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Speaker 1: The Northern Territory Government is going to extend those alcohol

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Speaker 1: restrictions in Alice Springs after incidents of domestic violence and

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Speaker 1: assault plummeted by more than a third. That is what

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Speaker 1: they've said this morning in a statement. Now, they say

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Speaker 1: that the evidence have shown that alcohol related emergency department

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Speaker 1: presentations at the hospital have reduced by a third and

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Speaker 1: domestic violence has halved.

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Speaker 2: Since those restrictions were introduced.

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Speaker 1: They reckon that along with police consultation, they've also seen

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Speaker 1: a decrease in alcohol related harm and assaults, and the

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Speaker 1: number of children are protective custody notifications has also decreased. Now,

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Speaker 1: joining me on the line is the Mayor of Alice Springs,

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Speaker 1: Matt Patterson.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Matt. Let's dry that again.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Matt, Matt having Yeah, thanks so

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Speaker 1: much for joining us this morning. What was your reaction

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Speaker 1: to the announcement that the Northern Territory Government is indeed

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Speaker 1: going to be extending the alcohol restris.

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Speaker 3: I was surprised, but I look, I think getting us

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Speaker 3: through summer, you know, the next summer is probably the

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Speaker 3: most important part. So I can understand that. I don't know,

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Speaker 3: if you know, alcohol is the sole issue here. If

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Speaker 3: we go back, it wasn't alcohol that got the Prime

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Speaker 3: Minister to Ala Springs, it was the use as well.

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Speaker 3: So I just think we're having a one hit approach

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Speaker 3: here and we just really need to reassess it all.

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Speaker 3: But I think getting us through summer, I can welcome

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Speaker 3: those restrictions.

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Speaker 1: I reckon you spot on, like definitely. You know, making

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Speaker 1: sure that we are dealing with things, and dealing with

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Speaker 1: the alcohol related issues is absolutely a huge part of it.

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Speaker 1: And look, obviously I don't live in Alice Springs, but

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Speaker 1: we know that youth crime is indeed an issue right

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Speaker 1: around the Northern territory, so we do need to make

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Speaker 1: some changes in that space also.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think we've all you know, I've always

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Speaker 3: said to you and too many journals that there's two

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Speaker 3: problems here. One is the youth issue and one is

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Speaker 3: the alcohol issue. And somehow we've pieced them together and

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Speaker 3: just made it one issue without addressing the youth on

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Speaker 3: the street issue and the crime that goes along with that. So,

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Speaker 3: you know, I appreciate that we've got to make some

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Speaker 3: changes with the alcohol. I don't know if this is

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Speaker 3: the right change long term, but I think it was

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Speaker 3: a circuit baker we needed. Yeah, we'll just wait and

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Speaker 3: see what happens.

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Speaker 2: Now, what are people saying on the ground today.

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Speaker 3: It's pretty split. It is pretty split at the moment.

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Speaker 3: To be fair. I mean, we know prohibition doesn't work,

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Speaker 3: but again it's the ninety nine percent of people doing

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Speaker 3: the right thing in the community that again suffer. I'll

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Speaker 3: say this, right, if the restrictions that you know, the

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Speaker 3: stronger futures wasn't to be lapsed, and everyone begged in

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Speaker 3: the community at that point not to let stronger futures lapse.

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Speaker 3: If the community we'll listen to at that point and

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Speaker 3: stronger futures weren't lapsed, would we be in this position

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Speaker 3: right now of having our cold free day's Monday Tuesday.

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Speaker 3: I wouldn't think so. So, you know, it just goes

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Speaker 3: back to listening to people on the ground. You know,

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Speaker 3: people from all persuasions said, don't let them laps. We

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Speaker 3: let them laps, And of course that's a lower than

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Speaker 3: what they were six months ago because they hit the

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Speaker 3: ceiling and they only had one way to go. So,

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Speaker 3: you know, I think that we've just got to go

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Speaker 3: back in time and just say, well, you know, the

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Speaker 3: unintended consequence now of letting Stronger Future's lapses. Everyone's got

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Speaker 3: our cold free Day's Monday Tuesday.

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Speaker 1: It's a really good point to make because you know,

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Speaker 1: at the time there was people saying, please do not

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Speaker 1: let these laps. You know, we need to make sure

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Speaker 1: that we have got that We've still got those you know,

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Speaker 1: the previous sort of restrictions in place, and now obviously

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Speaker 1: it's gone that step further. I mean, at the time

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Speaker 1: of the Stronger Futures ending, the Chief Minister had said

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Speaker 1: that they were race based policies. What do you make

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Speaker 1: of those comments now that this two year extension or

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Speaker 1: that this extension is coming into place. I mean, they've

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Speaker 1: said that it's going they're going to be agile with

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Speaker 1: the data. Other reports are saying that it's going to

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Speaker 1: be for two years, but you know, what do you

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Speaker 1: make of that?

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Speaker 2: Now?

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Speaker 3: Look what I think is we can't compare July stats

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Speaker 3: to December stats. They're two completely different seasons. You know,

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Speaker 3: it's been freezing cold down here. We know every winter

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Speaker 3: crime drops and then we say we're going well, we're

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Speaker 3: going well, and then come October to March, crime goes

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Speaker 3: to the roof. So I just don't think we can

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Speaker 3: compare it to six months ago. Look, it's just really difficult.

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Speaker 3: I mean again, I wish we could go back and

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Speaker 3: make sure that stronger futures didn't lapse. It wasn't race based.

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Speaker 3: You know, we're putting the rights of alcoholics in front

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Speaker 3: of women and children. I just think we've just got

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Speaker 3: to be really mindful of that going forward as well.

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Speaker 1: Matt, what impact is this going to have on tourism

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Speaker 1: and hospitality in terms of you know, these alcohol restrictions

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Speaker 1: being in place on a Monday and a tues So

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Speaker 1: what impact is it going to have?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, So again said many times, we're at this tipping

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Speaker 3: point whether we want to be a tourist town or

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Speaker 3: just a service hub, and you know, to have tourists

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Speaker 3: to come to our springs. Everyone we're open to business

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Speaker 3: except for basically Monday Tuesday. I think there is a

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Speaker 3: flow on and I just think people will just drive through.

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Speaker 3: I think we've just got to be very mindful about

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Speaker 3: how we promote the destination now and continue to work.

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Speaker 3: I think obviously you look back and everyone's had a

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Speaker 3: few tough years going through COVID, and we're just making

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Speaker 3: it tougher for small business to get the head above

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Speaker 3: water because there is a flow on, right. It's not

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Speaker 3: just the venues that obviously will suffer from this, it's

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Speaker 3: people saying, well, actually, we don't want to go to

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Speaker 3: our springs now because we were losing out on what

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Speaker 3: we enjoy on holidays. So there is all these flow

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Speaker 3: ons that will happen from it.

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Speaker 1: I mean to sort of step in from the other

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Speaker 1: side here, though we were seeing enormously bad situations. You know,

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Speaker 1: you and I had spoken about it on so many occasions,

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Speaker 1: some of was being experienced in Alice Springs.

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Speaker 2: You know, we from what we can.

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Speaker 1: Gather, based on the conversations that we've had and based

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Speaker 1: on the evidence that the Northern Territory government's come out with,

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Speaker 1: there has been a reduction in in you know, the

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Speaker 1: admissions of course to the hospital, domestic violence, those notifications

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Speaker 1: when it comes to child welfare. So you know, can

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Speaker 1: you sort of have your cake and eat it too,

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Speaker 1: I mean, like, isn't it a good thing that you've

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Speaker 1: seen a reduction to all of those those different issues?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? Absolutely, And I think I think that in the

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Speaker 3: short term, with the government putting in the restrictions. Initially

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Speaker 3: it was that circuit breaker that we had seen right,

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Speaker 3: we needed the breeder. We got the brether, but with

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Speaker 3: no prohibition doesn't work for longer periods of time. And

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Speaker 3: if it did work, Kadie, then my Tenant Creek not

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Speaker 3: a crime free zone. They've got some of the toughest

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Speaker 3: restrictions in the country. So I think short term, I

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Speaker 3: think it was a good idea and I think it worked,

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Speaker 3: but you know, people will find a way to get alcohol.

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Speaker 3: I think secondary supply is a massive issue, and I

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Speaker 3: think the BDR needs to be completely overhauled. So in

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Speaker 3: a short term, yes, I think it was the right

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Speaker 3: It was the right thing to do, but again, it

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Speaker 3: won't it won't work going long term.

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Speaker 1: Look, we did speak to the acting Police Commissioner, Michael

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Speaker 1: Murphy yesterday and he did say that there's going to

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Speaker 1: be some very you know, there's there is actually quite

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Speaker 1: a bit of work underway right now in terms of

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Speaker 1: the BDR being overhauled, and that we will see some

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Speaker 1: changes to that by the sounds of things, you know,

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Speaker 1: just back to the point though, you know that people

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Speaker 1: traveling to Alice Springs won't be able to enjoy a

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Speaker 1: drink or whatever on Mondays and Tuesdays.

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Speaker 2: But you can still drink in pubs and other outlets,

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Speaker 2: can't you.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, you can, absolutely, But I think some people you know,

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Speaker 3: want to be able to sit in the hotel room.

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Speaker 3: I want to sit at the caravan park and just

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Speaker 3: have a beer at a barbecue. And again we're taking

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Speaker 3: that right away from somebody. So yes, absolutely you can

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Speaker 3: sit in the pub and have a beer and accounty

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Speaker 3: that it's not that's not for everyone. And that's also

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Speaker 3: the part that we need to bewarey of Matt.

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Speaker 1: In an ideal world, from your perspective, what would you know,

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Speaker 1: what would actually be happening right now if it's if

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Speaker 1: it's not the degree that these alcohol extensions are going

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Speaker 1: to be at, what would what would you like to see?

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Speaker 3: Well, I would still like to see you know, that

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Speaker 3: that rehabilitation piece for people who do commit and a

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Speaker 3: crime whilst intoxicated. And also I think we've got to

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Speaker 3: look at, you know, stronger sentences for people who do

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Speaker 3: commit crime. So again we're taking the rights away from

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Speaker 3: everybody else and saying Monday Tuesday, you can't drink alcohol,

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Speaker 3: but if you commit a crime, there's there's no flip

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Speaker 3: side on the other side, So why don't we make

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Speaker 3: it a harsher penalty across the board for the next

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Speaker 3: eighteen months to say if you do this, this is

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Speaker 3: the ramifications, not just a broad brush for everyone. And

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Speaker 3: like I said, there's a majority of the population who

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Speaker 3: do the right thing and a responsible drinking. So I

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Speaker 3: just think, you know, we need to look at it

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Speaker 3: that way. This isn't going to go away, Katie. And

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Speaker 3: we're comparing apples and oranges, to say, July as compared

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Speaker 3: to December. And again, if the stronger futures weren't listed,

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Speaker 3: would we be in this situation? Would have the DV

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Speaker 3: and all the other crime that goes with it, would

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Speaker 3: have that spiked? So Hi, I wouldn't have thought so.

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Speaker 1: Matt Patterson, the mayor of Ellice Springs, Mate, before I

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Speaker 1: let you go, anything else going on in.

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Speaker 2: The Red Center that we should be aware.

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Speaker 4: Of at the moment, I think this is sort of

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Speaker 4: taken taken the conversation for a couple of days.

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Speaker 1: I reckon it will, Mate, there is no doubt about that.

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Speaker 1: And look, I'll be interested to it to catch up

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Speaker 1: with you again, you know, in the coming days or

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Speaker 1: over the next week or so, just to sort of see.

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Speaker 2: How how people are reacting.

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Speaker 1: I know that you know that we probably all sort

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Speaker 1: of knew that there was going to be an announcement

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Speaker 1: on the horizon, but it may have taken some by surprise,

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Speaker 1: and it always takes a little while to sort of,

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Speaker 1: you know, to take it all in.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely Matte. Always good to catch up with you. Thanks

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Speaker 2: so much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 4: Thank you