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Speaker 1: As you heard, of course, over recent days there has

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Speaker 1: been some pretty serious accusations made against Northern Territory police officers.

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Speaker 1: Now the arrests and charges follow weeks of mounting pressure

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Speaker 1: on government and police executive around morale and lack of confidence,

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Speaker 1: as well as mounting issues with crime. Now joining me

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Speaker 1: in the studio is the Chief Minister at Tasha Files.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to your Chief Minister. Good morning, Katie, Good

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Speaker 1: morning listeners. Now what was your reaction over the course

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Speaker 1: of the weekend and towards late last week to learn

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Speaker 1: that four police officers were charged a couple of them charged,

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Speaker 1: one arrested or serve notices to appear in court over

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Speaker 1: such a short period of time last week.

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Speaker 2: Katie, I won't make comment.

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Speaker 3: I think that these people are entitled to a fair

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Speaker 3: and just process and there is clearly investigations underway, so

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Speaker 3: I'll talk more broadly in the sense that police disciplinely matters.

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Speaker 3: It was an election commitment for us in twenty twenty

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Speaker 3: around reviewing that process. The Police Association have said it

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Speaker 3: is too lengthy and four officers that may be a

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Speaker 3: subject to a disciplinary matter. Part of having a just

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Speaker 3: process is that it is timely so that work is underway.

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Speaker 4: So what exactly was the concern?

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Speaker 1: The Police Association were concerned that when there is a

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Speaker 1: discipline reaction, it was taking too long for it to

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Speaker 1: be gotten through and to work out whether there should

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Speaker 1: actually be action or not.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and stepping completely away from these incidents last week, Katie,

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Speaker 3: but yeah, overall, if a police officer is found, you know,

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Speaker 3: is accused of a disciplinary matter, and they can be

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Speaker 3: wide ranging that the process is just taking too long

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Speaker 3: and so they can't get on with their careers. And

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Speaker 3: so that work has been underway around how we can

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Speaker 3: ensure that there is a just process that is timely.

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Speaker 1: I mean taking into account the situation that we're in

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Speaker 1: towards the end of last week, though, do you think

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Speaker 1: that this points to a bigger problem within the force.

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Speaker 2: Oh, Katie, I want to be careful with my comments.

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Speaker 3: You know that we saw these people that have now

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Speaker 3: been under investigation for these matters and that's been made public.

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Speaker 3: But I think across the whole our police force are

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Speaker 3: incredibly hard working and my role as the Chief Minister

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Speaker 3: is to ensure that they have the resources and the

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Speaker 3: support to do their job.

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Speaker 1: Well, let's talk a little bit more about that, because

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Speaker 1: last time you were on the show, you spoke and

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Speaker 1: said that there would be some action when it comes

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Speaker 1: to the police force. It does follow on from the

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Speaker 1: Police Association's survey which revealed serious issues with morale, concerns

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Speaker 1: that there are not enough police to do the job,

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Speaker 1: and lack of confidence in the commissioner. You'd said that

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Speaker 1: the Police Minister would attend that conference and gain a

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Speaker 1: better understanding. At this stage though we still don't know

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Speaker 1: what the government's plan is in this space, can you

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Speaker 1: outline the plan for the public and also the rank

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Speaker 1: and file officers that listened to the show.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, there'll be a number of aspects to answer

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Speaker 3: that question. There's not one simple answer. The Police Minister

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Speaker 3: did attend that conference and she certainly took away all

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Speaker 3: the points that were made to her and she's doing

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Speaker 3: work with the Executive around the morale of our Northern

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Speaker 3: Territory Police Force and making sure that officers are supported

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Speaker 3: whether they're working in a remote station or here in

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Speaker 3: our urban settings around resources. They've seen a thirty six

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Speaker 3: percent increase to their budget since we came to government,

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Speaker 3: but we've been doing detailed work to make sure that

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Speaker 3: their support. And what I mean by that, Katie is

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Speaker 3: and Jeanette Cur's done the deep dive in Ala Springs

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Speaker 3: and we're now shifting to also do a deep dive

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Speaker 3: into the Casarina area. So we have a number of

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Speaker 3: government and non government services that work on the front line,

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Speaker 3: and we need to make sure that they're in a

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Speaker 3: coordinated approach that we're just not leaving it all to

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Speaker 3: our police officers.

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Speaker 4: Can you see though?

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Speaker 1: How again, officers listening this morning will be thinking, so

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Speaker 1: the executive is charged with boosting that morale, but it's

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Speaker 1: the same executive that officers don't have confidency.

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Speaker 3: So when the Minister attended that conference, she was meeting

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Speaker 3: with the Police Association and she'll continue to work with them,

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Speaker 3: who are the representatives of our police officers.

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Speaker 1: So at this point in time, again, I mean, it

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Speaker 1: sort of doesn't seem to me as though the plan

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Speaker 1: has changed very much from the last time we spoke

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Speaker 1: and since that Association conference.

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Speaker 3: No, Katie, so and I can point to the work

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Speaker 3: and I was in our springs last week, and I

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Speaker 3: know you have a number of listeners down there, but

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Speaker 3: there is a deep body of work around ensuring that

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Speaker 3: police are supported in their role that the range of

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Speaker 3: government and non government services. And I can I'm talk

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Speaker 3: into detail, but I'm conscious of time. But we have

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Speaker 3: been doing that work just to make sure that we're

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Speaker 3: not letting it all fall to our police and they're

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Speaker 3: not in this constant cycle of picking up young people,

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Speaker 3: taking them home and then finding them a few hours later.

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Speaker 3: We have to get so for example, in Alice Springs

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Speaker 3: last week, Katie, on the Monday evening there was twenty

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Speaker 3: one different patrols, so Council, private Security, public Housing, Tongue

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Speaker 3: and Geer the council down there and police. There was

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Speaker 3: twenty one different paroles patrols sorry out across Alice Springs.

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Speaker 2: We this week are going to have them working in coordination.

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Speaker 3: And I know that seems really simplistic word, but going forward,

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Speaker 3: it's doing this deep dive. It's engaging with some of

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Speaker 3: the private property owners. So I know the shopping center

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Speaker 3: in Alice Springs going in and working with them. So

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Speaker 3: what police support do we put in there to help them?

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Speaker 3: But equally, what are we doing to stop the problem

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Speaker 3: before it escalates to being a police guard.

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Speaker 1: So like if we've got twenty one patrols operating on

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Speaker 1: one night in Alice Springs, Like, how many kids are

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Speaker 1: on the street?

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Speaker 4: Is there more than twenty one?

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Speaker 1: You go, honestly, the reason sources then that are being

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Speaker 1: put into a small group of young people that aren't

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Speaker 1: doing the right thing.

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Speaker 4: Is extreme and then to have no positive outcome.

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Speaker 3: I think, Katie, we should be careful those twenty one

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Speaker 3: patrols are across a number of different so public housing.

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Speaker 3: They might be responding to a noise complaint, Like this

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Speaker 3: is not all aimed at young people in youth.

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Speaker 2: I think we need to be very clear of that.

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Speaker 3: I was out at the Ypparinia School, which is the

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Speaker 3: Sunset School, Katie, So, I was in Ala Springs a

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Speaker 3: couple of months before that, and we announced the additional

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Speaker 3: funding and the continuation.

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Speaker 2: They have tripled their enrollment.

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Speaker 3: And what that is is that is a place where

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Speaker 3: young people can be engaged with school and support after hours,

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Speaker 3: so from three till around eight or nine pm. So

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Speaker 3: it is all of these parts of the puzzle coming together.

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Speaker 4: Look, I do want to talk.

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Speaker 1: A little bit more about some of those issues with crime,

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Speaker 1: but I also want to ask you before I get

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Speaker 1: into that. The opposition leader last week revealed on the

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Speaker 1: show that she's going to once again move a motion

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Speaker 1: in Parliament for there to be a select committee or

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Speaker 1: a parliamentary review into the police force as well as

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Speaker 1: issues with attrition and cancers around crime. It is the

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Speaker 1: third attempt by the opposition. She's got the support of

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Speaker 1: Independent member Kezi Epuic. Is the government going to allow

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Speaker 1: this to happen, Katie?

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Speaker 3: On the face of it, probably no, And the reason

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Speaker 3: for that is we don't need another talk fest. We

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Speaker 3: don't need politicians sitting around talking about it. We need

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Speaker 3: action and that's what I'm stressed.

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Speaker 1: From any other work that's getting underway. So I think

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Speaker 1: this is the really big point to make is it's

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Speaker 1: not going to distract from anything that the government's currently doing.

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Speaker 1: You've had parliamentary reviews into various other things.

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Speaker 4: Why not do it and why not allow there to

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Speaker 4: be that look into what's going on?

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Speaker 1: You know, you've got a situation at the moment where

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Speaker 1: obviously police morale is low, there is no confidence in

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Speaker 1: the commissioner or there's low confidence in the commissioner and

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Speaker 1: the community is really.

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Speaker 4: Upset with the situation that they've got with crime, So.

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Speaker 3: Why not allow it I want to get on and

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Speaker 3: solve those issues. I don't need to necessarily have a

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Speaker 3: parliamentary talkfest. Having been in the Parliament over ten years,

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Speaker 3: we have had a couple of select committees, but you know,

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Speaker 3: we'll look at the motion that's presented to the House.

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Speaker 3: But for me, I want to get on and deliver

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Speaker 3: and we are seeing that. So the work in Oura

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Speaker 3: Spring has been undertaken where now I've been out at

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Speaker 3: Casarina meeting with some of the management of the shopping

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Speaker 3: centers out there. We're focused around that and this is

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Speaker 3: all of our systems working together, NGO government and not

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Speaker 3: just the police, but public housing, etc.

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Speaker 1: Look, I'm just hearing from Kesi Epiric right now. She

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Speaker 1: said that is outrageous. It's not a talk fest. It

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Speaker 1: is real work that needs to happen. And Kesier can

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Speaker 1: provide her commentary. But I'm being upfront with your listeners

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Speaker 1: and saying what my thoughts, initial thoughts are on this.

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Speaker 4: But we just allow us.

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Speaker 1: I mean, honestly, people are so worried at this point,

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Speaker 1: why not allow that work to happen. You know, as

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Speaker 1: all of the work that the government is doing is underway.

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Speaker 2: And as I said Katie.

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Speaker 3: We'll consider that motion, but I'm inclined not to support

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Speaker 3: it because I think people just want us to get

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Speaker 3: on with the job of making these changes.

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Speaker 1: Are you inclined not to support it because it's the

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Speaker 1: opposition that's proposing it, Not at all. So it's not

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Speaker 1: a situation where you just don't want to do it

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Speaker 1: because they've come forward with this motion.

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Speaker 2: No, and Kesier, who you just referred to, I have

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Speaker 2: great respect for her. We work closely.

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Speaker 3: You know that it's not about that for me, about

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Speaker 3: just getting on and making these changes.

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Speaker 1: But why not, like I suppose for me, every day

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Speaker 1: I'm hearing from people who are having their cars stolen.

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Speaker 1: You know, last week I spoke to the grandmother of

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Speaker 1: a young fellow, a young autistic boy who was assaulted

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Speaker 1: at Casarina. You know, I've heard from the shopping center

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Speaker 1: owners at both Casarina and also at North Flakes.

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Speaker 4: I've spoken to.

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Speaker 1: The airport about the you know, the car thefts that

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Speaker 1: they're experiencing and what's going on with them.

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Speaker 4: Why not allow a bit of a.

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Speaker 1: Look into this so that we can get to the

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Speaker 1: bottom of what's going on right.

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Speaker 3: Now because we need hard work to solve these issues.

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Speaker 3: We don't need to just keep talking about it. The

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Speaker 3: community expects us to respond and we are and that

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Speaker 3: was absolutely unacceptable what happened to that young boy at Casarina.

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Speaker 3: In terms of the work around the airport, there has

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Speaker 3: been working with airport management.

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Speaker 2: Police are working through.

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Speaker 3: These are unique situations in each circumstance and we need

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Speaker 3: to make.

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Speaker 2: Sure that we have the resources and that we're working

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Speaker 2: through it.

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Speaker 1: Are you concerned though, that there are members of the

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Speaker 1: community that don't have the confidence at the moment in

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Speaker 1: the government being able to make sure that that work

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Speaker 1: gets underway, and that they would like to see, you know,

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Speaker 1: a look into this so we can work out what's

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Speaker 1: going wrong at the moment with.

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Speaker 4: The police force and what's going wrong with that crime.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, we've identified that it's our resources coming together

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Speaker 3: and working to stop the issues before they're happening. And

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Speaker 3: so with public housing, for example, overcrowding in public housing,

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Speaker 3: making sure that people only have a small number of visitors,

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Speaker 3: not having large numbers that then cause flow on issues

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Speaker 3: not only to nearby residents but to the broader community.

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Speaker 3: So they're the issues that we're focused on.

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Speaker 1: How quickly do you think we're going to see a

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Speaker 1: change in this space, then I'm confident in Allie Springs.

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Speaker 1: Jeanette cur has done an enormous amount of work. I

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Speaker 1: was down there with her and the Police Minister last week,

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Speaker 1: tying together the resources that we have, making sure everybody

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Speaker 1: is working together, not in isolation, and making sure that

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Speaker 1: we have a highly visible response that we're engaging not

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Speaker 1: only young people, but the other factors that lead to

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Speaker 1: crime and antisocial behavior. WA's a message for police officers

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Speaker 1: listening this morning, who are going to be feeling.

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Speaker 4: Pretty deflated by the fact that they're.

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Speaker 1: You know that the answer to them moving forward at

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Speaker 1: this point is, you know that, realistically, they've got to

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Speaker 1: just trust that the government's working on this.

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Speaker 3: So the Police Minister attended the Police Association conference. She

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Speaker 3: met with the Police Association executive and was able to

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Speaker 3: hear directly from them, and she's spoken to me and

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Speaker 3: I know she's working through the actions that they'd like

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Speaker 3: to see in great detail, and she'll keep that engagement.

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Speaker 3: Paul mceue is someone that I've spoken to and the

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Speaker 3: Police Minister will also work with.

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Speaker 1: Now I know that there has been quite a bit

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Speaker 1: of concern with some of the displaced people from what

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Speaker 1: Air causing trouble around Darwin. To put it really bluntly,

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Speaker 1: what works underway in this space so that we can

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Speaker 1: hopefully see some change there as well.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Katie, and what has been a long standing issue,

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Speaker 3: and I'm determined to not just go it's too hard

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Speaker 3: to solve and just leave it for another ten or

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Speaker 3: twenty years. So there's a multi agency task force that's

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Speaker 3: been doing a great deal of work. We do have

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Speaker 3: a number of people that are displaced into Darwin presently,

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Speaker 3: and about eighty people are still being returned home each month.

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Speaker 3: It's also around engaging those people if they do choose

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Speaker 3: to stay here, that we get them into some temporary

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Speaker 3: and then more secure accommodation. But it is a big

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Speaker 3: job out there in what I am ensuring that we

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Speaker 3: engage with the different leadership to work through longer term solutions.

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Speaker 1: I do just want to bring up, and I know

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Speaker 1: that you've probably seen it now, but that vision that

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Speaker 1: emerged last week where there was ten and eleven year

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Speaker 1: old's allegedly involved in some really terrible stuff around Casurina,

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Speaker 1: but also an elderly indigenous man asleep on the ground

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Speaker 1: in the Northern suburbs having his head stomped on.

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Speaker 4: Look, I felt like crying when I saw that vision.

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Speaker 1: I mean, for you, as the Chief Minister, how do

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Speaker 1: you feel when you see stuff like.

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Speaker 4: That happening in our great place, our great city.

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Speaker 2: Oh disgusts me.

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Speaker 3: It's unacceptable and to think that anybody feels that they

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Speaker 3: can pick on someone when they're vulnerable, and especially to

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Speaker 3: see that in someone so young, that behavior, Katie, But

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Speaker 3: we need to not turn our back on these young people. Absolutely,

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Speaker 3: they have to understand the consequences, but we need to

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Speaker 3: make sure through those consequences that these reability that we

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Speaker 3: don't just see them ending up in that cycle of

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Speaker 3: causing crime for our community.

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Speaker 1: Okay, I'm going to move along because there is so

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Speaker 1: much happening around the place and I've got a few

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Speaker 1: things that i want to get through pretty quickly. But

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Speaker 1: we know that there is going to be a day

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Speaker 1: of action which the unions are taking on Thursday. Teachers

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Speaker 1: and correction staff are going to stop work. Other public

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Speaker 1: servants are going to rally on the lawns of Parliament

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Speaker 1: House over the wage freeze. Chief Minister, has there been

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Speaker 1: further negotiations with teachers.

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Speaker 3: Yes, Katie, So an enterprise bargaining agreement is a process,

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Speaker 3: so the employees can take that protected action and employers

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Speaker 3: can negotiate, and we are saying to our frontline workers

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Speaker 3: we will continue to negotiate with you in good faith.

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Speaker 3: The Minister for Public Employment is working with the union

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Speaker 3: officials around what they might like to see. And you

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Speaker 3: put multiple offers to that workforce.

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Speaker 4: What are you going to offer them?

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Speaker 2: So we have a huge.

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Speaker 3: Responsibility, Katie, because we do need to manage the budget

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Speaker 3: going forward. We don't want to see ourselves in a

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Speaker 3: situation where we can't afford this and then we have

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Speaker 3: to sack people into the future. So it's around understanding

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Speaker 3: what their needs and wishes are, how we can be fair.

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Speaker 4: But a pay increase is going to have to be

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Speaker 4: on the cards for them, isn't it.

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Speaker 3: As I said to you Katie last week or when

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Speaker 3: we last spoke, I apologize I can't remember the timing,

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Speaker 3: but we do acknowledge them. Even the RBA was caught

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Speaker 3: off guard with interest rates rising so quickly, the cost

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Speaker 3: of living. I was talking to a teacher yesterday, but

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Speaker 3: they're really keen to hear that we are negotiating in

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Speaker 3: good faith and will continue that.

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Speaker 1: Look, I think the situation we've got right now as well,

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Speaker 1: though a lot of people are very supportive of our

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Speaker 1: wonderful teachers. I know I am, but that's not going

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Speaker 1: to last long if the government doesn't sort of, you know,

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Speaker 1: sort this issue out. Because even for the kids to

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Speaker 1: be in another situation on Thursday where the teachers are striking,

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Speaker 1: it does become disruptive. So how quickly do you think

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Speaker 1: we're going to have an outcome?

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Speaker 3: As a parent of school age children, I absolutely get

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Speaker 3: the urgency of this, Katie. Our kids have had enough

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Speaker 3: disruption over the last couple of years. We really want

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Speaker 3: this resolve because we know that those teachers don't really

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Speaker 3: want to be bargaining and negotiating with us.

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Speaker 2: They want to just be in the classroom doing what

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Speaker 2: they love.

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Speaker 4: So how quickly, Katie.

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Speaker 2: It's a process. We're working through it.

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Speaker 3: But I can assure your listeners that many of your

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Speaker 3: teachers won't be listening.

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Speaker 2: They'll probably be listening to a replay of this. They're

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Speaker 2: in school teaching our beautiful.

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Speaker 1: Children going out to camp this morning, so maybe they

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Speaker 1: will be listening in the back playing mix on the

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Speaker 1: bus well, I know lots of the bus drivers do.

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Speaker 1: But so it like, is it something that is on

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Speaker 1: your agenda to sort out quickly.

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Speaker 3: In terms of these agreements, we absolutely want to get

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Speaker 3: them in place as soon as we can, but it

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Speaker 3: is a process around it and we do have to

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Speaker 3: respect and follow that.

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Speaker 4: Al Right. I've got a few really quick ones to

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Speaker 4: get through. Code yellow? How long is it going to

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Speaker 4: stay in place at our major hospital?

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Speaker 3: So they're talking at Roddale Hospital right now, Katie, around

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Speaker 3: that code yellow. So this is where the system kicks

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Speaker 3: in to provide support to our staff and ensures patient safety.

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Speaker 3: So we'll advise the public as soon as there may

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Speaker 3: be any changes there all right.

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Speaker 1: Now, another one that I'm keen to ask about federally,

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Speaker 1: it is looking as though there's going to be some

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Speaker 1: COVID isolation changes that it's going to change from seven

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Speaker 1: days io if you've got COVID down to five, is

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Speaker 1: that going to happen in the endt.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, We're very conscious of the m packs of

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Speaker 3: COVID on our workforce, and people have a large variety.

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Speaker 3: Some people are sick for a day and some people

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Speaker 3: are sick for quite a number of weeks. So I'm

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Speaker 3: heading off to National Cabinet and I've also got a

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Speaker 3: Health minister's meeting later this week, so as soon as

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Speaker 3: we have and I haven't had any formal advice that

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Speaker 3: that may change, but will certainly work with our health officials.

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Speaker 1: All right now, in relation to fuel, people are still

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Speaker 1: really concerned about the petrol prices. Is there any update

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Speaker 1: from your end, because we know that that excise is

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Speaker 1: ending on September twenty eight. Reports nationally this morning that

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Speaker 1: we're going to see it go up immediately.

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Speaker 3: So, as you know, Katie, I wrote to the fuel

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Speaker 3: retailers as well as the A Triple C saying it's

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Speaker 3: not good enough. I hadn't heard back late late last week,

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Speaker 3: but I won't dob them in in case they have

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Speaker 3: written to me. But we certainly want to make sure

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Speaker 3: that particularly the A Triple C, are looking at the

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Speaker 3: prices here in the territory that excise. The previous coalition

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Speaker 3: government made a put that excise change in there. I

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Speaker 3: think the Commonwealth are stepping away from it. It won't

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Speaker 3: be extended, so it will have an impact on territory motorists.

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Speaker 4: Is it a bit disious.

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Speaker 1: Thankful for some of those fuel companies to have not

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Speaker 1: even responded.

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Speaker 4: To you yet.

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Speaker 3: I certainly will be chasing them for a reply because

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Speaker 3: they need to know that they'll be held to account

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Speaker 3: by our government that represents the community.

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Speaker 4: Now, I do want to ask you.

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Speaker 1: There's a report in the Northern Territory News today that

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Speaker 1: the Territory government's calling on leofanochi Aio to apologize after

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Speaker 1: the opposition leader was apparently photographed campaigning with an apparent

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Speaker 1: white supremacist sympathizer. So it's reported in the paper that

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Speaker 1: the country liberal parties refuse to explain its links to

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Speaker 1: the man who was previously seen flashing a white supremist

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Speaker 1: hand sign while wearing a shirt linked to a far

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Speaker 1: right extremist group. Chief Minister, what is the situation here?

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Speaker 1: I mean, is this a real concern or is this

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Speaker 1: a bit of mudslinging.

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Speaker 2: I think it is concerning, Katie.

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Speaker 3: We have such a beautiful multicultural community and that diversity

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Speaker 3: is something that we love and there's no excuse for

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Speaker 3: supporting racism. So for these people to be in the

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Speaker 3: COLP with these extreme views is unacceptable and Lefanochiara needs

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Speaker 3: to explain and apologize.

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Speaker 1: And so you know, how is he linked to the

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Speaker 1: COLP from your understanding?

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Speaker 3: So my understanding and that article points it out, is

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Speaker 3: that he was photographed with the leader of the opposition.

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Speaker 3: He was at a number of events. I mean we're

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Speaker 3: calling was he at the Fanny Bay by election party?

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Speaker 3: So you know, we have to be really careful that

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Speaker 3: we preserve that uniqueness that we have in the territory

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Speaker 3: and we don't have these extreme views.

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Speaker 4: All right, we'll follow that up.

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Speaker 1: We are due to have the Opposition leader on the

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Speaker 1: show tomorrow morning. Now, before I let you go, we

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Speaker 1: know that this job Summer it's happening later this week,

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Speaker 1: this Federal Job Summit. We are due to catch up

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Speaker 1: with NT Farmers in a few minutes time. We're also

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Speaker 1: going to be catching up with tourism Central Australia. We

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Speaker 1: know the situation with the job shortage right around the

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Speaker 1: nation is having a massive impact in the Northern territory.

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Speaker 1: Do you think we're going to see some positive outcomes

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Speaker 1: from this or is it going to be a talk face?

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Speaker 3: Well, Katie, I'll be heading down to Canberra to make

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Speaker 3: sure that the Northern territories view so remote and Regional

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Speaker 3: Australia is heard. I know that the workforce shortage is

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Speaker 3: a huge issue here and now, and we don't have time.

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Speaker 3: We need to get on with this and makes or

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Speaker 3: that the Commonwealth is pulling every lever they can so

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Speaker 3: that we can get workers into the territory.

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Speaker 1: Are we bringing enough in from overseas at this point

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Speaker 1: or does there need to be some you know, some

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Speaker 1: faster movement in this space.

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Speaker 3: I think that that's an area that we could focus on, Katie,

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Speaker 3: particularly ahead of mango season, just as one example. And

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Speaker 3: we've had a couple of unique schemes here in the

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Speaker 3: territory that have seen Pacific workers. We've got Team or

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Speaker 3: lester as a close neighbor and strong relationship. So I

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Speaker 3: want the Commonwealth Government to know that we are willing

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Speaker 3: to do what we need to do, but we need

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Speaker 3: to see workers here in the territory.

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Speaker 1: Well, Chief Minister Natasha Files, we'll have to leave it there.

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Speaker 1: It is just after nine thirty. Thanks for your time

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Speaker 1: this morning. Take care, Thank you,