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Speaker 1: Now, as we discussed on Friday, on his first visit

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Speaker 1: to Darwin during the election campaign, the Prime Minister Anthony

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Speaker 1: Albanezi promised sixty million dollars to build a one hundred

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Speaker 1: and twenty bed residential aged care facility in the Top End.

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Speaker 1: When the announcement was made, I thought, I'm not sure

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Speaker 1: whether this is new money. We have heard announcements like

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Speaker 1: this in the past when it comes to age care,

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Speaker 1: yet we're still waiting for aged care beds now. Don't

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Speaker 1: get me wrong, the announcement is significant. If elected, Labor

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Speaker 1: is promising to work with the private provider and the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory government to ensure that this happens. Katie Gallaher

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Speaker 1: telling me on the show on Friday that there are

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Speaker 1: a handful of operators already interested in running the facility.

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Speaker 1: The Council of the agings, well here in the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 1: Sue Shearer, the CEO. She has said, well, she's pointed

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Speaker 1: out that more than half the beds will be immediately

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Speaker 1: snapped up by people on the hospital wait list. She

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Speaker 1: joins me in the studio. Hi, Sue, Hi, Katie, you yeah,

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Speaker 1: really good. Good to have you on the show. Now,

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Speaker 1: this isn't the first time that we've been promised age

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Speaker 1: care beds and had a funding commitment to his.

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Speaker 2: Ass No, it's not. In twenty twenty two, the previous

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Speaker 2: government gave twenty million two the then government of the

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Speaker 2: Northern Tertary and then they put out an expression of

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Speaker 2: interest in twenty three and none of the providers took

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Speaker 2: it up because I spoke to quite a few of

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Speaker 2: them and the daily rate to look after a patient

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Speaker 2: in age care just didn't cut It wasn't enough. So

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Speaker 2: while we welcome this is a fantastic initiative, we welcome

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Speaker 2: that obviously, but unfortunately, you know, we are a little

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Speaker 2: bit in one way skeptical about one how are they

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Speaker 2: going to staff it? Unless as Katie Galax said, there's

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Speaker 2: a lot of changes to the age care app but

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Speaker 2: most of those are for in home support as an example,

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Speaker 2: you will pay more for in home support if you

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Speaker 2: earn it. So it's as the cutoff is sixty seven

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Speaker 2: thousand over sixty seven thousand for your income for in

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Speaker 2: home support, you'll be paying a lot more, not a lot,

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Speaker 2: but quite a bit more. But people would say, well

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Speaker 2: they can afford it, which is fine, but The main

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Speaker 2: thing is as well, there's still a year's weight for

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Speaker 2: in home support. You're joking, No, I'm not joking. So

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Speaker 2: if you're in hospital and you don't actually qualify or

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Speaker 2: need an age cared a bit and you want to

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Speaker 2: go home and you want to be looked after, there's

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Speaker 2: still that year's weight. So we Coder has lobbied Australia wide,

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Speaker 2: all the coaches, We robbied the federal government. We only

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Speaker 2: want thirty days and that would un believed.

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Speaker 1: It is time for people to wait. It's an awful

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Speaker 1: long time for families to be waiting.

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Speaker 2: Their languish in hospital.

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Speaker 1: So is that just for us here in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 2: That's across again, it's Australia wide unfortunately, because probably a

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Speaker 2: little bit more up here we find a bit difficult

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Speaker 2: to attract staff again because we have the second highest

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Speaker 2: rents in Australia. So when they build that age care facility,

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Speaker 2: let's move the paradigm and build some staff quarters maybe,

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Speaker 2: and then some of the palm workers could come over

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Speaker 2: here and help stock that. Let's not build four by

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Speaker 2: four square meter rooms, Let's build rooms that couples can

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Speaker 2: move into, because that also obviously helps with the workload.

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Speaker 2: The loved one will help look after their loved one.

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Speaker 2: Why should you be bereft when your partners in the

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Speaker 2: agecare home and you're at home and you've lived together

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Speaker 2: for twenty thirty forty sixty years, we get right a lot.

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Speaker 2: You know, we hold hands every night, So I'd still

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Speaker 2: like to do that, which is really that's what should happen.

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Speaker 1: Oh, that's heartbreaking to think that people would be separated

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Speaker 1: in those years when they really you know, you would

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Speaker 1: not want to be will you?

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Speaker 2: And I wouldn't be here except for our seniors. One

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Speaker 2: wouldn't be here. You look at World War two, Darwin

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Speaker 2: wouldn't be here except for our seniors. So let's give

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Speaker 2: them a voice and let's make sure they are looked

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Speaker 2: after properly. So, as I said, we do welcome this

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Speaker 2: is really really good news. But it'll gain take about

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Speaker 2: probably two years to build it, unfortunately.

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Speaker 1: And how desperately are these beds needed? So like, is

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Speaker 1: the number that they've announced one hundred and twenty actually enough.

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Speaker 2: No, we'd like to see one hundred and fifty at

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Speaker 2: least there's one hundred and five people in Darwin and

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Speaker 2: Palmerston Hospital who need an age care bed. So there

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Speaker 2: you go. And by then two years time, how many

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Speaker 2: more will we need? And as Katie said, which we

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Speaker 2: agree obviously with the ABS, we have the fastest growth

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Speaker 2: of seniors in Australia. Sue what sixty five?

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Speaker 1: What a scene is saying to you upon this announcement

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Speaker 1: being made on Friday last week by the Prime Minister.

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Speaker 1: We know that there's going to be plenty of election

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Speaker 1: commitments made, there's no doubt about that. But what a

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Speaker 1: scene is saying to you?

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Speaker 2: I think they'll believe it when they see it. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: you know, show me the money, but if you're elected,

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Speaker 2: So if you're not elected, we'd like to see something

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Speaker 2: by the coalition government as well what had happened because

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Speaker 2: it's just desperately needy. We need to stop the bed

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Speaker 2: blocks in the hospital so people who need a bed

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Speaker 2: as well can get in there.

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Speaker 1: Well, I think the way that it's got to be

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Speaker 1: thought of as well, and I've no doubt our politicians

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Speaker 1: are hopefully thinking of it this way. Like you've touched on,

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Speaker 1: there's bed block then within the hospital, because you've got

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Speaker 1: seniors who are in those hospital beds who ideally should

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Speaker 1: not be they should be in a fit for purpose

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Speaker 1: room or you know, fit for purpose facility, but they're

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Speaker 1: unfortunately having to spend extended periods of time in hospital.

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Speaker 1: And what that means is that then we don't have

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Speaker 1: those hospital beds for other.

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Speaker 2: People exactly they need. Everybody sort of gets very upset

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Speaker 2: when there's a code yellow, but you can and that

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Speaker 2: the code yellows again around Australia, So it really and

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Speaker 2: it is a federal government responsibility. Age care people tend

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Speaker 2: to forget that and bland state governments, but it is

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Speaker 2: a federal government response stability, so they really do need

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Speaker 2: to stop the bed block. But then again, as we've

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Speaker 2: said before, some people who are waiting a home package,

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Speaker 2: they can't go home either because you know, they can't

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Speaker 2: get the staff to deliver it, the providers, all the

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Speaker 2: age care people.

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Speaker 1: So so I mean, in closing this morning, what is

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Speaker 1: your message for anybody putting their hand up to run

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Speaker 1: for the federal election here in the Northern Territory when

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Speaker 1: it comes to seniors ahead of that May three election.

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Speaker 2: Well, just remember we built this city, okay, so look

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Speaker 2: after us, because you wouldn't be here without your seniors

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Speaker 2: with your mother, your grandmother, your great grandmother, your grandfather,

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Speaker 2: all those seniors. You just we fought for this country

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Speaker 2: and they deserve a n actual ending and they deserve

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Speaker 2: to be in comfort in their old age. So let's

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Speaker 2: just look after them. I'm using my voice.

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Speaker 1: And do you know, Sue, it's not like I actually

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Speaker 1: think to myself, they've all also paid their taxes their

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Speaker 1: whole lives. Nobody wants to be in an undignified situation

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Speaker 1: in their senior years where if they need to be

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Speaker 1: in a specialist beat, they're not able to get one.

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Speaker 1: I can't imagine the heartbreak it must cause for families

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Speaker 1: when they have got a family member who's not able

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Speaker 1: to get an aged care beat.

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Speaker 2: Especially especially those with dementia, which is really you know,

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Speaker 2: it's the fastest growing disease in Australia. So when somebody

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Speaker 2: has dementia and they really do need twenty four hour care,

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Speaker 2: the families really just can't do it. A lot of

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Speaker 2: them are like my age or older looking after a

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Speaker 2: parent maybe in their middle nineties as well, which takes

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Speaker 2: a lot of care. So that's that's the thing as well.

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Speaker 2: But it's a thing called obviously respect and dignity and compassion.

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Speaker 2: So I'd compel every politician to think of seniors with respect,

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Speaker 2: dignity and compassion and give it. They deserve that, we

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Speaker 2: all deserve that, So just remember that. Yep.

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Speaker 1: So obviously Labor announcing this one hundred and twenty beds,

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Speaker 1: does the coalition need to come to the party and

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Speaker 1: do the same or go better.

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Speaker 2: I would like to see a hundred let's go better,

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Speaker 2: one hundred and fifty beds and then there'll be beds

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Speaker 2: there because now especially people can pick their beds as well,

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Speaker 2: which is a bit difference like NDIS they can pick

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Speaker 2: their package. But don't forget also NDIS people now can

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Speaker 2: go into age care home, so some of those beds

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Speaker 2: could be taken up by NDO right in dis patients.

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Speaker 2: So again, build one hundred and fifty beds. I'd like

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Speaker 2: to see Peter Utton come out and treat our scenes

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Speaker 2: with the respect and dignity and compassion that they deserve

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Speaker 2: as well.

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Speaker 1: Well. Sou Shira CEO of the Council of the Aging

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Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory, it's always great to talk

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Speaker 1: to you. Thank you so much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Katie always a pleasure.

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Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you,