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Speaker 1: Now we know that NT Hockey has been punching well

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Speaker 1: above their weight, producing some of the biggest names in

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Speaker 1: the sport, but despite that, it's been locked out of

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Speaker 1: the country's only national franchise, Hockey One. We know that

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Speaker 1: Hockey n TEA didn't let it hold them back, instead

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Speaker 1: turning their sites overseas, with men's and women's sides recently

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Speaker 1: competing in the Malaysian Hockey Lake. You would have heard

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Speaker 1: us crossing over to them over the weeks that they

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Speaker 1: were gone. But there's been another blow for hockey here

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Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory with the second Melbourne team poised

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Speaker 1: to enter Hockey one, with the Federal Labor Party promising

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Speaker 1: five hundred thousand dollars to bankroll them. Now joining me

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Speaker 1: in the studio is CEO of hockey here in the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory, Jason Butcher.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: How are you not too bad? Thank you? Good to

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Speaker 1: see you. Now, what was your reaction when you found

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Speaker 1: out that this second Melbourne team was going to be

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Speaker 1: receiving significant government.

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Speaker 2: Funding signific again, federal funding not unforeseen, to be honest,

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Speaker 2: I think what this announcement showed us is what we

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Speaker 2: probably knew all along that Hockey One doesn't seem to

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Speaker 2: have us in their short or long term plans. They've

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Speaker 2: got a different agenda, and you know also they're willing

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Speaker 2: to shift the goalposts to achieve that agenda.

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Speaker 1: Why do you think that is, like, why do you

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Speaker 1: think that the Northern Territory is not part of their plan?

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Speaker 2: Well, one of the things in the article in the

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Speaker 2: paper talked about financial viability and it was a little

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Speaker 2: bit misleading because the feedback we got was that the

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Speaker 2: league in its embryonic infant stages didn't believe it was

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Speaker 2: financially viable to play and to do productions of games

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Speaker 2: in Darwin. So that's their issue, not ours. And yet

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Speaker 2: it's sort of been sort of pushed a bit towards

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Speaker 2: our financial viability.

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Speaker 1: You know.

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Speaker 2: They also talked about the fact that we had too

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Speaker 2: much government support from the territory government. And now the

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Speaker 2: hypocrisy of that is is this is being set up

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Speaker 2: and bankrolled through federal funding. So that seems a bit crazy.

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Speaker 1: Well yeah to me, I mean from an outside perspective

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Speaker 1: looking in, you sort of go, if it's about being

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Speaker 1: financially viable, why does this Melbourne team need five hundred

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Speaker 1: thousand dollars from the Federal Labor Party.

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Speaker 2: In a suburb in the middle of Melbourne near all

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Speaker 2: of some of the best facilities you ever see.

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Speaker 1: Yes, So, like you know, so you're kind of going

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Speaker 1: to yourself for I'm certainly saying to myself as an

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Speaker 1: outsider looking in, well, hang on a sec If they're

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Speaker 1: so viable, why do they need that and why are

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Speaker 1: we not looking at the NT.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, And the other thing they talk to us about

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Speaker 2: was they were concerned about our local player based size

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Speaker 2: and quality, which is, you know, something where we're proving

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Speaker 2: and working on. But this team, from the correspondence you've seen,

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Speaker 2: is essentially going to be outfitted through international imports and

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Speaker 2: so not local development. So you wonder how that connects

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Speaker 2: to the story as well.

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Speaker 1: So in terms of, you know, the process that Hockey

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Speaker 1: one has gone through, how are you sort of feeling

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Speaker 1: about that?

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Speaker 2: First off, well, we were supposed to meet with them

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Speaker 2: at the end of last year and they canceled that

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Speaker 2: meeting because they said they were busy, and we haven't

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Speaker 2: heard from them since. So that's where that sits for us.

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Speaker 2: We're still working with Hockey Malaysia and our own strategic

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Speaker 2: sort of vision to build our Hockey One. I guess

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Speaker 2: submission and our capability which is in a good place,

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Speaker 2: but we don't know where they sit with us. I

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Speaker 2: guess this type of announcement shows some of that. I

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Speaker 2: think it also shows that this was never about our capability.

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Speaker 2: There are decisions that don't match the values the league

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Speaker 2: claims that stands for, stand for and also the spirit

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Speaker 2: of the sport it represents.

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Speaker 1: I don't think like we're too from here. I know

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Speaker 1: that you've certainly demonstrated in my discussions with you that

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Speaker 1: no matter what, even if Hockey one is not prepared

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Speaker 1: to take a Northern Territory team like you're not prepared

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Speaker 1: to not give well, you you're not going to take

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Speaker 1: it lying down first off, but you're also, as the

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Speaker 1: CEO of hockey here in the Northern Territory, you are

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Speaker 1: not prepared to not make sure that territory players still

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Speaker 1: have opportunities.

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Speaker 2: We saw after twenty eighteen when we lost our AHL position,

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Speaker 2: the decline of our sport. You know, without aspiras are

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Speaker 2: an opportunity. We've said this many times. Sports wither and die,

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Speaker 2: whether that's parents or kids, those two things fuel sport, volunteerism,

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Speaker 2: giving back the whole energy of a sport, so it's

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Speaker 2: a non negotiable. We have a great relationship with Malaysian

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Speaker 2: Hockey Confederation. Malaysian Hockey League was once in a lifetime.

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Speaker 2: It's going to be four times in a lifetime for

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Speaker 2: us because of our four year agreement, and it's a

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Speaker 2: good place for us to be to rebuild. You know,

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Speaker 2: we've got this seven year gap. We learned some lessons

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Speaker 2: about the league this year where we've got to quickly

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Speaker 2: get up to speed, so we're in a good place.

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Speaker 2: Like this is disappointing and it speaks to a broader

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Speaker 2: Australian story, I think in terms of how the territory

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Speaker 2: is perceived and regional remote communities are perceived. They don't

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Speaker 2: have voting power and all these types of things. But

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Speaker 2: we're in a good place. We've had great support from

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Speaker 2: the two territory government. And I'll let you answer the

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Speaker 2: next question. But we've got some initiatives coming up which

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Speaker 2: are going to redefine hockey and where we go.

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Speaker 1: So I mean, from your perspective in terms of dealing

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Speaker 1: with hockey, one, is there more that we can do

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Speaker 1: like here, in the Northern Territory to try and you know,

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Speaker 1: to try and push for a better case. I mean,

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Speaker 1: do we need more infrastructure, what do we need do

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Speaker 1: you think to make us more attractive to that lag.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, certainly our facility is aging. But we're hosting the

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Speaker 2: Oceana Cup in September. We've had all the ticks and

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Speaker 2: approvals for that. That's going to be the greatest or

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Speaker 2: biggest event that hockey's ever hosted in our history World

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Speaker 2: Cup qualifier, so that's going to be amazing. And you know,

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Speaker 2: we're working closely with all our partners, including the territory

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Speaker 2: government about you know, pushing forward with where our facility sits.

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Speaker 2: But it is forty years old and it does have

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Speaker 2: some challenges, so that's definitely part of it long term,

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Speaker 2: I think, but we just need to keep getting support

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Speaker 2: from everybody and making sure that I guess people have

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Speaker 2: got to make a decision about how they feel about

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Speaker 2: the territory and what they're willing to stand for. This

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Speaker 2: talks all of our leaders across all areas as well,

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Speaker 2: because we can't continue to be just left behind because.

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Speaker 1: Because they're in the Northern territories, they're can get away

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Speaker 1: with it, yeah, and it sucks, Like I just think

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Speaker 1: to myself, you see it very often when you go

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Speaker 1: away for sport in the NT, Like we already know,

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Speaker 1: we're fighting a bit of an uphill battle in a

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Speaker 1: lot of ways for different sports because you just don't

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Speaker 1: have the ability to compete every weekend like you might see,

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Speaker 1: you know, in other states and territories around Australia. But

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Speaker 1: when it comes to sheer talent, we have got so

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Speaker 1: much of it, like we've got it in bucket loads

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Speaker 1: in the NT, no matter what sport you talk about.

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Speaker 1: But then it is about making sure that there are

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Speaker 1: those pathways for our young people. And I think it

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Speaker 1: is so incredibly important when it comes to the liveability

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Speaker 1: of this place too. And and you know when it

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Speaker 1: comes to our young people and those that are a

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Speaker 1: little bit older wanting to stay living here, you know,

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Speaker 1: it's so important.

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Speaker 2: I think we'll find historically that sport has been the

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Speaker 2: thing that's kept communities connected and healthy regional remote communities,

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Speaker 2: not just places like the Northern Territory, but across Australia.

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Speaker 2: It's been a big part of the culture, a healthy

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Speaker 2: culture of Australia for a long time and so we

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Speaker 2: have to keep investing in that and nurturing and cultivating that,

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Speaker 2: otherwise those places start to you know, fall away.

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Speaker 1: Now in terms of you know, we are just a

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Speaker 1: couple of days away from the federal election. I mean,

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Speaker 1: what is your what's your message to those that have

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Speaker 1: put their hand up for this, you know, for the

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Speaker 1: seed of Solomon, for the seed of Lingiari when you

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Speaker 1: look at the Northern territory, what's your message to those

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Speaker 1: those people this morning? In terms of development of sport,

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Speaker 1: particularly hockey, Well.

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Speaker 2: I think it's a broader message on you know, when

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Speaker 2: I speak to people in our community, what they're looking

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Speaker 2: for is an understanding that sport's fundamental to building healthier,

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Speaker 2: stronger communities. Actually in remote and regional Australia and right

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Speaker 2: across the territory. I think sports in different ways are

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Speaker 2: struggling with increased operational costs, other bits and pieces, and

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Speaker 2: we're trying to make that something that is engaging for

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Speaker 2: kids and to get communities involved for those purpose and

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Speaker 2: belonging in all those things. And it's challenging and I

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Speaker 2: think we need to be. If sport's healthy, I think

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Speaker 2: the territory is healthier. That's my message.

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Speaker 1: Look, I love sports, there's no you know, everybody listens

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Speaker 1: to the show knows that. I think there does need

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Speaker 1: to be investment in sport and there does need to

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Speaker 1: be you know, like it just presents so many opportunities

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Speaker 1: in so many different ways. What is next for hockey

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Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory. It sounds like you've got

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Speaker 1: a full dance card, mate, You've got the Oceania Championships,

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Speaker 1: You've got quite a bit coming up.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a big year. We're going to announce an

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Speaker 2: initiative in the next couple of weeks which you've been

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Speaker 2: working on with Hockey Australia, Hockey Malaysia, the Territory government,

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Speaker 2: and that initiative will redefine hockey in the territory. And

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Speaker 2: I can't go through the details, but let's just say

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Speaker 2: we've signed five agreements which includes three different countries. Awesome.

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Speaker 1: You will have you back in the studio in a

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Speaker 1: couple of weeks, Oboods.

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Speaker 2: And it's going to reframe the battle for us and

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Speaker 2: we think it'll be a blueprint print for all sports

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Speaker 2: to be healthier and more sustainable.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well mate, I really appreciate you joining me in

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Speaker 1: the studio this morning, Hockey and CEO Jason Butcher. Good

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Speaker 1: to speak with you. We'll talk to you again in

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Speaker 1: a couple of weeks. By the sounds of it, look

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Speaker 1: forward to it, mate,