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Speaker 1: Now, yesterday we learned that the national carrier Quantus is

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Speaker 1: going to close one of its two dar to London

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Speaker 1: services and return it to Perth three weeks earlier than

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Speaker 1: originally scheduled. So it is like QF nine and ten

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Speaker 1: now going to depart from Perth instead of Darwin on

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Speaker 1: May twenty three. They were previously scheduled to return to

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Speaker 1: Perth from June nineteen. Joining me on the line to

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Speaker 1: tell us a little bit more is the Minister for

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Speaker 1: Tourism and also Health, Natasha Files.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to.

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Speaker 3: You, Good morning, good morning listening.

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Speaker 2: Now, Minister, have we been used by Quantas?

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Speaker 3: I think that we grab an opportunity and we are

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Speaker 3: certainly at the forefront of Corners's mind in terms of

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Speaker 3: being a destination but also a transit hub you know

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Speaker 3: into Asia and as we've seen across inter Europe now,

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Speaker 3: so you know this is making the most of an opportunity.

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Speaker 3: But I think that you have seen the E one

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Speaker 3: ninety base announced here and that provides a lot of

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Speaker 3: opportunities for us. So we're committed to working with quantas

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Speaker 3: Darwin International Airport to ensure that we can progress what

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Speaker 3: has been an opportunity through COVID into something into the future.

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Speaker 2: Minister.

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Speaker 1: We're just having a bit of an issue with your

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Speaker 1: phone line there. It sounds like like something is covering

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Speaker 1: you up. I don't know exactly what the go is,

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Speaker 1: but hopefully we're able to get it sorted. But once

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Speaker 1: again I believe we are joined on the line by

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Speaker 1: the Health Minister.

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Speaker 2: Let's a bit better this time. Good morning, minister.

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Speaker 4: We're not having good use of technology lately.

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Speaker 1: Will be sorry about all right, we can hear you

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Speaker 1: now now, Minister. I obviously we've just discussed this situation

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Speaker 1: with quantas you know, winding back that London to Darwin

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Speaker 1: or Darwin to London service. Are we still going to

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Speaker 1: have a service that does go direct to London?

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Speaker 4: It's o Katie. This was an opportunity that COVID presented

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Speaker 4: and we had a lot of people within the Northern

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Speaker 4: Territory government and Darwen International Airport work extremely hard to

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Speaker 4: make that happen and it certainly puts the territory in

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Speaker 4: Darwin at the forefront of Quantus's mind. So this was

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Speaker 4: an opportunity. We will see that flight changed back to Perth,

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Speaker 4: but we're certainly working with Quantus into the future. We've

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Speaker 4: seen the announcement of the E one to ninety base,

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Speaker 4: which is a wonderful opportunity for our region. So we'll

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Speaker 4: keep working with Contus.

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Speaker 2: But so as of so, when does it end?

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Speaker 1: Is it from obviously they're winding it back now, but

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Speaker 1: from June nineteen?

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Speaker 2: Is that it? Then we no longer have that direct flight.

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Speaker 4: That would be an operational question from Quantus. But my

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Speaker 4: understanding is towards the end of May we'll see that

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Speaker 4: route head back down to Perth. But as I just said,

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Speaker 4: we'll keep working with Quantus around any opportunities and the

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Speaker 4: agility the territory is shown and also a shout out

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Speaker 4: to go on International Airport. It was you know, the

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Speaker 4: team out there that also made this happen.

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Speaker 1: All right, So obviously there is still the other hub

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Speaker 1: that they're moving here. You know, I take on board

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Speaker 1: what you're saying that we're going to be trying to

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Speaker 1: work with Quantus to do it. But we just to

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Speaker 1: confirm for our listeners, but we have we're not going

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Speaker 1: to be continuing the direct flight to lund and correct Katie. Okay,

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Speaker 1: let's talk about health funding now. Yesterday you announced the

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Speaker 1: government's plans to bolster the capacity at Royal dal And

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Speaker 1: Hospital as part of that two billion dollar investment into

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Speaker 1: health infrastructure and services across the territory for the budget

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Speaker 1: which is indeed being delivered next week.

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Speaker 2: What exactly is this going to enable?

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Speaker 4: So the health budget is the largest single component of

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Speaker 4: the Northern Territory government budget and we provide healthcare right

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Speaker 4: across the territory eighty remote clinics, six hospitals and so

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Speaker 4: two billion dollars ensuring the health and care of Territorians.

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Speaker 4: And this is from primary health care to those allied

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Speaker 4: health support services right through to that acute care program

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Speaker 4: such as the cyclotron coming online are all funded in

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Speaker 4: this year's budget.

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Speaker 1: Is it going to mean that you know that our

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Speaker 1: weight list for things like elective surgery are hopefully going

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Speaker 1: to move more quickly.

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Speaker 4: Absolutely, we're focused in COVID is still with it and

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Speaker 4: we have a number of people in hospital and idowledge

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Speaker 4: a health staff that are working extremely hard caring for them.

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Speaker 4: But this acknowledges those demand pressures and how we can

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Speaker 4: work through providing that high quality care that Territorians deserve.

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Speaker 1: Now, just again on that, you know, on that topic

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Speaker 1: of health, it does seem as though it's a bit

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Speaker 1: of a decrease in funding for the health system on

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Speaker 1: last year though, is it, Yeah.

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Speaker 4: Katie, So it is important. Last year we had the

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Speaker 4: Center for National Resilience five hundred million approximately from the

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Speaker 4: Commonwealth that came through the health budget as a sub

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Speaker 4: agreement of the National Partnership Agreement. There was also other

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Speaker 4: aspects to COVID that the Commonwealth government funded. So it's

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Speaker 4: not a cut in any services, but it is a

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Speaker 4: decrease in those overall numbers for the reasons I just outlined.

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Speaker 1: Is it going to mean that we're going to you know,

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Speaker 1: that we're going to see cutbacks within the hospital.

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Speaker 4: No, Katie, So it need to be very clear with territory.

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Speaker 4: And this is a decrease in that overall number. It's

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Speaker 4: related to COVID and Center for National Resilient Resilience costs

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Speaker 4: that we saw in the last financial year. But it's

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Speaker 4: not a increase in any services. We're absolutely committed to

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Speaker 4: the health and care of Territorians from remote communities right

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Speaker 4: through to our cute hospitals.

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Speaker 1: So with the Center for National Resilience, what is happening

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Speaker 1: with it now? Are we going to have continued funding

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Speaker 1: in like, is there going to be funding any funding

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Speaker 1: in the Northern Territories budget for it or are we

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Speaker 1: just reliant on the Federal government if we are going

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Speaker 1: to keep it sort of operational.

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Speaker 4: As we know how it Springs is provided an amazing opportunity.

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Speaker 4: It's cared for Territorians, but it's provided repatriation for Territorians

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Speaker 4: and Australians back home. And also it's going forward, we'll

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Speaker 4: look at with the Commonwealth how we can utilize that facility.

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Speaker 4: So it's anticipated from June thirty that it'll go to

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Speaker 4: a different phase, but we would have the facility ready

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Speaker 4: to stand up if we were to use it or

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Speaker 4: need to use it, I should say, And.

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Speaker 1: So what exactly will that phase be from June thirty?

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Speaker 1: Is it sort of shutting it down?

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Speaker 4: So it would be exactly as I just said that

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Speaker 4: if we needed to utilize it, and if we did

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Speaker 4: need to utilize it fairly quickly, and when I say

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Speaker 4: fairly quickly, sort of within a week or so. If

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Speaker 4: we were to see a new variant, COVID has had

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Speaker 4: many twists and turns and things are looking promising presently,

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Speaker 4: but if we were to see perhaps a new variant

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Speaker 4: and we needed to quarantine people coming into Australia or

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Speaker 4: we needed it for our youth. We'd need to be

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Speaker 4: able to stand the facility up quickly, and so in

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Speaker 4: terms of it phase post June thirty, we would accommodate that.

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Speaker 4: In it well it.

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Speaker 1: Cost, I mean, how much is it going to cost

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Speaker 1: the taxpayer to sort of keep it there ready to

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Speaker 1: stand up at any moment.

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Speaker 4: So in terms of we're working with the Commonwealth to

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Speaker 4: see what support they obviously have been able to utilize

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Speaker 4: the facility. It's been a great working relationship. I think

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Speaker 4: it's important that we are careful with taxpayer dollars, but

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Speaker 4: we do need to spend something in terms of making

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Speaker 4: sure that it can be stood up. But we don't

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Speaker 4: want to be having services that aren't necessary out there.

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Speaker 1: But so ultimately from June thirty, we're not really going

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Speaker 1: to have staff out there or anything.

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Speaker 4: So that is what I anticipate, and we'll be able

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Speaker 4: to provide further information as we get closer to that

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Speaker 4: timeframe exactly who's out there, what's happening, so Terrortorians can understand.

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Speaker 4: When we received the facility from IMPEX a few years ago,

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Speaker 4: there was sort of a care and maintenance program. So

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Speaker 4: looking at what we did have, what it took to

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Speaker 4: stand it up, there was quite a bit of work

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Speaker 4: with plumbing, infrastructure, pest control for example. But what do

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Speaker 4: we need to maintain it to a point that we

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Speaker 4: can then stand that up as I just pointed out,

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Speaker 4: within that timeframe of about a week if we were

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Speaker 4: to see it needing to be utilized for COVID.

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Speaker 2: All right, Minister, I do want to move along.

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Speaker 1: You and I have spoken at lengths about the alcohol

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Speaker 1: legislation for communities. It's a topic which a lot of

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Speaker 1: people seem to be pretty concerned about. We spoke to

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Speaker 1: Marian Scrimjaw yesterday. Labour's candidate Feline Gillari. This is what

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Speaker 1: she had to say on the show yesterday.

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Speaker 5: But it might be a good idea to talk to

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Speaker 5: Selena as the Attorney General about that Northern Territory and

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Speaker 5: what that process will be going forward.

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Speaker 3: But I will be certainly.

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Speaker 5: Advocating to the Northern Territory government that we maintain those

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Speaker 5: restrictions in those communities. We cannot have open flavor into

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Speaker 5: those communities.

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Speaker 4: Katie.

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Speaker 5: We're seeing a lot of dysfunction and unreas that's happening.

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Speaker 1: Minister, there does not seem to be like there seems

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Speaker 1: to be a lot of differing opinions in this space.

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Speaker 1: Are you anticipating that these changes, well, that there's going

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Speaker 1: to be changes needed to be made to this legislation

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Speaker 1: before it's even debated.

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Speaker 4: So, Katie, there is a lot of opinions and there's

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Speaker 4: a lot of views, and the policy of alcohol is

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Speaker 4: a difficult space. But we have and as we've spoken

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Speaker 4: about previously, the intervention and then stronger futures bought in

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Speaker 4: Commonwealth legislation that restricted takeaway alcohol across the Northern Territory

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Speaker 4: in town camps, outstations and communities ceases in July, and

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Speaker 4: so then essentially there will be no framework to restrict

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Speaker 4: the supply of alcohol. What we're doing is we, within

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Speaker 4: our legal capacity, is introducing the legislation that's that's in

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Speaker 4: the House and we anticipated all pass in May that

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Speaker 4: allows communities outstation town camps to opt in to remain

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Speaker 4: dry areas. And so we're doing that within our legal

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Speaker 4: framework that doesn't intervene with the Northern Territory Racial Discriminate

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Speaker 4: Sorry the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act or the Northern Territory

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Speaker 4: Anti Discrimination Act. This is complex the policy area, but

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Speaker 4: we are providing a mechanism. Some are criticizing that mechanism,

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Speaker 4: but it is a mechanism that we have to do

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Speaker 4: that well.

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Speaker 1: I mean, you've even got the lots of Marion Strmjaw obviously,

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Speaker 1: who is part of the Labor Party, is saying that

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Speaker 1: she's got serious concerns about this. She spoke to me

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Speaker 1: on the show yesterday and said that she's also spoken

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Speaker 1: to the Attorney General Selena Rubo about it, She's spoken

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Speaker 1: to Chancey Paged about it, and that you know the

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Speaker 1: she's got serious concerns in this space.

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Speaker 2: Do you have the support of your colleagues on this?

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Speaker 4: Absolutely?

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Speaker 3: So.

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Speaker 4: This legislation allows those areas to remain dry, the status

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Speaker 4: quo which many people are calling for post July. If

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Speaker 4: we were to do nothing in this space because the

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Speaker 4: Commonwealth legislation ends, there would be no restrictions. So I

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Speaker 4: know people are saying it's not ideal, it's not what

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Speaker 4: we want, but within the legislative framework, this is all

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Speaker 4: we can do.

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Speaker 2: Well, Minister, I am going to have to leave it there.

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Speaker 1: Unfortunately, we've got a very full out we appreciate your

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Speaker 1: time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you,