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Speaker 1: You know, the Northern Territories Tourism Minister has come out

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Speaker 1: saying that all Australians have a social responsibility to visit

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory as new figures reveal a slump in

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Speaker 1: visitation to Ularu Now. According to the ABC, figures from

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Speaker 1: Parks Australia show that year to date visitor numbers are

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Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty four thousand, six hundred and seventy

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Speaker 1: eight compared with more than three hundred thousand in two

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Speaker 1: thousand and seventeen. Now it's being attributed to cost and

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Speaker 1: availability of flights, international exchange rates, increase competition as Australians

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Speaker 1: return to overseas travel, and the slow return of international visitors.

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Speaker 1: And joining me now to shed some more light on

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Speaker 1: the situation is the CEO of Tourism Central Australia, Daniel Rochford.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Daniel, Good morning Katie, and good morning to

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Speaker 2: you listeners.

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Speaker 1: Daniel. What has the visitation at Ularu been like from

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Speaker 1: your perspective?

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Speaker 2: Look, this is absolutely consistent to what we've been saying

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Speaker 2: for a long time now, Katie. You know the official

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Speaker 2: statistics were released just a couple of weeks ago and

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Speaker 2: they clearly say that we're still two hundred thousand visitors

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Speaker 2: shy of where we were pre COVID and two hundred

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Speaker 2: million dollars worth of visitor expenditure but used to be

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Speaker 2: in the pockets of Central Australian tourism operators that is

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Speaker 2: not there now. So you know, you and I have

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Speaker 2: talked long and hard about this for a long time.

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Speaker 2: You know, this is these are the challenges that my

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Speaker 2: members have been facing.

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Speaker 1: They are massive numbers. Though what impact is that having

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Speaker 1: on the ground.

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Speaker 2: Well, look, you know it's the industry itself is very fragile.

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Speaker 2: You know, there are many small businesses that are doing

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Speaker 2: it tough, and they're staring down a long, hot summer

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Speaker 2: where there will be no business. That's the thing I'm

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Speaker 2: very concerned about at the moment, Katie, is they're all

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Speaker 2: with a brave face, but they're all staring down almost

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Speaker 2: next to no income for the next few months. And

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Speaker 2: you know that's certainly going to be a huge challenge

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Speaker 2: as we move forward. Yeah, it really is.

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Speaker 1: And I know that the Tourism Minister Nicole Madison has

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Speaker 1: said that, you know, she's attributed to international exchange rates,

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Speaker 1: the cost and availability of flights as well. Is that

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Speaker 1: I mean, is that in line with your thinking? Yeah?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and that's one of the reasons. You know, we've

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Speaker 2: been saying for so long now that we need to

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Speaker 2: have that aviation piece sorted. And it's great to see

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Speaker 2: bonds are coming to Alice Springs and Darwin and that's

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Speaker 2: certainly a piece of the puzzle. But you know, that

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Speaker 2: same story that you attributed to the ABC quote an

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Speaker 2: operator saying that you know, aviation Indu LARU is down

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Speaker 2: by nearly fifty percent, so you know that's certainly concerning.

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Speaker 2: There is some light at the end of the tunnel.

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Speaker 2: You know, we're getting new services, daily services to cans

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Speaker 2: and one hopes with the change of leadership of our

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Speaker 2: national airline they might understand that the NT in Quanta

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Speaker 2: stands for the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 1: Well, we're all hoping, so, aren't we. I mean, we're

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Speaker 1: all really hoping that we do start to be treated

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Speaker 1: a little bit more fairly when it comes to those flights.

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Speaker 1: But jez it's like it is tough going with those flights.

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Speaker 2: Youveta, and that's the challenge. You just we are just

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Speaker 2: like a samin going up a stream without that aviation

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Speaker 2: piece sorted, and you know, that's one of the reasons

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Speaker 2: why we're very keen to encourage the government to roll

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Speaker 2: up their sleeves around that aviation attraction fund and let's

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Speaker 2: hope that that continues to net evidence for the Northern

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Speaker 2: Territory moving forward. But if we don't sort that out,

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Speaker 2: we are going to be behind the eight ball. And

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Speaker 2: as I said at the start, that's two hundred million

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Speaker 2: dollars that are not in the pockets of our members

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Speaker 2: and not in our economy here in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: that used to be there.

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Speaker 1: I mean, Daniel, the government have basically been saying that

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Speaker 1: those tourism numbers are quite strong, like they've been saying

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Speaker 1: we've got, you know, quite a bounce back post COVID,

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Speaker 1: but it doesn't seem like that's the case.

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Speaker 2: Well, I can't recall a conversation between you and I

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Speaker 2: for the last three years where I've said to Katie,

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Speaker 2: you know, tours and numbers are really great. You know,

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Speaker 2: we we did have a good year last year, and

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Speaker 2: I do acknowledge that, but you know, it has been

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Speaker 2: a long, hard three years and we're still feeling the

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Speaker 2: effects of COVID. The international numbers, but a good chunk

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Speaker 2: of that two hundred thousand visitors are international visitors. Forty

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Speaker 2: thousand are just the Japanese market alone. You know, we

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Speaker 2: still have we're still living day in day out with

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Speaker 2: the effects of COVID and you know, one of the

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Speaker 2: challenges that we've got is we need to get that

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Speaker 2: international aviation piece. You know, the fact that the federal

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Speaker 2: government has knocked back Qatar and you know still you know,

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Speaker 2: quontificating around the Turkish air Lines decision. While they're doing that,

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Speaker 2: we're not able to get international tourists to Australia more affordably,

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Speaker 2: and that piece has to be fixed up.

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Speaker 1: Daniel, I mean, is the issue of crime and what

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Speaker 1: we saw earlier in the year with the fact that

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Speaker 1: we've made headlines right around the nation and rightly so

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Speaker 1: really with what was going on with crime. But has

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Speaker 1: that also just had quite a big part to play here.

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Speaker 2: There's no doubt, not so much for Ularue itself, but

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Speaker 2: I think certainly for our Spring Vantennant Creek in particular,

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Speaker 2: the two urban parts of Central Australia have had an

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Speaker 2: impacts from crime. People are start telling me that they

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Speaker 2: are making conscious decisions to be the stage just one

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Speaker 2: night or not even stay at all, and that's certainly

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Speaker 2: having huge impacts to our local businesses. And they are

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Speaker 2: the same businesses that are staring down that long hot

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Speaker 2: summer with no much less revenue this year.

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Speaker 1: Daniel, I do want to ask you, because there has

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Speaker 1: been a move made to put artwork on shop front

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Speaker 1: roller shutters. It's been slammed by some people in Alice

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Speaker 1: Springs saying well, others been saying that it is a

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Speaker 1: win as I understand that there's six blank facades on

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Speaker 1: shops in the Todd Mall that are set to become

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Speaker 1: canvases for this new local art as part of next

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Speaker 1: year's street art festival. Is it a bit ironic?

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Speaker 2: Well, of course I fully support the rolling out of

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Speaker 2: public art in our town and I think it's a

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Speaker 2: great thing that needs to be done. But quite honestly, Katie,

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Speaker 2: we still have yet to get control of the youth

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Speaker 2: crime piece in Alice Springs and ten and Creek. In

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Speaker 2: ten and Creek in particular, I am very concerned. I've

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Speaker 2: had a member there tell me just recently that they've

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Speaker 2: had thirty break ins in the last three weeks. I

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Speaker 2: had a staff member of TCA had a home invasion

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Speaker 2: there just last week and they immediately resigned. The situation

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Speaker 2: in that town is very dire and you know it certainly.

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Speaker 2: I don't think the government, albeit they're giving us a

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Speaker 2: lot of promises that the summer is going to be

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Speaker 2: much better than the start of this year, but you know,

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Speaker 2: everyone isn't feeling greatly confident.

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Speaker 1: No, I mean a lot of people. We just caught

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Speaker 1: up with the Chief ministon Natasha files and crime is

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Speaker 1: still a huge, huge issue for people. Daniel, there is

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Speaker 1: no doubt about that. Can you just go back to so,

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Speaker 1: was that a tour operator that's been broken into thirty

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Speaker 1: times in three weeks?

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Speaker 2: Did you say an accommodation operator thirty times in three weeks?

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Speaker 2: So you know, you can understand their level of frustration.

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Speaker 2: You know, there's a situation in ten and in particular

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Speaker 2: at the moment, I think Tenant has gone under the

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Speaker 2: radar a little bit in terms of you know, the

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Speaker 2: challenges Alice Springs and Catherine have faced in the last

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Speaker 2: few weeks and months. You know, Tenant does need greater

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Speaker 2: focus and you know, we're certainly very concerned.

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Speaker 1: I mean, surely it becomes a question of whether you

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Speaker 1: can remain viable when something like that's happened thirty times

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Speaker 1: in three.

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Speaker 2: Weeks, correct, Katie. And the frustration of the of the

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Speaker 2: staff of that business who are not sleeping, They're constantly

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Speaker 2: having to deal with issues, constantly having to manage the

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Speaker 2: concerns of their guests and obviously the victims of crime.

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Speaker 2: So you know, we you know, we certainly feel for

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Speaker 2: everyone involved, but you know, we get the exasperation in

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Speaker 2: their voices is certainly growing louder and louder.

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Speaker 1: We might have a chat to you off to see

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Speaker 1: whether we can potentially have a chat with that business

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Speaker 1: that is not good. And then that other staff member

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Speaker 1: leaving town or you know, resigning immediately. I don't know

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Speaker 1: whether they left town, you'd be the one to tell me,

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Speaker 1: but you know, resigning immediately after a home invasion, that

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Speaker 1: scary stuff.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, while they were sleeping, you know, And you know,

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Speaker 2: I can understand why they immediately handed in the keys

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Speaker 2: and said, well, I'm leaving Tennant Creek. You know that

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Speaker 2: that's the feel that a lot of people had in

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Speaker 2: Alice Springs at the start of the year as well.

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Speaker 2: You know that that level, that level of anxiety was

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Speaker 2: certainly really concerning, and you know, I feel for all

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Speaker 2: the people who have had those impacts, but you know,

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Speaker 2: this is this is the challenges that you know, our

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Speaker 2: industry have had to face and still facing well.

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Speaker 1: Daniel Rochford, I appreciate your time this morning, no doubt

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Speaker 1: we'll talk again very soon.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you,