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Speaker 1: We do know that well the Northern Territory AFL.

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Speaker 2: They have indeed released their NT Women and Girls Action

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Speaker 2: Plan now it strives for equal participation and representation by

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Speaker 2: twenty thirty. So the Northern Territory, as I think most

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Speaker 2: of us know, has seen significant growth in women and

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Speaker 2: girls in that space, leading to the national average for participation.

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Speaker 2: So well, sorry, it's leading the national average for participation.

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Speaker 2: I'll tell you what, if you've got a daughter that

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Speaker 2: plays footy, or if you are a woman or a

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Speaker 2: girl that's involved in footy, you will know that it

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Speaker 2: is something that we absolutely love here in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 2: And joining me on the line to tell us a

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Speaker 2: little bit more about the plan and where things are sitting.

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Speaker 2: It's ahead of AFL here in the Northern Territory. Sam Gibson,

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Sam.

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Speaker 3: Good morning KURTI. Thanks for having me on.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, great to have you on the show. Sam.

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Speaker 2: Firstly, talk us through this NT Women and Girls Action Plan.

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Speaker 2: It's obviously striving for equal per anticipation and representation by

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Speaker 2: twenty thirty. We seem to be doing pretty well in

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Speaker 2: the Northern Territory. I would have thought when it comes

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Speaker 2: to when it comes to women and girls taking part

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Speaker 2: in IFL.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, like we didn't what we are doing really well

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Speaker 3: and some of those that you know that you've just

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Speaker 3: mentioned we're really proud of. I mean to have near

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Speaker 3: nearly forty percent of our regions participants of women and

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Speaker 3: girls in the territory, So now that's nearly double the

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Speaker 3: national average, which is which is fantastic. You know, there's

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Speaker 3: success stories all over the territory. You know, in Tennant

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Speaker 3: Creek we've got a women's competition up and running and

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Speaker 3: really thriving. The success over on Elkal Island and all

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Speaker 3: over the place. So for us, it was about you know,

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Speaker 3: maximizing that momentum that there is there and an interest

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Speaker 3: that there is there, and formalizing a plan and having

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Speaker 3: some ambitious targets around equal representation, not just on the field,

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Speaker 3: so getting that figure up the fifty percent, but also

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Speaker 3: off it, focusing on umpiring and coaching and leadership roles

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Speaker 3: at in clubs you know, and everything else that makes

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Speaker 3: the game kick.

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Speaker 1: So talk us through you know those aims.

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Speaker 2: I guess because you've said there you obviously want it

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Speaker 2: to be equal participation.

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Speaker 1: We're not too far off at.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. Look, I'm that last ten percent probably going to

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Speaker 3: be the hardest bit to get, I think. So you know,

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Speaker 3: we are focusing on on participation, you know, making sure

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Speaker 3: that we've got all all girls of kick centers for example,

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Speaker 3: and you know, we're prioritizing participation opportunities for women and girls.

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Speaker 3: So that's that's a key part of it. But we

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Speaker 3: also acknowledge in order to in order to grow that

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Speaker 3: participation and really embed the strong role that women and

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Speaker 3: girls have in the game, we need to have more

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Speaker 3: women coaches for example, you know, have more women officiating

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Speaker 3: the game. I think you know, we've increasing the leadership roles, sorry,

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Speaker 3: the number of women in leadership roles in football as

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Speaker 3: well to enable that at the grassroots, and I think

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Speaker 3: only it's about thirty per cent of our senior leadership

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Speaker 3: positions on committees a female. So that's another area which

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Speaker 3: will enable that growth. Look, when you unpack it in

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Speaker 3: a plan, there's always something you can do better, and

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Speaker 3: that's what this plan is aiming to do, and you know,

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Speaker 3: to get it to get it to fifty percent by

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Speaker 3: twenty thirty, where hoping for a lot earlier than that

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Speaker 3: that it's given a sur flag and the hill to

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Speaker 3: aim at.

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Speaker 1: I reckon it's a really good thing.

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Speaker 2: And you know, one thing I've noticed as the parent

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Speaker 2: of both girl and boy playing in the in the

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Speaker 2: AFL here in the Northern Territory is that there does

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Speaker 2: seem to be those very equal pathways no matter what

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Speaker 2: gender you are, which I think is a really important

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Speaker 2: thing for the kids that are coming up through the ranks.

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Speaker 3: And that's right. You know, we want every territory to

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Speaker 3: be able to play the game. And you know that

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Speaker 3: starts with providing the same opportunities for boys and girls

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Speaker 3: and men and women. And you know it sounds simple

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Speaker 3: in saying it, there's a lot of things that need

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Speaker 3: to be factored in and invested in to make sure

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Speaker 3: that happens. You know, we're trying to invest in infrastructure

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Speaker 3: to make sure their venues are friendly to both both

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Speaker 3: tenders all venders for example, and all those other things

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Speaker 3: around coaching and are hiring and not touched on, Sam,

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Speaker 3: I do.

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Speaker 2: Want to ask you while I've got you on the

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Speaker 2: line as well. I know that AFLNT has released the

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Speaker 2: fixture for the twenty twenty three Central Australian Football League.

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Speaker 2: It is obviously following on from the Community Football Summit

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Speaker 2: which was convened by AFL Northern Territory and held back

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Speaker 2: in March.

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Speaker 1: And it does.

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Speaker 2: Follow on from those calls or from the decision that

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Speaker 2: was made from the allae Springstown Council to not have

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Speaker 2: those games in Alice Springs. But I do know that

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Speaker 2: they've been fixtured to take part or take place I

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Speaker 2: should say, at Trager Park. How's it going to work?

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Speaker 2: Does the council? Have the council changed their minds?

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Speaker 3: There's obviously been some back and forth with council around

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Speaker 3: Trager Park in particular and the access to that. I mean,

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Speaker 3: we we've we had a license agreement for that ven

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Speaker 3: year through for another few years, and you know, on

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Speaker 3: speaking to the various stakeholders and bringing those people together

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Speaker 3: at the Community Football Summit, and it was clear that

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Speaker 3: people wanted to play at Trager and but it was

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Speaker 3: also clear that there was some other considerations that were

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Speaker 3: were important as well as it related to increasing remote

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Speaker 3: fixtures and really honing in continuing to hone in on

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Speaker 3: infrastructure and communities and those things. So the fixture we've

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Speaker 3: released has some of those compromises, A shorter season it's

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Speaker 3: spreading around out across weekends to limit the or sort

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Speaker 3: of reduce the visitation into the town and make that

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Speaker 3: a bit more manageable, you know, amongst other things. So

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Speaker 3: you know, we've we've done as much as work as

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Speaker 3: we can on that fixture to make sure we've encapsulated

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Speaker 3: all the feedback. And you know, we know football is

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Speaker 3: really important to all communities across the territory and the country,

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Speaker 3: and you know it's about executing that and in a

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Speaker 3: in a stafe and responsible manner now.

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Speaker 2: And so do you think that that the Ella Springstown

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Speaker 2: Council are going to sort of be happy with this

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Speaker 2: or do you think that you might be in a

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Speaker 2: situation where you're sort of going to be relying on

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Speaker 2: you know, that license agreement that you've got to to

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Speaker 2: I guess sort of force it to happen.

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Speaker 3: Well, I think that I think the opportunity exists for

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Speaker 3: for our springs and Central Australia at the moment is

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Speaker 3: that this has opened up a really good and productive

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Speaker 3: conversation around how to progress the game more broadly. So

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Speaker 3: you know, we keep saying we've read it right now

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Speaker 3: than we're really hoping to work with the town council

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Speaker 3: and all the other key stakeholders to progress the game.

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Speaker 3: And you know, we're talking about a football season which

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Speaker 3: goes over a ten or eleven weeks. At the moment,

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Speaker 3: we need to be considering the bigger picture and how

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Speaker 3: we work together to use football for you for the

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Speaker 3: betterment of communities in a year round. So that's what

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Speaker 3: we're focused on, and hopefully we can continue to engage

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Speaker 3: with the town council and land councils and other local

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Speaker 3: government agencies and the territory government and all of the

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Speaker 3: stakeholders who are really key to that broader discussion.

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Speaker 2: Well, we'll certainly try and get in contact with the

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Speaker 2: Alla Springstown councilor as well and find out how the

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Speaker 2: feeling now that that fixture has been released. But by

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Speaker 2: the sounds of it, it's going to see a reduction

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Speaker 2: in the number of games that do take place in Allis.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's right, and that was you know, it was

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Speaker 3: feedback that we heard and we've been able to make

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Speaker 3: some compromises but in the fixture to enable us. So

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Speaker 3: you know, we're looking forward to getting the season underways.

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Speaker 3: In addition to the town competition and other competitions across

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Speaker 3: the territory. You know it's a focus of ours the

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Speaker 3: next six months.

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Speaker 2: Well, Sam, we always appreciate your time. Thank you very

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Speaker 2: much for having a chat with us this morning, and

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Speaker 2: thanks for having a chat with us about the equal

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Speaker 2: participation as well or the aims to get there as

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Speaker 2: well by twenty thirty with the women and girls.

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Speaker 1: Always good to have a chat with you. Thanks Katie,

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Speaker 1: thank you