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Speaker 1: The hospitality industry. Well, they got together last night for

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Speaker 1: the Gold Plate Awards. From all accounts, a phenomenal event.

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Speaker 1: In joining us on the line right now to tell

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Speaker 1: us a little bit more hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce,

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Speaker 1: good morning to you, Alex.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie mate.

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Speaker 1: How's everyone going this morning after what would have been

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Speaker 1: a fantastic night, no doubt.

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Speaker 2: Oh it was an absolute wonderful night. I kept my

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Speaker 2: lid on a bit better than when you're our MC

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Speaker 2: at the Awards for Excellence in May. So yeah, I'm

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Speaker 2: not feeling too bad, and I had a nice recovery

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Speaker 2: coffee this morning. I'm at the nineteen ninety five. It's

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Speaker 2: the home of the Brewster of the Year for twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty three, so I'm feeling pretty good. There might be

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Speaker 2: a few other sore heads around town, though, yeah, there

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Speaker 2: probably is.

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Speaker 1: Now talk us through some of the some of the

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Speaker 1: award winners.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, we really like the employee categories. Our business

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Speaker 2: is our industry where nothing without the great staff. And

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Speaker 2: the last night, five hundred and fifty of them letting

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Speaker 2: their hair down on the Monday night OFFPO night, so

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Speaker 2: best service excellence. Stephen out at the mature Darwin at

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Speaker 2: Airport Resert. He is an absolute up and coming rising

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Speaker 2: staff for us and we're looking forward for many, many

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Speaker 2: years of him providing great service into our industry. Chef

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Speaker 2: of the Year Sofendi from Charlie's of Darwin. Now he's

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Speaker 2: come on the food tours with us where we try

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Speaker 2: to get local producers, local chefs together and you know,

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Speaker 2: really grow that grow your own paddock to play and

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Speaker 2: he's really committed. We know those guys up there in Charlie's,

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Speaker 2: they flipped their menu every month or so, they're really

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Speaker 2: committed to trying to bring excellence into the food scene

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Speaker 2: up here. So so Fendy, he's been there or thereabouts

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Speaker 2: for three years now, so it was really nice to

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Speaker 2: see him up on stage setting the gong. One we

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Speaker 2: really did like. Or my idea is the Darlin Festival

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Speaker 2: approached us earlier this year and said, you know, they'd

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Speaker 2: be keen to explore how as amazing as the festival

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Speaker 2: is and the festival park and it uses a lot

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Speaker 2: of great food operators as well, but how can we

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Speaker 2: get a bit of a food trail or a drinks

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Speaker 2: trail so that people might want to dine before or

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Speaker 2: after a show and there might be a festival related

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Speaker 2: cocktail or dessert for them. So we launched a competition

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Speaker 2: with them this year. We had twenty different businesses or

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Speaker 2: business groups into that and alh Pubs jumped on board,

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Speaker 2: all ate pubs and Darwin and Palmerston from them and

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Speaker 2: they took out the award last night. They created a

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Speaker 2: great smashing dessert and also thought off the back of

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Speaker 2: that wine, four dollars from everyone sold went to a

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Speaker 2: local sporting group, so they handed over a two thousand

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Speaker 2: dollars check the other day. So you know, some of

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Speaker 2: these things are just about we love Darhlen Festival. We

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Speaker 2: love everything they bring to the hospitality industry and the

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Speaker 2: Darwin community. You know, we get meils and heads on

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Speaker 2: beds and everything else. We back them and they back us.

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Speaker 2: Some others have tried to politicize what Darlin Festival should

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Speaker 2: or shouldn't be. We just we love what they do.

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Speaker 2: We leave them to do it bring the best artistic

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Speaker 2: festival vibes they can. They allowed us to host in

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Speaker 2: their wonderful park for the second year in a row

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Speaker 2: last night and it was just a fantastic, amazing night.

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Speaker 2: Two more I want to quickly touch on if I can,

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Speaker 2: the Northern suburbs best kept secret is now out. If

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Speaker 2: you want a great steak. Steak of the Year went

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Speaker 2: to Dollies this year, so cut off to all the

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Speaker 2: great ones that jar and everyone else and the caves.

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Speaker 2: You know, there's some great steaks being served at many

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Speaker 2: venues around town, in the city and right out into

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Speaker 2: the rural area. But it's nice for the Northern suburbs,

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Speaker 2: you know, to get to get that recognition that sometimes

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Speaker 2: your local suburbans where you can actually have a great

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Speaker 2: family feed. So that one's a really good one. And

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Speaker 2: Restaurant of the Year second year running in a row.

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Speaker 2: Peewee's at the point they just blew our anonymous judges

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Speaker 2: out of the water again the scores they received.

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Speaker 1: They're always fantastic, and so many phenomenal hospitality businesses around

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory. Some of the restaurants that we've got

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Speaker 1: are just unbelievable. You know when you look at what

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Speaker 1: they do, they punch well and above their weight in

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Speaker 1: what they do and you know, can compete with wonderful

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Speaker 1: restaurants from right around Australia.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, Katie and we saw this you know, at the

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Speaker 2: height of the dark days three years ago. We've got

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Speaker 2: a good, tight knit group here of workers and businesses

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Speaker 2: and managers and operators. We do pull together the camaraderie

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Speaker 2: when you get to see, you know, all the cocktail

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Speaker 2: makers that got put through a very grueling multi day

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Speaker 2: examinations written tests. You know, they probably felt like they

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Speaker 2: were back out of the worst high school memories they

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Speaker 2: could think of and judged and multiple stages, and the

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Speaker 2: Minister for Tourism and Hospitality helped us judge the final

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Speaker 2: six entrance that m last week. They still came last night,

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Speaker 2: not knowing who was going to win. They served their

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Speaker 2: great cocktails to a very welcoming and appreciative crowd as

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Speaker 2: we were rolling around before kicking off the event proper

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Speaker 2: and the camaraderie like you would have thought all six

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Speaker 2: of them had won, how happy they were to support

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Speaker 2: the overall winner for the year, and pleasingly as well

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Speaker 2: for the other end of the day, you're seeing that

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Speaker 2: same culture in our great coffee shops and the baristas.

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Speaker 2: So you know, we hit it from twofold. We know

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Speaker 2: where nothing without our great workers and venues, but also

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Speaker 2: from a workforce retention and attraction. We want to be

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Speaker 2: the place that attracts hospitality workers from across the country.

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Speaker 1: Now tell me Alex because I know obviously last night

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Speaker 1: was massive and such a fantastic event, but yesterday as well,

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Speaker 1: there was a massive announcement of course, with all three

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Speaker 1: tiers of government, the federal government, the Alls and Territory

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Speaker 1: government and indeed the Council about activating our CBD. Have

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Speaker 1: you had much I know you've been busy for the

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Speaker 1: last twenty four hours a little longer organizing the event,

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Speaker 1: but if you had much of an opportunity to look

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Speaker 1: at what they are proposing in terms of this activation

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Speaker 1: and do you reckon it will get things moving.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely. I've been on the Activate Darwin board for a

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Speaker 2: few years now. I don't think the board is as

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Speaker 2: active anymore, but definitely, you know, and any involvement I

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Speaker 2: had the success that the tiers and the businesses coming

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Speaker 2: together along Austin Lane and Spain Place has achieved. Obviously

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Speaker 2: it's not a one size fits or cookie cutter, but yeah,

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Speaker 2: what other precincts and lane wave can we activate where

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Speaker 2: there is that collaboration And I agree wholeheartedly with what

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Speaker 2: Gertude was saying, you know, we need all three tiers

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Speaker 2: of government plus the local venues and businesses. We work

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Speaker 2: well together. Let's keep the collaboration working, and yeah, why

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Speaker 2: can't we? So I think yesterday's announcement was very, very

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Speaker 2: positive and we fully support it. We've been aware that

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Speaker 2: that was one of the next ones off thek in

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Speaker 2: terms of where they wanted to activate. Now it is

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Speaker 2: about having that good consultation and collaboration with the businesses

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Speaker 2: to make it happen.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, do you reckon that the City of Darwin needs

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Speaker 1: to take a look at these el fresco dining fees again.

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Speaker 2: Look, we've been involved in some meetings with restaurants and

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Speaker 2: cafes and other retailers Ice Creameres in that that are

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Speaker 2: looking at having unlicensed our fresco fees. My understanding is

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Speaker 2: they're all trying to get together. There might be a

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Speaker 2: bit of a letter heading the Lord Mayor's way just

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Speaker 2: with a request for a bit of a meeting from

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Speaker 2: a delegation of them just to have a look at

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Speaker 2: all of this stuff. We've got a range of different

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Speaker 2: businesses that we represent, obviously bricks and mortars right down

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Speaker 2: to some of those smaller pop up cafes or hole

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Speaker 2: in the wall cafes and things. So the one principle

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Speaker 2: that word look at is equity across it. So you know,

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Speaker 2: food truck fees versus our Fresco fees versus what bricks

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Speaker 2: and mortars that we want to be there year in

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Speaker 2: year out there, there's got to be a bit of

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Speaker 2: equity and all of that. So you know, the example

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Speaker 2: is if if you're activating an area in the peak

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Speaker 2: drice season with an our Fresco pop up for a

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Speaker 2: food truck and they're allowing you to only pay a

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Speaker 2: three month fee, which they are, is my understanding. Why

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Speaker 2: would someone like Moorish have to pay an annual fee

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Speaker 2: for out the back of Barkoco there when we know

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Speaker 2: that they'll probably only activate that space six months of

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Speaker 2: the year given our climates. So we're very keen to

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Speaker 2: participate and when we do work very closely with council

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Speaker 2: and government, but on this one, yeah, we're happy and

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Speaker 2: available to meet with them and further progressive. We do

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Speaker 2: think the best place is probably have a few more

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Speaker 2: direct chats with them versus play a bit of hingpong

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Speaker 2: in the public domain.

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Speaker 1: Right now, Yeah, well, look, hopefully everybody can get to

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Speaker 1: the table and have a bit of a discussion about

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Speaker 1: it and try and sort something out. I just thought

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Speaker 1: it was interesting, you know, talking to little Miss Career

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Speaker 1: and the fact that they're paying more to have their

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Speaker 1: l fresco dining area here in Darwin, where obviously they

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Speaker 1: have to move it based on whether you know, they've

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Speaker 1: got to wait till the cars move before they can

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Speaker 1: set their tables and chairs out comparatively to you know,

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Speaker 1: to where they are in Adelaide as well, where they've

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Speaker 1: got their restaurant there. I just thought it was interesting

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Speaker 1: that it's more expensive here in Darwin than there.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and so you know, would look at that. And

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Speaker 2: we do have others in that cafe space that are

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Speaker 2: whole in enclosed by you know, landlords, so they're looking

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Speaker 2: at it as well, and they wouldn't want government money

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Speaker 2: going to activate a space that then provided free to

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Speaker 2: a competitor. So, you know, I think there is a

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Speaker 2: path forward. It's not me in the barricades or anything

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Speaker 2: at this stage, and we should all get together and

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Speaker 2: just have a bit more of a chat about it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree, have a constructive discussion. I reckon Alex Bruce,

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Speaker 1: good to catch up with your mate and Dougla. I

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Speaker 1: had to hear that everything went well last night. How

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Speaker 1: did our girl, Sarah paslet go? Did she have a

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Speaker 1: great time m seeing the event?

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Speaker 2: She knocked it out of the park when I didn't

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Speaker 2: have the flowers in my vote of thanks to thank

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Speaker 2: her for doing such a phenomenal job. She just ran

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Speaker 2: with it. She got them a little bit later and

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Speaker 2: waved them in the air or the proof that I

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Speaker 2: wasn't just talking at them off the end of my

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Speaker 2: chin again. So now she is very good. We're very happy.

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Speaker 2: I think we'll be seeing a bit more of her

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Speaker 2: in our space.

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Speaker 1: Well, you know what, don't feel too bad for not

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Speaker 1: having the flowers. They're ready to go because she's dropped

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Speaker 1: off today to go and watch Luke Colmes. So she's

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Speaker 1: having a fantastic few days, no doubt.

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Speaker 2: Well I hope someone she left some on the key

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Speaker 2: so she can go on water those flowers.

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Speaker 1: Don't good stuff. Alex Bruce, always good to catch up

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Speaker 1: with you. Thanks very much for your time.

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Speaker 2: She's Katie all the best.

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Speaker 1: Thank you