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Speaker 1: Last week, we spoke extensively about the Northern Territory Police Association,

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Speaker 1: calling for the Northern Territory Government to urgently commit to

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Speaker 1: the three hundred additional officers needed to meet policing demands.

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Speaker 1: The Northern Territory Police Association President Paul McCue had told

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Speaker 1: us on the show that the Deputy Commissioner had confirmed

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Speaker 1: during last week's coronial what members had been telling the Association,

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Speaker 1: and that is that the Northern Territory Police Force is

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Speaker 1: critically understaffed and struggling to deal with the staggering levels

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Speaker 1: of crime, harm and violence in our community. Now joining

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Speaker 1: me on the show is the opposition leader Lea Fanocchiario.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to your leader.

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Speaker 3: I'm morning Katie and your wonderful Listenersnaliah.

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Speaker 1: Last week when you and I spoke, we talked about

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Speaker 1: the latest Northern Territory Police Association survey, which obviously outlines

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Speaker 1: serious concerns from police when it comes to staffing and

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Speaker 1: their ability to do what's expected of them with the

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Speaker 1: resources that they have available now. Since then, the Deputy

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Speaker 1: Police Commissioner confirmed during the coronial what a number of

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Speaker 1: members had been telling the Association that they're critically understaffed

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Speaker 1: and that they're struggling to deal with levels of crime

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Speaker 1: and various other issues. Leah, you have been calling for

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Speaker 1: an inquiry into the force for some time after hearing

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Speaker 1: these numbers. Why do you think that an inquiry into

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Speaker 1: the police force is so critical when the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: government says that they're just getting on with getting the

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Speaker 1: job done well.

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Speaker 4: Katie, the non territory government says a lot of things,

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Speaker 4: but its words don't match its actions. What we know

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Speaker 4: is that ninety six zero point seven percent of our

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Speaker 4: police force don't believe there are enough police and don't

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Speaker 4: believe they are supported by their government. We've had that

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Speaker 4: followed up, of course, with the Deputy Commissioner saying there

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Speaker 4: needs to be three hundred more police and five hundred

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Speaker 4: million dollars more investment into policing. So how is it

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Speaker 4: possible for Kate Warden and Natasha Files, the people responsible

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Speaker 4: for this police crisis, to then turn around and say

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Speaker 4: they are not going to hold an inquiry. It is

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Speaker 4: absolutely ne leigent and unacceptable for leadership at the top

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Speaker 4: to turn their back on our police force when what

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Speaker 4: is absolutely needed is a forensic review of resourcing and

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Speaker 4: service delivery.

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Speaker 2: We want to get this really straight.

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Speaker 1: So the last inquiry was held in two thousand and eleven,

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Speaker 1: wasn't it.

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Speaker 4: Yes, that's right now this Sullivan Review and what that

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Speaker 4: did is go through every element of the police force.

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Speaker 4: So this isn't just about police numbers. It's about police infrastructure.

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Speaker 4: It might be about vehicles, new and better technology, other

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Speaker 4: protective measures that police can take, all sorts of things.

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Speaker 4: This is a wholesale review of the force, even around

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Speaker 4: structuring of rosters, all sorts of ways in which you

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Speaker 4: can enhance or deliver capability, and that is what is required. Equally,

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Speaker 4: we also need a forensic look at why morale is

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Speaker 4: so low.

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Speaker 3: We had the Chief Minister on radio with.

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Speaker 4: You Katie last week saying that there were hundreds of

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Speaker 4: police on mental health leave and being seemingly pointing to

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Speaker 4: that as a reason why police aren't on the ground,

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Speaker 4: which is shameful. You know, we've had a Natasha Files

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Speaker 4: tell our police to step up, and yet where's Kate

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Speaker 4: Wooden and Natasha Files when it comes to stepping up,

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Speaker 4: backing our police, giving them the power they need and

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Speaker 4: holding an inquiry. They are failing in their duty to

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Speaker 4: serve and protect the community. This is the files government

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Speaker 4: and ultimately to protect and support our police.

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Speaker 1: Lea, do you think that we need an additional three

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Speaker 1: hundred police officers?

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Speaker 4: I absolutely believe that that number is accurate, and that's

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Speaker 4: why if I was Chief Minister at Katie, we would

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Speaker 4: immediately have a review into policing. I would hold the

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Speaker 4: police portfolio as the Chief Minister to make sure that

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Speaker 4: the police crisis is resolved, that law and order is

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Speaker 4: the most front of mind issue of our government, and

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Speaker 4: that we're supporting our police with the powers and equipment

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Speaker 4: they need to protect the community.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I know that it's very easy to sort

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Speaker 1: of say things like that when you are in opposition,

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Speaker 1: but how on earth would you fund an additional three

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Speaker 1: hundred officers.

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Speaker 4: Well, we'll start with that review and look at it

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Speaker 4: in a wholesale Wow, this is not about just picking

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Speaker 4: and choosing areas that you need to fix. This isn't

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Speaker 4: The entire police force is in crisis on a various

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Speaker 4: range of levels, and we need to be supporting them

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Speaker 4: and looking at that. So we will do that work, Katie,

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Speaker 4: mark my words. But you know, equally, we have to

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Speaker 4: drive down crime and that's where we can support our

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Speaker 4: police better by making sure there are consequences for offenders.

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Speaker 4: And that's something I know the community is crying out

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Speaker 4: for and it's something we will deliver.

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Speaker 1: Leah, what about aging infrastructure, because the other figure that

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Speaker 1: had been rolled out was five hundred million dollars into

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Speaker 1: aging infrastructure. I mean it's clear to me that we

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Speaker 1: need a significant investment into the Northern Territory police. All

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Speaker 1: you've got to do is have a bit of a

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Speaker 1: look around and you can see that it's top of

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Speaker 1: mind for a number of Territorians, Like for a large

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Speaker 1: majority of Territorians right across the place. There is also serious,

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Speaker 1: serious issues when you look at things like family and

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Speaker 1: domestic violence, and then you're looking at this aging infrastructure,

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Speaker 1: not enough police. I mean, do we need the Territorians

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Speaker 1: need some kind of levy to pay for the additional

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Speaker 1: police needs? What do we need to do here?

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Speaker 4: Well, certainly under a CLP government, I leave you won't

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Speaker 4: be seeing new taxes for Territorians, but I wouldn't put

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Speaker 4: it past labor.

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Speaker 3: Katie.

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Speaker 4: Look, ultimately, what we need is to stop spending you know,

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Speaker 4: tens of millions of dollars on things like Nightcliff Police Station,

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Speaker 4: which is a glorified office space, so that the Chief

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Speaker 4: Minister can trot around and pretend that she's met her

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Speaker 4: election commitment which she hasn't, and ultimately start spending money

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Speaker 4: where it's required. There needs to be a plan. You

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Speaker 4: cannot just spend taxpayers money like it's your own. There

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Speaker 4: is a responsibility to deliver for the greater good and ultimately,

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Speaker 4: what we've seen from this government is a total lack

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Speaker 4: of priorities.

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Speaker 3: When this government is more prepared to.

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Speaker 4: Spend one hundred million dollars on a blowout for Tiger Brennan,

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Speaker 4: or millions of dollars on a shadeless shade structure, or

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Speaker 4: tens of millions of dollars on an above ground underground

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Speaker 4: car park in Darwin, what we have is a total

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Speaker 4: lack of priorities from a government that's asleep at the

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Speaker 4: wheel Leah.

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Speaker 1: Unfortunately, we're not alone. The police are certainly not alone

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Speaker 1: when it comes to these staff shortages. We know that

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Speaker 1: paramedics are being recruited from around the world in an

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Speaker 1: effort to fill the staff shortages that they've got in

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Speaker 1: remote Northern Territory towns, and we've certainly spoken before about

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Speaker 1: the hospital in Alice Springs and the staff shortage that

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Speaker 1: they are facing around one hundred and thirty staff. Is

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Speaker 1: my understanding, what else do you think that we could

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Speaker 1: be doing to fill some of these staff shortages, Because

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Speaker 1: they are critical, like we're talking frontline here, nurses, police

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Speaker 1: and also the paramedics. They are definitely needed and you

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Speaker 1: don't have to look too far or talk to too

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Speaker 1: many people to realize that they are needed right now.

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Speaker 4: Without question, and this goes to the heart of our

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Speaker 4: no confidence motion in the files government. They are failing

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Speaker 4: to do the basics. Our nurses, our doctors are under pressure,

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Speaker 4: our paramedics, our police, every critical area, our teachers, every

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Speaker 4: critical area of service delivery is understrained, and this government

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Speaker 4: is falling to support them and failing to provide the

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Speaker 4: services that territories deserve now. Ultimately, this comes back to

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Speaker 4: a large number of issues. Part of it is law

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Speaker 4: and order. People are sick and debt to the sick

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Speaker 4: and tired of it. They are leaving because of it.

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Speaker 4: It's about economic opportunities. People are not seeing the project

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Speaker 4: delivery that government keeps pretending is happening, and so those

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Speaker 4: jobs and that security for the future isn't there.

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Speaker 3: Cost of living is through the roof.

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Speaker 4: They see the government failing to address those issues like

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Speaker 4: we tried to with our fuel legislation. So it comes

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Speaker 4: you know, we are losing good people, people we desperately need,

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Speaker 4: because this government is not providing the very basics that

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Speaker 4: a government should and that's a safe and enjoyable place

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Speaker 4: to live.

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Speaker 1: We are going to have to move along because there

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Speaker 1: is a bit to cover off on the Master Plan

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Speaker 1: on the Future of the Northern Territories eighty five Parks

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Speaker 1: and Reserves.

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Speaker 2: It's now complete.

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Speaker 1: The Northern Territory government announced yesterday that it sets out

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Speaker 1: a number of targets for the next thirty years around

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Speaker 1: nine themes tourism, park access and Aboriginal economic development. It

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Speaker 1: develops a plan as well for new tourism products, as

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Speaker 1: well as a climate change strategy and new short walks,

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Speaker 1: swimming areas and four wheel drive tracks with camping sites.

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Speaker 1: They're all among the goals over the next two years.

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Speaker 1: Have you had the opportunity to have a bit of

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Speaker 1: a look at the plan and what do you.

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Speaker 2: Make of it?

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Speaker 4: Well, it's terrifying, Katie, I'm telling you this plan is

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Speaker 4: a labour's lifestyle tax, That's what it should be called.

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Speaker 4: This is a tax on the territory lifestyle. They are

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Speaker 4: going to be charging people to go to Litchfield National Park,

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Speaker 4: Mantam Dam Recreation Area. If you're a hunter, they're coming

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Speaker 4: after you, Harrison Dam, Howard Springs Hunting Reserve. If you're

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Speaker 4: a fisher, they're coming after you, Corroboree Rock Conservation Reserve.

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Speaker 2: I mean, how much are the charging people?

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Speaker 4: Well, they're talking about doing this for people from interstate,

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Speaker 4: but I have absolutely no confidence that this isn't the

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Speaker 4: start of a slippery slope for Territorians having to be

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Speaker 4: able to pay for park passes into the future. And

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Speaker 4: we heard from Paul Kirby, the Minister last week, saying

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Speaker 4: that everything is under threat on a daily basis with

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Speaker 4: the budget, and I think this.

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Speaker 1: Is a very clear exact actually said that they're going

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Speaker 1: to be charging Territorians to use all of those parks

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Speaker 1: right now though, or are you scare mongering here?

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Speaker 4: No, No, this is for This is for interstate and

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Speaker 4: international tourists now. But where is labor going to draw

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Speaker 4: the line? I think this is the start of what

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Speaker 4: will be a tax on the territory lifestyle, Katie. I

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Speaker 4: am really worried that this is just a start of

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Speaker 4: what will be a slippery slope. And I don't think

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Speaker 4: that Territorians can trust that if Labor were re elected

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Speaker 4: in twenty four that we wouldn't be seeing Territorians being

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Speaker 4: slugged to do.

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Speaker 3: Some of my most facing focamentally.

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Speaker 1: That's how they're going to pay for their master plan.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, this is a way for them to claw back money. Again.

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Speaker 4: We've been talking all money about their wrong priorities and

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Speaker 4: we've seen a government turn its back on environmental protection

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Speaker 4: of Lichfield. It hasn't put the investment into tourism that

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Speaker 4: is required. We've just come off the back of two

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Speaker 4: years of COVID where everyone's suffering, and this government is now,

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Speaker 4: in response to what needs to be a bump of

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Speaker 4: tourism season, is now putting extra pressure on people. And

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Speaker 4: you know, it will be very interesting to see the

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Speaker 4: damaging impact this will have on that international and interstate

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Speaker 4: market case.

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Speaker 1: There's nothing in that report though to suggest that locals

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Speaker 1: are going to be charged at this stage, So again

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Speaker 1: I'll ask Ah, you just fear mongering.

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Speaker 3: I am absolutely afraid.

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Speaker 4: I am absolutely afraid, Katie, And so should you be

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Speaker 4: if you're listening, because I've got a list in front

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Speaker 4: of me of fifty parks across the territory where interstate

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Speaker 4: and international tourists will have to pay to go to,

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Speaker 4: which include Manton Dam, include Lichfield, include a range of places.

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Speaker 4: And I've got no confidence that this government isn't coming

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Speaker 4: after you. This is a territory lifestyle tax by another name,

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Speaker 4: coming to a how whole new youth.

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Speaker 2: How much are people going to have to pay?

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Speaker 1: How much of those tourists going to have to pay

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Speaker 1: to attend those fifty parks?

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Speaker 2: And is it fair enough that if they.

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Speaker 1: Travel into the northern Territory that they should actually have

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Speaker 1: to pay to go to those national parks? I mean,

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Speaker 1: I know when you go to the likes of Ularu,

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Speaker 1: you have to pay to go there.

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Speaker 4: Sure, the devil will be in the detail on how

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Speaker 4: much people are going to pay, But ultimately can we

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Speaker 4: afford to be charging as we re emerge back out

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Speaker 4: of COVID as we have the issues of crime dogging

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Speaker 4: tourism businesses where they are losing bookings because people are

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Speaker 4: googling wonderful places like Alice Springs and only seeing bad

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Speaker 4: news come back up? You know, is the time right,

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Speaker 4: Are we actually going to be creating a greater detriment

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Speaker 4: than we are good? And ultimately, this government needs to

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Speaker 4: start prioritizing it's spending. It's turned its back for six

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Speaker 4: years on our beautiful, pristine, natural environment, which is such

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Speaker 4: an important lifestyle piece but also tourism and economic piece,

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Speaker 4: and now all of a sudden they've woken up and gone,

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Speaker 4: oh gosh, we've got nine billion dollars debt, We're broke,

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Speaker 4: and what are we going to do about our parks

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Speaker 4: which are becoming overrun by gamber totally falling apart in

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Speaker 4: terms of lack of infrastructure investment. And so now they're

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Speaker 4: going after the very tour as we need to spend

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Speaker 4: their money in the private sector.

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Speaker 3: Government's going to take that money for its own coffin.

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Speaker 1: We did just get a message that come through. It

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Speaker 1: said high KD shooters already pay to shoot on Crown Land.

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Speaker 1: That's one of the messages Lea. Just finally, though, we

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Speaker 1: know that the government has awarded a design consultancy contract

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Speaker 1: to Woolbridge Gilbert Aztec to continue delivery of the shiplift project.

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Speaker 1: They're going to now focus on delivering expert value engineering advice,

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Speaker 1: apparently to maximize the benefits of the project for the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory and also industry. The government says that this

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Speaker 1: contract is going to further progress the detailed design of

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Speaker 1: the shiplift project to ensure the design is optimized to

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Speaker 1: meet the needs of future users.

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Speaker 2: LEA. Is this a step in the right direction.

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Speaker 4: I think this is more fake milestone announcements by a

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Speaker 4: desperate Chief minister. What we know is that this has

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Speaker 4: blown out from a one hundred million dollar project to

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Speaker 4: a five hundred and fifteen million dollar project with no timeline,

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Speaker 4: no details. The government keeps talking in riddles about what

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Speaker 4: it's actually paying for and what is being delivered. We

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Speaker 4: referred this project to the Public Accounts Committee, which is

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Speaker 4: the financial watchdog of the Northern Territory, to review the

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Speaker 4: government spend and the value for territory and ultimately I

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Speaker 4: have not received a letter back from the Public Accounts

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Speaker 4: Committee since December last year, which shows the lack of

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Speaker 4: integrity of the files government. In response to that call

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Speaker 4: that this be publicly reviewed by that forensic financial body,

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Speaker 4: I mean eight years later, this government is still talking

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Speaker 4: about a project, and all we know is it's costing

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Speaker 4: more and more every day, and it's eroding business confidence

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Speaker 4: and ultimately we're missing opportunities that should be on the

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Speaker 4: ground already.

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Speaker 2: Leah. Sorry, just one last quick one.

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Speaker 1: Nearly five million Aussies are set to receive a major

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Speaker 1: increase to their pension and allowance payments when they're indexed

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Speaker 1: to inflation later this month. So our recipients of the

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Speaker 1: age Pension, Disability Support, Pension and care of Payment can

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Speaker 1: expect that increase of around thirty seven dollars fifty a

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Speaker 1: fortnight for singles and fifty six dollars forty a.

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Speaker 2: Fortnight for couples.

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Speaker 1: Now Kota, the Council of the Aging here in the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory, says the three point seven percent increase in

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Speaker 1: the pension is welcome. It's a welcome relief for senior Territorians,

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Speaker 1: but it falls short of properly addressing the financial pressures

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Speaker 1: that older Territorians are facing. Now Kota's Northern Territory Chief

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Speaker 1: Executive Sushira is calling on the Northern Territory government to

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Speaker 1: help older Territorians by indexing the Senior's Recognition Scheme to

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Speaker 1: the consumer Price Index. Do you agree and think that

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Speaker 1: this needs to happen?

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Speaker 4: Well, what I agree with is that CPI is at

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Speaker 4: all time high. We've got the RBA set to have

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Speaker 4: our tenth consecutive rate rise. Today, cost of living is

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Speaker 4: through the roof. I know we've been working hard to

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Speaker 4: try and drive down the price of fuel with legislation

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Speaker 4: that will really hold fuel retailers to account, but ultimately

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Speaker 4: what we've got instead is a files government that slashed

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Speaker 4: the solar feed in tariff, which many seniors would have

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Speaker 4: relied heavily on. We've seen this government also increase power

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Speaker 4: prices and not tackle cost of living. So I'm not

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Speaker 4: surprised seniors are hurting much like many families and cross

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Speaker 4: the territory.

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Speaker 1: But do you think that we should actually index the

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Speaker 1: seniors recognition scheme?

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Speaker 2: Should there be an increase.

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Speaker 4: Well, I fully support an increase to supporting our seniors.

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Speaker 4: What that looks like, you know, I'm very happy to

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Speaker 4: sit down with Coder and discuss, and I imagine that's

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Speaker 4: going to be something front and center as we move

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Speaker 4: towards that election period at the start of next year.

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Speaker 4: But the reality is we can't afford to lose people

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Speaker 4: from the territory and that this government has done nothing

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Speaker 4: to drive down that cost of living pressure. In fact,

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Speaker 4: they've only done things to make it worse. And so

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Speaker 4: it's looking at a holistically around how do we support

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Speaker 4: us stronger economy, how do we keep people in the territory,

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Speaker 4: and how do we make sure that people are paying

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Speaker 4: you as least amount as possible for those key services

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Speaker 4: that we all need to live our lives.

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Speaker 1: And certainly you would think that keeping our scene is here,

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Speaker 1: keeping our pensions here, some of those grandparents that are

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Speaker 1: helping us to raise our children, you would think that

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Speaker 1: that would be a priority. So by the sounds of it, yes,

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Speaker 1: you do support what CODA is calling for.

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Speaker 4: Well, we certainly support increases and happy to work with

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Speaker 4: Coder on what that looks like come election time next year.

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Speaker 4: But ultimately, our sceniors are enormously valuable. They are our volunteers,

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Speaker 4: they are our blood donuts, they are our babysitters, and

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Speaker 4: they are just wonderful people spending their money in the community,

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Speaker 4: keeping the fabric of the territory alive, and we can't

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Speaker 4: afford to lose them. We need to be supporting them

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Speaker 4: and the rest of the community with cost of living relief.

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Speaker 1: Lea fan Occhiaro. We will leave it there as always,

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Speaker 1: thanks for your time this morning.

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Speaker 3: Take care everyone,