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Speaker 1: But we know that concerns have been raised about the

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Speaker 1: lack of access to a suitable hydro therapy pool in Darwin,

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Speaker 1: with the pool at the Palmerston Hospital now reportedly only

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Speaker 1: available to impatience and outpatients. Now. Robin Burridge, who has

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Speaker 1: a disability that impacts her mobility, has been having hydro

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Speaker 1: therapy for more than seventy years and is among those

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Speaker 1: that are speaking out, and she joins me on the line.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Robin, Good morning Katie. Always good to talk to.

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Speaker 1: You, Always lovely to speak to you, Robin. What are

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Speaker 1: the what is going on here? Why are you guys

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Speaker 1: not able to access the pool?

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Speaker 2: Well, I know the media you have been asking questions

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Speaker 2: of the fifth floor and they can't get any answers either.

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Speaker 2: They're told, oh, yes, well you know the pool is

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Speaker 2: used by various groups five days a week. When they

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Speaker 2: say yes, but how many hours in those five days?

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Speaker 2: There's no answer to that question at all, and in

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Speaker 2: fact it's not necessarily used five days a week either.

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure over the years you've been able to

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Speaker 1: access the Palmerston Hospital hydropool, as have others. When did

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Speaker 1: that change?

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Speaker 2: At least six months ago, I've been I was in

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Speaker 2: hospital almost for nine months and I spent sort of

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Speaker 2: the last six months out at Palmerston and I was

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Speaker 2: hearing noises around about April and people are ask him

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Speaker 2: if at all I've never had such a response to

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Speaker 2: any issue ever before, Katie. My phone yesterday and my

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Speaker 2: computer just rang out for the whole day to about

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Speaker 2: seven o'clock last night. And even people from in the state,

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Speaker 2: people that I work with in the Health department, senior

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Speaker 2: people have said they're going to be writing and this

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Speaker 2: is a terrible situation and the minister needs to correct

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Speaker 2: it and he needs to correc it now.

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Speaker 1: So I mean I I've just got a message come

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Speaker 1: through from Darren and he said, Katie, when you are

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Speaker 1: talking to Robin about the Palmeston Hospital. We used to

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Speaker 1: use the pool for our grandson every week until it stopped.

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Speaker 1: He's got cerebral palsy and needs it for therapy and

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Speaker 1: now can only go to the pool at Mold and

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Speaker 1: I believe it is where there's a lot of a

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Speaker 1: lot of kids, but a lot of kids with disabilities

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Speaker 1: actually used it as well.

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Speaker 2: There's a wonderful pool out at Palmerston, the Swell Pool

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Speaker 2: there's three pools out there actually, and one is heated

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Speaker 2: and it's ramped and they've got access change rooms and

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Speaker 2: it's a wonderful facility. But the thing is it's outdoors.

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Speaker 2: The pool is not heated to the hydro pool temperature

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Speaker 2: and it needs rails on the inside of it. It's

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Speaker 2: a public pool. People who need therapy or who are sick,

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Speaker 2: they don't want to be doing exercises out in the public.

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Speaker 2: But I congratulate Palmerston for the wonderful pool that they have,

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Speaker 2: and also the Dalan City Council have three nice pools

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Speaker 2: as well, but they're not hydro therapy PIOLs. In a

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Speaker 2: hydro therapy pool, Katie, I can walk not on water,

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Speaker 2: but in water, and I don't need sort of any

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Speaker 2: aide or assistance. My pain is so much less and

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Speaker 2: my body all takes all the stiffness away. It's only

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Speaker 2: in special sort of facilities and temperatures am I able

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Speaker 2: to do this. And that affects people from all ages.

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Speaker 2: You've just heard about a little child that needs the water.

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Speaker 2: Age people also get that relief. I know with someone

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Speaker 2: at the moment who used to use the pool, her

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Speaker 2: back pain was so bad that the pool used to

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Speaker 2: provide the relief she needed. Now she's on so much

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Speaker 2: medication because she can't go to the pool, but she

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Speaker 2: can't do anything else during your day. She just has

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Speaker 2: to stay at home and lie around in bed because

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Speaker 2: she's aby.

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Speaker 1: That's terrible, Robin. You know, to those who maybe haven't

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Speaker 1: used the hydro therapy people and don't really understand why

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Speaker 1: it is so beneficial and why those of you who

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Speaker 1: aren't able to access it anymore is so upset, you know,

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Speaker 1: give us a bit of context.

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Speaker 2: Well, as I said, it provides pain relief, that provides

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Speaker 2: freedom of movement, and just generally you can take you know,

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Speaker 2: have more of a normal life because of it. Now,

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Speaker 2: you know, one of the reasons I've heard and the

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Speaker 2: sorts of reasons buzzing around, Oh, well, you know, we

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Speaker 2: just don't have the resources. Our staff are too busy. Well,

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Speaker 2: let's outsource the pool. Let's outsource it. There are some

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Speaker 2: wonderful physiotherapists out there in private practice who together who

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Speaker 2: collectively could organize to run the pool. And in fact,

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Speaker 2: it was available to the community before this happened, and

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Speaker 2: the department even put a parking area out the back

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Speaker 2: of the Pumpston Hospital so that people using the pool

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Speaker 2: didn't have to come in through the hospital. So I'm

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Speaker 2: not sure what's happened. I understand that somebody just said, oh, look,

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Speaker 2: we don't have the resources for this. And I know

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Speaker 2: for a while the position that actually managed the pool

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Speaker 2: was vacant, but I understand it's not vacant now, although

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Speaker 2: currently they put that person onto other work.

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Speaker 1: But so where are you at now? You know, what

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Speaker 1: is your message for the health minister? Because if there

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Speaker 1: is one thing I know about you, you will stand

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Speaker 1: up for your rights and the rights of others.

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Speaker 2: Katie, I've asked numerous times to meet with Steve Edgington.

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Speaker 2: I have never ever met this man. I've never spoken

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Speaker 2: to him. I've never I don't caused him any trouble.

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Speaker 2: If I have, Please let me know what I've done wrong.

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Speaker 2: I asked several times. I No, no, no, I'm too busy.

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Speaker 2: I can't. I've got to go back to Tennant Creek

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Speaker 2: or parliaments on or you know, I've got a month

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Speaker 2: of appointments, and then asked me to write a report

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Speaker 2: to meet three of your senior staff down at Palmerston

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Speaker 2: to meet with them to talk about the fool situation.

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Speaker 2: I did that. I wrote a report. I submitted the

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Speaker 2: report to him within a couple of days of meeting

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Speaker 2: with the staff. I then contacted him again and said, look,

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Speaker 2: now you've got my report, Please can I come and

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Speaker 2: meet with you. No, no, no, no, you know, I

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Speaker 2: just don't have time to meet with you. This is

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Speaker 2: absolutely ridiculous. It obviously doesn't understand the benefits of hydrotherapy.

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Speaker 2: This is a three million dollar hydro therapy pool, probably

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Speaker 2: one of the best in Australia. That yes, I agitated

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Speaker 2: for a lot, and I kept on to Natasha Files

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Speaker 2: all the time, and she ultimately got the money from

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Speaker 2: the government. She's the one that got this pearl, not me.

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Speaker 2: And here it is. It has to be switched on

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Speaker 2: and functional all day every day, and yet here it

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Speaker 2: is not being used.

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Speaker 1: The thing that gets me is I just think to myself,

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Speaker 1: why if previously, you know, children with cerebral palsy, people

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Speaker 1: like yourself, adults, the elderly people that actually need this hydrotherapy,

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Speaker 1: why if they've previously been able to access it, why

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Speaker 1: can they not now?

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Speaker 2: Well they say it's a staff issue, but I don't

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Speaker 2: think it is like, for example, I now because I

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Speaker 2: got sepsis last year and sort of almost lost my life,

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Speaker 2: but I am now ready to go back into hydrotherapy.

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Speaker 2: I use private physiotherapists because she's closer to my home,

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Speaker 2: you know. To travel to Parmesan, which I did when

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Speaker 2: I met you know, the staff, it cost fifty dollars

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Speaker 2: one way to go buy a wheelchair taxi to go

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Speaker 2: to Parms. So I choose to have a private physiotherapist

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Speaker 2: that is closer to my home and actually better meets

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Speaker 2: my needs. And yet and she's experienced in hydrotherapy, she's

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Speaker 2: got so many qualifications, as have so many other therapists,

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Speaker 2: and yet they won't let the private physiotherapist use it.

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Speaker 2: You have to see and there's no vacancies for you

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Speaker 2: to see, but you have to see their physios and

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Speaker 2: I choose not to do that. And I can't even

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Speaker 2: do that, Robin.

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Speaker 1: Look, it just seems it seems odd to me, you know,

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Speaker 1: I just think to myself, this is also about liveability

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Speaker 1: in a capital city, and people want access to different

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Speaker 1: health services and different health facilities. Otherwise, as you know,

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Speaker 1: we're going to wind up in a situation where we

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Speaker 1: continue to have a population drain.

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Speaker 2: Well, Okatie, you know Mark, our friend Mark, he chooses

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Speaker 2: not to go into hospital now. In fact, he gets

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Speaker 2: sell your Light US a lot and has to go

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Speaker 2: in and he says no, he'd rather have his foot

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Speaker 2: cut off because the facilities are there not to manage

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Speaker 2: him in hospital. He has to go home every day

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Speaker 2: when he is in the hospital to have a shower,

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Speaker 2: again at his own expense. So it's just not the

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Speaker 2: hydrotherapy pal at the moment that's the major issue, but

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Speaker 2: health issues. Health services are not there and they're not

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Speaker 2: suitable for people with disabilities. Katie, if you can get

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Speaker 2: the minister on your program and talk to him, that

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Speaker 2: would be not only wonderful, but it might be pretty

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Speaker 2: amazing at this stage.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, look well done.

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Speaker 2: Anything to him. No, I don't believe I've never ever spoke.

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Speaker 2: I've spoken to his advisors, and of course you know

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Speaker 2: I worked on the fifth floor. I know what an

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Speaker 2: advisor does. But whenever I've requested to speak to him,

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Speaker 2: I've been told no, he's not available Rock and yet

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Speaker 2: I've written a report that was at his request. He

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Speaker 2: asked me to do that.

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Speaker 1: I went and did that, and look, you know, to me,

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Speaker 1: even if you had said something that might have annoyed

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Speaker 1: him at one point in time, I just think to myself,

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Speaker 1: we're talking about health here, and we are talking about

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Speaker 1: a facility that was accessible to everybody previously. Yes, there

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Speaker 1: may have been some prerequisites in place, but you know,

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Speaker 1: let's go back to what we were doing before. It's

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Speaker 1: it's not a big ask. I wouldn't think.

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Speaker 2: It is a beautiful pool and the government had to

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Speaker 2: be congratulated on having it. We need to use it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Robin Burrows, You're right.

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Speaker 2: I will not stop. I will just go into parlorment

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Speaker 2: house one day and just go up and sit outside

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Speaker 2: his office on the floor. I know you will.

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Speaker 1: I will, I know you will.

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Speaker 2: But hopefully you might be able to get him on

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Speaker 2: your I will. I'll try my beg. Everybody's been the

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Speaker 2: most incredible response. As I said, my phone yesterday and

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Speaker 2: my computer didn't stop till about seven o'clock last night.

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Speaker 1: Well, Robin Burrage, we will talk to you again soon

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Speaker 1: and if we are able to get him on the show,

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Speaker 1: I will let you know. But thank you as always

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Speaker 1: for your time, and I'm pleased to hear that your

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Speaker 1: health is on the meant.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you, thank you, thank you, Rob. I know

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Speaker 2: I can't, I know I can't say hello to your

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Speaker 2: mum on on radio, so I won't do it. Hello.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure she'll be listening in Man and greater and

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Speaker 1: please to hear that, Robin.

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Speaker 2: Wonderful lady.

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Speaker 1: Good on you, Robin, thank you, thanks so much,