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Speaker 1: It is twenty five minutes away from ten o'clock. Now,

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Speaker 1: we learned yesterday that the Senator for the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 1: Melanderie McCarthy, had confirmed that her sister is the case

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Speaker 1: in Robinson River of coronavirus and that members of her

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Speaker 1: family have been impacted by this current situation. Senator for

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory Melandarie McCarthy joins me on the line

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Speaker 1: right now. Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and hello to all your listeners.

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Speaker 1: Melandarie, firstly, how is your sister at the moment.

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Speaker 2: Well, I'm really very thankful I could speak to her

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Speaker 2: this morning, Katie. I wasn't able to in the last

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Speaker 2: twenty four hours. She's certainly been quite unwell, but this

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Speaker 2: morning it was really nice to hear her voice. So

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Speaker 2: fingers crossed things might be looking on the up. But

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Speaker 2: I don't want to speak too soon, I guess.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, Now, I know it's not just your sister

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Speaker 1: obviously who is unwell with COVID, but a number of

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Speaker 1: other family members. Can you talk us through who and

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Speaker 1: how they're going?

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Speaker 2: Sure, Look, my sister was on our way back to

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Speaker 2: Robinson River, and we have my Annie and uncle who

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Speaker 2: live in Catherine, so she naturally stayed with them on

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Speaker 2: her way through. And so my annie and uncle and

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Speaker 2: cousins are all in Howard Springs now too, and I've

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Speaker 2: been speaking with them this morning, and just know that

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Speaker 2: they're all still anxious, Katie, as we all are, but

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Speaker 2: they are in the right place, and I've certainly reassured

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Speaker 2: them that they are in the right place. And just

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Speaker 2: to let us know, I guess, and certainly let the

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Speaker 2: people there know in terms of the nursing staff and

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Speaker 2: others who might be at Howard Springs with them of

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Speaker 2: any issues that they may have. But I'm very pleased

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Speaker 2: that they're there safely, certainly pleased I speaking to my

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Speaker 2: aunt and uncle. You know they're double backs. It is important.

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Speaker 2: This is a serious disease. And you know we're yet

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Speaker 2: to hear about Robinson River, and I know that the

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Speaker 2: Chief Minister and Health Minister will no doubt inform us

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Speaker 2: in due course. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Now, Melandery, I know that one of the people that

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Speaker 1: the Chief Minister spoke of yesterday, a sixty five year old,

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Speaker 1: had to be taken to Royal Darwin Hospital. Is that

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Speaker 1: one of your family members? And how are they at

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Speaker 1: this point.

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Speaker 2: Yes, that is correct. She is a family member, and

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Speaker 2: I'm unable to say what's happening there. All I can say,

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Speaker 2: Katie is that those who are still at how It

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Speaker 2: Springs are the ones that I'm communicating with.

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Speaker 1: Well, look, I really hope that they make a full

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Speaker 1: recovery and that they are going to be okay. It

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Speaker 1: must have been pretty frightening for you learning that this

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Speaker 1: was your sister who had tested positive to COVID.

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Speaker 2: Oh, it was devastating, you know. Monday was a really

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Speaker 2: really difficult day for everyone until we could wait to

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Speaker 2: see what was going on in terms of her results,

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Speaker 2: but also the sheer ramification of what it meant for

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Speaker 2: all of those people at Robinson, all the different community

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Speaker 2: and clan groups and kinship groups, but also nearby Borilula.

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Speaker 2: This is an anxious time for everyone, but it's also

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Speaker 2: time to support one another, to look out for one

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Speaker 2: another and be mindful that we can get through this.

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Speaker 2: But we also have to be clear when authorities ask

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Speaker 2: for assistance with contact tracing that we're providing all the information,

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Speaker 2: and that's something I'm encouraging family members to make sure

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Speaker 2: they're doing. But I also encourage all Territorians who are

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Speaker 2: being asked please let them know where you've been, who

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Speaker 2: you've been talking to or in contact with, because this

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Speaker 2: is a really serious matter for us here in the

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Speaker 2: territory and the fact that everyone has to wear masks

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Speaker 2: until next Monday right across the Northern Territory shows how

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Speaker 2: serious this is.

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Speaker 1: Melan, Dearie, are you concerned at this point not only

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Speaker 1: for the other residents in Robinson River but also for

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Speaker 1: the people of Borolula.

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Speaker 2: I am, Katie. I've certainly raised that, raised that on

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Speaker 2: Monday with the Northern Territory Health Minister, who's very aware

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Speaker 2: of that. But again, as I've said in previous interviews,

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Speaker 2: I'm obviously not privy to further information and that's for

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Speaker 2: the Cabinet and the Chief Minister and Health Minister to

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Speaker 2: make in consultation with the Chief Health Officer and the

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Speaker 2: Police Commissioner. And clearly they made a decision not to

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Speaker 2: lock down Borlola. I'm hoping that I'm wrong and they're

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Speaker 2: right about that, and I guess we'll see today.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I know that yesterday when we caught up with

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Speaker 1: John Patterson from am Sand he had certainly called for

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Speaker 1: borol Lulla to be locked down as well, and had

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Speaker 1: spoken of the concern that he's got about about COVID spreading.

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Speaker 1: Given you know how transient some of us are and

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Speaker 1: how often people are traveling around in the territory.

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Speaker 2: Well, let's have a look at just a distance between

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Speaker 2: Robinson River and borol La, Katie. It's really, you know,

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Speaker 2: close to an hour and a half to two hours

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Speaker 2: drive between the two communities. Robinson's much smaller, with over

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Speaker 2: three hundred people. Borolla is the larger town that people

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Speaker 2: in Robinson go to to pick up their parcels, their mails,

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Speaker 2: anything that might have come in on the trucks or supplies,

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Speaker 2: but also to see family and whether the rivers are up,

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Speaker 2: whether it's the foolish or the weir and rivers. People

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Speaker 2: wait for the rivers to go down, and then they'll

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Speaker 2: drive into town and then they'll try and get back

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Speaker 2: before the rivers go back up again. So this is

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Speaker 2: the way of life in that part of the Gulf.

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Speaker 2: And that was why I knew that people have been

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Speaker 2: traveling between Robinson and Boroloula.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and again you know the concern obviously for Robinson

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Speaker 1: River and Borolula and also for Catherine. So many residents

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Speaker 1: of Catherine, so many exposure sites. Now are those new

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Speaker 1: sites being listed? It's a real worry at this point,

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Speaker 1: it is.

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Speaker 2: But we have to be vigilant and I think we

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Speaker 2: still have to remain hopeful. People just need to do

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Speaker 2: the right thing, Katie, get vaccinated if you are in

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Speaker 2: Catherine or just anywhere in the territory, actually just get vaccinated.

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Speaker 2: I mean, this is about lessening the impact on yourself,

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Speaker 2: your family, your community, and the people of the territory.

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Speaker 1: Melan, Dearie. For your family members, were they vaccinated or

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Speaker 1: is there still some hesitancy in those communities.

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Speaker 2: Look, my family members have told me that they were

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Speaker 2: double vaxed. Certainly I know that a couple of them

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Speaker 2: were not. One of them had had gone to get

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Speaker 2: a vaccination and this is how it was discovered. So

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Speaker 2: clearly hesitancy wasn't an issue. It was about being able

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Speaker 2: to just have access to go get the vaccination. But

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Speaker 2: most of them are double edaxed as far as I'm aware,

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Speaker 2: and you know, I just encourage others to keep doing

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Speaker 2: that as well. I am proud of my family members

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Speaker 2: who have done the right thing here to get double

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Speaker 2: vaxed and I'm certainly proud of those in the Gulf

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Speaker 2: region who are getting vaxed and making sure they look

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Speaker 2: after themselves in their communities.

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Speaker 1: Are you worried about the vaccination rate or the rollout

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Speaker 1: of that vaccine in some locations? I know our territory

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Speaker 1: health bitist has been on the show at different times

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Speaker 1: and said, you know, anybody who wants to get vaccinated

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Speaker 1: at this point should have been able to because there

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Speaker 1: is vaccine out there. Are you luck Are you worried

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Speaker 1: about the vaccination rates?

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Speaker 2: Look, I think we've all been worried about the vaccination rates, Katie.

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Speaker 2: It's important that people get vaccinated. I drove right across

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Speaker 2: the Western Desert region encouraging people from you know, La

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Speaker 2: Jamanu to your Demoda Santa Trez. They're and up the

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Speaker 2: track to get vaccinated. We do know that it does

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Speaker 2: lessen the impacts of COVID on individuals, but there's also

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Speaker 2: been negative messaging out there that we've had to combat

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Speaker 2: and it has been incredibly difficult to combat that, and

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Speaker 2: some of those messages have been quite disgraceful, and I

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Speaker 2: just feel that we need to keep on guard, keep

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Speaker 2: on top of this as best we can. And stay

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Speaker 2: focused now in Catherine.

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Speaker 1: The mayor there, Liz Clark, she was on the show

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Speaker 1: with us yesterday. She's also been quoted as saying that

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Speaker 1: this virus has the potential to wipe a lot of

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Speaker 1: people out. What does the community need to know and

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Speaker 1: need to be doing now to make sure that they

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Speaker 1: are protecting themselves.

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Speaker 2: Well, just that, Katie, go into worly whirling jang. Get

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Speaker 2: your vaccinations. Obviously, I think it's a hotspots so maybe

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Speaker 2: just check where the other areas are that you can

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Speaker 2: get vexed in Catherine. Certainly do the same across the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory. We've got the vaccination clinics here. Marara. It

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Speaker 2: really is a case of just don't stop and wait,

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Speaker 2: go and do it, and it's so important.

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Speaker 1: Well, Melandarie McCarthy, I think that press conference this morning

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Speaker 1: is going to be one that everybody is waiting to

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Speaker 1: see the outcome of. We understand that there are a

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Speaker 1: number of additional cases at this point, I'm unsure on

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Speaker 1: whether they are in Robinson River or in Catherine, but

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Speaker 1: we will all be keeping a very close eye on

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Speaker 1: that to find out exactly how this situation is evolving.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, and stay safe. And to your listeners, please

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Speaker 2: please vaccinate.

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Speaker 1: Melandariye McCarthy, the Senator for the Northern Territory, thank you

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Speaker 1: so much for having his chat with us this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thank you