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Speaker 1: Now we know. The government earlier this week announced that

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Speaker 1: they're going to be delivering critical workforce support the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory correction staff through a partnership between the Department of

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Speaker 1: Corrections and G four S, who they've described as a

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Speaker 1: leader in custodial services. The Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley joined

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Speaker 1: me on the show earlier in the week and said

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Speaker 1: that the staff would initially be flying into the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory to support local staff. As we know that there

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Speaker 1: are additional bids coming online as well within Corrections over

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Speaker 1: the coming days, some already online. Now joining me on

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Speaker 1: the line is the United Workers Union secretary Erina Early.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to.

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Speaker 2: You, Erina, Morning Katie, Thanks so.

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Speaker 1: Much for your time, Erina. What was the reaction or

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Speaker 1: what has the reaction been to the announcement from the

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Speaker 1: workforce about G four S taking on this contract.

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Speaker 2: Well, Katie, as you know that it's the ongoing all

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Speaker 2: of these matters for the last couple of weeks, I

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Speaker 2: think this one now has really hit home for the

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Speaker 2: correctional offices here in the Northern Territory. They're morales completely deflated.

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Speaker 2: They feel that there's actually no support at all from them,

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Speaker 2: from the Commissioner or the minister. They just feel really

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Speaker 2: really let down. Reality is hitting now, So like.

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Speaker 1: What is it exactly that's making them feel really deflated

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Speaker 1: at this point? Because I know that you know for

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Speaker 1: a lot of people listening, they're sort of hearing this

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Speaker 1: news and going, well, it seems like they're finally getting

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Speaker 1: some support.

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Speaker 2: Well, yes and no, okatie. So the big issue we

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Speaker 2: have with our correctional officers is, and we've said this before,

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Speaker 2: is we need the Minister and the Commissioner to actually

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Speaker 2: listen to the correctional officers about where things can change,

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Speaker 2: where you can have improvements, etc. We don't have a

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Speaker 2: staffing issue in Darwin, an infrastructure issue about where to

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Speaker 2: accommodate where to accommodate the increased prisoners. Alice Springs, Yes,

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Speaker 2: I have had a starting issue and they've had that

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Speaker 2: for thirty years. Has been an ongoing issue there for them.

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Speaker 2: So those type of things upset correctional officers because they

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Speaker 2: haven't been listened to for a very long time and

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Speaker 2: that's been prior to Commission of Ali as well. But

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Speaker 2: Commission of Ali is well aware that our correctional officers

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Speaker 2: have been trying to table different in ways to improve

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Speaker 2: but has been ignored. And I think the other thing, Katie,

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Speaker 2: that our Correctional Offices members are very upset about there's

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Speaker 2: been no tender process. The minister said there was a rapid,

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Speaker 2: robust and soorough procurement process. How can you have a

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Speaker 2: procurement process which is done in less than a fortnight

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Speaker 2: so correct your officers are questioning the integrity of this

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Speaker 2: process and was it already you know emotions.

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Speaker 1: So we actually the the Opposition leader raise this with

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Speaker 1: us earlier in the week and so we did actually

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Speaker 1: go to the Department of Corrections and also to the

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Speaker 1: Minister's office for a response on this. Now it was

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Speaker 1: there was a situation where it was a select tender

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Speaker 1: where there were five operators as an understand that were approached.

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Speaker 1: A number of them then put in their tender and

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Speaker 1: we are told that this was the you know, this

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Speaker 1: was obviously the successful tender. But erin are they concerns

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Speaker 1: with G four.

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Speaker 2: S Absolutely, Katie. And look we know that they're one

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Speaker 2: of the big global profit for prison organizations in the

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Speaker 2: country and also they're a large profits for prison in Australia.

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Speaker 2: But they have a long history of human rights violations

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Speaker 2: and also violations for broad etc. All over the world.

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Speaker 2: So I can name seventeen off the top of my head.

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Speaker 1: Seventeen instances where there's.

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Speaker 2: Been consolably absolutely yes.

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Speaker 1: And so you're worried that while they are transporting you know, prisoners,

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Speaker 1: and while they are escorting prisoners potentially to the hospital

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Speaker 1: and that kind of thing, that we could see further violations. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: So basically they're history ranges from all different things, which

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Speaker 2: includes prisoners, detention centers, and security operations. But they have

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Speaker 2: repeatedly faced allegations, but also it's been confirmed of some

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Speaker 2: areas of torture, excessive force, neglect of prisoners, racial abuse,

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Speaker 2: broad and missus arkinscern they continue to secure government contracts

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Speaker 2: in this country.

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Speaker 1: Erina. We have just received a message from Greg and

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Speaker 1: Catherine and Greg says Katie's Corrections doesn't have a staff

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Speaker 1: shortage in Darwin. Why is there an eleven million dollar

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Speaker 1: overtime bill?

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Speaker 2: Well, this comes down to what's happening with the prisoner movements, Kadie.

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Speaker 2: So if they've got some escorts they've got for the

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Speaker 2: court for medical and stuff like that, people also too

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Speaker 2: calling fit because they've got mental health matters. Also, two

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Speaker 2: people need to take annual leave, et cetera. So over

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Speaker 2: time does cover those aspects as well.

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Speaker 1: But I mean, eleven million dollars is a massive amount

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Speaker 1: of overtime, isn't it?

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Speaker 2: It is? But see corrections budget has never been properly

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Speaker 2: been done before. They've never really covered all the different

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Speaker 2: co operations in corrections and that's a government thing the

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Speaker 2: see Or people need to deal with now, but it's

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Speaker 2: something that's been an ongoing historical thing with corrections budget

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Speaker 2: has never been resourced Poplins.

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Speaker 1: But so I suppose, you know, from what I'm from

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Speaker 1: what I can gather, all the confusion that I suppose

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Speaker 1: is arising at the moment Erinor is that we're hearing

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Speaker 1: from the union that there's not a staffing issue, but

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Speaker 1: then we are hearing that we've got this massive overtime bill.

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Speaker 1: Then we're hearing from the Corrections Commissioner that you know,

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Speaker 1: we're going to surge in I think he said it

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Speaker 1: was only initially like twenty staff to help out in

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Speaker 1: this space. So you know, people are sort of questioning,

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Speaker 1: really why the union's so upset.

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Speaker 2: Well, the thing is, when they're the union is the

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Speaker 2: correctional officers where you know they're a unionized site. They're

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Speaker 2: very strong with their membership with the union. The correctional

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Speaker 2: officers issue is here too. We have opened the door

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Speaker 2: for privatization in a government correctional services. That is an issue.

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Speaker 2: So once you allow someone like Gen four US in

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Speaker 2: it is like a cancer. It will spread. And the

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Speaker 2: biggest concern is in the next couple of years all

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Speaker 2: of corrections could be privatized.

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Speaker 1: I mean that's a really big call, isn't it.

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Speaker 2: Not really, Katie, we see in a lot you've let

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Speaker 2: someone in a big company like gfours into corrections. It's

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Speaker 2: not a partnership. We do not believe it's a partnership

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Speaker 2: at all. Everything's been cloaking dagger. If things have been

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Speaker 2: more transparent, if there's been cunsultation with a health and

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Speaker 2: safety rep with the workers, with the union, maybe we

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Speaker 2: might be able to see a light at the end

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Speaker 2: of the tunnel. But everything has been closing daggers. And

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Speaker 2: when you have cloaking daggers, people will always assume and

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Speaker 2: believe the worst.

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Speaker 1: Erona before I let you go. When we caught up

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Speaker 1: with Commission of Ali earlier in the week. He said

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Speaker 1: that there are a number of beds coming online. Earlier

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Speaker 1: in the week, I believe there was beds coming online

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Speaker 1: that I think there's more expected later this week based

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Speaker 1: on what he had told us on the show. I

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Speaker 1: think it was Monday. How a stuff feeling about those

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Speaker 1: additional beds coming online? Does that help in any way

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Speaker 1: with the concerns around infrastructure.

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Speaker 2: Well, it's a bit of an interesting one there, Katie.

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Speaker 2: So in Berrimer, they're actually meant to bring online some

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Speaker 2: more prisoners and open another section there in Burrimer, and

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Speaker 2: the commissioner actually gave the go ahead and advised that

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Speaker 2: there was going to be prisoners coming in. The actual

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Speaker 2: health and safety reps the prison actually stopped it because

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Speaker 2: you're allowing prisoners to come in and they had no water,

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Speaker 2: no electricity, no bed etc.

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Speaker 1: So was that the one that was due to happen

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Speaker 1: earlier in the week on Monday.

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Speaker 2: Yes, So they had to get stopped so they didn't

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Speaker 2: move in. They didn't move in because there wasn't any

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Speaker 2: beds for them, mattresses, running water, electricity or anything like that.

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Speaker 1: And so what about the others that would do to

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Speaker 1: come online?

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Speaker 2: So we've got to Oscar Block in Alice Springs. They're

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Speaker 2: still going through the final stages because we need to

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Speaker 2: ensure that everything is all up to gray before the

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Speaker 2: prisoners come in and also the safety's officers. We believe

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Speaker 2: it could be coming in next week.

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Speaker 1: Alright, I might just play a little bit of what

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Speaker 1: the Commissioner had to say to us on the show

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Speaker 1: on Monday, just so we can wrap our heads around

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Speaker 1: which beds are online and which ones are Take a listen.

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Speaker 3: Our next renovated block at Bremer Correctional Center, which we

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Speaker 3: call H Block, fifty two beds. We got certification for

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Speaker 3: that on the weekend, and our team was in there

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Speaker 3: yesterday prepping that block, and I had an inspection yesterday

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Speaker 3: afternoon with the team. So we're moving fifty two prisoners

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Speaker 3: into that block today. So that's happening. And then Katie,

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Speaker 3: we have got the next one hundred beds at Berrima.

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Speaker 3: I expect to have online by the end of this week.

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Speaker 3: And the modular is in Alice Springs. The ninety six

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Speaker 3: beds that we've spoken about are ready to go. They've

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Speaker 3: been fitted out and cleaned and checked and tested. The

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Speaker 3: hole up there at this moment is the fire system

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Speaker 3: and the digital fire system talking to the Alice Springs

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Speaker 3: Prison fire system and our infrastructure. Folks are working through

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Speaker 3: making that integration work. As soon as the fire system

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Speaker 3: is ready and we get occupancy certificates, will be in there.

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Speaker 1: So, Erina, from what you're saying, was it those fifty

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Speaker 1: two beds at h Bloc or the or one hundred

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Speaker 1: and fifty two in total at Behrama that haven't been

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Speaker 1: able to come online? Well, sorry, we have, We got there, Sorry,

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Speaker 1: erinor I'll ask you that question again. For some reason

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Speaker 1: you cut out for a moment. So was it all?

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Speaker 1: Was it all of those beds there at Berrima, the

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Speaker 1: fifty two in h Bloc or the one hundred and

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Speaker 1: fifty in total.

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Speaker 2: I believe Katie, it was thee hundred that will make

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Speaker 2: it coming on in the end of the week. They're

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Speaker 2: the ones that got stopped from coming in because they

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Speaker 2: didn't have the bear necessities.

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Speaker 1: Alright, So it sounds as though there's a delay to

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Speaker 1: those additional hundred. But the fifty two at h Bloc

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Speaker 1: did still come online.

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Speaker 2: I believe they did, Katie. Yeah, all right, and that

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Speaker 2: could be wrong.

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Speaker 1: Will will follow, We will definitely follow that up. Erina,

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Speaker 1: we are going to have to wrap up, but just

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Speaker 1: before I let you go, I mean to anybody out

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Speaker 1: there listening at the moment, because I feel like some

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Speaker 1: of the support for the you know, for the correctional

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Speaker 1: officers is being lost at the moment to the public.

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Speaker 1: You know a lot of people are messaging through sort

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Speaker 1: of saying to me, you know, Katie, I thought they

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Speaker 1: wanted support. They're getting that support and they don't seem

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Speaker 1: to be happy. I mean, what would you say to

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Speaker 1: listeners that are feeling that way?

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Speaker 2: Thanks Katie. What I'll be saying to everyone out in

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Speaker 2: territories is if you know a correctional officer, please reach

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Speaker 2: out to them. They would tell you how they're feeling,

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Speaker 2: how their morale is, that the Minister and the Commissioner

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Speaker 2: isn't respecting the risk they're working. Please don't listen to

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Speaker 2: all the information that's being fed by the minister and

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Speaker 2: the commissioner. Talk to a correctional officer. Please reach out

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Speaker 2: to them.

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Speaker 1: Erina Early, I always appreciate your time. Thank you so

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Speaker 1: much for joining us this morning on the show.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, have a great day. Thank you.

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Speaker 1: Thank you