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Speaker 1: The big news over the last twenty four hours has

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Speaker 1: been the fact that budget airline bondser announced a temporary

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Speaker 1: suspension of services with a sudden mass cancelation of flights

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Speaker 1: across its network yesterday, including the Northern Territory, and conversations

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Speaker 1: are underway about the viability of the business. Industry inside

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Speaker 1: Is yesterday told three point sixty that leases over the

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Speaker 1: aircrafts were in jeopardy, with some aircraft already seized, some

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Speaker 1: saying that Virgin's going to take over the aircraft and

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Speaker 1: capitalize on some of the routes, but experts have warned

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Speaker 1: that it could leave thousands of Territorians and local travel

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Speaker 1: operators out of pocket, with a resumption of flights unlikely

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Speaker 1: until after a grounding of this scale.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: Tourism operators in Central Australia were absolutely over the moon

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Speaker 1: when the airline began operations. Joining us on the line

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Speaker 1: to let us know how they're feeling today, Daniel Rochford,

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Speaker 1: the CEO of Tourism Central Australia, Good morning to you, Daniel, Good.

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Speaker 2: Morning Kadian, Good morning to your listeners.

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Speaker 1: Daniel, what are you hearing this morning when it comes

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Speaker 1: to Bonza? Are they likely to get going again.

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Speaker 2: Well, that's obviously in the hands of the administrators now

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Speaker 2: and they're advising passengers not to turn up to airports

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Speaker 2: until tomorrow. So you know that does I leave a

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Speaker 2: window open, But look, you know i'd have to say,

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Speaker 2: you know, based on the coverage that it has had

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Speaker 2: that you know will be hard to recover. And you know,

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Speaker 2: I don't feel very confident that we'll see the airline again,

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Speaker 2: but you know, who knows.

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Speaker 1: Daniel, how are you guys feeling in Central Australia following

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Speaker 1: yesterday's events. I know that you were so pumped when

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Speaker 1: BONSA got going.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and look, it's a sad day for not only

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Speaker 2: our region but the whole of Regional Australia. That the

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Speaker 2: flu to this airline provided a ray of hope and

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Speaker 2: you know, as you know, we have had to deal

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Speaker 2: with the scourge of high airfares coming in and out

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Speaker 2: of Central Australia and the wider Norman territory and BONSA

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Speaker 2: was that ray of hope. And we certainly did back

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Speaker 2: bondser in terms of coming into Alice and the community

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Speaker 2: embraced them. You know, they had their issues up in Darwin,

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Speaker 2: but it was a completely different story. In Alice Springs,

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Speaker 2: we were seeing low factors of above eighty percent in

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Speaker 2: and out. What this now means to Central Australia is

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Speaker 2: as we launch into the tourism season twenty twenty four,

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Speaker 2: we now have we do not have thirty thousand seats

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Speaker 2: coming in and out of our region, which is disastrous

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Speaker 2: for our tourism industry and disastrous for our region.

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Speaker 1: It truly is, like, I mean, it's a huge blow

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Speaker 1: I think to regional Australia generally. But then when you

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Speaker 1: look at Central Australia and look at what you guys

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Speaker 1: have been through in the recent years. Just talk us

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Speaker 1: through Daniel in terms of the flight capacity and those

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Speaker 1: seat numbers on a weekly basis, how like how many

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Speaker 1: seats are we talking here when it comes to those losses.

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Speaker 2: So it's you know, it's one hundred and eighty seat aircraft.

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Speaker 2: They were flying twice a week, both in and out,

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Speaker 2: and that's where that thirty thousand figure comes from. So

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Speaker 2: you know, not not only from a tourism perspective, Codie,

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Speaker 2: but you know from a liveability perspective. You know, the feedback,

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Speaker 2: you know, I had this lovely lady come up to

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Speaker 2: me in the toad ball and say hey, I was

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Speaker 2: able to fly myself and my family to Melbourne one

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Speaker 2: way for five hundred dollars and you know that was

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Speaker 2: the price of just a one way ticket for one

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Speaker 2: person previously. So you know, bondser was providing a solution.

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Speaker 2: And if there was any positive that came out of

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Speaker 2: comes out of this, it shows that there is demand

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Speaker 2: in regional communities and wherever bonds are flu proved this

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Speaker 2: of people wanting to fly, you know, and be able

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Speaker 2: to get out in and out of their communities.

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Speaker 1: You spot all lo this is the thing. It's not

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Speaker 1: only it was not only a great thing you know

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Speaker 1: for locals, but or for tourists, but also for locals. Daniel,

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Speaker 1: talk us through though what this is going to mean

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Speaker 1: for those tourism operators in Central Australia.

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Speaker 2: Well, we're alway seeing cancelations, we're seeing impact to our

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Speaker 2: local events coming up. You know this. You know we

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Speaker 2: were in a fragile position even before this, Katie. As

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Speaker 2: we've talked about in recent days, this just is absolute

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Speaker 2: kicking the guts to our industry and I echo our

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Speaker 2: call to the Northern Territory government and to the federal government,

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Speaker 2: but the tourism industry of Central Australia needs urgent economic

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Speaker 2: recovery support. This is above and beyond about your program

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Speaker 2: or a discount program. This needs absolute the kitchen sink

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Speaker 2: thrown at it and I call on the territory in

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Speaker 2: federal government to support Central Australia at this difficult time.

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Speaker 1: Daniel, you had the Prime Minister the earlier in the week.

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Speaker 1: Did he meet with you, did he meet with tourism operators?

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Speaker 1: Did you get the opportunity to send him that message?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, Katie. He met three of our operators, a retailer,

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Speaker 2: a tour operator and a caravan park owner who said anywhere,

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Speaker 2: but who gave them their story of their business. One

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Speaker 2: business was down thirty percent on last year, which was

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Speaker 2: a disastrous year by the way, one business was down

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Speaker 2: fifty percent and another business was down seventy five percent. Wow,

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Speaker 2: that's the reality that we're facing at the moment. And

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Speaker 2: you know, our businesses normally through the tourism season, they

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Speaker 2: charged their piggybanks up to be able to see them

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Speaker 2: through the winter the summer months. I fear that that's

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Speaker 2: not going to be able to and we're going to

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Speaker 2: see lots of businesses and that's going to have a

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Speaker 2: massive hit to our regional economy, in the Northern Territory economy.

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Speaker 1: So, Daniel, just like in terms of those discussions, like,

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Speaker 1: was there any is there any indication at this point

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Speaker 1: in time from the federal government from the territory government

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Speaker 1: that there's going to be more than just sort of

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Speaker 1: about just scheme or all these you know crumb instead

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Speaker 1: of being thrown.

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Speaker 2: We've had very positive words and you know there's active discussions,

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Speaker 2: but you know, our industry is crying out for our

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Speaker 2: governments to come to the to come and make those

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Speaker 2: announcements sooner rather than later. Those the importance of those

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Speaker 2: announcements are critical for just being able to see our

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Speaker 2: industry through this a few weeks. You know, the morale

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Speaker 2: is rock bottom, and you know, we are seeing examples

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Speaker 2: of businesses showing me their profit and loss statements that

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Speaker 2: are saying that they're in a worse position now than

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Speaker 2: that what they were during COVID. That's the gravity of

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Speaker 2: the situation.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it is huge, and it's and it's a horrible

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Speaker 1: situation for all of those operators to be in. Daniel,

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Speaker 1: Before I let you go, just back to bonds for

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Speaker 1: a moment. What days does bonds a fly in and

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Speaker 1: out of Alice Springs? And have you had much wood

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Speaker 1: from you know from locals set to fly out? What's

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Speaker 1: happening with them? Do you know of Virgin or any

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Speaker 1: of the other airlines are picking up their routes at

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Speaker 1: this point?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, they fly on Tuesday and Saturday. I have just

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Speaker 2: got win and I haven't seen it in writing yet, Katie,

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Speaker 2: but if I do, I'll make sure I can turn

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Speaker 2: that with you. But I understand Corners has made a

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Speaker 2: call of honoring bonds of tickets, not just for stranded passengers,

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Speaker 2: but for those with advanced tickets. So once I have

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Speaker 2: those details to hand, i'll make sure you're aware of that.

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Speaker 2: But I don't want to build up too much expectation.

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Speaker 2: But if that's If that's the case, I certainly encourage

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Speaker 2: those affected bonds of passengers to take advantage of that.

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Speaker 1: One hundred percent.

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Speaker 2: Will allow people to come in and out absolutely well.

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Speaker 1: Let us know how they go, Daniel, and please do

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Speaker 1: keep in contact with us. Will be more than happy

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Speaker 1: to let listeners know. Mate. Thanks so much for you

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Speaker 1: chat this morning. I know it like I can't imagine

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Speaker 1: how you guys are feeling at the moment. It's a

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Speaker 1: real roller coaster in Alice Springs. You sort of have

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Speaker 1: a couple of days where things seem as though they're

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Speaker 1: on the up. You have the Prime Minister visit, then

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Speaker 1: you get a kick in the guts the next day

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Speaker 1: with Bonza some you know a lot. It has to

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Speaker 1: get better at some point.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, And look, you know we're representing the people who

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Speaker 2: don't get paid a paycheck every fortnight. These are the

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Speaker 2: people who are just having to live based on the

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Speaker 2: income they make. And you know it is as tough

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Speaker 2: as tough come back.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Daniel Rochford, thank you. As always, I appreciate your time.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you,