to be safe, it just goes against every grain in

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Speaker 2: my body.

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Speaker 1: Well, look, I know that there's going to be plenty

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Speaker 1: of people listening this morning who are probably pretty filthy

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Speaker 1: about this going through. There'll be some who think this

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Speaker 1: is the right move. But Leah, one of the other issues,

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Speaker 1: it was raised in Parliament by the CELP jur in

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Speaker 1: question time yesterday, was the surging of police to Alice Springs.

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Speaker 1: The issue wasn't, of course, the surging of officers, but

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Speaker 1: that you're concerned that some remote police stations have closed

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Speaker 1: to enable this to happen. So essentially those remote stations

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Speaker 1: have had to close so that those officers can be

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Speaker 1: surged to Alice. What's your understanding of this. How many

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Speaker 1: remote police stations are you talking about.

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Speaker 2: Well, we're trying to uncover that, but we definitely know

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Speaker 2: that Hart's Range Police station has been closed down. In

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Speaker 2: Harts Range station covers the communities of a Titura, Onya

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Speaker 2: and Angowala out in the central Desert, a beautiful part

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Speaker 2: of the territory, Katie, but ultimately all of the peaceeople

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Speaker 2: who live on that side of the Norman territory now

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Speaker 2: don't have access to police protection because they're being surged

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Speaker 2: into Alice Springs. And last week the police annual report

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Speaker 2: was tabled and it's showed we've got thirty five left

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Speaker 2: officers this year than we had last year, which just

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Speaker 2: reinforces that struggle and the strain that police are having

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Speaker 2: to be able to deal with the highest rates of crime. Ever, well,

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Speaker 2: we are going to catch up low numbers of police.

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Speaker 1: We are going to catch up with the Police Association

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Speaker 1: in a few minutes time. Leah over the last week

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Speaker 1: or so, there has been a lot said after Senator

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Speaker 1: just Enterprise voted against the Territory Rights Bill in a

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Speaker 1: preliminary vote. Do you agree with this move?

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Speaker 2: Look, my understanding is that the Senator had sent it

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Speaker 2: off for a review. The vote is actually happening on Thursday,

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Speaker 2: and she's going to be supporting the Territory Rights Bill

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Speaker 2: on Thursday. So it hasn't actually been probably voted on yet,

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Speaker 2: but she'll be supporting it this week.

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Speaker 1: So obviously we understand that that it was the preliminary votion.

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Speaker 1: With spoken to her pretty extensively on Friday, But your

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Speaker 1: understanding is that she's going to go the opposite way.

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Speaker 1: She's actually going to support this bill on Thursday night

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Speaker 1: when it goes to a vote.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think that preliminary vote. I'm not a federal politician,

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Speaker 2: so I don't exactly know how it works, Katie, but

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Speaker 2: my understanding is a number of members of part of

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Speaker 2: Federal Parliament had amendments and so that process has now

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Speaker 2: taken place. Those amendments and the actual bill will be

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Speaker 2: all debated and voted on in their final form on Thursday,

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Speaker 2: and no matter what a Senator price will be voting

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Speaker 2: in support of territory rights on Thursday.

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Speaker 1: Did you have a word to her or who had

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Speaker 1: a word to us that maybe it wasn't the right move?

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Speaker 1: I mean, I know again I understand the process, but

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Speaker 1: did someone have a word to her from the CLP.

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Speaker 2: Oh, look, you'd have to ask her. I mean, just

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Speaker 2: send her and I speak often. We're part of the

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Speaker 2: same territory team. Ultimately, though that was a preliminary part

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Speaker 2: of that process, the SEEP has always been really clear

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Speaker 2: about its position on supporting territory rights and restoring those

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Speaker 2: rights that were taken away from us twenty five years ago.

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Speaker 2: So we're excited about Thursday coming around. It of course

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Speaker 2: is an important milestone in our history, and it just

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Speaker 2: you know, we don't like Cambridge telling us what to do.

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Speaker 2: And I think it's going to be a great day

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Speaker 2: on Thursday.

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Speaker 1: Now, what are you going to do? She doesn't vote

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Speaker 1: the way that you're thinking.

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Speaker 2: Oh, I've got every confidence that she will, you know,

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Speaker 2: just enterprise. Our senator puts the territory first every day, Katie,

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Speaker 2: and I've got no doubt that we're all going to

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Speaker 2: be celebrating a very very long held position. Of course,

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Speaker 2: it was the CLP government twenty five years ago, who

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Speaker 2: of course brought in the controversial Eusinasia laws at that time.

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Speaker 2: But then the federal government stepped in and decided to

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Speaker 2: say that the territory couldn't legislate for itself, and ever

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Speaker 2: since then we've been fighting to well.

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Speaker 1: I think that was one. I was so surprising then

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Speaker 1: to see that she'd gone the opposite way in that

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Speaker 1: preliminary vote. So, Leah, if she doesn't vote the way

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Speaker 1: that you are thinking and doesn't support this legislation, will

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Speaker 1: I mean, will you be calling for her to quit

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Speaker 1: from the party or what will be the next steps?

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Speaker 2: Oh? No, absolutely not. My understanding is it's a conscience

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Speaker 2: vote down in federal Parliament. But the COP position is

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Speaker 2: very clear. We always have and always will support territory

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Speaker 2: rights and we're very much looking forward to the vote

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Speaker 2: on Thursday.

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Speaker 1: Leaf and Oki are always appreciate your time and let's

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Speaker 1: wait and see what happens in parliament today and indeed

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Speaker 1: in the Federal Parliament later in the week. Good to

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Speaker 1: speak with.

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Speaker 2: You, Yes, busy week it is.

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Speaker 1: Thank you