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Speaker 1: As we just spoke about with Alex Bruce, there was

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Speaker 1: a pretty controversial decision made yesterday around the pokes in

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Speaker 1: Alice Springs. The Racing, Gaming and Licensing Minister Chancey Pake

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Speaker 1: on Monday said the applications for the sixty extra poker

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Speaker 1: machines at four venues was suspended until June twenty twenty three. Now,

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Speaker 1: the Independent Member for Aarra Lun Robin Lamley, joins me

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Speaker 1: on the line right now. Good morning to Robin.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Robin. What was your reaction to that decision which was

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Speaker 1: made by Chancey Pake well announced yesterday.

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Speaker 2: Well, it's not a decision at all, Katie. He's just

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Speaker 2: put it on hold. He's pushed the pause button. This

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Speaker 2: is a minister that a couple of months ago, when

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Speaker 2: this was all revealed about the sixty applications for poker

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Speaker 2: machine licenses in Alice Springs, he said that it had

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Speaker 2: nothing to do with him, that it wasn't his responsibility.

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Speaker 2: It was the sole responsibility of the directing of Director

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Speaker 2: of Gaming machines. And yesterday he's done a backflip and

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Speaker 2: just said, oh, hold on a minute, I need to

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Speaker 2: scratch my head for nine months and before I make

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Speaker 2: a decision, it's not a decision at all.

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Speaker 1: Well, and Alex Bruce had just said on the show

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Speaker 1: that you know, it should have been allowed to sort

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Speaker 1: of go through the process, and you know, whether they

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Speaker 1: went ahead or they were rejected, that process should have

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Speaker 1: been gone through. You know, do you think that he

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Speaker 1: should have just made a decision either way?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely? Why does he need another nine months? He received

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Speaker 2: over seven hundred submissions from people saying no to the

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Speaker 2: sixty applications for poker machines in Alice Springs. That would

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Speaker 2: have to be a record. In fact, I'll stand by

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Speaker 2: that and say it is a record. So he's had

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Speaker 2: an overwhelming response from the Alice Springs community saying no,

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Speaker 2: this is not in the best interests of the community,

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Speaker 2: the people of Central Australia. Now, upon receiving seven hundred

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Speaker 2: submissions or more to that effect, you would have to

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Speaker 2: say no, we will reject these applications. But no, Minister

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Speaker 2: Peig has to have nine months. And why it's nine months?

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Speaker 2: I can't tell you to do something about it, Robin.

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Speaker 1: What's the reaction been from people in Alice Springs? You know,

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Speaker 1: upon learning that he'd made this announcement early yesterday.

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Speaker 2: Look, I'm not really sure. I know that there was

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Speaker 2: quite a large group of people that formed an anti

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Speaker 2: poker machine group in Alice Springs, so they're reasonably happy

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Speaker 2: that the response hasn't been yes, that the applications have

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Speaker 2: been accepted. My impression is that most people are just

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Speaker 2: scratching their heads trying to work out what the hell's

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Speaker 2: going on here? What does the minister need nine months?

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Speaker 2: It's just ridiculous.

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Speaker 1: And Robin, what do you think that the decision means?

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Speaker 1: So you know, when it comes to the company that

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Speaker 1: had purchased these four different venues, what do you think

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Speaker 1: it means when it comes to, you know, to certainty

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Speaker 1: or to just sort of being able to know exactly

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Speaker 1: what you know, what they can and can't do.

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Speaker 2: Well? It conveys a distinct lack of confidence really. I mean,

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Speaker 2: they have invested heavily in Alice Springs. I think there's

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Speaker 2: more for the establishments that they've bought. I think it

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Speaker 2: could be five, but anyway, Look, they've bought half the

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Speaker 2: license premises in town. They've undertaken and planned to commit

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Speaker 2: lots of money, over one hundred million dollars. I think

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Speaker 2: of the last count to extend and upgrade these facilities,

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Speaker 2: and now they're being told to just hold five for

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Speaker 2: nine months on their pokey applications. It's not good. It's

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Speaker 2: not good for business. I mean, I don't support their applications.

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Speaker 2: I think the answer should have just been no and

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Speaker 2: that would have given certaintly going ahead. But it's not

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Speaker 2: a good way to do business. And if I was

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Speaker 2: Iris Capital, I would be very unhappy.

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Speaker 1: Now, Robin, let's move on. You did write an opinion

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Speaker 1: piece over the weekend about the police commissioner. Now, in

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Speaker 1: your column you said that the police commissioner role is

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Speaker 1: one of the most difficult in any government, but said

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Speaker 1: you feel that the current police commissioner is underwhelming in

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Speaker 1: this role. Why do you feel that way?

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Speaker 2: Well, I do give him the benefit of the doubt

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Speaker 2: in the article. As you've alluded to. I think it

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Speaker 2: is an incredibly difficult position and I think he came

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Speaker 2: into it. Jamie Chalker came into the role in October

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Speaker 2: twenty nineteen under very extraordinary circumstances, days after the death

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Speaker 2: of Clemen Jay Walker, and months after that he was

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Speaker 2: loaded up with the job as a territory Controller for COVID,

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Speaker 2: so he was put in a ridiculous position of having

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Speaker 2: had to manage not just the escalation of crime right

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Speaker 2: across the Northern Territory, but manage the whole COVID rollout

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Speaker 2: and maintenance of all the restrictions and quarantining across the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory, and on top of that, deal with one

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Speaker 2: of the greatest crisis that we've had in recent history,

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Speaker 2: the death of Commen Jay Walker by a police officer. So,

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Speaker 2: all things put together, he hasn't had a good run.

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Speaker 2: But my point is it's time for him to go.

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Speaker 2: Bad Luck is a part of anyone's tenure in a

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Speaker 2: position like that. It's like being a politician. You can't

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Speaker 2: pick your timing, you can't pick what's going to happen,

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Speaker 2: you can't even pick the people around you. But when

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Speaker 2: it does go so sour, when it is it does

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Speaker 2: go so badly, I think, like it has for Jamie Talker,

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Speaker 2: I think it's time for him to go. I think

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Speaker 2: his position's untenable, and I don't think that the Coreal

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Speaker 2: inquest will indicate him at all. I think it will

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Speaker 2: just add to the pile of bad things, unfortunate things

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Speaker 2: unlucky things that have happened through his three years as

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Speaker 2: Police Commissioner.

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Speaker 1: Robin, it is a big call. But I know that

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Speaker 1: in your words, you had said that you feel as

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Speaker 1: though he's failed on his number one KPI and that

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Speaker 1: is the upholding of law and order. Is that the

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Speaker 1: main reason why you feel as though he does need

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Speaker 1: to step aside? Well, I mean, I know you've pointed

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Speaker 1: out all those other all of those other issues as well,

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Speaker 1: but do you think that that is one of the

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Speaker 1: main reasons.

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Speaker 2: It's definitely one of the main reasons. I mean, he's

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Speaker 2: he's also unfortunate in the fact that he's having to

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Speaker 2: operate under a labor government that is has failed to

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Speaker 2: provide him good policies to implement as Police commissioner. But

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Speaker 2: the fact that we've had an explosion of crime right

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Speaker 2: across the Northern Territory now and first and foremost in

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Speaker 2: Central Australia, from my perspective, it's just been a disaster.

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Speaker 2: That alone, the fact that he's failed to retain or

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Speaker 2: maintain law and order is one of the most critical

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Speaker 2: reasons why he has to go. But putting it all together,

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Speaker 2: he's just been underwhelming in the job. And I think

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Speaker 2: people are exhausted, They're tired, they're disillusion The public are

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Speaker 2: tired and disillusion. The police service are tired and disillusion.

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Speaker 2: It's time to go, Jamie Chalker, Robin.

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Speaker 1: What would you say to anybody listening this morning who

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Speaker 1: thinks to themselves, Oh, you know if getting rid of

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Speaker 1: the police commissioner, what if getting rid of the police

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Speaker 1: commissioner is you know is just sort of you know,

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Speaker 1: it's just another headline, and that it's not going to

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Speaker 1: make a difference. The work is being done within the

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Speaker 1: force to try and mend things. I mean, what would

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Speaker 1: you say to anybody that's it's thinking down that pass?

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Speaker 2: Well? I think that the police commissioner position in the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory is a critical role. It's an extremely powerful

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Speaker 2: and influential role. And for someone to stay in a

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Speaker 2: position with that sort of legacy beyond what is practical

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Speaker 2: and reasonable, it only will cause damage to the police

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Speaker 2: force and to our society, our community. And I think

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Speaker 2: that's the point that Jamie talk has got to. Look.

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Speaker 2: I spent a lot of time thinking about this. I

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Speaker 2: at a point in my life where I don't need

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Speaker 2: a headline, I don't need any sort of focus on myself.

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Speaker 2: But I think it's an important point to make that

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Speaker 2: Jamie has had some bad luck. His timing's been all

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Speaker 2: wrong for lots of different reasons, but he's also made

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Speaker 2: some bad calls, and I think to lift the Territorians

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Speaker 2: out of the dold rooms, I think Jamie needs to

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Speaker 2: go and people can take it or leave it, but

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Speaker 2: I think it would make a big difference to morale

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Speaker 2: as a community and looking forward to have someone different

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Speaker 2: in that role. Mind you look at what happened to

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Speaker 2: mc roberts. You know, he fell on his sword, he

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Speaker 2: ended up in jail, he made a legal decisions, reees

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Speaker 2: kersh Or had a good run. Jamie Chalker hasn't had

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Speaker 2: a good run. But you can't stand a job like

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Speaker 2: that forever, Katie, and I think his time's up.

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Speaker 1: Well, Robin Lamley, you have never been one to mince

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Speaker 1: your words, that is for sure. I really appreciate you

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Speaker 1: joining us back on the show. I know that you

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Speaker 1: and your husband and your daughter Alice have gone through

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Speaker 1: a really difficult time, but we are really grateful to.

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Speaker 2: Have you back. Thanks for having me, Katie.

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Speaker 1: Thank you