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Speaker 1: From what we know, the Northern Territory government has asked

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Speaker 1: the Police Commissioner, Jamie Chalker to resign. Joining me on

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Speaker 1: the line is Matt Cunningham. Good morning to you, Matt.

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Speaker 2: Morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Matt. What do we know so far about the situation

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Speaker 1: with the Police Commissioner.

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Speaker 2: Well, my understanding, Katie is that Cabinet met late last

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Speaker 2: week and that on Friday the Police Commissioner was asked

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Speaker 2: by the government to resign from his position. We know

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Speaker 2: that he's now taken leave and he's expected to be

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Speaker 2: away for the next few weeks. My understanding is that

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Speaker 2: he is not expected to return to the job, Katie. Now,

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Speaker 2: we reported this first at two point on Saturday afternoon,

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Speaker 2: and since then the government has not responded to anyone's

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Speaker 2: questions about whether they have actually asked the Police Commissioner

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Speaker 2: to resign. You would have thought that if they're backing

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Speaker 2: him all the way, there would have been a statement

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Speaker 2: to put out pretty quickly scotching that, But there's really

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Speaker 2: been radio silence from the government ever since. We are

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Speaker 2: I'm told of expecting that the Chief Minister could hold

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Speaker 2: a news conference at some point today, but we haven't

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Speaker 2: been given a time around that of this.

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Speaker 1: Day, you would have to say that it's going to

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Speaker 1: be an absolute pr nightmare if they don't come out

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Speaker 1: today and either confirm or staunchly deny what is being reported.

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Speaker 1: But Matt, from all accounts, you know, the writing has

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Speaker 1: been on the wall for a little while now.

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Speaker 2: Look at it has. And according to my sources, the

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Speaker 2: reason that the government is taking this action is basically

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Speaker 2: because of the crisis they've got in police morale. Now,

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Speaker 2: I'm told that during anyone pay period there could be

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Speaker 2: between four hundred and six hundred officers who are basically

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Speaker 2: call and sit during that period. And you know that

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Speaker 2: police resources are stretched. I mean, blind credit can tell

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Speaker 2: you that police are not able really to deal with

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Speaker 2: the issues that they're having to deal with at the moment.

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Speaker 2: So I think that was the real reason that the

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Speaker 2: government felt like it needed to act here. You know,

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Speaker 2: Jamie Chalker, he really he's had a tough time of

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Speaker 2: it in office, you'd have to say. I mean, he

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Speaker 2: came into the job just two days after the shooting

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Speaker 2: of Kuman Joy Walker at Humdumu Comfortable. Zachary Rolf was

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Speaker 2: charged with his murder two days after Jamie Chalker started

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Speaker 2: in the job. Of course, we know he was found

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Speaker 2: not guilty on all three charges that he faced by

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Speaker 2: jury early last year. But that issue, I think has

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Speaker 2: really led to many of the issues they're seeing around

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Speaker 2: police morale. I think there are a lot of police

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Speaker 2: officers who were upset at the way that that case

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Speaker 2: is handled, and I'm not sure that the police mission

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Speaker 2: has ever been to recover from that. Of course, stayed

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Speaker 2: after the Unit Moon shooting. You know, we pretty much

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Speaker 2: went into COVID and for two years, you know, as

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Speaker 2: the territory control that he was dealing with that. It's

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Speaker 2: certainly been a rough time in office to Jamie Chalker.

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Speaker 2: I mean, as one source said to me on Saturday,

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Speaker 2: he was very supportive of Jamie Chalker. That they just said,

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Speaker 2: you know that I never had a chance to walk

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Speaker 2: straight into rolling them straight into COVID. You know. Now

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Speaker 2: it looks like he's going to be gone.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, well, I mean the fact though, the fact, Matt,

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Speaker 1: that there's been between four hundred and six hundred officers

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Speaker 1: on leave at any one time. I mean, the Chief

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Speaker 1: Minister had confirmed with us on the show a few

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Speaker 1: weeks ago that there is a situation where there was

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Speaker 1: hundreds of officers on leave. She wouldn't say the exact number,

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Speaker 1: but that is huge. That is a massive amount of

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Speaker 1: police officers on leave. And if it is indeed a

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Speaker 1: situation where there is a crisis with morale within the force,

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Speaker 1: you know, it's it seems as though this is the

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Speaker 1: only way forward.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, And I don't think you can deny there as

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Speaker 2: a morale crisis. I mean, we can argue about what's

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Speaker 2: caused it and why, But I mean, look at the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory Police Associations last survey. I think more than

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Speaker 2: eighty percent of officers quoted in that survey, and it

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Speaker 2: wasn't a small sample size, Katie, I think more than

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Speaker 2: a thousand officers participated, but they're more than eighty percent

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Speaker 2: of them who rated morale as low or very low.

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Speaker 2: I mean, if that's not a morale crisis, I'm not

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Speaker 2: sure what he is. So, you know, it's definitely an

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Speaker 2: issue the government had to deal with. Whether moving Jamie

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Speaker 2: Chalker on, whether you know, asking him to resign and

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Speaker 2: getting someone else in there he's going to solve that issue,

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Speaker 2: I'm not sure, But I don't think you can deny

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Speaker 2: at the moment, it is that crisis of morale within

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Speaker 2: the NT Police.

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Speaker 1: So Matt Michael Murphy, Assistant Commissioner Michael Murphy is stepping

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Speaker 1: into the role to cover that leave. So I guess

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Speaker 1: so only time will tell how long he's in there.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right, and he's a very well respected police officer,

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Speaker 2: Michael Murphy. You know, we saw her in front of

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Speaker 2: the cameras last week and he spoke very well. My

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Speaker 2: understanding is that he'll remain in the role while there

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Speaker 2: is a recruitment process that is undertaken to appoint a

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Speaker 2: new commissioner, and that that process could take up to

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Speaker 2: six months. I mean, I don't know what their plans are,

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Speaker 2: whether they plan to appoint Michael Murphy to the position.

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Speaker 2: Another name I've heard from several people with Janet Kerr,

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Speaker 2: who is obviously a former high ranking police officer and

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Speaker 2: our works as a senior executive of Territory Families. And

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Speaker 2: there's another point of view that really the NT Police

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Speaker 2: should bring in someone from interstate, just get a clean slight,

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Speaker 2: someone who doesn't come to the role with any baggage.

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Speaker 2: We know that the ant Police has been a highly

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Speaker 2: factionalized organization for a long period of time. So now

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Speaker 2: one of the arguments is that you just bring in

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Speaker 2: a fresh face from outside who doesn't have any allegiance

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Speaker 2: to anyone in any position here, and you can basically

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Speaker 2: just be in a clean set of hands in the job.

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Speaker 2: So the decisions the government's.

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Speaker 1: Going to have to make, yeah, and you know what,

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Speaker 1: they're going to have to come out today, and they're

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Speaker 1: going to have to be pretty direct, I would suspect,

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Speaker 1: because you can't leave the police force floundering at this point,

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Speaker 1: wondering who their leader is or exactly what's going on.

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Speaker 1: And if you're going to make tough decisions where you've

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Speaker 1: got to come out and you've got to be prepared

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Speaker 1: to back them.

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Speaker 2: Well, that's exactly right. I don't think this situation can

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Speaker 2: be allowed to continue for too much longer, Katie. I

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Speaker 2: think we'll I I expect we will see the Chief

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Speaker 2: Minister out at some point today. Exactly when I'm not sure,

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Speaker 2: but I don't think you could have another day of

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Speaker 2: radio silence on this issue.

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Speaker 1: No, And Matt looks as though you've had a busy

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Speaker 1: weekend because you also had a bit of an update

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Speaker 1: over the course of the weekend on Constable Zachary Rolf.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. So I was able to contrue the

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Speaker 2: last Thursday, his lawyers were sent a letter basically informing

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Speaker 2: him that they intend to terminate his position with the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory Police Force. He's been given an opportunity, i think,

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Speaker 2: two weeks to respond to what the Northern Territory Police

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Speaker 2: are saying to him. But it relates to this open

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Speaker 2: letter the Comfortable that was attributed to Comfortable Roth that

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Speaker 2: was published on Facebook and reported in media outlets in February,

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Speaker 2: where he basically criticized the police force and the Northern

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Speaker 2: Territory judicial system, included the coronial to the way that

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Speaker 2: he had been treated over this issue, and also defended

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Speaker 2: some of those racist text messages that came out during

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Speaker 2: that colonial process. And my understanding is is that letter

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Speaker 2: was sent to Comfortable Ross lawyers on Thursday. They'll have

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Speaker 2: a couple of weeks to respond to that and to

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Speaker 2: show causes to why they don't think contribute this well.

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Speaker 1: Matt. I appreciate your time this morning. Another incredibly busy

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Speaker 1: day as well with the very sad new surpassing of

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Speaker 1: unipingu today and also we know over the course of

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Speaker 1: the weekend, much loved former mayor of Catherine fey Miller. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Look, you know and both great territorians. You have to say,

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Speaker 2: I think you know, the country this morning is stopping

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Speaker 2: to mourn Unipingu, a great indigenous leader. You know, if

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Speaker 2: you've ever been out to Northeast darlm Land, Katie, you

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Speaker 2: will know the impact he has had out there. I mean,

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Speaker 2: he's been remembered today as a fierce champion for the

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Speaker 2: Aboriginal land rights movement. He's being remembered as a champion

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Speaker 2: for reconciliation. But I think if you go out to

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Speaker 2: Union Gada and you go out to the Go Peninsula

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Speaker 2: and you see what he is doing to fort his

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Speaker 2: people both through education and employments. I mean, look, look

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Speaker 2: at all the issues we're talking about at the moment.

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Speaker 2: You know, the solution is there in Northeast arm Land

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Speaker 2: and it comes from strong local leadership. They employ almost

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Speaker 2: one hundred local long people out there to the too

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Speaker 2: much corporation. They have a mine, they have a timber mill,

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Speaker 2: they have a butcher shop. You know, they have all

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Speaker 2: this industry out there. They started their own school with

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Speaker 2: a Barker school because they were just so set up

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Speaker 2: with having to deal with the eurocract from the Education Department,

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Speaker 2: and they're getting you know, ninety plus percent attendance right

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Speaker 2: to their school. You know, the answer is out there.

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Speaker 2: And I think you know, if there's one lesson to

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Speaker 2: learn today following the passing in the Pinon, it's that,

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Speaker 2: you know, Miss Pruth, that we can have the economic

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Speaker 2: development on Aboriginal land. We can make it work. The

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Speaker 2: strong leadership is there and it's worth pointing out to.

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Speaker 2: I think say Miller was a great champion for her

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Speaker 2: people in Katherine, and I think anyone who's who's ever

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Speaker 2: had anything to do with Kay Miller fay Miller, sorry,

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Speaker 2: we'll know what I feel its advocate she was for

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Speaker 2: her people, and I think we all remember the stout.

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Speaker 2: I think my favorite story is the stout she had

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Speaker 2: with Greek Hunty sent anyone was backing down or taking

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Speaker 2: any nonsense for him when he was a federal health minister.

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Speaker 2: So she will be sorely missed too.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, she was a firecracker, incredible at her like, just

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Speaker 1: an incredibly strong woman. And I think that both of

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Speaker 1: those incredible territorians are going to be remembered very fondly

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Speaker 1: today Matt Cunningham as always mate. Thank you very much

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Speaker 1: for your time and we'll catch up with you very soon.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you,