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Speaker 1: You're listening to Mix one oh four point nine three sixty.

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Speaker 1: Now it is set to be a very busy morning

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Speaker 1: with the first day of Parliament sitting for twenty twenty one,

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Speaker 1: and what a day it's set to be with the

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Speaker 1: Chief Minister and his Labor team still in denial over

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Speaker 1: the alleged cocaine sex scandal in broiling their party. Now

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Speaker 1: joining me on the line is the Health Minister Attasha Files.

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Speaker 1: Good morning Minister, Good morning Katie, Good morning listeners. Minister.

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Speaker 1: Does the Chief Minister just need to address these allegations?

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, what we saw on Sunday was a very

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Speaker 2: unusual situation where the leader of the opposition put out

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Speaker 2: a statement based on rumor. Everyone loves will train her

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Speaker 2: in the paper, but these are Internet room is. If

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Speaker 2: she's got the fact, she needs to stump up with

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Speaker 2: them publicly or take them to the police.

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Speaker 1: All right. Yesterday on the show NT Labor President Erina

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Speaker 1: Early had this to say, bear with me a moment.

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Speaker 2: If he doesn't address them, people will jump up and down.

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Speaker 2: But I think anything that could impact the cagnty of

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Speaker 2: the party does need to be in dressed.

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Speaker 1: This really does impact the integrity of the party. Surely

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Speaker 1: the Chief Minister does need to address the situation.

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Speaker 2: Katie. What we have presently is rumors and innuendo, and

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Speaker 2: we need the leader of the Opposition to provide those facts,

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Speaker 2: either within the parliament or to the police. Otherwise this

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Speaker 2: is simply rumor and speculation.

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Speaker 1: Is the party in disagreement over this situation.

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Speaker 2: Katie, I've made the point quite clear. There's lots and

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Speaker 2: lots of rumors, there's lots and lots of talk in

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Speaker 2: a small community. But the leader of the Opposition even

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Speaker 2: needs to provide those facts if, as she's mentioned, they're

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Speaker 2: very serious to police or within the parliament. So we

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Speaker 2: won't be commenting on rumors. We'll be getting on with

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Speaker 2: the job of governing.

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Speaker 1: Minister. Have you spoken to your colleagues about this?

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, I've spoken to my colleagues, but not specifically

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Speaker 2: about this. This is rumors and innuendo. There is nothing

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Speaker 2: factual that's been presented, and if anyone has any facts

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Speaker 2: they need to take them to the police. That if

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Speaker 2: it is what has been talked about.

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Speaker 1: I mean, should the Chief Minister and ministers come out

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Speaker 1: though and just say, look, if illicit drugs have been

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Speaker 1: used by anyone in my team, I will take action

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Speaker 1: as it's illegal.

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Speaker 2: So Katie, I can't say it any different. If the

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Speaker 2: leader of the opposition has back, she even needs to

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Speaker 2: take those to a police if it is of a

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Speaker 2: criminal nature, or she has the opportunity to present it

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Speaker 2: in Parliament. But we'll get on with the job of

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Speaker 2: the important work that's ahead of us.

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Speaker 1: All right. I can see you're not going to stray

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Speaker 1: away from those lines there, Ministers, So let's move along

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Speaker 1: and talk about this vaccine roll out. When is the

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Speaker 1: first shipment set to arrive?

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, it was very exciting yesterday to see the

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Speaker 2: vaccine arrive in Australia. It's now going through a quadit

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Speaker 2: quality assurance process to make sure that during its flights

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Speaker 2: over from Europe there's been no disruptions for that cold

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Speaker 2: supply chain and we expect to receive it in the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory next week and we will begin to vaccinate

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Speaker 2: those frontline workers here in that first one a next

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Speaker 2: week at Rozaland Hospital.

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Speaker 1: And is it the PFIZA or the astras Nka's vaccine.

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Speaker 2: So this is the fires of vaccine, Katie. The astrazeneicon

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Speaker 2: vaccine hasn't been approved by the Therapeutics Goods Administration yet

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Speaker 2: the Commonwealth are still working through that, but this is

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Speaker 2: the fires of vaccine. It's been approved, it's safe, it's

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Speaker 2: proven to be effective, and so we'll now begin that

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Speaker 2: rollout across the Northern Territory. But just to reassure territorians, Katie,

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Speaker 2: we've got the ability to take the time to get

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Speaker 2: this right. We don't have community transmission, we don't have

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Speaker 2: coronavirus in our community, and so we'll be starting with

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Speaker 2: those frontline health professionals who have been deemed at most

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Speaker 2: at risk and then we'll keep working through the matrix

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Speaker 2: of people from there.

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Speaker 1: And so how many Territorians are you expecting will be

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Speaker 1: be vaccinated per week?

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, we're expecting around a thousand Territorians within the

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Speaker 2: first phase of one A. So that's four thousand vaccinations

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Speaker 2: over a four week period, and that'll be about three

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Speaker 2: thousand Territorians because people that receive the vaccine in the

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Speaker 2: first week their first dose. By the fourth week, they

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Speaker 2: will receive their second dose and be fully vaccinated. As

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Speaker 2: well as continuing that rollout, and.

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Speaker 1: Who's going to administer the vaccine is it something that's

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Speaker 1: going to have to happen at the hospital or is

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Speaker 1: it going to be a situation where you can go

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Speaker 1: and get it at a pharmacy or somewhere else.

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, initially it will be at that Rodzalan Hospital site,

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Speaker 2: and then it's in the second phases onwards. The Commonwealth

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Speaker 2: Government are looking at working with pharmacists and gps to

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Speaker 2: roll out the vaccine to the broader community. But that

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Speaker 2: initial phase one A will be done at Rozalan Hospital.

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Speaker 2: There's quality assurance getting used to rolling out this vaccine,

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Speaker 2: but also we need to make sure we don't waste

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Speaker 2: any vaccine. So we will have those frontline workers, but

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Speaker 2: if someone's unable to attend for a reason, there'll be

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Speaker 2: other people that can jump into that spot. So we

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Speaker 2: need to make sure that we get this vaccine to

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Speaker 2: those people most at risk, which is our frontline.

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Speaker 1: Workers, all right, Minister. The Northern Territory Police and Public

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Speaker 1: Health officials are investigating up to thirty eight potential breaches

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Speaker 1: of self isolation directions since Friday's declaration of the Greater

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Speaker 1: Melbourne area as a hotspot. Now officials have conducted two

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Speaker 1: hundred and seventy compliance checks since Friday with thirty eight

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Speaker 1: additional cases requiring investigation. What kind of risk does this

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Speaker 1: place Territorians in?

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, I just want to make two points in

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Speaker 2: answering your question. And before I do that, we have

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Speaker 2: this morning lifted the Tullamarine Hotspots declaration. So what that

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Speaker 2: means is the Melbourne Airport is no longer considered a

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Speaker 2: hot spot and people can transit through that. So they

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Speaker 2: might come from Tasmania to the airport very strict transiting requirements,

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Speaker 2: and they can come through to Darwin. People cannot come

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Speaker 2: from Melbourne because the greater Melbourne metropolitan area is still

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Speaker 2: a hot spot. In terms of these individuals, it is

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Speaker 2: extremely disappointing. It will only take one person thinking they

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Speaker 2: can just pop to Wooli thinking NA can just do

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Speaker 2: something and that we could potentially seeking in new transmission

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Speaker 2: of this virus. Police have identified thirty eight people that

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Speaker 2: were supposed to be in self isolation. But I've spoken

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Speaker 2: to the Police Commission this morning and his officers and

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Speaker 2: I'd just like to acknowledge those people out following up

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Speaker 2: on these people that are meant to be in self

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Speaker 2: isolation and that hard job. So they've spoken with a

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Speaker 2: number of them, and they do have a valid reason

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Speaker 2: of getting their COVID tests for example. So police, this

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Speaker 2: is a warning if you're meant to be in self isolation,

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Speaker 2: police will come knocking on your door, so make sure

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Speaker 2: you're there or you're getting your COVID test or medical

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Speaker 2: supplies of medical.

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Speaker 1: Help and so, so what you're saying is with those

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Speaker 1: thirty eight potential breaches, it actually hasn't turned out to

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Speaker 1: be thirty eight potential breaches.

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Speaker 2: Police will be able to provide you with the specific numbers,

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Speaker 2: but as I understand from talking to the commissioner, there

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Speaker 2: won't be thirty eight fine issue because a number of

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Speaker 2: those have been followed up and they've had a valid

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Speaker 2: reason for not being present when police visited upon them.

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Speaker 1: What steem does a valid reason like going to the

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Speaker 1: doctor or correct.

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Speaker 2: Katie, So pretty much the only valid reasons are seeking

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Speaker 2: medical help or getting their test their COVID nineteen tests,

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Speaker 2: because these were people that were already in the territory

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Speaker 2: when the hot spot was declared and they are required

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Speaker 2: to immediately self isolate and get tested and then isolate

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Speaker 2: until they got a negative test result back.

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Speaker 1: Okay, minister, let's talk about Parliament. We know that Parliament

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Speaker 1: does resume today. What bills are set to be introduced

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Speaker 1: in these sittings, So.

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Speaker 2: Katie, we will be introducing on urgency an amendment to

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Speaker 2: the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act, and this will

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Speaker 2: allow us to roll out the COVID nineteen vaccination right

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Speaker 2: across the Northern Territory. Presently a location has to be

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Speaker 2: gazetted for someone to receive a vaccine. What this will

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Speaker 2: allow is for the Chief Health Officer to issue the

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Speaker 2: vaccine at a range of locations. So it's very much

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Speaker 2: designed about being agile and getting that vaccine right out

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Speaker 2: across our community.

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Speaker 1: And is there I understand that there is also going

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Speaker 1: to be legislation around youth crime and some of the

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Speaker 1: terrible issues that we've seen around youth crime in the territory.

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Speaker 2: So yes, the first parliamentary sittings will see us introduce

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Speaker 2: an amendment to the Criminal co And this is a

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Speaker 2: round ringleader. So the purpose of this bill is to

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Speaker 2: create a new offense where someone recruits a child to

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Speaker 2: engage in criminal activity, and it's around targeting those offenders

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Speaker 2: who undertake crimes in a group situation and they may

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Speaker 2: encourage particularly children into that committing that crime so that

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Speaker 2: they can't say that they didn't do it. They will

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Speaker 2: now be viable as well.

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Speaker 1: All right, we have certainly put in a request over

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Speaker 1: the last few days to speak to the Police Minister

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Speaker 1: in more depth about that legislation. I am keen still

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Speaker 1: to do that, so we'll certainly ask some more questions

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Speaker 1: of her office. Minister. As I mentioned at the start

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Speaker 1: of the interview, there's no doubt that this situation which

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Speaker 1: is playing out in the media at the moment around

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Speaker 1: this scandal, is going to be raised in Parliament if

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Speaker 1: there is evidence to support, you know, these allegations of

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Speaker 1: cocaine and a sex scandal, how will the leadership team react.

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Speaker 2: Criminal activity is a criminal activity. It doesn't matter who

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Speaker 2: you are. But right now we have rumor and innuendo.

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Speaker 2: But if people have facts and information, they must prevent

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Speaker 2: that to the police. There is also the opportunity of

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Speaker 2: parliament this week, but we're focused, as you can see,

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Speaker 2: on keeping territory in safe, rolling out the coronavirus vaccine

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Speaker 2: and will continue to do that work.

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Speaker 1: The Labor Party was incredibly critical of the Giles government

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Speaker 1: when they are in power when they had a scandal

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Speaker 1: which I think we'll all recall, a video involving a

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Speaker 1: lewd act. I mean, if there are photos, or if

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Speaker 1: there are you know what some could deem as being

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Speaker 1: sexually inappropriate things happening or you know, going on again,

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Speaker 1: how will that leadership team react.

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Speaker 2: I don't want to sound like a broken record, but

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Speaker 2: I'm not going to comment on what is just rumor.

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Speaker 2: If someone has evidence, they need to bring that forward.

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Speaker 2: We saw the leader of the opposition put out a

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Speaker 2: statement on Sunday the eight hours later. We haven't seen

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Speaker 2: any evidence. She simply put out a statement based on rumor,

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Speaker 2: and I call on her to bring forward any information

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Speaker 2: she may have.

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Speaker 1: Well, Minister for Health and also Tourism, Natasha Files. We

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Speaker 1: will leave it there. Thank you very much for your

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Speaker 1: time today.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Katie.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to Mix one oh four point nine's three

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Speaker 1: sixty