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Speaker 1: And you may have seen on social media overnight that

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Speaker 1: unfortunately one of Darwin's much loved ice cream businesses, John John's,

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Speaker 1: is in a situation where they're going to be closed

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Speaker 1: until Monday due to crime and anti social behavior that

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Speaker 1: they have experienced. Now joining me on the line right

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Speaker 1: now is the owner of John John's, John Coney. Good

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Speaker 1: morning to you.

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Speaker 2: John. Hey, how are you thank the cole?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? Really well, John tell us we saw everybody seen

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Speaker 1: on social media. I've been tagged a number of times

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Speaker 1: overnight to let me know that you guys are going

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Speaker 1: to be closed until monday. What's going on?

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Speaker 2: So long story, shure, We've all seen what's been happening lately,

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Speaker 2: and it's just got to a point where my FAF

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Speaker 2: has sort of just kept saying like comments here and there,

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Speaker 2: like you know, in terms of safety, there's a little

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Speaker 2: bit of incidences here and now. The other day we

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Speaker 2: had the staff we're leaving here about ninety flock at

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Speaker 2: night after we've closed, and there was a suspicious man

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Speaker 2: at the back of our shop and we've got it

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Speaker 2: all find stuff with the temporary of fencing and it's

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Speaker 2: higher so no one should be in there. And then

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Speaker 2: the staff have walked out, they can find that they

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Speaker 2: got to call me, you know, and then you're going

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Speaker 2: to de escalate it. The guy just wanted water, but

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Speaker 2: then it tends to get aggressive and it's all fund stuff.

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Speaker 2: We shouldn't have to deal with it. We're constantly dealing

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Speaker 2: with a day to day people walking past, people screaming,

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Speaker 2: people yelling at us, the constant abuse. So just in

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Speaker 2: terms of my staff's mental health and everything that's going on,

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Speaker 2: I just thought, give them a break, give them some

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Speaker 2: downtime just to enjoy life before we get stuck into

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Speaker 2: the dry season. And then it just gives me a

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Speaker 2: lot of time to sit down and think as well

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Speaker 2: about how to make the business safer and what I

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Speaker 2: can do to put things in place.

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Speaker 1: John, it must be getting to the point of pretty frustrating.

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Speaker 1: You're having to think of different ways to try to

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Speaker 1: keep the business safe when all you want to do

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Speaker 1: is to be able to operate.

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Speaker 2: Your business one hundred percent. I was fortunate enough to

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Speaker 2: go on holidays to Adelaide for ten days to go

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Speaker 2: down to the footy, and you know, when you go

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Speaker 2: into state, you really get to see every city has

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Speaker 2: issues and you know the homelessness or whether or not

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Speaker 2: there's you know that's like junkies on the street and stuff.

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Speaker 2: So it is confronting, but then coming back with different

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Speaker 2: perspective from different cities, and then coming back it's just

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Speaker 2: like groundhog Day here every single day and I'm speaking

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Speaker 2: to the same people every single day, getting like abused

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Speaker 2: every single day by the same people. And it's like

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Speaker 2: it's it takes its toll, like my mental health is.

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Speaker 2: But you know, as a business owner, you just got

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Speaker 2: to put up with it. But the constant abuse is

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Speaker 2: you just don't need it, and none of them, no

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Speaker 2: one to go on needs it anymore. We all everyone's

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Speaker 2: over having the same conversation. I go out in public,

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Speaker 2: everyone talks to me about the same thing. You know,

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Speaker 2: what can we do as a as a community to

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Speaker 2: make this it's better? And it's just like, well, we

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Speaker 2: can only do so much. It's the people who are

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Speaker 2: in in power are the ones who are here to

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Speaker 2: protect us. And while I was away in Adelaide, I

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Speaker 2: was watching the footy and I get a message saying

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Speaker 2: that there was a stabbing on the Espanat and it's

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Speaker 2: just like, what's going on? And I've got to message

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Speaker 2: my staff is everyone safe? Is ityone? Okay? Then I

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Speaker 2: come back apparently there was another stabbing in Casirina with

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Speaker 2: a couple at the shopping centers. Like, this is not

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Speaker 2: normal behavior. This is not the town that I grew

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Speaker 2: up in. I've spent thirty years of my life here

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Speaker 2: and it's just deteriorating to a point where the locals

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Speaker 2: are looking at it and it's just like, this is

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Speaker 2: not okay, this is not where we want to live.

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Speaker 2: It's just not safe.

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Speaker 1: John, You've hit the nail on the head in so

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Speaker 1: many ways. And the thing is, I'm hearing this time

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Speaker 1: and time again from really great, wonderful territories. You know,

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Speaker 1: people that are really trying to make a go of it,

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Speaker 1: like yourself, people who want to stay living here. None

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Speaker 1: of us are trying to pack up and leave, but

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Speaker 1: we just want this situation sorted. And you know, we

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Speaker 1: hear it time and time again from our politicians that

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Speaker 1: the issues are complex. We get that, but what is

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Speaker 1: happening right now is not okay. It's actually criminal behavior.

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Speaker 1: What we are seeing at different times, and stabbings and

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Speaker 1: violent offending is not something that you guys, you know,

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Speaker 1: at an ice cream shop, a wonderful ice cream shop

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Speaker 1: should have to deal with.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree, it's and then your staff are having it.

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Speaker 2: You know, now we're getting into the busy season and

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Speaker 2: you've got backpackers and more people wanting to work. But

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Speaker 2: then do you need to vet them and say, like

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Speaker 2: are you okay with handling like anti social behavior? How

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Speaker 2: can you de escalate? They're going to train them on

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Speaker 2: things you shouldn't have to train on. And I've got

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Speaker 2: young staff as well that we've got to like not

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Speaker 2: coach them, but train and make sure that they're always

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Speaker 2: on with someone else. And then while they're on, you're

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Speaker 2: always worrying whether or not that's going to be the

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Speaker 2: time that something bad's going to happen. And my other

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Speaker 2: friend who owns a business at Nyclist, he had a

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Speaker 2: seventeen year old girl working like in between her school

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Speaker 2: shifts and she had to stop because that's her job

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Speaker 2: became unsafe for she felt unsafe. And that's already at

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Speaker 2: a young age. And then you're hearing it so often,

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Speaker 2: like my friends who've got young children or their children

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Speaker 2: in high school, and what they're seeing and what they're witnessing,

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Speaker 2: and then they don't want to go to the city,

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Speaker 2: they go to Casuing, then what's the point of living

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Speaker 2: in tent you can't go to the spots there that

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Speaker 2: you enjoy.

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Speaker 1: Yep, it's enough. Everybody's had enough. We've had an absolute

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Speaker 1: gutful of it. I mean, you and I have spoken

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Speaker 1: about it before. Unfortunately on a few occasions, you know,

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Speaker 1: and it doesn't seem to be getting better. In fact,

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Speaker 1: over recent months it has become worse. That level of

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Speaker 1: violent crime that we've seen has become worse. And we've

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Speaker 1: all tried our best to raise our voice to the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory government to let them know how we're feeling.

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Speaker 1: I don't know what it's going to take for them

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Speaker 1: to really take some very serious action.

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Speaker 2: I agree. It's just you know, when you travel into

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Speaker 2: stat or you travel overseas, it's all about perspective and

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Speaker 2: what's okay and what's not okay. I understand it's a

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Speaker 2: complex issue. The prisons are full, the court system is backlog.

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Speaker 2: I get that, and you just come to a realization

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Speaker 2: and you accept it for what it is and understanding

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Speaker 2: that it may or may not change. But until then,

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Speaker 2: all I can do is protect my staff, protect my business,

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Speaker 2: and my friends and family, and just do what I

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Speaker 2: can to make sure that I'm creating a safe environment

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Speaker 2: for my staff and my customers, and then just I

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Speaker 2: guess right away from him and just hopefully it changes.

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Speaker 2: But until it does, just do what we can control,

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Speaker 2: and that's the only thing we can do. We can

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Speaker 2: control ourselves.

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Speaker 1: Well, make good on you for doing what you can

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Speaker 1: do to keep your staff safe and being a supportive boss.

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Speaker 1: I think that that's a really important thing to do,

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Speaker 1: particularly when you do have young people working with you.

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Speaker 1: You know, I've been in there plenty of times with

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Speaker 1: my kids for an ice cream. You guys do a

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Speaker 1: phenomenal job, and I know that staff for lovely people,

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Speaker 1: and you want to make sure that they are safe.

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Speaker 1: So I think it's a really good thing that you've

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Speaker 1: taken this stance. I hope that the government gets in

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Speaker 1: contact with you. I did raise this issue with the

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Speaker 1: Minister for Small Business, Paul Kirby. He said that he

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Speaker 1: was going to reach out to you. I hope that

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Speaker 1: he does, and I really hope that your concerns are heard.

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Speaker 2: Thank you very much, and thank you for all the support.

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Speaker 2: And on a positive note to own, I am very optimistic. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: Darwin has so much potential. There are so many good

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Speaker 2: things about Dylan. It's a beautiful place. The weather we're

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Speaker 2: coming into is amazing. Like life is good. Life is

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Speaker 2: what you make of it, and we're just here for

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Speaker 2: a good time and I'm just trying to have it go.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, good on you, John. I appreciate that. I appreciate

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Speaker 1: those words.

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Speaker 2: Mate.

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Speaker 1: We'll talk to you very soon. All the best and

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Speaker 1: we'll be in for an ice cream soon.

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Speaker 2: Thank you.

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Speaker 1: Thanks mate,