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Speaker 1: Heading on down to Alice Springs because there is one

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Speaker 1: new airline it touched down in Alice Springs yesterday while

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Speaker 1: another is set to expand its network. So after issues

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Speaker 1: with their top end flights, BONSA is going to be

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Speaker 1: landing in Alice Springs when it did for the first

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Speaker 1: time yesterday, providing territories with more choice and more competitive

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Speaker 1: fares when planning their next trip to Melbourne. If you're

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Speaker 1: in Alice and the territory government also go announce at

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Speaker 1: Air North is going to provide their first ever route

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Speaker 1: from Alice Springs to Perth. So joining me on the

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Speaker 1: line to tell us a little bit more is the

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Speaker 1: CEO of Tourism Central Australia, Daniel Rochford. Good morning to you, Daniel, Good.

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Speaker 2: Morning Katie, and good morning to your listeners. I think

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Speaker 2: I've got the biggest smile in our friends today.

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Speaker 1: I bet you do. I tell you what it is

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Speaker 1: good news for Alice with these additional flights, isn't it. Yeah?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, Katie. You know, we've, as you know who have

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Speaker 2: been advocating long and hard around aviation for the last

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Speaker 2: like ages and you know, hats off to the Territory

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Speaker 2: government to have that territory, aviation attractions game on the table,

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Speaker 2: and this has been the fruits of that labor. And

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Speaker 2: you know, if a lot of good people have worked

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Speaker 2: together to make all this happen, and you know, to

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Speaker 2: see Bonds arrive yesterday, I literally had a tear in

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Speaker 2: my eye because you know, I know how much this

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Speaker 2: is going to mean the people of Alice Springs and

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Speaker 2: the opportunities to grow tourism into the future.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, look, it is good news, and I can understand

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Speaker 1: why you're probably feeling a bit emotional because it's been

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Speaker 1: one heck of a year for Alice Springs, so to

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Speaker 1: finally have that good news, it is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

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Speaker 1: Daniel tell me. Was the flight full?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it was, well, probably not one hundred percent packed,

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Speaker 2: but on me, well over one hundred and fifty hundred

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Speaker 2: and sixty people both in and out, so which which

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Speaker 2: bodes well for the future. And yeah, it was quite

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Speaker 2: the party. And I've seen on the social media, you

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Speaker 2: know when when Mayor Matt Patterson and I sat down

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Speaker 2: with BONDSA so you know a couple of years ago.

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Speaker 2: One of the things Matt said that if Bonds are

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Speaker 2: ever flies to other springs. He'll meet the first flight

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Speaker 2: wearing a pair of their Budgies smugglers. And he's a

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Speaker 2: man of his word, our Mayor, And he was there

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Speaker 2: greeting every every passenger of the off the plane and budgiest.

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Speaker 1: Dear, do you think he thought it wouldn't happen and

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Speaker 1: then he wouldn't actually have to do that?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I said, well, I think the realization kicked into

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Speaker 2: him a few months ago when when we discovered it

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Speaker 2: was going to happen. So but he's a man of

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Speaker 2: his word, our Mayor, So good on him. Yeah, there's

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Speaker 2: so many choice photos. He's he's well tattered, our Mayor.

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Speaker 2: We didn't have a new side to our Mayor that

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Speaker 2: I didn't realize.

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Speaker 1: Good on him. So no, can't wheels down them all for.

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Speaker 2: You, No, No, I think I was just still in

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Speaker 2: awe of the Mayor's Budgie sugglers. But there were a

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Speaker 2: lot of metaphorical cartwheels from me yesterday. You know, it

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Speaker 2: was a very emotional moment. You know, it has been

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Speaker 2: something we've been long advocating for and to see something

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Speaker 2: see that come to fruition was just so very special.

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Speaker 1: Daniel, what does it mean in terms of extra seats

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Speaker 1: for Central Australia.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, you know through the TASS and the three

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Speaker 2: TAS announcements that we've had, so we've got the bonds

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Speaker 2: of one which is Sir Melbourne, We've got Virgin Australia

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Speaker 2: flights from Brisbane and Melbourne into the Rock, and of

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Speaker 2: course yesterday's announcement with n OR which is three services

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Speaker 2: to and from Perth. That's nearly one hundred thousand new

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Speaker 2: seats in bound seats into our springs, which is going

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Speaker 2: to be a massive boost for our local community to

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Speaker 2: be able to get in and out on a bonds

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Speaker 2: of flight that you know they're offering ninety nine dollars

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Speaker 2: air fairs at the moment. The Air North announcement yesterday,

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Speaker 2: I don't think a lot of people have caught onto this,

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Speaker 2: but with Perth having direct flights to London Rome and Paris,

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Speaker 2: we're now just one stop away here in Alice Springs

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Speaker 2: from Continental Europe. So you know that's going to be

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Speaker 2: a huge benefit not only for the locals getting out,

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Speaker 2: but also a huge boon for international tourism that Perth

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Speaker 2: Gateway is I think going to be such an emerging

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Speaker 2: opportunity for us.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, tell us a little bit more about these flights

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Speaker 1: that Air North announce. So they're going to be providing

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Speaker 1: their first ever route from Alice Springs to Perth on

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Speaker 1: the twenty fifth of March. It commences, Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Correct, and three services Monday, Wednesday, Friday. And the great

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Speaker 2: thing also, it's not just benefit for Alice, it's also

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Speaker 2: a benefit for Tenant Creek because those flights will connect up.

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Speaker 2: We're a service that fries up to ten And Creek

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Speaker 2: and then onto Catherine Darwin, so people will be able

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Speaker 2: to In fact, I was just saying to someone two

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Speaker 2: stops from ten And Creek to London. So you know

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Speaker 2: it's a good opportunity, especially for the resources industry. You

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Speaker 2: know that's going to be a huge, a huge boost.

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Speaker 1: Well, Daniel, it does all seem as though it's a

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Speaker 1: positive thing for Central Australia. How big an impact are

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Speaker 1: these are these two different routes going to have for

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Speaker 1: the people of Central Australia. But also when we talk tourism, Yeah.

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Speaker 2: On massive the Liver, one of the caused cause points

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Speaker 2: to our advocacy about this has always been about the

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Speaker 2: livability of our town and to be able to get

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Speaker 2: in and out of the town far more easier than

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Speaker 2: we have been able to is just such a massive

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Speaker 2: morale booster for Alice Springs and set the whole Central Australia,

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Speaker 2: certainly from a tourism perspective. You know, you know, I

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Speaker 2: know we've had a lot of challenges, as you and

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Speaker 2: I have talked about over the many years. But to

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Speaker 2: be honest, as we finished twenty twenty three, this is

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Speaker 2: the first time I've looked into the forward year thinking

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Speaker 2: really positively. I think next year is going to be

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Speaker 2: a massive year for tourism in Central Australian. The ducks

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Speaker 2: are starting to come in a row, and I think,

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Speaker 2: you know, we've got the Masters Games coming back, and

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Speaker 2: you know, I think some of the early signs of

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Speaker 2: our forward bookings are looking really promising.

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Speaker 1: Well. That is good to hear. Daniel Rochford. Always good

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Speaker 1: to catch up with you, mate. If I don't talk

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Speaker 1: to you before Christmas, have a wonderful Christmas, and thanks

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Speaker 1: so much for all your time throughout this year, and.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for all your voice too, Katie. You're a

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Speaker 2: passionate supporter of Central Australia. We all appreciate it.

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Speaker 1: Down here, no worries, it all. Thanks Daniel, we'll talk

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Speaker 1: to you soon.

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Speaker 2: Thanks mate, Chief