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Speaker 1: But we also know that there was a crime meeting

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Speaker 1: that was held this morning out in Palmeston. Now the

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Speaker 1: government questioning why the COLP attended that crime meeting when

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Speaker 1: the organizer has reportedly made racist comments on social media.

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Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now is the Opposition

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Speaker 1: leader Leah finocchi are O. Good morning to you, Leah.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie and to your listeners.

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Speaker 1: Now, Leah, firstly, why did you decide to attend that

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Speaker 1: community meeting on crime this morning. I know that the

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Speaker 1: government is now questioning why you were there when the

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Speaker 1: organizer of that meeting has reportedly made some very racist

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Speaker 1: comments on social media. I've read them and they are racist.

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Speaker 1: Why did you decide to still attend?

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Speaker 2: Well, I think the question is why didn't government attend

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Speaker 2: to listen to thirty or forty businesses who are sick

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Speaker 2: to death of being broken into and victimized. Ultimately, yes,

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Speaker 2: and someone made comments that absolutely do not aligned with

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Speaker 2: our views, but it can't take away from all of

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Speaker 2: the other people who stood together shoulder to shoulder to

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Speaker 2: say enough is enough, and all they wanted was for

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Speaker 2: government to come hear their concerns and explain to them

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Speaker 2: what the government's going to do to make things different.

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Speaker 2: But just like you've heard with Zushira, it's not just

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Speaker 2: business owners, it's territorians, is our seniors. This is having

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Speaker 2: a profound impact on how people live their lives, and

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Speaker 2: it's driving people out of the territory. So it's a

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Speaker 2: critical issue, Lea.

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Speaker 1: Let's just get to these racist comments very quickly. First,

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Speaker 1: do you condemn those comments?

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Speaker 2: They are absolutely not appropriate. You know, there's no room

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Speaker 2: for racism in our community. But you know, crime is

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Speaker 2: not an issue of rape. I don't think anyone sees

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Speaker 2: it that way. This is about you know, you do

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Speaker 2: the crime, you do the time, It doesn't matter where

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Speaker 2: you come from or what your background is. And ultimately,

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Speaker 2: people have had a gut full of the crime stats

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Speaker 2: speak for themselves, the stories from victims speak for themselves.

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Speaker 2: And you know, you were just talking abouts. I had

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Speaker 2: a senior in my community to come to me last

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Speaker 2: week saying she couldn't even get a minibus on the

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Speaker 2: weekend because the minibusses are too afraid to pull up

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Speaker 2: in parts of parmasses to pick people up. Because the

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Speaker 2: minibuses are getting beaten and the drivers are being assaulted.

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Speaker 2: So this is profoundly impacting our community.

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Speaker 1: All right, So Leah, on this meeting that's happened this morning,

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Speaker 1: what exactly was said. Was there racism at that meeting

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Speaker 1: this morning?

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Speaker 2: No, there was no racism at the meeting. There was

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Speaker 2: thirty or forty odd people there. There were representatives from

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Speaker 2: police and territory families as well, which was good, and

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Speaker 2: people just shared their concerns. They shared their stories. We

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Speaker 2: had an alderman from Litchfield Council speak about Warabinda, the

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Speaker 2: scout camp area being broken into recently and damage done

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Speaker 2: and good stolen. People talked about their businesses being broken into,

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Speaker 2: whether it was Tony out at Nunamad Tavern or the

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Speaker 2: experience from Various Springs Tavern just a couple of weeks ago,

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Speaker 2: and people just stood together and solid down already on

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Speaker 2: this issue to say, you know, these little other human

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Speaker 2: face of failed policy, they're the ones picking up the pieces.

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Speaker 2: They're the ones trying to assure their staff that everything's

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Speaker 2: okay and that they're going to be safe, and they're

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Speaker 2: the ones trying to get on and employ people and

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Speaker 2: deliver goods and services to territory. And so it was

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Speaker 2: an important meeting and I believe Katie that it also

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Speaker 2: had a very big crowd in Catherine Anne and Alice

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Speaker 2: Springs today. So it was a really a mark of

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Speaker 2: solidarity right around the territory to say to the government,

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Speaker 2: look at us, we're here, We're risking everything to come

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Speaker 2: out and put our face to this. Please listen to

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Speaker 2: us and do something. Lea.

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Speaker 1: Do you think that the government used those comments that

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Speaker 1: had been made on social media, those racist comments that

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Speaker 1: had been made on social media, as an excuse to

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Speaker 1: not attend.

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Speaker 2: Oh, there's no question government would have found an excuse

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Speaker 2: no matter what the situation. They were never going to

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Speaker 2: come in the first place. They're not interested in defending

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Speaker 2: themselves or explaining their policy direction or listening to people

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Speaker 2: on the ground. And this is a huge flaw. And

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Speaker 2: whether it was Michael Gunner and Natasha Files, they're both

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Speaker 2: the same. They both are burying their head in the sand.

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Speaker 2: They're both not showing up and listening to people. I mean,

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Speaker 2: where was the representation anywhere across the territory. How could

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Speaker 2: sixteen people have miraculously been too busy to attend three

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Speaker 2: different gatherings around the territory today. It's astonishing the level

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Speaker 2: of denial therein and in the meantime, it's the community

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Speaker 2: who suffers, and that's why we were there. We want

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Speaker 2: to show the community we stand with them, we hear them,

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Speaker 2: we understand the profound impact, and we're trying to force

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Speaker 2: this government to understand that they've got to take action.

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Speaker 2: They're the ones in the driver's seat. I can't do

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Speaker 2: it from a position. I know we've tried so many time,

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Speaker 2: Katy with our own legislation, but they have to be

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Speaker 2: the ones to do it.

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Speaker 1: I think it's safe to say that you know, everybody's

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Speaker 1: had enough and it's pretty sad when you hear from

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Speaker 1: the Council of the Aging this morning that you know

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Speaker 1: that seeing is are scared to go out and do

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Speaker 1: the things that they should be able to enjoy. Lea.

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Speaker 1: I do want to move along because there is the

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Speaker 1: other very There is issue right now of the code

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Speaker 1: yellows that are in place at both Royal dal And

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Speaker 1: Hospital and also the Palmeston Regional Hospital. Do you feel

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Speaker 1: as though the government is doing enough right now to

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Speaker 1: not only lift those code yellows, but to ensure that

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Speaker 1: we've got adequate staffing levels across the board when it

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Speaker 1: comes to healthcare and the territory.

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Speaker 2: Well, clearly not. I mean I nearly fell off my

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Speaker 2: chair Katie last night when I watched the news and

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Speaker 2: saw Natasha Fars say that we had no credibility on health.

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Speaker 2: I mean goodness, this is the same Chief Minister who

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Speaker 2: has been the Health Minister for six years and presided

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Speaker 2: over six code yellows in eighteen months and three this week.

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Speaker 2: I mean they are completely dropping the ball when it

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Speaker 2: comes to health delivery. We've had fourteen hundred health professionals

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Speaker 2: leave the department over the last twelve months. You know

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Speaker 2: this is crisis point. The number of elective surgeries that

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Speaker 2: have continuously been canceled, the uncertainty around healthcare, the pressure

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Speaker 2: on our nursing and doctor and other staff in our

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Speaker 2: hospital has been profound over time, is through the roof.

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Speaker 2: And yet they're just telling us everything's okay and don't worry,

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Speaker 2: We've got this. Well. I don't think people believe them anymore, Katie.

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Speaker 2: Something urgently needs to be done.

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Speaker 1: Leah the AMA. The Australian Medical Association's Northern Territory branch president,

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Speaker 1: doctor Robert Parker, joined us on the show a bit

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Speaker 1: earlier this morning. He had said, you know that this

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Speaker 1: is something that he had written all the way back

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Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen to the then federal Health Minister Greg

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Speaker 1: Hunt about that there does need to be further funding

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Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory. We know that we've got

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Speaker 1: a situation where where we do, unfortunately have a population

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Speaker 1: that is unewell. We seem to have more presentations to

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Speaker 1: the hospital. There's a number of different factors behind that.

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Speaker 1: But you know, on this one, it does really seem

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Speaker 1: as though the government, no matter what your stripes, we've

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Speaker 1: all got to get together and sort this out. We've

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Speaker 1: got some serious issues in the territory around health.

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Speaker 2: Oh, we absolutely do. I mean, we've got to get

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Speaker 2: on top of alcohol fueled harm and violence. We know

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Speaker 2: that represents a lot of traffic coming through the emergency department.

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Speaker 2: We also know that age care needs to be looked.

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Speaker 2: Got to mean, this again is a federal issue for sure,

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Speaker 2: and you know, I'm looking to the Labor government to

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Speaker 2: see if there'll be any movement there. But we've got

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Speaker 2: seventy five seniors in our hospital systems who should have

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Speaker 2: other dignified care, not be sitting in a hospital bed.

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Speaker 2: I mean, these are critical issues. But ultimately we've got

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Speaker 2: staff leaving in droves because they're overworked, they're not being supported,

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Speaker 2: they've had the pay frees hanging over their heads. And

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Speaker 2: crime is as much an issue to a nurse or

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Speaker 2: a doctor as it is to anyone out in the community.

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Speaker 2: So these are issues that are affecting people's ability to

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Speaker 2: stay and live in the territory and the government has

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Speaker 2: to recognize that and come to the table and understand.

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Speaker 2: The employment piece needs to be there, but so does

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Speaker 2: lifestyle lea.

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Speaker 1: We are fast running out of time. But I know

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Speaker 1: that you had made claims yesterday. The opposition of mad

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Speaker 1: claim yesterday that the lifting of the alcohol ban has

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Speaker 1: added extra pressure on the health system. Doctor Robert Parker

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Speaker 1: said that that is a fact of certainty and that

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Speaker 1: it is contributing. Do you have any evidence though that

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Speaker 1: does really you know, that does actually support those claims

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Speaker 1: that that alcohol legislation's made a difference.

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Speaker 2: Oh, you just have to look at the crimes. That's Katie,

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Speaker 2: and it shows that. I mean, ultimately, you speak to

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Speaker 2: belief speak to you.

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Speaker 1: No, I mean in terms of sorry, I mean in

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Speaker 1: terms of the code yellow.

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Speaker 2: Oh, Katie, code yellows mean that there's too much pressure

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Speaker 2: on the system and they need to cut elective surgeries

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Speaker 2: and they don't have the staff and the beds to

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Speaker 2: deal with the crisis. So obviously that there means any

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Speaker 2: presentations to hospital become too many and they have to

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Speaker 2: triage it to only the most serious serious care. What

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Speaker 2: we's name is is the Code yellow might not have

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Speaker 2: necessarily been triggered by alcohol, but it's a huge part

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Speaker 2: of what our nursing staff and our doctors have to

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Speaker 2: deal with. If you took away even half of the

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Speaker 2: aco whole related health concerns out of our hospital networks,

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Speaker 2: I think you'd find we'd be in Code yellower a

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Speaker 2: far lot less. And ultimately the ending of that stronger

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Speaker 2: future legislation has had detrimental and terrible impacts on the

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Speaker 2: ground and Alice Springs. You know, retailers, we're saying that

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Speaker 2: very next day that alcohol sales were up three hundred percent.

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Speaker 2: I mean, it's eye watering stuff, Katie. We know alcohol

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Speaker 2: is the root of many problems here in the territory

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Speaker 2: and it's something we have to get on top of it.

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Speaker 2: And that is why we're so certain about needing different

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Speaker 2: types of therapeutic support. There needs to be to some

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Speaker 2: extent a point where if someone is literally killing themselves

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Speaker 2: on grog, that we have to intervene and say you

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Speaker 2: need support and you are going to go into a

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Speaker 2: treatment facility. I think this government's approach of volunteer therapy

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Speaker 2: is really not targeting those most chronically affected by drinks.

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Speaker 1: Well. Lea Finocchiaro, the opposition later, I appreciate your time

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Speaker 1: this morning. We'll talk to you again very soon.

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Speaker 2: Yes, take care everyone.

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Speaker 1: Thank you,