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Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now to talk a

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Speaker 1: little bit more about the situation with the proposal to

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Speaker 1: add Darwin's Esplannard to the Northern Territories Heritage Register. It's

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Speaker 1: been rejected by the Property Council of Australia's Northern Territory branch.

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Speaker 1: So you'll recall back in April we spoke quite a

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Speaker 1: bit about this on the show after seeing that notice

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Speaker 1: in the paper. Now in April, a plan for community

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Speaker 1: consultation opened to add the one kilometer green strip along

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Speaker 1: Darwin's Well long Darwin's Esplanade. Now submissions closed in May

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Speaker 1: and the Heritage Council is expected to make a recommendation

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Speaker 1: to the Minister Chancey Paike after consulting the merits of

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Speaker 1: the various submissions. Now joining me on the line is

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Speaker 1: Ruth Palmer from the Property Council. Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Ruth, Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Now Ruth, why doesn't the Property Council think that this

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Speaker 1: should go ahead? Ie? The heritage listing of the whole Espernarde.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Katie. So one of the things that we fear,

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Speaker 2: obviously with this heritage application is that it could impose

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Speaker 2: administrative burdens that will hinder the ability to adapt that

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Speaker 2: precinct area and to be able to evolve it. So

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Speaker 2: it will impact on progressive development and enhancement that is

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Speaker 2: really in line with growing the CBD with vitality and

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Speaker 2: economic activity, but also that important linkage between the waterfront

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Speaker 2: and Cullen Bay. So the lack of a defined preservation

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Speaker 2: strategy and use plan raises really big concerns for us

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Speaker 2: with those practical implications of the heritage status there.

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Speaker 1: And so I guess you know, for some people they

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Speaker 1: would be thinking, well, isn't it fair enough that it

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Speaker 1: is heritage listed. We want to make sure that it is.

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Speaker 1: You know that it is preserved. But from what you

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Speaker 1: are saying, there's serious concerns or you feel there's serious

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Speaker 1: concerns that it will mean that you're not really able

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Speaker 1: to do anything down there.

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Speaker 2: Well, that's right, and we understand and we respect the

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Speaker 2: desire to protect the esplanade. We know there's unique features.

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Speaker 2: We know we've got a lot of historical and cultural

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Speaker 2: things on the esplanade, but we want to make sure

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Speaker 2: that they're now else they can be used to encourage

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Speaker 2: tourists to want to come here. We want to make

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Speaker 2: sure that we grow Darwin in a way that tourists

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Speaker 2: can come and be able to enjoy the esplanade and

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Speaker 2: be able to have things on the esplanade that which

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Speaker 2: will enhance that space. And you know, one of these

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Speaker 2: things as well is that can jeopardize those long standing

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Speaker 2: events that we do have on the on the esplanade

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Speaker 2: due to those bureocastic and costs, but also the upkeep

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Speaker 2: costs as well. It's really going to impact Darwin for

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Speaker 2: that ongoing improvement and limit those future enhancements when we're

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Speaker 2: trying to look to evolve Darwin as a future destination

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Speaker 2: and current destination for tourists, but really to learn about

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Speaker 2: the culture and the historical events that happened here. But

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Speaker 2: one of the main things as well is you know,

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Speaker 2: land owners deserve certainty. You know, they all have investments

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Speaker 2: on the esplanade, so and you know what's going to

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Speaker 2: happen with the future development of their property. So we

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Speaker 2: believe that this will negatively impact that as well. So

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Speaker 2: you know there's a lot of in this and you know,

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Speaker 2: a blanket approach to putting a heritage declaration on the

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Speaker 2: esplanade will really it really kind of kills that connectivity

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Speaker 2: that we want to have and that linkage between our

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Speaker 2: three prethinks, which is the waterfront, our Darwin City and

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Speaker 2: the Flanad but also Cullen Base. So yeah, we don't

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Speaker 2: believe that it is the right thing to do it fine,

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Speaker 2: So Ruth.

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Speaker 1: Where to from here? Obviously you guys have put forward

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Speaker 1: a submission, as I'm assuming plenty of others have done.

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Speaker 1: Where to from here?

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Speaker 2: Well, what we did recommend in our submission was that

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Speaker 2: the Darwin Esla we know needs to be a cherished landmark,

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Speaker 2: but we recommended that prioritizing further consultation with stakeholder engagement,

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Speaker 2: and we suggested that they need to be an implementation

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Speaker 2: of a master plan complete with a heritage overlay and

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Speaker 2: new strategy pretty much to provide a queer guideline for

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Speaker 2: the future. So we need to see a master plan

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Speaker 2: with that heritage aspect over it to be able to

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Speaker 2: then guide anything in the future to grow that space.

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Speaker 2: So we want to make it a place for tourists

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Speaker 2: to come. We want to have visitors to come, We

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Speaker 2: want even territorians to be able to go down there.

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Speaker 2: And you know, even hard and soft infrastructure won't be

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Speaker 2: allowed and that's to tourist aminity. So these are things

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Speaker 2: that we really need to be looking at if we're

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Speaker 2: trying to grow the CBD as that destination of choice,

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Speaker 2: and that blanket approach over it just doesn't kind of

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Speaker 2: doesn't kind of suit that end goal.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, look, I think there is still plenty of discussion

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Speaker 1: that needs to happen here. I mean, the Chief Minister,

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Speaker 1: when I'd asked her about a couple of months ago,

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Speaker 1: made it sound as you know, they were not going

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Speaker 1: to heritage this the whole esplanade. But the fact is

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Speaker 1: it's going through the process now and I just wonder

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Speaker 1: how far it's going to get and what impact it's

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Speaker 1: going to have.

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Speaker 2: Well, that's right. There has to be a common sense

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Speaker 2: approach to this, you know. I know in the dah

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Speaker 2: And City Center master Plan that was done in twenty fifteen,

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Speaker 2: there was a project in there of a boardwalk that

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Speaker 2: did link the waterfront to the CBD then you know

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Speaker 2: you can go down to Culum Bay. So these are

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Speaker 2: things we need to be looking at. We know our

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Speaker 2: precincts are not connected at the moment. We know we

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Speaker 2: don't have that connection through to those areas, and why

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Speaker 2: aren't we looking to try and make the Darwin City

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Speaker 2: a walkable, liverable, breathing city. You know, we want people

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Speaker 2: to be walking around, We want activities happening on the esplanade.

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Speaker 2: You know, you could have cultural tours on their esplanade,

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Speaker 2: but also those historical tours as well. So we need

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Speaker 2: to be, you know, really progressive and innovative, innovative about

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Speaker 2: how we use our spaces. You know, you look to

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Speaker 2: can on what they've done with their explanade constantly, the

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Speaker 2: bustling with tourists. So you know, we need to be

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Speaker 2: looking at progressive development and enhancements because at the moment,

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Speaker 2: this heritage declaration undermines the economics and growth and vitality

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Speaker 2: of Darwin. So yeah, we would like to see this

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Speaker 2: back on the drawing board with that master plan, with

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Speaker 2: that heritage overlay and new strategy roots.

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Speaker 1: We are going to have to wrap up. But I

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Speaker 1: know the Property Council obviously quite a big event happening

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Speaker 1: tomorrow with the Federal Treasurer Charmers in town to speak.

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Speaker 1: He joined us on the show just a short time ago.

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Speaker 1: We did speak quite a bit more as well about

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Speaker 1: student accommodation. While talking about an event that he's going

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Speaker 1: to be attending at Charles Dalwin University. I mean, are

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Speaker 1: the Property Council really going to be pushing here from

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Speaker 1: the federal and territory governments to make some movement when

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Speaker 1: it comes to this student accommodation situation. I mean, we

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Speaker 1: just spoke to the opposition leader about them as well.

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Speaker 1: I think we're expecting seven hundred students in the next

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Speaker 1: couple of months or in the next few weeks and

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Speaker 1: there really isn't anywhere to stay.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right, Katie. And you know, it's so great

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Speaker 2: to have the Federal Treasurer in Darwin at the moment

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Speaker 2: and speaking at our sold out event tomorrow. One of

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Speaker 2: the things we're really interested to hear from him is

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Speaker 2: around that housing space. We've been working with the Territory

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Speaker 2: Treasurer on some housing issues and obviously around that student accommodation,

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Speaker 2: so it's great to see that the Australian Treasurer is

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Speaker 2: on board with that and he is aware. So it'll

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Speaker 2: be interesting to see what go through goes through tomorrow.

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Speaker 2: And again we also really appreciate you taking the time

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Speaker 2: to be able to facilitate a moderated Q and a

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Speaker 2: with both the treasurers. I mean, I think it's really

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Speaker 2: important that all questions get asked, and you know, we're

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Speaker 2: going to get some good information tomorrow, and hopefully we

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Speaker 2: get some good news for the territory because that student

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Speaker 2: accommodation is really pressing and purpose built accommodation for students

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Speaker 2: needs to be an immediate action plan, and we need

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Speaker 2: to make sure it's safe and affordable for students to

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Speaker 2: want to come to the territory and you know, like

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Speaker 2: we are trying to attract those people here. So it

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Speaker 2: is something that is of immediate concern and hopefully we

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Speaker 2: can get some outcomes tomorrow.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well we'll wait and see exactly what happens tomorrow.

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Speaker 1: Ruth Palmer, it's always good to catch up with you.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so very much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Great thanks Katie, thank you