WEBVTT - Why Victoria is abandoning a second supervised injecting room

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<v Speaker 1>Already and this is the Daily This is the Daily Ours.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh now it makes sense.

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning and welcome to the Daily Ours. It's Thursday,

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<v Speaker 1>the twenty fifth of April. I'm Lucy, I'm Billy. Earlier

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<v Speaker 1>this week, the Victorian government announced it would not go

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<v Speaker 1>ahead with plans to open a second supervised injecting room

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<v Speaker 1>in Melbourne.

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<v Speaker 3>And this issue of the location has been a key

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<v Speaker 3>sticking point. We have been unable to find a location

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<v Speaker 3>that strikes the right balance, to strike that balance between

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<v Speaker 3>supporting people, supporting people who use drugs with the needs

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<v Speaker 3>of the broader community.

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<v Speaker 1>On today's podcast, we're going to look at why the

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<v Speaker 1>Victorian government backflipped on its commitment, what the context of

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<v Speaker 1>the decision is, and how the communities responded. But first, Billy,

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<v Speaker 1>what's making headlines.

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<v Speaker 2>Deaths on Australian roads have increased by eight point two

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<v Speaker 2>percent in the year to March, according to new data

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<v Speaker 2>from the Australian Automobile Association, or the Triple A. New

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<v Speaker 2>South Wales saw the biggest increase in road deaths, followed

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<v Speaker 2>by the NT and Victoria. The Triple A said data

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<v Speaker 2>including the causes of fatal crashes is collected by state

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<v Speaker 2>and territory governments, but is not made public. It has

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<v Speaker 2>called for more transparency so crucial data can inform ways

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<v Speaker 2>to reduce the death toll. The New South Wales government

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<v Speaker 2>has agreed to pay two hundred and thirty million dollars

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<v Speaker 2>to junior doctors over allegations of unpaid overtime and missed

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<v Speaker 2>meal breaks. The class action was first launched in December

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty and sought to compensate junior medical doctors who'd

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<v Speaker 2>allegedly been underpaid in the ten years since the end

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<v Speaker 2>of twenty fourteen. New South Wales Health has now agreed

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<v Speaker 2>to the settlement, which is the largest underpayment class action

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<v Speaker 2>ever in Australia. The US Senate has passed laws on

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<v Speaker 2>Tuesday evening that will force TikTok's Chinese owners to sell

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<v Speaker 2>the app or face a nationwide ban. It follows concerns

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<v Speaker 2>about data sharing between TikTok, who is owned by Chinese

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<v Speaker 2>company Byte Dance, and the Chinese government. The bill will

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<v Speaker 2>force byte Dance to sell to a company outside of China.

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<v Speaker 2>About one hundred and seventy million Americans use TikTok, which

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<v Speaker 2>is roughly half the country's population, and If you want

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<v Speaker 2>more information on that, we have a full episode dedicated

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<v Speaker 2>to that legislation that we will put in the show notes.

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<v Speaker 1>And today's good news, the European Parliament has approved a

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<v Speaker 1>ban on products made with forced labor. This means the

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<v Speaker 1>European Commission will be able to investigate any suspicious manufacturers

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<v Speaker 1>or providers and if forced labor is present in the

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<v Speaker 1>supply chain, those providers will no longer be able to

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<v Speaker 1>sell their products in the EU market. EU countries have

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<v Speaker 1>three years to implement the ban.

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<v Speaker 4>Hey, I'm Nish and I'm the lead developer at the Dallyods.

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<v Speaker 4>I'm responsible for developing all the tech that we use,

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<v Speaker 4>Thank you, and now back to the deep Dive.

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<v Speaker 1>Earlier this week, Victorian Premiere just Int Alan said the

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<v Speaker 1>government is not going to move forward with plans to

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<v Speaker 1>establish a second supervised injecting room in Melbourne. In announcing

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<v Speaker 1>her decision, Alan said her government had found there was

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<v Speaker 1>no appropriate location in Melbourne's CBD that balances the needs

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<v Speaker 1>of people who use drugs with the needs of the

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<v Speaker 1>broader CBD community, and therefore the proposal wasn't going to

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<v Speaker 1>go ahead.

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<v Speaker 2>This was really big news, especially for those in Victoria

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<v Speaker 2>this week, where it has been a really big political

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<v Speaker 2>issue for years. Now. Can we start the conversation by

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<v Speaker 2>you just explaining exactly what is a safe injecting room

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<v Speaker 2>for those who aren't familiar.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, absolutely so. A supervised injecting room is a hygienic

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<v Speaker 1>place where a person can inject drugs under medical supervision.

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<v Speaker 1>Health professionals ask users about what drugs they're taking and

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<v Speaker 1>can quickly respond to an overdose if that happens. Supervised

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<v Speaker 1>injecting facilities can also provide mental health support, treatment for addiction,

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<v Speaker 1>and blood testing services. So the Victorian government has already

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<v Speaker 1>set up a supervised injecting room. They set one up

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<v Speaker 1>in Richmond in twenty eighteen, just outside the Melbourne CBD.

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<v Speaker 1>I also should add that this isn't actually a uniquely

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<v Speaker 1>Victorian idea. There's a supervised injecting room in King's Cross

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<v Speaker 1>in Sydney. It opened in two thousand and one and

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<v Speaker 1>has attended to eleven thousand overdoses. So in Sydney they've

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<v Speaker 1>responded to eleven thousand overdoses. What about in Victoria? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so the Richmond facility has responded to more than eight

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<v Speaker 1>thousand overdoses. That's since opening in twenty eighteen, and an

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<v Speaker 1>independent review actually found it saved more than sixty lives.

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<v Speaker 2>Wow.

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<v Speaker 1>In June twenty twenty, then Premier Daniel Andrews committed to

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<v Speaker 1>opening up a second injecting site in the CBD.

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<v Speaker 3>Right.

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<v Speaker 2>So we had Dan Andrews, the former Premier of Victoria,

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<v Speaker 2>committing four years ago to opening a new site. Yea,

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<v Speaker 2>what has happened between then and now? That's quite a while. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>So a month after Andrews promised to open a new site,

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<v Speaker 1>his government commissioned an inquiry to look at how this

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<v Speaker 1>would work, to consult with the relevant stakeholders. That report,

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<v Speaker 1>led by former head of Victoria Police Ken Lay, handed

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<v Speaker 1>down its recommendations in May twenty twenty three. But we

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<v Speaker 1>actually only just got to read its findings this week.

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<v Speaker 1>It's taken nearly a year for the government to make

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<v Speaker 1>that report public, a year in which obviously Daniel Andrews resigned.

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<v Speaker 1>In that report, it was noted there were fifty four

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<v Speaker 1>drug deaths in the City of Melbourne area between twenty

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<v Speaker 1>twenty and twenty twenty one, making it the deadliest site

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<v Speaker 1>for drug use in the whole state of Victoria. And

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<v Speaker 1>so in the end, the report recommended setting up a

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<v Speaker 1>small supervised injecting room in Melbourne's CBD.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, I'm a little confused. So my understanding is the

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<v Speaker 2>government commissioned this report which was made public this week,

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<v Speaker 2>and that recommended opening up the second site. But then

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<v Speaker 2>also this week the government has told us that that

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<v Speaker 2>won't be happening despite that recommendation.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that right, Yeah, So the government has had time

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<v Speaker 1>to consider the recommendations of this report, and basically what

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<v Speaker 1>came out this week was new Premier just Inter Allen

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<v Speaker 1>admitted that they couldn't find a suitable location for that

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<v Speaker 1>supervised injecting room in Melbourne CBD, and she said this

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<v Speaker 1>was disappointing. The government did accept Lay's other recommendations to

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<v Speaker 1>improve healthcare responses and treatments for people struggling with addiction.

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<v Speaker 1>So essentially they said they've accepted all the recommendations other

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<v Speaker 1>than the recommendations related to setting up another supervised injecting

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<v Speaker 1>room in the CBD, right, And.

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<v Speaker 2>So what has their response been to this announcement.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, yeah, as you can imagine, pretty varied responses. So

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<v Speaker 1>on the one hand, we've heard from the Victorian Liberals.

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<v Speaker 1>They're the opposition who've remained really against the idea of

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<v Speaker 1>supervised injecting rooms existing in the first.

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<v Speaker 2>Place, so they're happy with this decision they are.

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<v Speaker 1>Before the twenty eighteen state election, the Victorian Liberals said

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<v Speaker 1>they would shut down the Richmond injecting room if they

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<v Speaker 1>got in. They weren't elected, so that supervised injecting room

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<v Speaker 1>remains open today. But that gives you kind of a

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<v Speaker 1>sense of their position in regard to this latest announcement.

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<v Speaker 1>The opposition said they were in favor of the government's decision.

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<v Speaker 1>Shadow Mental Health Minister Emma Keeley said the government's decision

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<v Speaker 1>to walk away from a second injecting room is the

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<v Speaker 1>right outcome, and she said, quote, this long overdue decision

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<v Speaker 1>ends years of uncertainty for residents, traders and visitors to

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<v Speaker 1>Melbourne's CBD.

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<v Speaker 2>I presume not everyone agrees with that position, though I'm

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<v Speaker 2>sure there would be some people who would be quite

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<v Speaker 2>disappointed by this decision.

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<v Speaker 1>That's right. So on the other hand, we have the

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<v Speaker 1>Greens in Victoria who said the decision was spineless. Newly

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<v Speaker 1>appointed Green's leader Ellen Sandal, whose electric actually covers the CBD,

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<v Speaker 1>said quote it leaves people who are struggling with heroin

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<v Speaker 1>addiction to die on the streets of Melbourne. So pretty

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<v Speaker 1>strong language from the Greens there. And the Victorian Alcohol

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<v Speaker 1>and Drug Association, the state's peak body for services in

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<v Speaker 1>drugs and alcohol, agreed and said the decision was disappointing.

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<v Speaker 1>So CEO Chris Christofferu said experts had backed a second

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<v Speaker 1>injecting room, obviously referring to the Lay report, and said

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<v Speaker 1>quote fear and stigma continue to obstruct good public policy. However,

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<v Speaker 1>the association did welcome the state government's plans to improve

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<v Speaker 1>access to drug related services across the state.

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<v Speaker 2>A really interesting discussion about harminimization. I remember hearing about

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<v Speaker 2>this pretty much. I think my whole life I've heard

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<v Speaker 2>about this debate about safe injecting rooms, so I'm sure

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<v Speaker 2>it's one that we will continue to hear about. But

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<v Speaker 2>thank you so much for your explainer today, Lucy.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for having me, Billy, and thank.

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<v Speaker 2>You so much for listening. To today's podcast and as

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<v Speaker 2>you heard Nish before, it would be a big help

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<v Speaker 2>if you can press follow on Spotify or Apple. It

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<v Speaker 2>really helps get us up the charts and helps new

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<v Speaker 2>listeners find us. Thank you so much and we will

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<v Speaker 2>see you again tomorrow.

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<v Speaker 1>My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Adunda

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<v Speaker 1>bunge Lung Chalcuttin woman from Gadigol Country.

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<v Speaker 2>The Daily oz acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on

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<v Speaker 2>the lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to

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<v Speaker 2>all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island and nations. We pay

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<v Speaker 2>our respects to the first peoples of these countries, both

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<v Speaker 2>past and present.