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Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf. Join the conversation with Katie Wolf.

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Speaker 1: You are our eyes and ears in the Territory mixed

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Speaker 1: one oh four point nine and joining us live on

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Speaker 1: the line is very well known and much loved territory

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Speaker 1: and Ben grats. Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Ben, Good morning all the way from Alice Springs.

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Speaker 1: Woo and fresh off Channel ten's the project last night?

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Speaker 2: Oh thank you. Yeah, it was a really great story,

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Speaker 2: wasn't it.

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Speaker 1: It was? You know, you guys are doing a wonderful

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Speaker 1: thing obviously promoting the Northern Territory and promoting fab Alice Festival,

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Speaker 1: which is set to get underway, well pretty much, I

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Speaker 1: suppose is it today or when? Is that?

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Speaker 2: Yes? Right now? But yes, starts today. They had the

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Speaker 2: flag racing ceremony and then tonight there's a big event

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Speaker 2: in the mall here in the Todd Male in Alice Springs,

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Speaker 2: which is really great. Now, Ben, tell.

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Speaker 1: Us a little bit more about what people cann Ect

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Speaker 1: expect at fab Alice. I know that I've been told

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Speaker 1: it is exactly that fabulous and a great event to

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Speaker 1: be part of.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a really great event. There's a number of

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Speaker 2: events over this weekend, including free events but also some

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Speaker 2: paid events and I think the paid event tomorrow the

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Speaker 2: Carna Valley has actually sold out five hundred people. So

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Speaker 2: you know, it's a really popular event and festival that

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Speaker 2: happens here. We've been fortunate enough to do it over

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Speaker 2: the last three years, which has been really great and

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Speaker 2: you know, being a territory and I'm so proud to

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Speaker 2: not only be able to do events in Darwin but

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Speaker 2: also in Alice Springs. So there's a range of events

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Speaker 2: from family friendly events to cabarets in the mall to

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Speaker 2: the karnavalle As I mentioned, there's also a youth event,

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Speaker 2: our film festival that happened during it. So it's a

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Speaker 2: wide variety of events from page to three, which is.

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Speaker 1: Great and Ben, I think it was a wonderful thing

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Speaker 1: that the whole nation then last night was able to see,

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Speaker 1: you know, just how diverse and what kind of community

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Speaker 1: we've got here in the Northern Territory on the project.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, and you know, to be able to be

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Speaker 2: on Central at under Country, you know, there's so much

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Speaker 2: great energy here and I love coming back here and

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Speaker 2: you know, we had a couple of media shots yesterday

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Speaker 2: with Courtney Act and then you know, the landscape actually

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Speaker 2: takes over Drake Wins believe it or not, but.

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Speaker 1: I don't know if that's possible. Ben. I saw a

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Speaker 1: photo of both of you have got the best legs

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Speaker 1: I've ever seen.

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Speaker 2: So I was so great working with Courtney up here

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Speaker 2: and she's such a trooper. And that interview that we

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Speaker 2: did sort of for the project, it was like forty

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Speaker 2: degree heat. Was sitting outside trying to like concentrate. I

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Speaker 2: think I had forty flies on my face and I

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Speaker 2: was just like, how am I going to get through this?

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Speaker 2: But it ended up turning out really great and well.

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Speaker 1: And one of the great things also that was promoted

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Speaker 1: on the project last night was your brain Child, which

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Speaker 1: is the search for the first for the Miss First Nation,

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Speaker 1: which is going to be held in Melbourne this year.

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Speaker 1: How did you come up with this fabulous idea for

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Speaker 1: first Miss First Nation?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? Really, it was born out of a need for

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Speaker 2: myself and Daniel Cunningham is from Dalen to allan Asana.

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Speaker 2: We wanted to be able to showcase drag artists and

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Speaker 2: their talents and to be able to give them a

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Speaker 2: spotlight and you know, a gig on the main stage

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Speaker 2: and so the first everyone was twenty seventeen in Darwin.

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Speaker 2: For the inaugural one was in Darwin and from that

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Speaker 2: there was an incredible documentary called Black Divers created and

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Speaker 2: really from then it's just grown and grown in strength

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Speaker 2: and as you mentioned, this year it's a part of

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Speaker 2: the year and Boy Festival and Midsummer in Melbourne, so

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Speaker 2: it's going to be another huge event and it just

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Speaker 2: warms my heart that we're able to give, you know,

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Speaker 2: Drag First Nation artists an opportunity and a stage in

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Speaker 2: a spotlight to be able to share their stories and

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Speaker 2: their unique talent.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, and Ben, you've been an incredibly busy person. You

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Speaker 1: actually well you've just you know, all the straight off

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Speaker 1: the back of Marti Gras as well.

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Speaker 2: It's Marti Gras, which was you know, once again they

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Speaker 2: had me back, which was such an honor to do

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Speaker 2: the welcome and smoking ceremony on Galligaul Country up there,

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Speaker 2: and you know, to curate that and put it together

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Speaker 2: and as you may have seen, it was completely different

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Speaker 2: due to COVID. It wasn't on Oxford Street, it was

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Speaker 2: at the seg So I had a great you know,

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Speaker 2: it was so exciting to be able to walk onto

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Speaker 2: the SCG and do that welcome and smoking ceremony in

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Speaker 2: front of all those people. It's going to be one

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Speaker 2: of those memories that I remember for a very long time.

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Speaker 1: You must feel really so proud to be able to

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Speaker 1: represent the Northern Territory in that way, but to represent

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Speaker 1: First Nations people in that way particularly, you know then

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Speaker 1: when you talk about those that do drag, Yeah, you know.

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Speaker 2: I've always been such a huge advocate for the Northern

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Speaker 2: Territory because you know, that is my home, That's where

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Speaker 2: I was born. It always will be home, and you know,

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Speaker 2: wherever I can support the Northern Territory and Darwin and

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Speaker 2: our people up there, but particularly our First Nation community

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Speaker 2: and am particularly our lgbch IQA plus community. You know,

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Speaker 2: I just think it's so important to show that we

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Speaker 2: are a diverse people. We are a diverse community, and

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Speaker 2: you know, at the end of the day, you know,

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Speaker 2: we are celebrating as one and you know, we're having fun,

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Speaker 2: and you know, I think that that's a really good

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Speaker 2: thing to celebrate.

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Speaker 1: And Ben, you're also going to be or you are

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Speaker 1: one of the creative directors for the Sydney World Pride

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty three. Jeez, I think I've just found someone

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Speaker 1: who's busier than me.

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Speaker 2: I think period I wasn't going to even map already,

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Speaker 2: but that's it's Katie. It's so incredible to be, you know,

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Speaker 2: one of there co creative crew directors of Sydney World

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Speaker 2: Pride twenty twenty three. And you know we've already started

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Speaker 2: work on it because it's going to be one of

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Speaker 2: those events. It's the first time in history that it's

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Speaker 2: happened a World Pride has happened in the Southern Hemisphere,

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Speaker 2: So you know there's going to be people from all

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Speaker 2: over the world either coming to Sydney or tune in virtually,

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Speaker 2: and so you know it's a little bit we're gonna

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Speaker 2: have the eyes of the world on us once again,

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Speaker 2: and to be able to be the steering the creative

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Speaker 2: journey of that is a huge honor.

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Speaker 1: Well, Ben Gratz, I tell you what, you and I

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Speaker 1: have been friends for a long time, We've worked together.

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Speaker 1: I'm always so proud to see the wonderful work that

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Speaker 1: you do.

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Speaker 2: Oh, thank you, Katie, and thank you all so much

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Speaker 2: for the things that you do as well in giving

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Speaker 2: the Northern Territory avoid.

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Speaker 1: Well, we will talk to you again very soon. I

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Speaker 1: cannot wait to see more photos out of fab Alice

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Speaker 1: and you are looking absolutely fabulous.

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Speaker 2: Oh thank you Katie. Happy Fablis Festival.

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Speaker 1: We'll talk to you soon. Ben, thank you. That is

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Speaker 1: Ben Gratz there. He is a wonderful person and what

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Speaker 1: he does obviously for the Northern Territory in terms of

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Speaker 1: putting us on the map, I just think he's wonderful

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Speaker 1: and indeed for our First Nations people as well,