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Speaker 1: Now there is quite a number of people who are

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Speaker 1: pretty concerned about these moves by Saint Vincent de Paul

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Speaker 1: to move their homelessness services from Stuart Park to Coconut Growth.

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Speaker 1: Now joining us on the line to talk more about

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Speaker 1: the situation is the local member there in Nightcliff Natasha Files.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you.

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Speaker 3: Good morning Katie, Good morning listeners.

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Speaker 1: Now, FARSI, before we get into that, we've had a

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Speaker 1: couple of people message through about the fact that you

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Speaker 1: haven't well, they don't think you've done any interviews since

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Speaker 1: you did stand down as the Chief Minister and the

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Speaker 1: Shares situation. I mean, do you think that Chancey and

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Speaker 1: Brent should have followed your example?

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Speaker 3: Oh, Katie, the media haven't really a hus for me.

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Speaker 3: You know me. I'm always happy to have a chat.

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Speaker 3: I think I have spoken to the ABC, but you know,

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Speaker 3: my role has changed considerably to being a local member.

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Speaker 3: I think that you know their situations that are both different,

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Speaker 3: and they've provided comment and I won't add to that.

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Speaker 3: I mean, you.

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Speaker 1: Seem to have taken the high road, though, like you

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Speaker 1: seem to take the whole road and go all right.

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Speaker 1: The way that this has been viewed is that it

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Speaker 1: doesn't pass the pub test, it's not appropriate to their

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Speaker 1: situations past the pub test.

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Speaker 3: Oh, Katie. I think the judgment will be made later

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Speaker 3: this year. But from my perspective, you know, they've both

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Speaker 3: explained to the community and to us as a team

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Speaker 3: the steps they took, and I'm comfortable with that. I

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Speaker 3: made a decision based around the fact that as the

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Speaker 3: Chief Minister, it's the highest standard and I hadn't upheld that,

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Speaker 3: albeit I believe inadvertently, and so that was the decision

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Speaker 3: I made. All right.

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Speaker 1: Now, these plans from Saint Vincent to Paul, they are

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Speaker 1: keen to move their homelessness services from Stuart Park to

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Speaker 1: Coconut Grove.

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Speaker 2: People are not happy about it.

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Speaker 1: Now at this point in time, it's still your electorate,

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Speaker 1: isn't it, so.

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Speaker 3: Katie, Coconut Grove is I've always had part of the

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Speaker 3: suburb of Coconut Grove in my electorate and then the

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Speaker 3: other part. The poor things are bounced around between the

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Speaker 3: electorate of Fanny Bay and Johnston. But you know, my office,

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Speaker 3: as you know, is essentially so we've always you know,

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Speaker 3: made sure that people in Coconut Grove have that support.

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Speaker 3: From my perspective, it does need to move from Stuart Park.

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Speaker 3: We all absolutely agree on that. But I think that

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Speaker 3: the disappointing thing has been the lack of consultation from

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Speaker 3: Saint Vincent de Paul. And you know, I have told

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Speaker 3: them repeatedly that they need to get out there and

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Speaker 3: undertake that consultation, and even in the wake of people

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Speaker 3: raising strong concerns, we still are not getting information from them.

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Speaker 1: Do you think that they should be opening in Coconut Grove.

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Speaker 3: I don't think they should, Cadie, and there's a number

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Speaker 3: of reasons for that. I think that they should go

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Speaker 3: to another location, even though the proposal is transitional. I

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Speaker 3: think that they haven't done the consultation. I think that

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Speaker 3: there is a number of issues we face out in

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Speaker 3: this community, and we provide support to vulnerable people and

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Speaker 3: that's in the form of, for example, the John Stoke

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Speaker 3: Square redevelopment with Venture Housing. There's been a lot of

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Speaker 3: work by Venture and the Department of Housing to support

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Speaker 3: those people. We have other public housing which provides challenges,

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Speaker 3: and we also have some programs Katie that provides support

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Speaker 3: and tendancy to people with mental health illness, which I

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Speaker 3: think is so important. We have these people in our communities.

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Speaker 3: But I don't think the proposed location for Sir Vincent

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Speaker 3: de Paul is appropriate.

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Speaker 1: Look, some people are going to be listening thinking, well,

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Speaker 1: hang on, we're talking about homeless people here. Where are

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Speaker 1: we meant to have them if it's not in Stuart

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Speaker 1: Park or if it's not in Coconut Groves.

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Speaker 3: I think that they need to be the location that

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Speaker 3: allows them to deliver a fulsome service. So where might

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Speaker 3: that look at accommodation? So if they had an option

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Speaker 3: that could provide accommodation, because you're providing these supports, but

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Speaker 3: you're putting people back out into the key community in

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Speaker 3: a vulnerable situation. So I know that the government departments

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Speaker 3: they have different allocations of land that they can work

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Speaker 3: through with Saint Vincent de Paul around this.

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Speaker 1: Now someone's message through and said, could you please ask

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Speaker 1: Natasha Philes if the budget for the proposal is in

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Speaker 1: fact ten million dollars for Saint.

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Speaker 2: Vincent de Paul because they've issued a big pressure.

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Speaker 1: Those yesterday basically saying that they are relocating their existing

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Speaker 1: day center services from Stuart Park to a purpose built

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Speaker 1: facility in Coconut Growth.

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Speaker 3: So my understanding is and this is our guest. SA

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Speaker 3: Vincent de Paul need to come out and explain to

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Speaker 3: the community is that the coconut grove site is a transition,

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Speaker 3: it's temporary, and then that they would look for a

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Speaker 3: more permanent location. My concerns are that they haven't consulted

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Speaker 3: with the local community and therefore considered possible implications on

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Speaker 3: local residents and businesses in terms of the budget. I

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Speaker 3: don't know that, Katie, yep.

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Speaker 1: So, just to get this straight, So they're looking at

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Speaker 1: being there temporarily for what period of time and do

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Speaker 1: you still have to go through the whole DCA process

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Speaker 1: and everything even if it's a temporary thing.

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Speaker 3: So, even though it's a temporary relocation to coconut growth,

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Speaker 3: they are building infrastructure and so the DCA does need

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Speaker 3: to approve.

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Speaker 2: That doesn't sound very temporary, Katie.

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Speaker 3: I think that Saint Vincent de Paul really need to

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Speaker 3: get out and explain and understand the possible implications. I've

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Speaker 3: just highlighted to you some of the services that are

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Speaker 3: delivered out here, and as the local member, when we

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Speaker 3: do redevelop public housing, I'm really conscious of keeping more

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Speaker 3: vulnerable people in the community where there's others around them

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Speaker 3: that can help possibly lift them up. So it's not

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Speaker 3: a we don't want it in our backyard. I just

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Speaker 3: think that this community has enough of those types of supports.

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Speaker 3: We've got challenges, and Saint Vincent de Paul, because they

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Speaker 3: haven't done the consultation, don't understand the implication.

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Speaker 2: So where, I mean, where else can they go?

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Speaker 1: Though?

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Speaker 3: Right?

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Speaker 1: Because like even in Stuart Park at the moment I

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Speaker 1: drive through there, I've seen some woeful behavior at different times,

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Speaker 1: you know, in that area we're the nearby and that's

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Speaker 1: in no way.

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Speaker 2: Shape or form or reflection of the work.

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Speaker 1: That Vinnis does, but it does show you that, you

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Speaker 1: know that you're talking about people sort of then camping

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Speaker 1: in in areas of the park. You talking about people

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Speaker 1: camped out near the shop set in near by. So

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Speaker 1: where like, what are the other possible options in terms

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Speaker 1: of other locations?

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, just before I respond to that, and I

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Speaker 3: should note that in October twenty twenty one, I wrote

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Speaker 3: to Saint Vincent de Paul and said they really need

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Speaker 3: to understand and be mindful of the community impact and

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Speaker 3: do that consultation, which hasn't occurred. I think there is

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Speaker 3: locations in the broader Darwin area that would allow a

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Speaker 3: service to be more fulsome and perhaps closer to different

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Speaker 3: ranges of people, and they can work with government has

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Speaker 3: different land allocations, community purpose and they can work with

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Speaker 3: them around a site.

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Speaker 1: So you're saying that you told them that they should

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Speaker 1: have consulted back in what twenty twenty two or twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty one did you say.

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Speaker 3: In twenty twenty one late twenty twenty one.

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Speaker 1: And they didn't then consult with the community about this move.

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Speaker 3: I'm not aware of consultation, and it's been, you know,

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Speaker 3: from my perspective, really important that that's undertaken because they

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Speaker 3: need to understand the public sentiment and some of the

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Speaker 3: implications for the local community so that they could potentially

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Speaker 3: address them, which hasn't happened.

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Speaker 1: Well, look, this sounds like it's going to be a

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Speaker 1: bit of a debacle. I know, sin Vincent de Paul

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Speaker 1: have put out a huge pressure release. I'll read that

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Speaker 1: out shortly. We've invited them on the show. Hopefully we're

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Speaker 1: able to get them on the show. But at this

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Speaker 1: point in time, it seems like nobody really wants this

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Speaker 1: service in their backyard.

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Speaker 3: I think Katie it's not that I think it's understanding

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Speaker 3: the community that they're potentially moving into and what their

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Speaker 3: needs are, what the needs of the clients that they

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Speaker 3: care for are, and how that can be delivered in

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Speaker 3: the most appropriate way, being at a location that can

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Speaker 3: allow fulsome service.

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Speaker 1: All Right, we are going to have to leave it there,

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Speaker 1: Natasha Philes, the member for Nightcliff, appreciate your time this morning.

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Speaker 3: Thanks for joining us, Take care, Katie and listeners.

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Speaker 2: Thank you.