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Speaker 1: Well, we are being inundated with messages following that discussion

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Speaker 1: with the CPSU just a few moments ago. There's one

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Speaker 1: here that says, don't forget they also get an increase

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Speaker 1: in annual leave to go with this proposed pay rise.

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Speaker 1: That's another cost for US taxpayers. One here from an

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Speaker 1: anonymous Texter and it says, Hi, Katie, I'm one of

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Speaker 1: those public servants supposedly dismissed. Yet I and others have

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Speaker 1: not been informed of this. Is it still in the

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Speaker 1: consultation phase with the employer. Therefore, Gunner announcing I'm dismissed

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Speaker 1: before going through this is good grounds for unfeared dismissal,

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Speaker 1: says that message. A lot of you pretty fired up

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Speaker 1: for various reasons. But we are going to move along

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Speaker 1: because we know that it was reported yesterday that the

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Speaker 1: coalition is split over One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson's new

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Speaker 1: legislation vowing to make it illegal to discriminate against the unvaccinated,

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Speaker 1: with five Senators crossing the floor over the bill, Senators

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Speaker 1: Jared Rennick, Alex Antik, Matt Canavan, can Chetta Fairreventis and

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory Senator Sam McMahon were the Coalition members

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Speaker 1: to cross the floor despite the five senator's decision to

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Speaker 1: vote against the government. The bill was defeated five votes

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Speaker 1: to forty four in the Upper House. Now joining me

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Speaker 1: on the line is the Senator for the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 1: Sam McMahon.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Yeah, good morning, Katie, Good morning to you listens.

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Speaker 3: Senator. Why did you cross the floor on this.

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Speaker 4: Cdy?

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Speaker 2: I did because I've basically been inundated with messages from

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Speaker 2: Territorians phone calls, emails, messages that are very unhappy about

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Speaker 2: the vaccine mandate and have been peppering me with messages

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Speaker 2: to essentially do something. You know, that's the thing I

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Speaker 2: get asked is do something? Can you please do something?

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Speaker 2: So this was an opportunity to stand up for those

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Speaker 2: Territorians who who want something done about done on his

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Speaker 2: vaccine mandate.

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Speaker 1: So, Senator, are you opposed to the vaccine mandate?

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Speaker 2: I am opposed to the vaccine mandate, Katie. Look, Federally,

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Speaker 2: we've always said right from the start that we don't

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Speaker 2: support vaccine mandates. We strongly support vaccination and we encourage

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Speaker 2: everyone to be vaccinated, but it shouldn't be mandated and

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Speaker 2: that's a federal government's stance, and.

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Speaker 3: That is also my man, are you vaccinated?

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Speaker 2: I am totally fully vaccinated. Couldn't line up quick enough.

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Speaker 2: I fully support vaccination, and as I said, I encourage

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Speaker 2: everyone to do so, but I respect individual people's rights

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Speaker 2: not to do so for various different reasons.

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Speaker 1: Now, we caught up with the federal Health Minister Greg

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Speaker 1: Hunt yesterday and certainly asked him whether he would be

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Speaker 1: supporting this bell take a listen to what he'd told us.

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Speaker 1: Pauline Hanson is claiming that she's going to cause havoc

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Speaker 1: unless Scott Morrison backs her legislation making it unlawful to

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Speaker 1: discriminate against unvaccinated orsi's. It could affect the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: more than anywhere else, as we are one of the

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Speaker 1: only places where the federal government could obviously overrule our government.

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Speaker 1: Will the government be supporting that legislation.

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Speaker 4: No. Our approach is to be announced to encourage Australians

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Speaker 4: to take up the vaccine. We may not agree with

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Speaker 4: some of the things some of the states and territories

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Speaker 4: are doing. We may not agree with some of the

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Speaker 4: things that Senator Hanson is proposing. Our job is to

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Speaker 4: chart that middle course of lives and livelihoods.

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Speaker 1: So it doesn't sound as though the government would overturn

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory's vaccine mandate.

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Speaker 4: No, there are no plans to do that.

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Speaker 1: So, Senator, are you out of line with the you know,

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Speaker 1: the parties that you're part of.

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Speaker 2: No, No, not at all. Look, it was made very

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Speaker 2: clear yesterday morning that, you know, one of the things

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Speaker 2: about our side of politics is that we do allow

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Speaker 2: individuals to have their say, and we do allow individuals

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Speaker 2: to vote differently to the government. So that was made

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Speaker 2: very clear yesterday morning, both of us that decided to

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Speaker 2: vote with it. We're not out of line, not out

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Speaker 2: of step, but we did exercise our right to do that.

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Speaker 2: And look, I understand why most of my colleagues voted

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Speaker 2: against it, because there certainly were quite a few things

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Speaker 2: in Pauline's bill that would have been unworkable, very difficult

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Speaker 2: to work or implement with. I have stated publicly that

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Speaker 2: if the opportunity had been there, I would have proposed

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Speaker 2: to move quite significant amendments to the bill. And the

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Speaker 2: opinion of many of my colleagues was they supported the

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Speaker 2: sentiment of it, but they couldn't vote for the detail.

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Speaker 1: Well, I mean, when it came down to it, though,

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Speaker 1: there was only five of you, and I know that

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Speaker 1: you know that. Obviously, Senator Rennick and also Senator Antik

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Speaker 1: have warned that they would not vote in favor of

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Speaker 1: Coalition legislation unless the Prime Minister does take some action

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Speaker 1: against mandatory vaccine policies imposed by states. Are you going

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Speaker 1: to be withholding your vote now on other legislation.

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Speaker 2: No, No, not at all, Katie. Look, I understand that

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Speaker 2: they have been reported as saying that is their position.

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Speaker 2: I haven't actually spoken them to them directly on it,

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Speaker 2: but that's reported as their position. But no, I'm not

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Speaker 2: going to do that. And the reason that I'm not

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Speaker 2: going to do that is because I don't believe in

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Speaker 2: holding the government and the people of Australia effectively to

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Speaker 2: ransom to get what I want, and that's what I'd

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Speaker 2: be doing. You know that this will put the whole

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Speaker 2: two weeks of Parliament wouldn't be able to pass vital

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Speaker 2: legislation that improves the lives of ordinary Australia and I'm

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Speaker 2: certainly I wasn't put in this place to do that,

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Speaker 2: so I'm certainly not going to take that course of action.

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Speaker 1: Well, we know yesterday morning, obviously you'd issued a statement

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Speaker 1: saying that you're a private senator's bill had been pushed

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Speaker 1: off the not after one Nation Senator Pauline Hanson hijacked

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Speaker 1: legislation priorities. You'd said, I'm extremely disappointed this has occurred

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Speaker 1: to all Territorians, and I am. I was pushing, along

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Speaker 1: with other senior government leaders for this to occur. However,

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Speaker 1: Senator Hanson made it quite clear where her priorities were,

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Speaker 1: and they aren't Territorians. How can you send that pressure

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Speaker 1: release out in the morning Having a crack at Pauline

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Speaker 1: Hanson then crossed the floor to support her hours later.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, it sounds a bit funny, doesn't it. I'm

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Speaker 2: cranky at Pauline for blackmailing the government and taking priority

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Speaker 2: over my legislation. Yes, I support the sentiment of her bill.

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Speaker 2: So yes, it does sound a little bit confused.

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Speaker 3: It sort of sounds like hedging your bets both ways.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: No, I'm still cranky that she did it, and I

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Speaker 2: think she could have still put her bill up without

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Speaker 2: making all these demands. So I'm still cranky that she

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Speaker 2: did it, but I do support the sentiment of her bill,

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Speaker 2: So a little bit confusing.

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Speaker 1: Where are we at now then with you know, with

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Speaker 1: the bills that you had pushed forward, that that you

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Speaker 1: know you had been very passionate about.

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Speaker 3: Where are we at now with that?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah, And Katie that the point is that, no matter,

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Speaker 2: no matter what I had done, my bill wasn't going

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Speaker 2: to get on the notice paper yesterday because the government

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Speaker 2: was forced into caving into Pauline. So nothing I could

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Speaker 2: have done would have changed that. But my bills?

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Speaker 3: Have you supported her? You then supported it?

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Speaker 2: No, I supported the sentiment of her bill, not what

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Speaker 2: she did.

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Speaker 3: You cross the floor, but you crossed the floor to

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Speaker 3: support her.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. As I said, I support the intent and the

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Speaker 2: sentiment of her bill. I don't support the way she

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Speaker 2: got it on there. So I know it might sound confusing,

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Speaker 2: but they're two very very different, two very different positions.

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Speaker 1: It doesn't actually sound confusing. It doesn't sound confusing. It

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Speaker 1: sounds like you're hedging your bets either way. If I'm

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Speaker 1: going to be bluntly honest about it.

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Speaker 2: No, not at all. I couldn't stop her bill coming on.

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Speaker 2: I couldn't stop that she forced the government into letting

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Speaker 2: her have her way and pushing her bill through ahead

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Speaker 2: of other legislation like mine. That happened. There's nothing I

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Speaker 2: could do to stop that. Now my bill is still

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Speaker 2: sitting there. I am still hopeful that it could come

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Speaker 2: up as early as this fortnight, or if not, in

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Speaker 2: the next sitting session. So it's still sitting there. It

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Speaker 2: hasn't disappeared now, it's just been put back a priority

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Speaker 2: from Pauline's as I said, because she blackmailed the government.

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Speaker 2: I could have done the same thing. I could have

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Speaker 2: thrown my toys out of the cot and stamped my

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Speaker 2: feet and said I'm not voting for anything. I'm going

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Speaker 2: to hold the Australian public to ransom. But I chose

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Speaker 2: not to do that, which you know, I believe is

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Speaker 2: the right thing to do. I don't think your public

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Speaker 2: put me there to be obstructive to the government.

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Speaker 3: Sizen. We are going to have to move along.

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Speaker 1: We're going to have to move along because we are

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Speaker 1: just running out of time. I do want to ask you,

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Speaker 1: and this is a really important question from one of

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Speaker 1: our listeners, Benny.

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Speaker 3: He says, Hi, Katie.

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Speaker 1: The announcement from Scott Morrison yesterday about opening the international

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Speaker 1: borders to visa holders and students. Does this include the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory and if so, how's quarantine going to work? Senator,

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Speaker 1: do you have any update for us on that situation

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Speaker 1: for territori ents?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I do, look at is going to include the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory absolutely, But unfortunately we fall back on this

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Speaker 2: problem that quarantine arrangements are a function of the states

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Speaker 2: and territories, So it will actually be up to the

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Speaker 2: Gunner government as to how they implement quarantine and what

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Speaker 2: spaces they make available for these visa holders and students.

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Speaker 1: What would you like to see happen with that with

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Speaker 1: those quarantine arrangements? Do you reckon they need to make

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Speaker 1: some space within Howard Springs for this?

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Speaker 2: Well, there's Howard Springs, which I understand they're nervous about

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Speaker 2: at the moment with the current COVID outbreak in the NT,

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Speaker 2: but there's also Bladon Village sitting there. So you know,

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Speaker 2: I've said all along I'd like to see Bladon Village

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Speaker 2: used to bring in international students, to bring in workers,

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Speaker 2: so you know that facility is there, and I hope

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Speaker 2: if they need Howard Springs for territorians that they would

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Speaker 2: look at using Bladon Village for bringing in some of

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Speaker 2: these people.

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Speaker 4: Well.

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Speaker 1: Senator for the Northern Territory Sam McMahon, always appreciate your time.

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Speaker 3: Thank you very much for speaking with me this morning.

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Speaker 3: No thanks, thank you,