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Speaker 1: Bush. As we know, the federal election was indeed called

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Speaker 1: over the weekend. We'll be heading to the polls on

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Speaker 1: May twenty one, and there has been a few announcements

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Speaker 1: made over the last couple of days. Now joining me

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Speaker 1: on the line is David little Proud, who is the

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Speaker 1: Deputy Leader of the Nationals and also the Minister for

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Speaker 1: Northern Australia. Good morning to you, David.

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Speaker 2: Hi, good morning, good to be back.

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Speaker 1: Good to have you on the show. Now, look, there's

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Speaker 1: a lot going on this morning, I think on a

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Speaker 1: well not only on a national scale, actually for us

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Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory. And I know that overnight

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Speaker 1: this news flow through that the Morrison government signed a

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Speaker 1: landmark energy and a missions reduction agreement with the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory government that's going to secure reliable and affordable energy

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Speaker 1: to the Northern Territory. David, do you have a little

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Speaker 1: bit more detail about this agreement.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, it's eight hundred and seventy two million dollars

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Speaker 2: in the federal governments obviously kicking the tin comos of that,

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Speaker 2: and what it is is about making sure that we

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Speaker 2: can can be risk investment up here, make sure that

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Speaker 2: you have reliable, affordable energy, because that's what's going to

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Speaker 2: create the environment for businesses to come and invest here

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Speaker 2: if they can compete with the rest of the country

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Speaker 2: and compete with the world with cheap, affordable energy. It's

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Speaker 2: about making sure we make that investment through things like

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Speaker 2: hydrogen in particular, making sure that we're the leading roads

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Speaker 2: of that in terms of technology. But also the Deputy

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Speaker 2: promise will be here with me today and we're also

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Speaker 2: making a big announcement on the Middle Arm project. So

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Speaker 2: we're seeing the opportunity in Northern Australia and particularly in

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory. You're at the center of it. And let

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Speaker 2: me tell you, not just geographically but economically, and it's

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Speaker 2: about now making sure that the dollars that we spend

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Speaker 2: of your money, this is all your money, we get

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Speaker 2: a return on investment, not only to the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: but Australian taxpayer. And you've got to be able to

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Speaker 2: do that by creating environment of reducing your energy costs

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Speaker 2: to make you more competitive, whether that be through hydrogen, microgids,

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Speaker 2: grids at gas and making sure you have the infrastructure

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Speaker 2: to export. And that's what we're doing today. Between what

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Speaker 2: we announced last night, but also what the deput Prime

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Speaker 2: this or I and and other announcements today as well

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Speaker 2: with Northern Australia.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well before we get to the Northern Australia once,

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Speaker 1: are you able to give us a little bit more

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Speaker 1: detail about what's happening out there at the Middle Arm

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Speaker 1: with that project.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, one and a half billion dollars will be

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Speaker 2: put into the Northern Arm. And I don't want to

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Speaker 2: go too fuck because obviously the DPM will want to

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Speaker 2: make the big announcement today.

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Speaker 1: We weren't tell We weren't telling Minister if some of

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Speaker 1: your data.

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Speaker 2: Who cares anyway, he's still on a phone on his

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Speaker 2: way here. I beat him tell us.

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Speaker 1: So what is it exactly?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So it's about making sure that we build that

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Speaker 2: Middle Arm project up there so it can be an

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Speaker 2: export powerhouse and effectively we're going to have and that's

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Speaker 2: not just for Darwin. This is also we're going to

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Speaker 2: build new logistics hubs four hundred and forty million dollars

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Speaker 2: in Alice Springs, Catherine and Tenant Creek, so that it's

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Speaker 2: not us Darwin the benefits. It's right the way through

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Speaker 2: the whole Northern territories part of this, not just not

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Speaker 2: just Darwin, and so it'll make sure we're looking at

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Speaker 2: the hydrogen the possibility that's there as well as well

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Speaker 2: as making sure that the whole rail spur and roadneckwork

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Speaker 2: actually strengthens that supply chain network. So what we're doing

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Speaker 2: is is a whole infrastructure spend and what we're doing

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Speaker 2: is being very strategic about making sure the money we

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Speaker 2: spend builds. This not just for the the Middle Arm

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Speaker 2: project up here for Darwin, but right across the territory.

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Speaker 2: So it's all into linked We de risk these projects

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Speaker 2: and this is not just export. This will also feed

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Speaker 2: into what the agreement we've signed with the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: government around cheaper reliable energy for territorium.

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Speaker 1: And so, Minister, is this an election promise or is

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Speaker 1: this actually budgeted for?

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Speaker 2: Budgeted for? This is the thing we made. We made

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Speaker 2: our commitments in a budget. We're not making election promises.

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Speaker 2: We took a document to the people of Australia and

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Speaker 2: we put it into Parliament and that will be law

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Speaker 2: law and so everything that we put in that budget,

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Speaker 2: the sixteen and a half billion dollars that we are

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Speaker 2: going to spend in Northern Australia. Out of the twenty

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Speaker 2: one billion dollars for Region Australia, sixteen and a half

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Speaker 2: billion dollars is coming up here. That's an acknowledgment of

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Speaker 2: what you've done here and what you can do if

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Speaker 2: we put the environment in structure in it. So no

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Speaker 2: election promises. This is actually cold hard cash, an investment

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Speaker 2: in you because you've done the heavy lifting. Well, much

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Speaker 2: of the country has been put under the diner for

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Speaker 2: the last two years. It's Northern Australia that's paid the bills,

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Speaker 2: whether it's been through agriculture or resources, and so we're

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Speaker 2: not making promises. We cut the check and it's time

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Speaker 2: to build. We're time for talks over start getting burning

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Speaker 2: some diesels, start doing what we need to do, whether

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Speaker 2: it be digging hules or building pipelines. Let's get on

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Speaker 2: with it. And that's what we're saying. We've got the plan,

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Speaker 2: we've got the money set aside, and it's time to

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Speaker 2: get on with the job.

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Speaker 1: And I know that you did mention just a moment ago.

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Speaker 1: There are these projects as well, which you are announcing today,

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Speaker 1: over twenty two million dollars for three projects in the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory. It is part of that funding and essentially

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Speaker 1: eleven million dollars to Charles Dalwin Uni, ten point five

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Speaker 1: to austral Fisheries and six hundred and seventy thousand odd

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Speaker 1: dollars to Northern Track Machinery.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so while these are grants, you got to understand

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Speaker 2: it's not just dollar for a dollar. Of the twenty

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Speaker 2: two million dollars we're going to spend of Australian taxpayers money,

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Speaker 2: We're going to get an investment of nearly ninety million dollars.

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Speaker 2: Such is the investment confidence of these three organizations in

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Speaker 2: Northern Australia. That all we've done is we've leveraged Australian

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Speaker 2: taxpayers money to get a better outcome, a better return

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Speaker 2: on investment. And that's what we've got to do. It's

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Speaker 2: your money. Unless we get a return on investment, then

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Speaker 2: we don't pay the bills. And so you know this

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Speaker 2: is particularly for Charles Darwen University, it's particularly about help

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Speaker 2: and we're going to build a new billing there to

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Speaker 2: make sure that we've got a State of Health education

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Speaker 2: facility so that people from the Northern Territory can come

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Speaker 2: and educated here. But can stay here and want to

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Speaker 2: stay in the territory and add to those health workers

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Speaker 2: out there that are doing the great work. It's also

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Speaker 2: building on our fisheries industry ten a half million dollars

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Speaker 2: for them to get greater quotas and in fact, they'll

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Speaker 2: have one of the biggest snapper licenses in the country,

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Speaker 2: making sure that we can have that sustainable resource developed

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Speaker 2: here in the territory. So these are just common sense investments,

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Speaker 2: using your money, but making sure that it's not just

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Speaker 2: a handout. We're actually getting a return on investment because

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Speaker 2: every dollar we spend of your money, someone's got to

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Speaker 2: pay it back, and the only way to do that

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Speaker 2: is to get business moving and create new jobs and

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Speaker 2: they'll pay it back. But it just shifts the dial

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Speaker 2: for the Northern Territory. And this is what we're saying

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Speaker 2: is the territory is where it's going to happen. And

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Speaker 2: these big announcements today, my mind, is probably the smallest,

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Speaker 2: getting a return for you and making sure the territory

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Speaker 2: can be all that wants to be and should be,

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Speaker 2: because we're just going to invest and then get out

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Speaker 2: of your own and let you guys do what you do. Best.

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Speaker 1: Well, we're certainly hoping so, minister, before I let you go.

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Speaker 1: On Friday, the Senator Sam McMahon announced that she's going

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Speaker 1: to be running for the Liberal Democrats. What did you

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Speaker 1: think of that?

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Speaker 2: Oh?

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Speaker 1: Good luck to her, No further comment.

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Speaker 2: No, I think I think her record speaks for herself.

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Speaker 1: Or what do you mean by that?

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Speaker 2: Well, I mean you sign up to one one organization,

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Speaker 2: you change another. You know that speaks about your character.

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Speaker 2: I'll leave her that. Good luck to her. Well, it's

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Speaker 2: a democracy and I wish her all the best.

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Speaker 1: Well, Minister David little Proud, We appreciate your time this morning.

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Speaker 1: Thank you very much for having a chat to us,

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Speaker 1: and we won't we won't tell the Deputy Prime Minister

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Speaker 1: that you've given us any further detail on those announcements

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Speaker 1: you got the scot Thanks mate,