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Speaker 1: And well we're now going to head on down to

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Speaker 1: Central Australia and joining us on the line is Tourism

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Speaker 1: Central Australia CEO Daniel Rochford.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Daniel.

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Speaker 3: Good morning Katie, and good morning to your listeners.

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Speaker 2: Daniel.

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Speaker 1: We know that there has been so much talk up

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Speaker 1: here in the top end over the last couple of

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Speaker 1: days about vaccines and the rate at which we're at

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Speaker 1: when it comes to vaccines and opening the Northern Territory up,

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Speaker 1: or what our plans are ahead of Christmas. Earlier in

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Speaker 1: the week we caught up with Hospitality and t CEO

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Speaker 1: Alex Bruce. We also spoke to Jarvis Ryan from the

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Speaker 1: Education Union about the real need for a plan. I think, Daniel,

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Speaker 1: when it comes to how this is all going to

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Speaker 1: look over the next couple of months, how are you

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Speaker 1: feeling at the moment from Tourism's perspective.

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Speaker 3: Well, there's certainly a nervousness and anxiousness within the industry

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Speaker 3: in terms of the rollout, and we're certainly calling upon

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Speaker 3: all governments to work and be absolutely focused on role

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Speaker 3: on increasing the speed of the rollout. Certainly we join

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Speaker 3: with all other sectors in terms of ensuring that we

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Speaker 3: need to have greater vaccination rates across the territory. We

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Speaker 3: have a lot of vulnerable communities and we do understand

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Speaker 3: why the government's are saying what they're saying in terms

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Speaker 3: of keeping things closed until the end of the year,

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Speaker 3: but we need to make sure that is speeded up.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, how are you guys going at the moment?

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Speaker 2: Daniel?

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Speaker 1: Last time I spoke to you, you talked us through

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Speaker 1: some of those numbers when it comes to the flights

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Speaker 1: going into Central Australia, particularly Ularu.

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Speaker 2: How are things tracking right now?

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Speaker 3: Well, in the case of Ularu, very little has changed.

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Speaker 3: We normally see about fifteen flights into the Yolara Airport.

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Speaker 3: We're just down to three and that's not looking promising

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Speaker 3: going into the future. We're not seeing any change to

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Speaker 3: what's happening in mis South Wales or Victoria. So we

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Speaker 3: really are grinding to a halt, and what our industry

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Speaker 3: is doing is staring down the viewpoint of a long,

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Speaker 3: hot summer, which is traditionally our low season and when

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Speaker 3: we would normally receive international visitation. Katie.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Daniel, you know, last time you and I spoke,

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Speaker 1: we talked about the need for some real assistance I

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Speaker 1: think you'd say from both the federal government and also

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Speaker 1: the territory government for those businesses that work in the

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Speaker 1: tourism sector that are struggling at the moment. But have

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Speaker 1: you had much movement? I mean, I know that the

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Speaker 1: government has spoken a bit more about those tourism vouchers

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Speaker 1: and also about their drive strategy, but are those things

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Speaker 1: enough to get you through?

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Speaker 3: No. And the reality is that, unfortunately the industry, is

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Speaker 3: that the consequence of keeping us safe. You know, you

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Speaker 3: and I have talked about many times that we've appreciated

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Speaker 3: the work that our governments have done to keep us safe,

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Speaker 3: but the downstream consequence has been the smashing of the tourism,

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Speaker 3: hospitality and events sector. And we feel that quite significantly

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Speaker 3: given our reliance on international visitation here in the Red Center. Look,

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Speaker 3: the reality is, until such time we can get some certainty,

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Speaker 3: we need to have some form of job retention support

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Speaker 3: or hardship support on a regular basis. I don't want

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Speaker 3: to sound like the winging tourism industry, but the reality

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Speaker 3: is the fact that we're all safe, there is a

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Speaker 3: consequence to our industry as a result, and we're just

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Speaker 3: asking for some support, targeted support over the next few

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Speaker 3: months to get us through this low season.

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Speaker 1: I actually think it's fair enough. I don't think that

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Speaker 1: you sound like the winging tourism industry. I think you

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Speaker 1: sound like someone who's advocating for an industry that's really

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Speaker 1: struggling right now when you look at what's going on

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Speaker 1: with tourism. But then when you sort of take it

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Speaker 1: a step further and go in central Australia, there's not

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Speaker 1: the great ability like there is in some other parts

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Speaker 1: of Australia where you've wet, you know, a big base

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Speaker 1: load in terms of locals who are able to travel there.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so true, Katie. Look, I think look are the

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Speaker 3: regional parts of Australia. You know, they have a population

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Speaker 3: base and even with the top end you know, with

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Speaker 3: the voucher program as you know, a lot of the

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Speaker 3: voucher support has gone to predominantly top end businesses because

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Speaker 3: you've got a population base. Unfortunately, here in the Red Center,

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Speaker 3: we just don't have that population base to draw upon.

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Speaker 3: And you know that's one of the unique situations that

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Speaker 3: we face ourselves face out with ourselves and also the

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Speaker 3: reliance on international visitation. So between those two points, it's

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Speaker 3: really making it difficult for us.

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Speaker 2: Now, Daniel, then when you sort of look, I know.

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Speaker 1: That there's a report in the NT News today saying

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Speaker 1: that Australia's largest Indigenous health organization has revealed that since

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Speaker 1: August thirty, almost forty percent of its clients have refused

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Speaker 1: the COVID vaccine when it was offered to them. So

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Speaker 1: that's despite clients being offered twenty five dollar food voucher

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Speaker 1: if they do get vaccinated. So Central Australian Aboriginal Congress

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Speaker 1: Chief Executive Donna rg had said that since launching a

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Speaker 1: six week vaccination blitz just over a week ago, thirty

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Speaker 1: three percent of clients said not today went off of

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Speaker 1: the JAB and a further four percent said no not ever.

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Speaker 1: Is that a worry to you given the fact that

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Speaker 1: the Chief Minister has been out in recent weeks saying

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Speaker 1: that we need to get to eighty percent vaccination rate

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Speaker 1: across the board before we can actually open back up.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, there's no doubt that we need to put

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Speaker 3: all efforts into increasing that vaccination rate and encouraging overcoming

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Speaker 3: the hesitancy issues that we're facing. You know, we all

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Speaker 3: want to get back to some degree of normality as

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Speaker 3: soon as we possibly can. So governments across the nation

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Speaker 3: are working towards vaccination strategy so as the quickest pathway

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Speaker 3: to get back to normality, and we certainly need a

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Speaker 3: government at all levels to be making sure that we

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Speaker 3: work towards that as swiftly as we possibly can. Look at,

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Speaker 3: the reality is again for us here in Central Australia,

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Speaker 3: we have a small regional hospital. You know, if COVID came,

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Speaker 3: when COVID comes to Central Australia, that's going to put

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Speaker 3: enormous pressure on our health system here locally. And you know,

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Speaker 3: we you know, we need to make sure that we

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Speaker 3: do see those vaccination rates as high as we possibly can,

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Speaker 3: because we certainly don't want to see the negative impacts

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Speaker 3: that we've seen across health systems around the around the world.

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Speaker 1: Tourism Central Australia CEO Daniel Rochford, anything else we should

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Speaker 1: know about this morning before we before we wrap up.

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Speaker 3: Oh, look at we had the Red Center that's here

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Speaker 3: last week, O Katie. It was a great weekend. As

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Speaker 3: much as I talk often a bit of doom and

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Speaker 3: gloom in terms of the industry, leaves and bright points.

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Speaker 3: It was great to see so many people, it was

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Speaker 3: a record number. Hats off to the great team at

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Speaker 3: NT major events. They know how to make a good event,

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Speaker 3: put on a good event, and that they did.

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Speaker 2: All good stuff. It is wonderful.

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Speaker 1: It sounds as though it absolutely went off, which is

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Speaker 1: exactly what you guys needed. It is always good to

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Speaker 1: have those visitors to Central Australia as well.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, very much so true, Katie. Look again, the best

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Speaker 3: thing everyone can do to with your listeners has come

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Speaker 3: down to Central Australia. There's a vouch around in the

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Speaker 3: next couple of weeks, so head on down and experience

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Speaker 3: the great Red Tenner.

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Speaker 1: Well Tourism Central Australia CEO Daniel Rochford good to speak

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

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Speaker 1: Thank Katie, Thank you,